We formed Bast Amron to be a law firm unlike any other, one that reflects our values and beliefs. For that reason, we have not placed our people into departments or other categorical boxes. We strive to operate outside the box. In fact, that is the genesis of our firm logo – Bast Amron is literally outside the box.
Our vision as a firm is defined by our core values. Those values reflect who we are and what is important to us as individuals and as a firm. We live by these core values in all that we do. They guide our decision making. And we look for these same values in our people. When we are hiring new people, at any level, our core values are a critical component of our hiring criteria.
At BAST AMRON, we commit, we collaborate, we create, we communicate and we care.
WE COMMIT TO OUR CLIENTS, OUR FIRM, OUR COMMUNITY
We have adopted a fanatical commitment to client service. By design, it is contagious, infecting everyone at our firm at every level. Our goal is to help our clients through challenging and often unfamiliar problems. We understand that their issues are consuming them. So, we literally take the problems off their shoulders. When a client hires Bast Amron, their problems become ours. And we are fully committed to solving them.
We are 100% committed to achieving our clients’ desired outcomes. We work hard to formulate the most effective strategies and even harder to execute those strategies effectively. This is where our commitment shows for our clients – in the results we achieve.
We do everything at 100% or we just don’t do it at all. Whether it is handling a client dispute or participating in a charitable event, we commit and give it our all. When we committed to representing trustees, we brought a trustee into our practice. When we started riding in the Cycle for Survival, we asked for two bikes instead of one. We never phone it in.
In addition to our commitment to clients, we are committed to our firm, our families, and our community. Our work is challenging and often stressful. Thus, we strive for an atmosphere where we can work hard but also have fun, where people enjoy working and where we have absolutely “no jerks.” One example is our firm Massage Day when we bring in a masseuse to give everyone massages. We all walk around with messy hair and peaceful smiles, but we are also energized and productive. Our commitment to our families can be observed on local school holidays when you will often see our conference rooms occupied by our kids. We are hoping that they are studying!
We consider our community to be our extended home, and we regularly look for ways to improve it. Our firm encourages and provides Pro Bono services to indigent clients who cannot afford counsel. Our attorneys also serve as mentors to young lawyers and law students. We also encourage and facilitate charitable work outside the legal sphere. Every year, we participate in Cycle for Survival to raise funds for rare cancer research. On Give Miami Day, with the firm matches all employee contributions to the local organizations of their choice. And each quarter, the firm raises money and other goods or services for a specific charity selected by one of our employees.
We are environmentally conscious as well. We maintain electronic records, avoiding paper when possible. When we do print, we print on both sides. All of our paper waste is shredded (for security) and recycled. And our attorneys and staff are even asked to turn off their lights and monitors when they are away from their desks. Many of us also participate in a number of environmental programs outside of the office, including coastal clean-ups and reef restoration dives.
WE COMMUNICATE
Effective communication is critical to our success in every way. Obviously, as legal advocates, we must communicate our clients’ positions to judges, juries, and opposing parties. We do this literally every day in our correspondence, legal briefs, and motions and through oral advocacy in courts across the country. Every word that is transmitted on our clients’ behalf has been carefully curated to further their position in the most effective manner.
We also recognize that communication to our clients is equally important. We keep our clients apprised of every substantive development in their case. We communicate with clients clearly and frequently. We explain complex legal issues and literally walk our clients through the process to ensure that they fully understand the ramifications of the decisions we are collectively making throughout their case. As our strategies evolve, we confer with our clients regularly. And our clients can always pick up the phone to find someone knowledgeable about their case to answer their questions. In the rare instance when no one is available, every call is returned within 24 hours.
The common theme in all of our communication is clarity, honesty, and transparency. We never mask our intent. We always tell the truth and will not just tell our clients what we think they want to hear. Our belief is that our clients deserve the truth, even when it may be painful. If the risk of loss is great, our client must know that. But we also believe it is our job to help our clients make sound decisions. When we present a decision, we will explain its impact, the available options, the costs, and the benefits of each, and we will present a recommendation. We don’t just work for our clients; we work with them. Our communication with them drives that work.
WE COLLABORATE
Collaboration is another key to our success. When a client hires us, they get more than the attorney with whom they met. They get our team of carefully selected lawyers, paralegals, and legal assistants. We pride ourselves on the quality of our team from top to bottom. We work closely together on all of our cases, using our collective experience, perspectives, insights, and knowledge to further our clients’ objectives. This allows us to utilize team members at lower hourly rates when the particular task allows for it. By staffing the cases thoughtfully, we are able to bill more efficiently for our clients. We also find that gathering input from a diverse group of team members leads to diversity of opinion and allows for consideration of options and strategies that otherwise might not be on the table. By working in teams, we are also able to use those with the right background and experience in each aspect of the case. We are not looking to recreate any wheels; we would just rather make the wheels better and faster.
Our collaboration is not only within our firm but also with our clients and their other counsel. We are a “go-to” law firm among lawyers and law firms. Indeed, many of our clients come to us through other counsel, seeking our expertise and guidance to assess alternative strategies and risks. We collaborate with our client and their counsel to redefine objectives, strategies, and desired outcomes. We then work together to implement those strategies and achieve those objectives and outcomes.
WE CREATE THOUGHTFUL AND EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES
At Bast Amron, we pride ourselves on our ability to create innovative solutions and strategies. We believe any lawyer can file a suit or win a case that has the right facts or the law on their side. But exceptional lawyers assert novel arguments in the face of difficult issues where the facts or law may not be on our side. We like to win the “unwinnable” cases.
At the same time, winning for our client does not always require losing for the other side. We define winning as the achievement of the desired outcome from the perspective of our client. Our holistic approach will often result in a victory for both sides. In other cases, where that is not possible, we will work with the client to formulate the most effective strategy to achieve the client’s goals.
What sets us apart is that we consider ourselves to be business people first and lawyers second. We are thoughtful about our approach. What we do has to make business sense for the client. Before we commence a lawsuit or a bankruptcy, we carefully analyze the risks, the collateral effects, the costs, and the possible outcomes. We rarely go into a case without a plan to get our client out. And we are constantly developing and adjusting strategies as the case evolves. Through creative and thoughtful strategies, we are often able to guide our clients to successful outcomes.
WE CARE
At Bast Amron, we genuinely care about the work we do and the clients for whom we do it. Internally, we call this the “Care Factor.” We look for it in every employee we hire. Our people genuinely care about our clients. We understand why they have contacted us, and we go to great lengths to help them solve their problems. When we accept your case, we will help you decide what victory means. From that point forward, that is all we will care about. Everything we do will be designed to further that objective. We care about the outcome and it will show at every stage of a case. We take pride in producing the highest quality of legal work. All of our correspondence, motions, and legal briefs advocate our clients’ positions with their ultimate goal in mind.
Most importantly, we care about the results we obtain for our clients. Like athletes training for a big game, we train to improve and perfect our skills. We stay abreast of the latest developments in the law that might affect our clients. To eliminate risk of error, our legal briefs are thoroughly reviewed. Our teams spend quality time preparing for depositions, arguments in court, and other presentations. We also prepare our clients as team members. We know that testifying in a deposition or appearing in court can be nerve-racking. So, we prepare our clients for what to expect at each stage of a case. At Bast Amron, we don’t like surprises; we know that preparation is the best way to avoid them.
The care factor runs through everything we do. It is what makes us who we are, and it ties together our core values. Because we care, we commit, we collaborate, we communicate, and we create.