Full Steam Ahead
With the launch of his new firm, Bryant was determined to provide all of the types of elderly law litigation needed by clients. Bryant says, “Focusing on and gaining experience in the most common litigation needs of the elderly, as opposed to just one of those areas,” has been crucial in his firm’s growth, and today Green, Bryant & French, LLP is recognized as “one of the few-perhaps the only attorneys-with substantial experience in all three aspects of elder law litigation. This breadth and depth of experience leads to more comprehensive legal analysis and strategy in each case, which accomplishes better results for our clients,” he explains. Case in point, Bryant is happy to try cases in both civil and probate court, which he has found to be extremely advantageous for his clients. “A lot of elder abuse occurs in the form of will and trust fraud. Many of those cases must be handled in probate court. If you only work in civil court, you won’t know the remedies and procedures of probate court and won’t be able to assist those elders or their families. The comfort and ability to handle cases through trial in both civil court and probate court gives us a big advantage. This is particularly true in those situations where I have the option of litigating the case in either civil court or probate court and my opposing counsel is only experienced in one or the other,” Bryant says. Similarly, part of Bryant’s commitment to providing a “one-stop-shop” for elder litigation cases includes the willingness and ability to take on cases that require him to cover the upfront costs of these contingency cases. “Nursing home cases are complex and very expensive to handle. Moreover, attorneys handling these cases are expected to front all or most of the substantial costs because most clients cannot afford to do so. This can be a big deterrent for newer attorneys, because they cannot afford the risk of putting all of their limited financial resources in one basket so to speak. I always encourage newer, or less experienced, attorneys in this field to joint venture the case with another experienced attorney who has the financial resources to see the case through. If they see a good case, they should consider joint venturing with another attorney to share the costs and the risk,” Bryant says and adds that “roughly 10% of his cases involve co-counsel work with other attorneys in other firms.” “If the defense wants to fight a war of attrition, we have the resources to fight the big fights. The defendants know in our cases that we will still be there at the
Bryant really enjoys coaching his son’s baseball teams. In this photo, Bryant shouts encouragement as his son sprints home with the winning run.
end, ready and prepared for trial. The defendants know that we don’t ever have to settle cheap because we ran out of money,” he adds. A third strategy for providing all-in-one service for elder abuse litigation is through offering hourly work to clients, though Bryant says it’s not particularly common. Roughly 90% of his elder abuse work is on a contingency basis, however, in some cases; clients do appreciate the hourly rate Bryant offers. For example, he recalls a case where two sisters (one of whom happened to be an attorney) had filed a claim against their brother for financial abuse of their mother. “He had the mother sign a quitclaim deed, transferring ownership of the home to him. Then he had filed an unlawful detainer against his mom. So he stole the house, and then tried to evict his mother from the family home,” Bryant says. “My clients had the financial wherewithal to pay hourly and they chose to do so,” he says, before adding proudly, “we got the house back without much of a fight. The hourly arrangement worked out great for those clients.” Finally, Bryant’s determination to provide full service is bolstered by his personal involvement, and continuing education to ensure that he remains at the forefront of elder abuse law. He is a consultant and committee chairperson for the San Diego Financial Abuse Specialist Team (FAST), whose mission is to increase the effectiveness of elder financial abuse reporting and prosecution and to increase public awareness of the problem through education. Bryant also served on the Board of Directors for six years for Senior Community Centers, a charitable organization which provides food, housing and social services to senior citizens to help them maintain their health, independence and dignity. Likewise, for three years, he served on the Board of Directors for the Senior Housing Corporation. The Senior Housing Corporation is a charitable organization whose mission is to provide affordable housing to low-income seniors.
Future Growth to Meet Needs of Growing Demographic
For Bryant, there are no concrete plans for growth of his firm, which presently includes 3 equity partners, 5 associates and 2 of-counsel attorneys. He’s not interested in growing his firm just for the sake of growing it. But he does acknowledge that “there is a need for good, dedicated attorneys in the field of elder abuse litigation. As the baby boomers age, we will undoubtedly grow to meet the increasing legal demand for elder law litigation attorneys. However, Attorney Journal | Volume 116, 2013
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