Firm Background

Our Philosophy - Professionalism with Personal Attention

It has been said that a jury trial is a gathering where 12 strangers decide which party hired the better attorney. While that may not always be true, we intend to ensure that our clients never enter into litigation with "second best" representation. Cunningham, Meyer & Vedrine has an unusual and powerful combination of attributes. On the one hand, we are moderately sized boutique litigation firm, allowing us to provide personal attention to each and every client. We believe in keeping each client involved in and informed about the litigation from beginning to end. After all, your rights and your interests are at stake. You have the right to know how you are being represented, and by whom. On the other hand, our attorneys are exceptionally talented, qualified and experienced. This allows us to provide the top flight legal representation that many people mistakenly believe can only be provided by large, multi-state firms whose focus may not even be litigation. We don't believe clients should be forced to pay excessive fees for the involvement of senior partners, while in reality being represented by unknown associates. Our partners personally involve themselves in each case brought into the office throughout every stage of the litigation process. No client, no matter how big nor how small, receives anything less than the best our firm has to offer.

Creative Approaches to Controlling Litigation Costs

Obtaining favorable results in litigation is not enough, in and of itself, to be responsive to the needs of our clients. Results must be obtained in an efficient and cost effective manner. Our practical and legal experience allows us to quickly evaluate a case to determine if it can be settled or resolved in a manner consistent with our clients' goals. Depending upon the size of the claim involved, we attempt to defend cases primarily using one lawyer with an assigned backup.

We encourage our clients to have constant input into the management of the case, and the direction of the defense as the litigation proceeds. We attempt to keep our clients involved in every step of the process, including consideration of the use of alternative dispute resolution methods. We also employ our highly-skilled paralegals wherever appropriate, avoiding the practice of some larger firms who use young associates unnecessarily to perform the same tasks at a higher billing rate. Besides, we believe the abilities of our paralegals compare quite favorably in certain appropriate areas with those of the newer associates employed by those large, multi-state firms.

Our Fee Policy and Structure

We try to keep our fee policy and structure very simple and understandable. In this expensive age of litigation, we are well aware of the cost sensitivities of our clients. As such, we stand ready to discuss alternative billing strategies with those clients and in those situations where such alternatives would be feasible. Our goal is to build long-term relationships with our clients founded upon mutual trust.