Even though the firm is relatively new — it started in 1999 — the attorneys have over 65 years of combined experience representing individuals, businesses and consumers in a wide variety of business transactions and litigation matters. And a lot of that experience was working with each other in other law firms. Daily Record staff writer Michele Newbern Gillis met recently with partners William “Bill” Cooper, George Ridge and Richard Latinberg to discuss the firm.
HOW WAS THE
FIRM STARTED?
The firm was formed when Cooper and Ridge combined their practices into a business law and litigation practice focused on the needs of individuals, business owners and their companies. “Bill and I have practiced law together on and off for 20 years,” said Ridge. “We started practicing at the same law firm right out of law school. Richard and I started our firm eight years ago and Bill joined the small firm we had in 1999. The successors of this firm go back further than 1999.”
WHAT DOES THE FIRM DO?
The firm is a boutique operation that specializes in banking, bankruptcy, business tort, commercial, construction, contract, corporate, executive compensation and severance, insurance and warranty law with general trial and appellate practice in all state and federal courts.
TEAM APPROACH
They do not have a managing partner and believe the team approach works best. “It’s small enough that everyone participates in our business,” said Ridge. “Richard takes a leadership role in our technology and Bill takes a leadership role in our financing and bookkeeping. We all share responsibility for our community contacts and our community service.”
WHO ARE YOUR SOME OF Their CLIENTS?
American Body Armor & Equipment, Inc., Armor Holdings, Inc., Dav-Lin Construction Company, Besco, Inc., D.R. Horton, Inc., Eckerd College, Inc., J.G. Wentworth, S.S.C., M.A. Golf, Inc., Panther Creek, Inc., Promo Depot, Inc., spiller vincenty gallery, Pitman Companies, Hartenstein & Associates, Inc. and The Valspar Corporation.
WHO WORKS THERE?
Cooper, Ridge and Latinberg are partners and Mark New is an associate. They have one attorney, Jim Krause, who will be joining the firm in November. He is an assistant counsel for the Associated General Contractors of America. “He will be moving to Jacksonville from Washington, D.C. and has tremendous experience and background in construction work, which we are very interested in and do as a part of our practice,” said Cooper. They also have two paralegals, three secretaries and a bookkeeper.
LOCATION
In the SunTrust building, where they have been since the firm opened. “We’ve always practiced downtown,” said Ridge. “We chose this location because it’s convenient to the courthouses and all the reasons that a lawyer would choose a downtown location. We are considering relocating to Riverside to a better financial opportunity to be the owner of a building as opposed to being a perpetual tenant.”
“We would like to be a part of the revitalization of the Riverside and Avondale area,” said Latinberg.
ARE YOU PLANNING TO EXPAND THE FIRM?
“We may hire one more after Krause,” said Cooper. “I think our goal is to keep it to five or six attorneys. We don’t really want to be any bigger than that. We have a very specialized practice that doesn’t require scads of lawyers and secretaries. We’ve been in those big firms before and have migrated away from that.”
“We want our lawyers to have more of a hands on approach for each of the clients rather than pushing cases down to the paralegals to handle,” said Latinberg.
LATERAL OR NEW?
Both. It depends on their needs at the time.
WHAT DOES YOUR FIRM OFFER YOUR CLIENTS?
“Service with the partner relationship as opposed to a partner meeting with a client and then having a lower level person actually do the work,” said Ridge. “Our clients are actually working directly with the partners. We offer a depth and breadth of experience in the commercial area. We have in-depth financial experience.”
“And we have a broad range of contacts that are often brought to a particular matter to assist our clients in finding a good solution,” said Latinberg. “In terms of other areas, whether there is a need for insurance, securities or brokerage assistance. We can bring these personal contacts in to help.”
PROFESSIONAL INVOLVEMENT?
“We are not as active in the Jacksonville Bar Association as some are, but we do have regular community service and pro bono service,” said Ridge. “One of the cases we handled recently was where a lawyer was convicted of the unlawful practice of law. He left over 50 people, who he was supposed to file bankruptcy for, in a lurch. He had taken their money, but was then apprehended by the State Attorney’s Office, so we took on those 50 people. Another project we have taken on is to assist in the organization of a free medical clinic for uninsured people downtown. It is going to be in the former Paulus Music building across from the Salvation Army.”
WEBSITE www.attorneyjax.com.