McGINLEY

We created this semi-public page to provide more information about our "Positions Available" advertisement appearing in the April 30, 2013 edition of The Florida Bar News. Our advertisement reads:

PARTNERSHIP AVAILABLE - Well-established Orlando area firm (open 12 years) seeks entrepreneurial Partner to join Board Certified Appellate Lawyer Patrick John McGinley, the author of several volumes of West's Florida Practice Series (in print, on WestLaw, and regularly cited in appellate court decisions). Help us grow our civil, administrative, family and criminal law appeals practice. Visit www.TimeToAppeal.com/Partner for details.

Thank you for your interest in me and my firm. Please allow me to tell you a little bit about how my law firm got started, what we do, and how we plan to grow from here.

HOW WE GOT STARTED

I am the son of an entrepreneur. Before my Dad passed away in 1974, he owned his own taxi company in New York City, operated a hot dog push cart in Manhattan, sold umbrellas whenever it rained, and called himself "Cash and Carry Enterprises." Every boy wants to be like his dad, and so I entered law school in 1993 for one reason: to open my own law firm. But when I graduated with high honors in 1996, my job offers were great and my student loan payments were foreboding. So off I went to be just another associate at an establshed firm. 

In January 2001, I made a New Year's Resolution to open my own firm before the end of that year. On Monday, September 10, 2001, I opened this firm with just one client: United Airlines. The next day (September 11, 2001), I watched terrorists fly one of my client's airplanes into the World Trade Center and crash another into a field in Pennsylvania. Pundits predicted my client's bankruptcy, and they were right. One might not guess that a law firm started under such circumstances would survive. But through God's good grace, our law firm is still here today, and so is our longest client, United Airlines.

WHAT WE DO

Initially our practice served only United Airlines, and served them primarily in defense of workers' compensation claims before the Florida Judges of Compensation Claims. United's work comp compliance is assisted by a third party administrator called Gallagher Bassett Services, who took note of the quality of our services. Despite not doing any advertising except for a small ad in the back of my church's bulletin, other corporations approached us for our services, often upon the recommendation of United Airlines or Gallagher Bassett.

As our law firm grew, we were able to provide more services to United Airlines, Gallagher Bassett and the corporations they referred to us. One such service suited me particularly well: appellate practice. I had always loved to write. I had always loved to hear myself talk. In appellate practice, I got to write voluminous briefs and hear myself talk about them. It was a perfect fit. By May 2008, I was Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Appellate Practice. 

Once Board Certified, fellow lawyers started asking me for help with appeals in all kinds of different subject areas. Our law firm's newest specialty was born.

HOW WE PLAN TO GROW FROM HERE

The purpose of our April 30, 2013 "help wanted" ad in The Florida Bar News is to find a partner to help me build our appellate practice even further. I am not looking for just another employee. I already have the assistance of 2 well-trained Florida Registered Paralegals and 4 "of counsel" attorneys who can help me write the briefs and make the arguments. What I seek instead is an entrepreneurial partner. One who helps me seek out new work, helps me market the firm, and helps me grow the practice. One who has "skin in the game" and is willing to take the risk of failure that I have taken every day since September 10, 2001. One who is willing to reap the rewards of going out on your own, both financially and professionally, just as I have been blessed to receive for the past 12 years. I don't know that an ad in a newspaper is the right way to find such a partner. But I am a risk-taker, so I took the risk of running the ad.

INTERESTED?

If such a partnership with me may interest you, I encourage you to contact me. Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you want to read more, please see my other website: www.mcginleylaw.com

Thank you,

Patrick John McGinley