environment.
partnership developed slowly over time.
Marc Dedman, managing partner of Spicer
Rudstrom, said it was his relationship
with Chapula, formed through Primerus
events over the years, that created the
basis for the partnership. Add to that the
unique business climate in Nashville
the second fastest growing city in
the United States (behind only Austin,
Texas) and a lack of established large,
international law firms and you have the
perfect scenario for the exchange.
Dedman and Chapula first met at a
Primerus event in Barcelona, Spain, in
2013, followed by several Primerus events
since then.
"You get to know the people in
Primerus firms, and you like them, respect
them and feel comfortable with them,"
Dedman said.
In 2016, Dedman was in a meeting
with an executive from a growing health
care company, who talked about the
challenges of finding legal counsel around
the world including sky-high costs.
"He was talking to me about the fees
he was getting charged by law firms ...
numbers that are many multiples of what
Primerus firm fees are," Dedman said.
After months of determining a
potential business model which could
address the points raised by the health
care executive, he contacted Chapula
in October 2016. After almost a year of
planning details involving everything
from housing, insurance, IT, logistics, bar
and ethical requirements, and immigration
and visa regulations on September 4,
2017, CCN Mexico City-based attorney
Jose Ernesto Fuentes Vilalta began work
in an office at Spicer Rudstrom's Nashville
office.
The two firms identified potential
companies that could benefit from
mission statement: "Take what seems
scary and show that it is not; take what
seems expensive and show that it can
be affordable; and take what seems
complicated and show that it can be
straightforward."
Dedman wanted Tennessee businesses
to see that they didn't have to go to
bigger law firms with higher fees, but
they could instead take advantage of
Spicer Rudstrom's close international
connections and use that legal spend
they would have had to instead grow their
business.
As a result of a news article in a local
business journal about the program,
Dedman received about 25 unsolicited
phone calls from companies who wanted
a meeting with Fuentes. In addition,
they held other meetings with companies
Dedman's firm already knew. In total,
Dedman said they met with about
60 companies they otherwise would not
have met.
"The first meeting on the first day, we
met with someone whose initial intent was
to come in and talk about an opportunity
he had to bring in people from Mexico on
a temporary basis to work in Tennessee.
During the conversation, a lightbulb went
off for him, and he started talking about
opening a business down there and how
that could be accomplished," Dedman
said. "He got this creative thought going,
and I watched this happen again and
again and again."
Chapula also came twice to Nashville
from Mexico City during the 80-day
period to meet with companies. One of
his meetings was with a large client who
would normally only do business with
large international firms.
"Without this program, they would
never have contacted my firm, and they
never would have contacted Felipe's firm,"
Dedman said. "We had an outstanding
lunch-and-learn with them, and it was
beyond their expectations. They were
asking very technical questions that
wowed them."
Both firms already count the program
as a success, and now they wait to see what
additional opportunities arise from it.
the perfect example of what Primerus
helps firms do best: develop trusted
relationships among members and then
work together to benefit clients.
"Primerus is a family of lawyers and
clients that actively work together to
better serve the best interest of clients,"
said Primerus President and Founder
John C. "Jack" Buchanan. "Reaching
out, participating and helping each other
is what Primerus is all about."
Roger Barton, managing partner of
Primerus firm Barton LLP in New York
City, did exactly that after his firm joined
Primerus in 2016. He was impressed
with the concept of a society of the
highest quality small to mid-sized law
firms in the world.
He was eager to use his Primerus
affiliation as a tool to show in-house
counsel that his firm and his fellow
Primerus firms offered a value
proposition that was a viable alternative
to the big law firms they might
traditionally work with.
"We're just one firm. It's hard to get
recognized as an alternative to big law,"
Barton said.
But Barton thought if he could
leverage the Primerus platform, and
the connections the society provides
nationally and internationally, that could
change.
"I thought that's definitely a win,"
he said.
To make that happen, he immediately
began attending Primerus events and
getting to know his fellow members.
"It really is a society; there is a
collegiality. There is a common purpose
and goal," Barton said. "We do band