Josh Stone and John Bellus provide all clients with very personal representation and treat their clients as clients, not billable hours. Josh and John met each other through their personal involvement with the Atlanta Renegades Rugby Club. While playing rugby, Josh and John understood and played with an intense desire to compete and to win. This same desire and intensity are also prevalent in their representation of the firm’s clients, going the extra mile to represent their clients zealously and honorably. What separates them from their competitors is that they provide very personal attention, which allows a genuine business relationship.
Over the past 12 months, they have focused on being more of a counsellor verses a litigator to their clients. Although litigation may be necessary, they try to assist at the early steps of contract negotiation so that the parties have a much better understanding of their relationship. Often when the parties have spent the time at the forefront to fully understand the deal, they are less likely to have a misunderstanding that leads to litigation. However, if litigation is necessary, Josh and John will fight for their clients’ interests aggressively and ethically. They are also exceptional at resolving cases early through mediation.
In their industry, Josh and John believe that clients should be looking for legal counsel; someone who is going to provide the full details of both the pros and cons of a situation. In light of that, they strive to be very frank about the costs and benefits of going forward in each and every transaction and dispute resolution. They also thrive on client communication and treating the client’s needs as their own.
One of the major changes to their practice is that emails have a growing importance in litigation. It is increasingly common for casual email correspondence to have a significant bearing on the outcome of a dispute. As such, they counsel their clients on the use of emails and also have ensured that they have the tools necessary to review emails in bulk.
As for the award, Josh and John feel honoured to be recognized as Best Boutique Law Firm. They are proud of the fact that they are a boutique firm, so to receive an award that reflects this reinforces their company values. “In a boutique firm such as ours, we take pride in being ourselves and treating clients as friends,” John Bellus told us. “The close relationship allows us to better understand our client’s issues, needs and desires.”
