Mark D. Sayre, by Mark D. Sayre

Mark D. Sayre is a business trial lawyer with Valorem Law Group, a Chicago litigation firm.

While a young man, I read Robert Frost’s famous poem “The Road Not Taken.” I vowed then and there that I would have the courage to make the difficult choices in my life, whatever those might be. I would not follow the pack and its fear-driven mentality but would instead choose the path which was right for me.

When I graduated law school, I was offered a few choice positions with well known large Los Angeles law firms. I declined them, leaving my friends and family aghast. Instead, I sought a job which would teach me how to try cases before juries. I joined a sole practitioner in Orange County, California who was something of a local legend as a result of multiple, successive defense verdicts in catastrophic injury and death cases. In the first interview, he asked me what I thought he should pay me. I told him that it didn’t matter; I was there to learn how to be a trial lawyer. “Pay me what you think is fair,” I said, “but teach me what you know.” And so he did. My first trial came within 3 months of my having passed the California Bar exam.

Throughout my 25 year career, I have been the “first chair” trial lawyer in some of the most harrowing personal injury and death cases imaginable. And I have discovered a simple truth; if the other side knows you will fight and can potentially beat them there is excellent chance of your case settling favorably. They say that “only Nixon could go to China.” The corollary in litigation is that only a lawyer who is known to skillfully and compellingly try cases can achieve the best settlement short of trial.

Seeking to expand my practice beyond the scope of what was essentially a solo practice, I left Orange County to join a litigation boutique. After only two years, I became an equity partner and stayed there 17 years. Despite enjoying what amounted to a tenured position with that extraordinarily capable and successful litigation firm, I yearned for the opportunity to try more and difficult cases. I was also seeking an alternative approach to the practice of law; one in which client service could be accomplished freed of the billable hour.

Thereafter, I joined the litigation powerhouse, Jackson & Wallace as the Managing Partner of the Los Angeles office. I was responsible for trying cases involving dying plaintiff or wrongful death claims. That’s where--when trying a case-- I met Patrick Lamb. He shared with me his dream--coincidental with mine--of a unique approach to client service and the inevitable death of the billable hour.

Simply put, the value of client service cannot and should not be based on the total units of work or tasks performed, but instead upon the substance and actual hard dollar result of the representation. This dream is one that most lawyers share, few articulate and even fewer risk their futures supporting.

I have, along with my partners, taken this road not traveled and believe that it will have made all the difference.