about the latest legal trends and develop
meaningful relationships. Started in
2005, the PDI Convocation is one such
opportunity. Primerus has other events
with the same emphasis, including the
new Primerus International Convocation,
which kicked off in May 2018 in Miami,
Florida.
Stephenson appreciated the
opportunity to have fun together, as well
as attend quality legal education sessions
at the Convocation.
"I was just blown away," she said of
the legal education options. "I thought
it was amazing content deep, useful,
meaningful content."
She was so impressed with Primerus
that she has hired two Primerus firms for
matters since the Convocation and plans
to turn to Primerus in the future when
she needs legal representation around the
country.
"It's just a class-act organization,"
she said. "I really genuinely feel it's a
worthwhile organization, and it's been a
big benefit to me already."
relationships among Primerus members is
a priority for Frank Szilagyi of Primerus
member firm Szilagyi & Daly in Hartford,
Connecticut.
"For me, Primerus became an
opportunity to create and develop
relationships that have lasted since the
time I became involved," Szilagyi said.
So Szilagyi is committed to making
sure every Primerus member, and their
clients, get connected to the Primerus
community from the get-go. He's the
chairman of the Primerus Ambassadors
Board, which reaches out to new and less
active members to help them get involved.
"If we can make sure lawyers in the
organization succeed, it's going to benefit
all of us," he said. "One of the things we
it doesn't work."
Fellow Primerus member Robert
Brown from Donato, Minx, Brown & Pool
in Houston, Texas, helped Szilagyi when
he joined Primerus in 2009.
"He told me about his experience and
how Primerus had evolved into his firm's
best marketing opportunity," Szilagyi said.
After joining, Szilagyi said he
immediately started attending events.
Now, he attends the PDI Convocation,
regional events and practice area-specific
events.
Connections through Primerus, he
said, now represent a significant portion
of his firm's existing work and an even
greater percentage of new work coming in.
"We have doubled the size of the firm,
from three to six lawyers," he said. "We
have been able to grow the firm, and I
think we're going to continue to grow the
firm."
Ultimately, Primerus has benefited his
clients. He shared the story of one client
who, when they had legal needs in new
jurisdictions around the country, he was
able to introduce to other Primerus firms
who could represent them in those areas.
"They felt comfortable in knowing the
referral came from me, that the firms have
been vetted by Primerus, and that I had
a relationship with the lawyers," Szilagyi
said. "The firms treated any referral they
got from Primerus like it was the only
client they had."
members around the world have had
similar experiences, including Kevin
Norchi of Norchi Forbes in Cleveland,
Ohio.
Norchi's firm joined Primerus in 2005,
and he started attending events right away,
including the PDI Convocation.
"I have met a number of lawyers, and
we still know each other. We're friends.
We're comfortable picking up the phone
15 years, and some for two to three years,"
Norchi said.
Norchi also agreed that members must
invest time into Primerus.
"The return on that investment of time
is paid back in a number of ways," he said.
In addition to developing relationships
with lawyers, he said Primerus also has
enhanced his knowledge of legal trends
that might be outside of his specific area
of practice.
"I pick up other ideas that are
transferrable from different areas of
litigation to my own," he said. "That is
information that directly benefits clients."
Norchi also has made connections
with other Primerus lawyers in his area,
including James Vail of Schneider Smeltz
Spieth Bell, also in Cleveland, Ohio.
"I'm always available for him, and
likewise for me with him," Norchi said.
"Sometimes we just meet for lunch to visit
and talk about what's going on."
His clients benefit from these
connections. While most of his work is in
Ohio, he has an occasional case in another
state. In one such case, his client, a
medical doctor, was being sued in Illinois.
For the case he partnered with Primerus
member Bradley Nahrstadt of Lipe Lyons
Murphy Nahrstadt & Pontikis in Chicago,
Illinois.
"Brad knew the local custom and
practice of that court, which cannot be
underestimated. It's very important to
have a local lawyer who understands
local custom. In this case, he also knew
opposing counsel, his predilections and
tendencies, so we could plan for that
and rather than being reactive, we could
be proactive," Norchi said. "We had an
excellent result."
The client was thrilled, he said.
"Our clients respect our judgment
to work with Primerus lawyers in other
jurisdictions as it promotes continuity and
consistency," he said.