seeks to get clients involved within
the community, not just by attending
events, but by being one of the "family,"
Buchanan said. That was the philosophy
behind the Primerus Client Resource
Institute. It was created in 2016 for
clients to join the conversations about how
Primerus can improve the quality of legal
services available, provide easier access
to the world's finest law firms, and ensure
clients are charged reasonable fees.
The institute has grown to 60 client
members, Buchanan said. Benefits for
members include:
phone call with any Primerus
member, anywhere in the world.
right Primerus lawyer(s) to meet
clients' legal needs.
webinars.
available in various legal
specialties.
membership meetings in various
areas of practice.
educational programs customized to
clients' business and industry.
general counsel and corporate secretary
for AVX Corporation in Myrtle Beach,
South Carolina, joined the institute after
attending the 2018 Primerus International
Convocation. Now, he turns to Primerus
when he needs new attorneys. He likes
working with small to mid-sized firms like
Primerus firms.
"They tend to be more responsive than
the bigger firms," he said.
He also looks for lawyers who
anticipate what he needs to know. "I need
a lawyer to say, `I know you asked x, but I
am not sure you know about y, so we want
to make sure you know about this so you
can understand why that is a concern of
ours."
To Ako Williams, vice president,
general counsel and corporate secretary
for Ushio America, Inc., in Cypress,
California, size is also one of the attractive
things about Primerus firms.
After attending the same Convocation,
she came away with a new resource for
finding firms in new jurisdictions.
"One of the great things about
Primerus is, of course, all the firms are
screened," Williams said. "And all of
rates are much more reasonable and they
provide excellent services."
She's planning to return to the 2019
Primerus International Convocation
in Miami this May to develop more
relationships with Primerus attorneys.
Primerus stand out from other legal
organizations, according to Buchanan,
and it's the reason he eschews the
term "network" to describe Primerus,
preferring instead the term society.
Norchi agrees. "It's not a referral
group," he said. "We are much different
from that."
Referrals happen, but they happen for
substantive reasons, he said.
"It's sort of like being in a large
law firm without the overhead and the
political wrangling," Norchi said. "What
we're really doing is we're enhancing our
relationship with our client by being able
to provide them with resources that most
law firms don't have, even large
law firms."
hunger locally and globally. We invite
members to organize a local food drive
or donate to the United Nations World
Food Programme (WFP). According to
the WFP, it provides food assistance
to an average of 91.4 million people
in 83 countries each year.