Coburn & Coffman PLLC was founded on these principles

Our Approach to the Profession

Certain aspects of the private practice of law have become a source of chronic frustration for both clients and lawyers. Rare is the seminar on law practice management that does not harken back to the "good old days" when lawyering was more of a profession than a business, before the "tyranny of the billable hour." Nonetheless, given the economic pressures faced by law firms, particularly in a down economy, it is difficult for lawyers to avert their eyes from the bottom line.

We seek a new approach. We reject as false the choice between profitmaking versus flexibility in billing and sensitivity to client cost. These objectives are consistent with, not antithetical to, one another. We believe in entrepreneurialism - we celebrate it and seek to be proponents of it. We seek to represent our clients aggressively, tirelessly and with zeal, because that is the hallmark of our profession. This, however, is not remotely inconsistent with good citizenship, sensitivity to environmental and other larger concerns, and promotion of corporate responsibility. In fact, these goals are entirely consistent with one another. Enlightened businesses in the United States are well ahead of the legal profession in acknowledging this reality. We see large companies like Target ensuring that a substantial percentage of revenue is contributed to charitable causes. Subaru celebrates its creation of the first carbon-neutral automobile assembly plant. Ford is a leader in corporate responsibility. Whole Foods is a leader in sensitive and humane treatment of its employees. The legal profession can move in the same direction, not only by funding pro bono departments, but also in its approaches to billing, client representation and treatment of personnel.

Billing

We are a small firm. We are non-hierarchical. We do not reject clients because they cannot pay, or decline to pay, rigidly prescribed hourly rates. In fact, we do not engage in hourly billing. We keep a record of our hours and assign benchmark hourly rates to matters, but that is only our starting point in determining a client's bill. We practice "value billing," which we hope and expect means that clients pay a fair price each month for the services we render. This approach, we believe, rectifies inequities that are inherent in traditional hourly billing and allows us to adapt to the financial needs of our clients. We do not breathe down each other's necks in evaluating our numbers of monthly or yearly billable hours. Our overhead is low, which allows us far greater flexibility in billing than firms with higher levels of fixed expenses, and permits representation of non-indemnified individuals as well as institutional entities.

The Art of Advocacy

We are advocates. We are trial lawyers and we do not apologize for this phrase. The art we practice is an integral part of the process of dispute resolution in the United States, and we are devoted to it. A number of us teach advocacy to law students and fellow lawyers in a variety of contexts. The study and practice of advocacy presents the diligent, interested lawyer with a learning curve that is always rising. We seek continual improvement of our skills, seeking always to avoid that most deadly sin of the trial lawyer: arrogance.

Our Approach to Each Other

We are committed to maintaining a humanistic, mutually supportive interpersonal environment for all of our human capital, not just our lawyers. We strive to treat each other with respect, patience and warmth. We value one another's opinions and strive for internal consensus. We value all forms of diversity - including diversity of background and diversity of viewpoint - since diverse perspectives are conducive to good decisionmaking. We do not have an institutional political orientation. Every person at this firm has value, and we work hard to make sure they feel valued. We structure ourselves internally in a manner that sends this message in an unambiguous way. We discourage hierarchical thinking. We do not reward a "kiss up, kick down" methodology of interacting with colleagues. We do not encourage or reward "face time" in the office. We work hard because it is a necessity that we do so, and, frankly, because it is deeply rewarding. Our work environment is informal and unpretentious. People work better when they are comfortable and when they feel that their own characteristics and preferences are met with acceptance rather than rigid judgment. We encourage part-time, flex-time, work-at-home and other alternative work arrangements that enrich personal lives, work lives and improve service to clients. We do not adhere to a traditional partner-associate dichotomy. We encourage, facilitate and promote a wide spectrum of pro bono activity, and do not impose sub rosa penalties, financial or otherwise, upon colleagues who engage in it.