Attorney Mark Sparks – Client Relationships

Ferguson Law Firm Attorney Mark Sparks explains the importance of a trial attorney.

I get in trouble with some of the partners because I give out my cell phone too much to my clients. Some of them — I'm thinking of a couple now that lost a son in their home to a terrible tragedy — some of them need more. We're lawyers and counselors, so we're not just providing legal advice; we're providing some type of counseling. And I think it matters when a couple like that knows that, in that sensitive type of case, they have instant access to me.

The remarkable thing is that they rarely use it. That's another thing that upsets me about the misconception about our clients — that they're money-hungry, that they're at home watching Jerry Springer waiting for their check. These people suffered an enormous tragedy, and they never bothered me during the case, because they don't want to think about it. They don't want to have to live in that tragedy day in and day out. They'll call me when they need me, but for the most part they're not at home calling me every day asking, "Where's my check? What's going on with my case?" They're working, they're paying their mortgage, they're trying to work through a tragedy.

If I can help them get through that a little bit better by giving them my cell phone and talking to them at night, that's great for both of us, because this is more than just filing a lawsuit and getting money. It's developing a relationship with people I see at Kroger or HEB, or run into at the gas station — and it happens all the time. I had someone come up to me yesterday at the HEB on 11th Street to thank me and shake my hand. That was a good day. That was a good day.