Supporting small businesses and the value of having a good lawyer
I recently saw a commercial where they called 2020 the year that gave us all lemons. Yes, for a lot of us on multiple levels, 2020 was a really bad year. Plans we had to build, to grow, to travel, to go to school, to do whatever, were put on the back burner while we were struggling to survive our new circumstances. For some of us, we were ill or had loved ones who were ill or struggling, or passed because of Covid or other complications. All of our relationships were tested to be sure.
For small businesses such as my own, we struggled to keep our doors open. With people out of work and staying safe at home, a lot of small businesses were forced to close down or lay off employees. Our practice suffered financially only being able to conduct about a quarter of the consultations we normally do and only take in about half of the revenue we typically make in a given year. However, as is the nature of our work, we still continued to work on our client's matters, respond to requests from the government on existing court cases and applications... and roll with the punches of the previous administration.
Some of my fellow small business owners will relate to the sentiment that we have had to reinvent the way we do business. My practice, for example, thrived off of word of mouth referrals and in person consultations. I mean, you try explaining highly complicated legal processes over the phone or zoom. *Shout out to all the teachers doing something similar... we love you and support you!
Which leads me to an old problem with a new spin. I love my clients and I am proud of my professional work. The last four years under the Trump administration were difficult for our clients and for us (my staff included) as well. But after 11 years in this struggle and hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans, last year I found myself struggling to balance the love of community/work and the love for my own self: sustaining myself and my daughter, being able to pay my employees, not going into further debt trying to maintain my dream...
You see as an attorney, and by extension my staff, we are on the front lines every day fighting for our clients. We have to battle it out with Consulates, Judges, DHS attorneys, USCIS officers, and a whole other number of people just to get our work done. Contrary to what others may think, we embrace the victories and struggle with the losses along with our clients. There is a strong sense of responsibility as community members to do the best we can in every single case we choose to take on. Every one of our clients has a special story and I/we attempt to sit there and listen and use the details of the story to win cases in court and in applications for relief. It was tougher last year when we had to close down an office and lay off employees in order to maintain our practice.
Unfortunately, sometimes it feels like we are fighting WITH our clients. Some of our clients do not pay for our services in a timely manner, repeatedly ask for discounts, second guess or do not value our work. Others will not follow our advice and then we have to spend more time attempting to fix their errors. Then there is the client who will not bring the documents we repeatedly have to ask them to bring to make their case better or stronger. A small amount of clients will complain and harass our office by calling multiple times in a day, all the while not leaving a message, or waiting for a call back. It makes me wonder if this is the way we would treat other professionals: doctor? dentist? accountant? teacher? you name it...
This past week I have posted pictures of my/our support of small businesses because WE have to rebuild. As people get vaccinated and schools and businesses safely reopen, we need to make sure we support those businesses that barely made it through in 2020. As your community lawyer, someone who has committed her life to helping immigrants with their legal processes, I am asking that you appreciate and value my services.
Our office prides itself on our tenets of REACH: Respect, Excellence, Accountability, Community and Honesty. We will survive this together and maybe share some lemonade.