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The actions and culture of every organization are shaped by its core values. Whether or not we take the time to identify and articulate them, our values are what drive us. All that we are and do flows from those animating principles.
Strickler, Platnick & Hatfield believes that it is essential to take the time to reflect on our values and to understand what they say about us as an organization—and what our priorities mean for our clients and colleagues.
At Strickler, Platnick & Hatfield, being client-centered means that our primary focus is on achieving our client’s goals. We don’t tell our clients what they need. We meet them where they are when they contact us and help them sift through their experience and emotions to identify their objectives for their legal matter. We then single-mindedly pursue those objectives upon their behalf, devising creative strategies and advocating fiercely to achieve them.
“Client-centered” has another meaning to us. While we have successfully resolved hundreds of divorces and family law matters, we never lose sight of the individual flesh-and-blood client at the center of each one. It is for that person and their future that we strategize and fight. At the same time, we offer our clients real world advice on the options and their consequences based on our many years of working family law cases.
We pride ourselves on creative advocacy and our tactical proficiency, and we are absolutely committed to deploying our skills with strict adherence to the highest ethical ideals of the legal profession. It is not enough to achieve a victory: we must prevail honorably and be worthy of the trust and respect of clients, colleagues, and opponents.
Just as a cord with multiple threads is stronger than a single thread, we believe that combining the individual strengths each attorney brings to the table results in stronger representation for our clients. Our attorneys were carefully chosen to complement each other’s skills and styles. This way we can offer our clients the most comprehensive analysis and strategy in each case. The client, with their unique knowledge of their family, needs, and goals, is a final, essential element in our collaboration.
Approaching a legal matter from different angles is a hallmark of our representation. Our creative advocacy stems partly from intellectual curiosity and the refusal to accept that the way things have always been done is the way they must continue to be done. Our studied understanding and constant following of developments within the law, legal procedure, and the dynamics of families allows us to see the big picture and details of every situation. And most of all, our ability to strategize creatively arises from our recognition that each client, each family, and each situation is utterly unique and deserves a customized approach.
Family law is an area of the law that affects the lives of individuals in a way few others do. We believe that powerful advocacy is not inconsistent with nonjudgmental sensitivity to the deeply personal challenges our clients face when they seek our help. In fact, we believe that our genuine compassion for our clients’ difficulties and human needs makes us more committed and effective advocates.
Family law matters are usually entangled with financial concerns. We are mindful that our clients depend upon us to be careful stewards of their assets. Our decades of practice experience and our commitment to using updated technology allow us to operate with maximum efficiency, conserving client resources without sacrificing effectiveness.
Good communication is foundational to our practice. Misunderstanding can flourish in the emotionally charged atmosphere of family law cases, causing needless anxiety for clients, conflict between parties, and costly delays. Good communication helps people to feel respected and heard. Accordingly, we prioritize clear, precise, and responsive communication with our clients, colleagues, courts, experts and opposing counsel.
The attorneys of Strickler, Platnick & Hatfield have concentrated their practice exclusively in the area of family law for decades. It is vital that all of our attorneys have the in-depth knowledge of family law that enables us to advise our clients confidently, and to strategize effectively in their often complex and sophisticated matters. Our exclusive focus on family law allows us to remain current with developments in the law and related fields that are relevant to our clients’ needs, and we are committed to continuing legal education for all our attorneys. Indeed, we often help train and teach other attorneys in the intricacies of family law.
Effective representation requires the ability to respond to a variety of needs, and the nimbleness to change course in response to unpredictable developments. As both seasoned litigators and experienced mediators and negotiators, we possess the flexibility needed to address any, and all, developments in our clients’ legal matters.
We call ourselves “the modern family law firm” because we believe in accepting and embracing change in the service of our clients’ goals. We understand that the concept of “family” has evolved over time and we take pride in serving families of all configurations. We recognize and remain attuned to the evolution of family law to protect our clients’ interests. And we maximize our use of technology to increase our efficiency, foster good communication, and improve our clients’ experience of the legal process.
At Strickler, Platnick & Hatfield, we believe that excellence for its own sake is a worthy goal, but excellence for the sake of our clients and their future is vastly more important. We do not take shortcuts or cut corners in our research, strategy, or advocacy. Our innate desire to excel in our field, paired with our motivation to achieve our clients’ goals, is what drives us forward.
To learn more about Strickler, Platnick & Hatfield’s core values, we invite you to contact the firm to schedule a consultation.
We practice in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
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