I spent some time researching other Middle Tennessee attorney’s areas of practice recently. You know – those things they represent to you that they handle with a high level of expertise. I have always found this to be a curious read when searching for an attorney and one that is clearly confusing to people who are trying to find the best attorney for their needs. Here’s a fact to help you evaluate an attorney’s claims – with few exceptions, any attorney can legally handle any type of case. But few attorneys, if any, can handle more than 1 or 2 areas with the expertise people deserve and expect. I wouldn’t go to a doctor with a specialty in heart disease if I had cancer, would you? The doctor may be the best heart doctor in the world – but they would not fit my specific needs at that particular time.
Some firms, like ours, have multiple lawyers specializing in different areas of law which allows us to handle almost any legal need in-house. If your particular legal need is not my specialty, I can confidently refer to you an excellent attorney in my own office who I know has extensive successful experience in your type of case. In the rare instance you require legal assistance in an area we can’t service in-house, our 20+ years of experience in the Lebanon, Mt. Juliet and entire Middle Tennessee area means we know an excellent local attorney to refer you to – “the one we’d use if we needed an attorney for that”.
In the future, when you review an individual attorney’s claims of areas they handle and you see a laundry list of areas that look like this:
- DUI
- Personal injury cases
- Tractor trailer wrecks
- Contested estates
- Divorce law
- Business litigation
- Contracts
- Health care liability
- Bankruptcy
- Real estate transactions
- Nursing home liability
- Medical malpractice (etc. and so on)…
and you don’t see separate attorneys dedicated to developing their knowledge and skill in a specific area, it is time for you to question how one person can be an expert in all of those fields. The old adage, “jack of all trades, master of none” could likely be applied.
At Lannom and Williams Trial Attorneys, we have attorneys who specialize in particular fields. I handle all types of criminal charges, Keith Williams handles all types of injury cases and business litigation, Melanie Bean handles divorce and child custody (as well as assisting in the criminal practice), and Jim Stocks handles workers compensation and Social Security Disability law (as well as assisting Keith with personal injury cases). Each attorney spends time furthering their knowledge with Continuing Legal Education. Keith and I have spent quite a bit of time over the past few years training other lawyers as presenters at legal seminars across the state and, in Keith’s case, across the country. Melanie Bean has served as an Adjunct Professor at Cumberland University for the past several years teaching Constitutional Law. It’s better to hire the teacher than the student.
Take the time to look at our attorney’s profiles and their case results to see their level of experience in the areas of law we each practice. Then head over to our client testimonials to see how our dedication to providing the best legal representation possible to our clients works out for real people in the real world.
If we can help you with any legal needs, just let us know. Even if you need help in an area of law in which we don’t primarily practice, we’ll be happy to refer to on to a qualified attorney in your area who we know endeavors to help their clients as passionately as we do!
In defense of the citizen accused,
~ Frank Lannom
(Handling criminal cases in Lebanon, Mount Juliet, Murfreesboro, Gallatin, Lafayette, Smyrna and all other Middle Tennessee areas)
