The Gromowsky Law Firm, LLC

December 07

2009 After Action Review

When John G. Gromowsky was an infantry officer in the United States Army, he conducted an after action review following every field exercise.  Basically, an after action review allows the soldiers in a unit to take an honest look at their performance, which permits them to build upon that which their unit did well and to identify areas where there is room for improvement.  The after action review process is something Mr. Gromowsky carried over into his career as a criminal defense attorney.  Though not as formal as the reviews conducted in the army, each suppression hearing, appellate brief, and case conclusion brings with it a period of reflection.  As 2009 comes to a close, John G. Gromowsky is thankful that this year’s successes far outweigh any failures.

 

By any measure, the past year was a great one for The Gromowsky Law Firm, LLC.  In 2009, “The Kansas City Business Journal” listed John G. Gromowsky as one of the “Best of the Bar” among Kansas City criminal defense lawyers.  As described by the business journal, the “Best of the Bar” recognizes outstanding lawyers in the Kansas City metropolitan area as chosen by their peers.

 

Additionally, “Super Lawyers” magazine named John G. Gromowsky a Missouri and Kansas super lawyer in the criminal defense practice area.  The magazine’s publisher writes that the selection process is based upon peer nominations and evaluations, as well as independent third party research.  Attorneys selected for inclusion in the magazine are in the top 5% of attorneys in their states, based on total points accumulated during the selection process.

 

While inclusion in both lists of Kansas City criminal defense attorneys is an honor, one is compelled to acknowledge that the peer nominations underlying the recognition would not have existed without the clients represented by The Gromowsky Law Firm, LLC.  In 2009, John G. Gromowsky assisted people facing federal grand jury investigations based upon white collar offenses.  He also helped, among others, people confronting criminal allegations such as drug conspiracies, money laundering, weapons charges, and production of child pornography.  He won a new trial for a federal prisoner, claiming that the prisoner received a constitutionally unfair trial.  Finally, he wrote a number of federal appellate briefs, including portions of a death penalty brief.

 

The success John G. Gromowsky enjoyed this year as a criminal defense lawyer could not have been achieved without the trust and cooperation of his clients and their families, so it is with much gratitude to them that The Gromowsky Law Firm, LLC concludes its 2009 after action review.

10:37 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

June 15

Fifty Dollars

 

Fifty dollars.

 

That’s how much a lawyer in North Carolina billed his client each time he reviewed his monthly invoice for legal services and the form cover letter he sent along with the invoice.  Under North Carolina rules, it is considered improper to bill a client for work related to the administration of a law practice, as opposed to work undertaken for the benefit of the client.  Consequently, the offending lawyer received a formal reprimand from his state’s attorney disciplinary authority.  Without looking at the rules for all jurisdictions, I suspect the North Carolina rule is not unique.  Lawyers would do well to heed the lesson derived from the North Carolina lawyer’s reprimand.

 

On the other hand, people looking to retain an attorney need to be aware that while the fifty dollars the North Carolina lawyer charged for five minutes of work was inappropriate in his case, five minutes worth of real work done on behalf of a client can very easily cost fifty dollars.  This is because lawyers can, and will, bill for all time spent for the benefit of their clients—and attorney time can be expensive.

 

By way of example, some courts like to have status conferences, which are brief hearings to make sure cases are staying on track.  These conferences frequently last no more than a few minutes.  Let’s say the attorney you are looking to retain bills his time at a rate of two hundred dollars per hour and in increments of a quarter of an hour.  This means that a five minute status conference will cost you fifty dollars (i.e., $200 x .25 hours = $50).  Likewise, a brief phone call from the client, fifty dollars.  Reading a letter from opposing counsel, fifty dollars.  Drafting an e-mail to a potential expert witness to request a copy of her most recent resume, fifty dollars.  Reviewing that resume upon its receipt, fifty dollars.  And so on, and so on, and so on.

 

As a criminal defense attorney much of my work is done on a flat fee basis.  In other words, I am paid a negotiated fee at the outset of the case, and my client pays only case expenses after that.  When I do take on hourly work, I generally bill my time in tenth of an hour increments, so in each of the examples above my fee would be twenty dollars rather than fifty.  Obviously, this can still lead to a large invoice at the end of the month.  That’s why I, like many of my colleagues, often use my discretion to cut my fees where it seems appropriate. 

 

However, people looking for legal help need to know up front that seeking justice can be an expensive proposition, which is why it is so important to take the time to find competent representation you can trust.

11:12 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)