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The Culture of the Cube

Many people approach law firms with a bit of skepticism, uncertainty and even frustration.  Clients want their lawyers to be available, responsive, efficient and understanding of their business needs and goals without getting in the way.  Lawyers looking to make a professional career move want a law firm that recognizes and respects the strength of individual differences, invests in and empowers individual development and sustained professional growth, and incentives behavior that encourages teamwork, stability, fairness and transparency.

What makes CGS3 different from other law firms isn’t just one thing – it’s ten things.  The “secret sauce” of our business model is that it is built upon a set of ten convictions: our Core Values.  These Core Values literally define us and our purpose and are at the center of everything we do, from delivering the CGS3 Client Experience to the way we compensate our team.  As a result, our incredible clients and teammates benefit from enhanced trust and cooperation, more efficient decision-making and a shared understanding about what is important and how to get things done.

Our Ten Core Values

  1. Know our clients and do what is right and best for them.  We are committed to understanding our clients’ businesses, objectives and concerns.  We aim to exceed our clients’ expectations by delivering a uniform client experience – the CGS3 Client Experience – so that no matter which CGS3 deal maker is handling a matter, the approach, responsiveness, work product quality and value is always the same.  We will always do what is ethical and right.
  2. Always be available and deliver excellence.  We provide our clients with the highest quality, results-oriented legal services in a timely manner.  We are passionate about practicing law and getting deals done.  Our job is to lessen the worry and lighten the load of our clients. 
  3. Build long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.  We are determined to be a necessary “value add” partner to our clients’ day-to-day business affairs.  We want each client to feel as if they are our only client.  We believe in going above and beyond the call of duty.  We want our enthusiasm for our craft to be infectious.
  4. Embrace a “street-smart” approach to lawyering.  We implement a pragmatic approach to our craft by drawing upon our collective experience in a multitude of similar matters, balancing technical knowledge with real world probabilities and the client’s objectives to achieve a harmony between time (and fees) spent and importance/value of the issue to the client’s business. 
  5. Respect lasts forever.  We give the utmost respect to our clients, our partners, our attorneys and our staff.  We are committed to the development and growth of our people and honor their dignity.  We are committed to earning the trust with each other, our clients and our opposing parties.  We don’t burn bridges – we build them.
  6. Put yourself in the shoes of another.  We take a “client first, partnership second” approach – not a “me first” approach – in everything we do.  We believe in a collaborative, interdependent method of providing legal services to our clients.  CGS3 lawyers are proactive, not reactive; we anticipate challenges and take ownership of our deals.
  7. Be the change that we want to see in the world.  We promote diversity of thought, talent, background and perspective.  Law firms should mirror the community they serve.  We embrace non-traditional thinking and out-of-the-box solutions and opportunities.
  8. Work hard, be smart and always adapt.  We adopt new technologies and processes in order to create additional value for clients and to increase the partnership’s profitability rather than raising fees and over-staffing matters.
  9. Reward the behaviors that promote our culture.  Our compensation system is entirely subjective and designed to promote these values and encourage teamwork among the partnership.  This approach sustains the long-term viability and reputation of the firm.  We don’t believe in origination or billing credit, and we don’t focus on formulaic metrics that incentivize individual “me-first” behavior.
  10. Believe that a rising tide lifts all boats.  A partnership is a collection of individuals with their own strengths and weaknesses.  We encourage recognition of these differences and ways we can complement one another for the collective good of the partnership.