July 26, 2021 | (As published by Insights Success) | Seniors and those with diminished capacity are always at an elevated risk of falling victim to financial abuse. The problem has been heightened during the recent pandemic, but navigating and helping such clients in litigation with personal one-on-one communication is Amy Martinez – Senior Attorney of RMO LLP.
As a senior attorney and leader in the Orange County market, Amy is responsible for developing relationships, supporting the local community, and mentoring and coordinating with team and client satisfaction initiatives. She has been working for more than a decade now and understands the emotional & financial quarreling clients go through in corporate, business, and probate litigation. She strives to present her experience to maximize and secure economically favorable results for the clients.
An Empathetic Attorney
Throughout her tenure, Amy had to come across various hurdles. For her, understanding that clients are often acting and speaking out of emotion, and trying to get them past the emotion so they can ultimately make wise decisions, was a challenge at the beginning of her career. Early on, she also worked tirelessly to build rapport and confidence with clients, especially those who were much older than she was as a young attorney. Additionally, ever-changing laws, rules, and regulations were also there.
In the workplace, Amy made it a priority to create an entrepreneurial mindset to network and grow the business. She says, “It can be hard to find your place or maintain confidence as a woman in a male-dominated field. I learned early on to stop the mental anguish of comparing myself to more experienced attorneys, which can only lead to frustration and self-doubt.”
Amy realized a long time ago that her skills are unique and comparing herself to other attorneys provides no value. For example, an attorney may be very aggressive or have some other trait that Amy doesn’t possess, but she has the ability to engage with people on a very human and compassionate level and her clients know she cares about them as people and not just as clients. Amy also tries to acknowledge opposing counsel as individuals she can learn from, and not just as an adversary. That makes the litigation process more enjoyable for her. She tries to make friends instead of enemies because if everyone continues to battle, the clients will never win.
Embracing Technology
Amy is of the opinion that law firms have to understand that AI and the use of non-lawyers to perform legal tasks will soon disrupt the need for so many lawyers. Drafting documents and conducting legal research, tasks often performed by junior associates, will soon all be performed by either AI tools or services such as Legal Zoom. Firms that do not embrace technology might become extinct, and certainly, firms that do not train their attorneys to negotiate and advocate (tasks that cannot be performed by AI or non-attorneys) will surely suffer a similar demise.
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