The First Step
One year ago tomorrow, I walked into this office on my very own for the first time. And while there may be a slightly more historically significant anniversary occurring, I am taking the opportunity to look back on the year, reflect on what went right, learn from what went wrong, and think about what comes next.
The Good
In the past year, FLS has allowed me and my staff to accomplish more than I really thought possible. Some of those achievements include:
— Publishing articles in the CAI Chesapeake Beacon, the Severna Park Voice, and on the FLS Blog
— Chairing and resolving disputes for the Montgomery County CCOC
— Presenting to the CAI National Law Conference in New Orleans
— Assisting a Severna Park Coalition on stormwater management issues
— Advising HOAs on dispute resolution, policy setting, covenant enforcement, rights against developers and the state/county, and rewriting CC&Rs
— Counseling condominiums on insurance issues, governance issues, policy setting, structural projects, rights against developers and the District of Columbia, contract terms and negotiations, and rewriting Bylaws
— Guiding cooperatives through the nuances of their specific form of home ownership and governance
— Collecting and disbursing to clients over $600,000 in delinquent assessments and related monies, allowing them to engage in necessary maintenance, responsible reserve funding, and exciting upgrades to their communities
— Preparing and reviewing documents for small and startup businesses on a tight budget
— Meeting with new management companies, service providers, homeowners, boards, and clients
Honestly, it has been a busy and rewarding year, and the things that we have been able to accomplish on behalf our clients and in the furtherance of good community building have been the best part of that.
The “Learning Experiences”
I am choosing not to call them mistakes. But some things I didn’t know a year ago, and have learned since then, include:
— Hiring and managing people is a time-consuming endeavor
— Time management is an ever-elusive goal
— When preparing for anything, be sure to look at it from other people’s perspective
— Own your mistakes – apologize, try to fix them, and learn from them
— Get every promise in writing
— Sometimes your blog goes on the “summer publishing schedule” (more content is on the way!)
— You cannot make everyone happy all the time
And if anybody knows how to empty the shredder without getting the little pieces of paper everywhere, could you please let me know?
One Year in a Nutshell
It has been extremely educational, enjoyable, demanding, frustrating, and rewarding to work at FLS this year. A few important thoughts about it: First, nobody ever really succeeds at anything by themselves. I have been most fortunate to have support from countless great people over the past year. This isn’t an award show acceptance speech so I won’t list them, but suffice it to say that this law firm was built by, and for, many many people.
Second, the concept of legal representation is one that there have been volumes and treatises written about. It’s fascinating in part because it is so nebulous, so arguable, and so broad. But when you cut away all that stuff, what usually remains is someone who needs a problem solved. It might be a current problem – how to get money back from someone who owes them. Or it might be a future problem – how to keep people from renting their condo unit on Airbnb. But in nearly every case, one thing is true – they don’t need a long-winded opinion about who owns Blackacre; they need their problem solved. That is why this law firm is called Fellner Legal Services. The point of it – its raison d’etre – is to serve the clients. Pure and simple – I enjoy solving problems.
Third and finally, practicing law under my own name and flagship was always something I thought of doing. And for me, it took some time to develop the know-how and some of the other things required of an attorney to operate a law firm. But since I have taken this step, I have met so many other people who have taken a similar step and been pleased with the results. It is often easy to fall into a trap of security, or complacency, or just monotony. But that can lead to missed opportunities and regret. So to anyone else who has set out to build something, or who is thinking about it, I wish you the best. And if you ever want to swap stories, I’m game.
Happy Birthday FLS.