Resolving
High-Stakes Disputes
We Resolve High-Stakes Disputes
and Help Clients Start, Protect, and Sell Their Businesses
Why Hire Johnson Marlowe LLP?
Many of the businesses and individuals we represent could easily afford to be represented by any of the South’s largest law firms. Those firms have excellent reputations, almost limitless resources, and office buildings full of fine lawyers.
So why do clients with the ability to hire the biggest commercial law firms choose instead to be represented by our small boutique firm based in Athens, Georgia?
Partners, Dustin Marlowe and Spence Johnson
Value.
According to a recent market survey published in the Fulton County Daily Report, the average hourly rate of Atlanta, Georgia partners and senior associates was $482.00. The average hourly rates at Johnson Marlowe LLP are roughly 57% of our Atlanta counterparts. We believe that our results and qualifications speak for themselves—in fact, many of our results were obtained against “Megafirms”—so it’s not as if skill level or experience explains the difference in rates.
The reasons why our services represent such a value to our clients are simpler:
• Our overhead is lower; office rent is cheaper and expenses are less in Athens than in most other cities in Georgia.
• We use highly educated and experienced paralegals to do paralegal work, not attorneys. This reduces the effective hourly rate for our clients.
• We have no vertical partnership structure; we have only one type of partner and no under-utilized, well-paid associates.
• It costs less for our lawyers and staff to live in a small town rather than in a larger metropolis; we pass that savings along to our clients.
• We utilize the latest technology to promote efficiency. You won’t see any outdated equipment or software in our offices. In fact, you won’t see much paper.
• We value savings for our clients over having expensive furnishings in our lobby and offices.
Although our rates are not the lowest in Athens, we believe that our services are value-priced when compared to other lawyers who do the same type of work.
Learn more about results obtained for clients by Johnson Marlowe LLP
Efficiency.
The general counsel of Kia recently made news by auditing the technological proficiency of law firms vying for a piece of Kia’s business. The test was designed to be completed in an hour and tested each applicant’s ability to complete tasks like saving a document as a PDF and Bates-numbering documents. (The corporate counsel at Kia behind the audit was apparently tired of receiving bills from large firms that included time entries, and charges, for relatively routine technological tasks.)
Nine law firms took the test, and nine firms failed it. The lawyers at Johnson Marlowe LLP know how to save a document as PDF. We Bates-number our documents and create our own spreadsheets. We don't rage against the mobile computer age; we embrace it. Our lawyers are early adopters, but do not rest on their laurels. We constantly ask ourselves, “How can we use technology better to deliver services to our clients more quickly and cheaply?”
Learn more about our services at Johnson Marlowe LLP
Responsiveness & Ownership.
The most disturbing stories we hear are from clients who, despite paying for top-shelf representation, don’t receive it. Phone calls may not get returned promptly, emails go unanswered, and meetings are not kept.
Those types of things simply don’t happen at Johnson Marlowe LLP.
“Same-day response is our policy.”
In addition to our direct office lines (and that of our paralegals), all of our clients have our cell phone numbers, and should we miss a call, it is returned the same day. And although we suffer from the same inbox woes as everyone else, our clients’ emails get priority treatment (as they should); again, same-day response is our policy.
“The lawyer who earns your business will be the lawyer in charge of your business.”
Because we are a small, boutique firm, the lawyer who earns your business will be the lawyer in charge of your business. We know that hiring a lawyer is an inherently personal decision, and although our lawyers collaborate often, there will never be any question about who is ultimately responsible for your matter. We do not “cross-promote,” and we will not re-assign your matter to a lawyer who you've never met or talked to as soon as you’ve engaged us to represent you.
Meet the Attorneys at Johnson Marlowe LLP
Awards.
Testimonials.
“I’m the owner and president of a 100+ employee business based in Northeast Georgia. During the time that Dustin and his colleagues at Johnson Marlowe have represented my business, I’ve been impressed by their ability to work through the immediate legal issues at hand, on the one hand, while, on the other, helping us proactively put policies, procedures, and practices in place to prevent problems from recurring.”
— President of Lawn Care Company
“Mr. Johnson is both very professional and very competent in his practice areas.”
— Fellow Lawyer
“Dustin Marlowe is one of the finest lawyers I know.”
— Alan Nicholson / Nicholson Law Firm
Do you need guidance through a complex business transaction or legal issue?
Contact Johnson Marlowe LLP, today.