One hundred and one years ago, our founding partner, Dr. Vicente Bermeo Lañas was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
He achieved his law degree thanks to his mother’s support to have a professional in the family. He accomplished her wishes when founding one of the leading international practice law firms before being appointed as a Supreme Court Justice. Three generations later, we still continue his legacy with the strong foundations and values he taught us.
Today we honor his wisdom and share some of his advice with our LEGAL PRACTICE 101 series.
“The Law is usually logic, first seek the logic and then find the rule”
Dr. Vicente enjoyed training new attorneys. When there was a difficult matter, he would ask them to find the logic, and then they could better direct the legal research.
“Important things should be in writing.”
In a civil law system, it is very important to have things on paper. This tip seems obvious, but since the days when Dr. Vicente was practicing until today, we have many cases in which important agreements are left verbally and matters get complicated when issues arise.
“Good lawyers must have good files.”
Our firm has always been known for great organization. Even now, with the new technological tools, it is important to have a good filing system and strategy to get quick access to key data.
“It’s a better business to be an honest lawyer because there is less competition.”
Dr. Vicente had a great sense of humor. However, with the reputation of our profession, this tip remains very accurate!.
“The most difficult part of the profession is knowing how to value your work.”
Indeed, putting a value to our experience and specialized work is not a simple task. Most clients appreciate the quality and complexity of our services.
“To be a lawyer you need to know how to read.”
In most cases, when we pay full attention and concentrate on what we are doing, we can find the answers by simply reading and understanding the issue and the rules.
“It is essential to reread the law for every case”
And we often find what we were looking… for a different case. That is how we gain more experience!
We celebrate Dr. Vicente Bermeo’s life with some of his best advice. This week is our founding partner’s 101 birth anniversary so we are calling this series Legal Practice 101. Stay tuned!
