President’s Podium

John C. Buchanan

New Milestones

Greetings. As we come to you with this issue of The Primerus Paradigm, it has been almost 18 months since the Primerus family has gathered in person. I am pleased to announce that very soon, that is going to change.

We have plans to host an in-person Primerus Global Conference October 21-24 at the Lansdowne Resort and Spa in Leesburg, Virginia, near the beautiful Potomac River.

Here at Primerus, we have been busy ensuring that we will move beyond the pandemic stronger and better than ever. We have a new website launching this fall, with a focus on highlighting our Primerus attorneys’ capabilities.

This enables us to continue the longstanding tradition of the global conference, which draws Primerus members from around the world. In November 1994, Primerus hosted this event, then called the Primerus National Conference, for the first time in Scottsdale, Arizona. Some of you may remember it coincided with the coldest November 4 in Arizona history. We went on to hold this event every year until 2020, when the global COVID-19 pandemic forced us to cancel the event, slated to be held in Paris, France.

This is a big development for Primerus, and it marks a hopeful milestone as we emerge from the pandemic. It will be wonderful to be together again, gathering for educational seminars in the morning and then enjoying recreational activities in the afternoon and into the evening. So many wonderful friendships have developed as a result of these gatherings.

But I am also pleased that as we come together again in person, we have not grown apart or become strangers over the last year and a half. In fact, much the opposite has happened. The Primerus family came together in many ways over Zoom, whether it was for our Monday morning Coffee and Conversation or other gatherings. We did what we do best — learned together, laughed together and supported one another through one of the most challenging periods in our lifetimes.

Here at Primerus, we have been busy ensuring that we will move beyond the pandemic stronger and better than ever. We have a new website launching this fall, with a focus on highlighting our Primerus attorneys’ capabilities in much the same way a talent agent would showcase a movie star celebrity client. We’re making it easier than ever for clients to find the highest quality attorneys with the exact expertise they need.

We’re also taking steps to continue our commitment to accepting and retaining only the world’s finest boutique law firms. This includes our Accreditation Board, which sets the quality standards that all Primerus firms must meet in order to be invited to join the society, and our Quality Assurance Board, which enforces those standards and carries out ongoing annual reviews of all member firms. I believe we have and will continue to have the most stringent quality assurance control system in the entire legal industry. Clients will always be able to rest assured that they’re getting the best when they hire a Primerus firm.

In addition, Primerus is making changes to its recruitment of new firms, putting plans in place to further equip incoming firms to successfully become part of the world of Primerus. We want to continue to not only find the best of the best law firms, but very effectively showcase them to the world, making it easier for potential clients to find the attorneys they need.

I know this has been a challenging year for many, if not all, of us. I don’t want to minimize the struggles that many have endured on a personal and professional level. But I truly believe the spirit of Primerus is alive and well. We have seen in countless ways that we are, indeed “good people who happen to be good lawyers.”

I hope you are making plans to join me in Virginia for the 2021 Primerus Global Conference. While I have enjoyed seeing many of you on a screen, it will be even better to greet you in person once again.