John McLeish on the firm he helped create and why the only accolades he needs come from clients
This article was created in partnership with McLeish Orlando LLP
For all his knowledge, experience, and accomplishments, John McLeish puts his success down to one simple factor: he just wanted to work harder than anyone else. McLeish started his days early, often arriving at the office at 6:30am, and steadily built himself a legacy in what is considered one of the best personal injury boutiques in the country.
“No question, helping co-found McLeish Orlando was one of the high points of my career,” McLeish says. “I helped create it and I’m continuously working to make it as good as it can be.”
For McLeish, this includes passing on the wisdom he’s amassed over the years and promoting his unique approach to the law within the firm. A formidable advocate, McLeish realized early on that “if you want to get anywhere in the personal injury legal world, you need excellent persuasive communication skills.” Many lawyers “torture the English language,” he notes, adding they “try sounding like a lawyer in front of a jury and this will feed into a juror’s existing belief system that lawyers are arrogant, and the jury will slaughter your client in a verdict.” It doesn't really matter how badly injured a client is, and how terrible the consequences are to the client and his or her family: unless the lawyer can properly communicate this to an insurance adjuster, defence lawyer, jury, or judge, the injured person will not be fairly compensated.
As an example, to maximize his chances of getting it right, McLeish also types out every word of a jury opening well before the start of the trial. He also types out the first draft of his jury closing before the start of the trial, and revises it during the trial. He has stored on the firm’s computer every Opening and Closing he has prepared in the last 25 years. Other lawyers follow this practice.
“The end result is we have a bank of jury Openings and Closings that we can use for future trials and don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time,” he says. “An equally important benefit is that these are a wonderful learning tool for young associates.”
The sharing and learning approach is pervasive throughout the firm. Everyone – lawyers and staff – wants to generate the best product possible. The culture that exists at the firm is very conducive to making this happen.
The firm cares deeply about its clients and is totally invested in getting the best possible result for each and every client. The model for some personal injury firms is to spend as little money as possible on a file and settle early. Insurance companies love this approach, as they can settle for far less than the true value of the case. McLeish Orlando takes a different approach. The firm assumes every case is going to trial and develops and works up the file with this in mind. The firm truly believes this is the only way an injured individual can be fairly compensated and their future secured. A saying that the firm lives by with every client is ‘Whatever it takes!’
Constant evolution is a theme at McLeish Orlando. The firm takes advantage of the latest technology, employs a ‘bring forward’ system which involves pre-set meetings where everyone’s tasks are reviewed and updated at each meeting, and has frequent in-house meetings to discuss new developments and how we can do things better and more efficiently. McLeish says this is the only way to ensure quality control and have a case move through the system as quickly as possible.
McLeish Orlando never loses sight of the fact that their clients have a lot at stake, - in most cases the money obtained from resolution of a case will improve the quality of their life in the future. Clients need to be kept informed as their case progresses. For this reason, the firm copies clients with all correspondence delivered and received, all emails, all court filings, and all memos. Though McLeish has received more than his fair share of recognition over the course of his career — most recently, he was named by Best Lawyers as the Personal Injury Litigation Lawyer of the year — he says he was honoured to receive the recognition, and very proud that the work he continues to do and his contributions to the profession be acknowledged, but comments that the best recognition he can receive comes from his clients.
“I’ve sat across the table from many clients after getting a good result and handing them a cheque. To hear words of appreciation and gratitude and sometimes see a few tears is all the recognition I need.”
When asked how young lawyers can young position themselves to reach the top of the field? “Read everything,” McLeish says, on trial advocacy, on effective communication, on anatomy, and on personal injury law, and attend programs that are not just about getting CPD credits. There are some great programs in the US that teach trial advocacy, including tactics and strategy that you can’t necessarily find in Canada. Another crucial point is to take any opportunity, whether it’s a contested motion, a hearing, or a $500 small claims court trial simply to get on your feet. Yes, it absolutely will take hours of preparation and likely not be economically viable, but that is not the point.
“There are so few opportunities these days for lawyers to get into a courtroom because everything is geared towards settlement, that when any opportunity comes along, you want to jump at it,” McLeish says. “In the long run, these experiences will pay huge dividends.”
Like-minds attract like-minds, and onboarding lawyers who are prepared to do the work, always improve, and get the best results they can for their clients has helped McLeish Orlando obtain the reputation it enjoys today, McLeish says.
“We are always looking for ways to do it better, and these are the kind of people we want at the firm.”
