by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Primer inter pares.
It means “first among equals” in Latin, and combined, the words create “primerus”, better known in legal circles as The International Society of Primerus Law Firms.
Now one Jacksonville firm can lay claim to being a member of the legal organization that began in 1993.
The civil litigation law firm Milton, Leach, Whitman, D’Andrea & Milton, P.A. was recently accepted into the organization, joining the alliance of 99 other small to medium-size independent law firms across the country.
“We’re honored to be a part of it,” said Joseph Milton, the firm’s founder and managing partner. “We’re going to keep working to keep maintaining the highest standard.”
Milton Leach clients include CSX, Florida East Coast Railway, North Florida Shipyards and U.S. Tobacco Company.
Through its commitment to high standards, Primerus supplies its members with unique marketing advice and materials, referrals and other forms of business support.
“Our goal is to help small to medium-size firms compete against the big dogs,” said Chuck Runyan, Primerus’ director of technology.
Runyan said that one key ingredient of Primerus’ commitment to its members is an increased and extensive Web site presence.
As well as being a part of its network on www.primerus.com, through specialized articles and keywords, both Primerus and its members’ Web site will appear near the top of search engines when people look for the firm, said Runyan. By seeing each site, he said, it shows the prestige associated with the organization.
“Results have been fantastic,” said Runyan. “No other organization goes to this length to market its members on the Web.”
Another benefit comes with the member-to-member relationships through conferences, shared resources and referrals.
“It allows us to have access to other firms’ resources,” said Josh Whitman, a partner with Milton Leach. “We can facilitate national interaction between other members.”
Primerus accepts members that adhere to its six principles — integrity, excellence of work product, reasonable fee structure, professional education, civility and community service — in the practice areas of defense litigation, plaintiff personal injury and business/corporate/international.
Milton Leach is one of a kind now, as only one firm in each category can be accepted from a territory. Designated territories were formed by Primerus after studies of legal markets in each state, with factors such as geography, population density and number of firms all contributing.
With only 99 firms across the country as members, gaining acceptance to Primerus isn’t a walk in the park.
Scott Roland, senior vice president of Primerus, said the group performs detailed research into the background of each firm, including filed complaints and references from other firms, and an independent accreditation board of member attorneys makes the final say on acceptance.
Even with Primerus’ strict standards, the firms that make it to the application stage are usually accepted.
“We decline very few,” said Roland. “By the time the application process comes around, we’ve already done some aggressive prescreening and research.”
Runyan said that while firms do seek application, Primerus also has recruiters that are on the lookout for firms that meet the organization’s standards.
Accepted firms cannot rest on their laurels, either. Members are audited annually to make sure they are still keeping the Primerus standard, said Roland, but to date no members have been dropped.
The highest number of applications the organization has received in a year was 32, said Roland, and the lowest was 12. The organization is looking to expand, but ideally, said Roland, growth would be capped at around 400 firm members nationally. By the end of 2008, he expects to have around 120 firms.
There are only six Primerus firms in Florida, including Tampa area firms Bivens & Hemenway, P.A., KnopikVarnerMoore and Ogden & Sullivan. P.A., Coral Gables-based Niklaus & Associates, P.A. and Palm Beach Gardens-based Ricci-Leopold.
Being a part of the organization is something that the partners at Milton Leach said is a tremendous honor.
“It really is an honor,” said partner Eric Leach, “to be part of a fraternity of small and medium-size firms that have been distinguished.”