Eight Great Years (and Counting) – Thank You!!

Today we turn eight years old. I say we, because what I started 8 years ago looks nothing like what we have become today, and the pivotal change occurred when the idea of Trembly Law Firm went from being “my” business to a vehicle for change. That occurred in two phases, first gaining clarity on our outer purpose, and then discovering our inner purpose.

When you’re raising young children, they say, “the days are long but the years are short.” It certainly feels that way in business when you’re just getting started. When you find your true passion and mission, however, sometimes there aren’t enough hours in the day. That moment came when it occurred to me that while litigation can be rewarding, helping business owners avoid the courtroom – while less exciting and certainly a lot less headline grabbing – is more rewarding. Business owners are the backbone of our economy, and yet we have a target on our backs from all angles. That led us to create our General Counsel program, arguably the first Miami law firm dedicated to providing outside legal services for businesses outside of big law (which is not positioned to effectively help small and medium businesses anyway). From there we created our first tagline, “Protecting Honest Business Owners From Getting Legally Screwed.” TM While that may be what we do, it missed the essence of why we exist. So within the past two years we really focused in on explaining why we do what we do: to Protect the Economy, One Business at a Time. That’s a broader, better explanation for why we get up and hustle every day. We want to help your business, and help you have a great relationship with your employees. We want to protect you with trademarks and contracts and compliance, but that’s not all we want to do. We also want to preserve the economic environment that allows all of us to thrive. With a thriving small business economy (which includes businesses up to $50 million in revenue, by the way – not so small but they fit the definition), jobs are plentiful, and we all prevail.

The second phase of growth occurred when we realized that the best way to kick butt for our clients was by having the best team. In sports, the best team usually wins. The team with Michael Jordan or Dwyane Wade. In business, unlike in sports, you can stack a team full of Michael Jordans – the best at what they do. That’s a never-ending process, and one which we fully embrace. My purpose now, internally, is to create and cultivate a business where leaders can emerge. This business isn’t about me – it’s about the team. I don’t need my hands on everything, to be everywhere, or to do everything. Hire great people and watch them work. When you are mission driven, other great people want to be a part of something fantastic, and the job of the owner is to thoughtfully create an environment for fantastic things to happen. Are we perfect? Of course not. Have we accomplished some incredible things over the past few years, yes we have, and we’re very proud. We prevented dozens of lawsuits, won many trials, and received lots of awards and recognition. We now have 21 employees, and their families rely on us. We reinvest in our own team out of an internal obligation to do everything we can to support each employee and help each other grow. Respectfully (and we mean that – because by Trembly Law leading the way, we force others to become better), most other law firms can hardly return phone calls, whereas we take retreats, do team-building exercises, invest in continuing technology and legal education, systematically review progress and make changes to get better – all while kicking some major tail along the way. Our Core Values? Not just something up on the wall. We live them. Every day.

As the founder of the firm, I focus on the team and the client experience, and the team focuses on the work. It’s a pretty fun position to be in, and eight short years later, it still feels like we’re just getting started. So, thank you to our clients, friends, colleagues and anyone we have encountered along the way, good and bad, as we strive to protect the economy, one business at a time. As I once heard, “we don’t learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience.” AIn’t that the truth. There are lessons to learn from every moment. May everyone become aware enough to create the time to reflect on their experiences, and strive to get better.

Finally, thank you to our team – the best in the business. Here’s to another eight great years.