Why We Are Different
Our Approach
Our business is winning cases for our clients. Our clients are our partners in that business.
We say our clients are our partners because that is how we practice. Beginning from retention through discovery, motion work, trial, and appeal, our clients are involved in each strategic decision.
We are diverse. Half of the firm’s partners are women. More than one-third of our lawyers represent minority groups. We have offices in the two largest states in the country, in cities with rich ethnic, cultural, economic, and creative diversity. Our lawyers and their families are active participants in those communities.
So are our clients. We represent multinational corporations, family companies, and individuals with disputes involving the technology, pharmaceutical, entertainment, telecommunications, manufacturing, hospitality, aerospace, energy, software, real estate, media, and securities industries, and more. We do so in federal, state, and appellate courts, and national and international arbitration forums, coast-to-coast.
We are innovative. We leverage technology and talent to break the BigLaw model. We integrate our trial technology team early in a case, ensuring that if and when a case gets to trial the finder of fact sees and hears more than just oral testimony and loose documents, and instead receives an advanced presentation bringing our client’s story and themes to life. We strive to be paperless. We work seamlessly across offices to ensure that each client’s team has the right mix of experience and expertise to succeed at trial.
We are experienced. Our model is to recruit top talent from the finest law firms in the United States. Skiermont Derby LLP does not deploy teams of junior associates, and our clients do not pay to train attorneys or get them up to speed. The firm is not leveraged by tiers of lawyers duplicating work, and our business is not dependent upon the billable hour. Each lawyer on every team is qualified and capable to step in and handle any case-related task, and all of our lawyers have the trial experience needed to offer credible guidance to our clients throughout a dispute.
For more about who we are and how we practice law, visit our Professionals and About Us pages.
Client Service
Our clients are our business partners, and our business does not exist without them. That is why we appreciate what others say about the work we do for our clients:
Alternative Fee Arrangements
Some of our clients hire and pay by the hour by choice. Many do not. One of the things that makes Skiermont Derby LLP unique is that we approach each client relationship and every case with a dispute-specific engagement that makes sense for our clients, their business, and their circumstances.
Contingency Fee Arrangement. In a contingent fee case, the firm is paid only upon a successful resolution of the client’s dispute. That payment is a previously agreed-upon percentage of amounts won or collected on behalf of the client. In many contingency fee cases, that percentage depends on the stage of litigation at which the case is resolved. In some cases, the firm pays all fees and costs prior to reaching a resolution; in many others, our clients decide to pay their own costs.
Hybrid Fee Arrangement. In a hybrid fee case, the firm is paid a reduced hourly rate during the pendency of the litigation and then receives an agreed-upon but reduced percentage of amounts won or collected on behalf of the client.
Flat Fee / Milestone Fee Arrangement. In a flat fee and/or milestone fee case, the firm is paid a flat or otherwise agreed-upon fee at various stages of litigation, whether filing, dispositive motion practice, discovery, summary judgment, and/or trial.
Hourly Fee Arrangement. In an hourly fee case, the firm is paid an agreed-upon hourly rate for the work done on behalf of the client throughout a dispute.
Success / Incentive Fees. Success and/or incentive fees can be added—at the client’s election—to any of the fee arrangements above. We are proud that many of our clients have unilaterally determined to pay the firm a bonus upon the successful resolution of their case.
Community Involvement
Our lawyers and staff are deeply involved in a variety of causes and community organizations in Los Angeles and throughout Southern California. Our team has served: on the board of Tower Cancer Research Foundation; on the Leadership Council of Public Counsel, the largest pro bono law firm in the country; and as president of the Iranian American Lawyers Association, among others. We are involved or have participated in a variety of other causes and fundraisers, including the American Cancer Society’s “Walk for Life,” the San Diego YMCA’s “Mile In Her Shoes” fundraiser against domestic violence, Tower Foundation’s “Cancer-Free Generation” Run, and Public Counsel’s annual Run for Justice. We often participate in these and other community events alongside our clients.