I’ve been following a developing story in the legal world that I think is worth reading about for anyone looking to hire an attorney. It’s a perfect example of why a famous/big name on the letterhead doesn't guarantee you quality representation.

Recently, in a case called Ringer v. Bank of America (25cv03959 N.D.Ga) (another relat order), a federal judge sanctioned a lawyer from McGuire Woods—a large and reputable law firm. The lawyer filed a brief filled with citations to cases that didn't actually exist.

At first, the court assumed this was another instance of a lawyer blindly using AI tools like ChatGPT. (That’s a topic for a separate post) But the reality was actually worse: it was good old-fashioned human negligence. The lawyer misread his own handwritten notes, and nobody at the firm double-checked the work.

But it gets worse. This wasn’t a one-off. The situation became so embarrassing that the firm’s Managing Partner had to issue a public apology to the court. He admitted this wasn't a one-time accident, and that the firm had found a "pattern of errors" in other cases as well.

But the most telling part of his apology was the terminology he used. He blamed the mistakes on "portfolio attorneys."

In the industry, "portfolio work" is often code for "high volume, low cost." Big firms take on massive chunks of work from giant corporate clients (like Bank of America) and hand them off to teams where speed and volume are king. They treat these cases like commodities, not like unique legal battles affecting real people.

Candidly, Darr Law has routinely been on the winning side of this equation because our small firm is underestimated and cases assigned to low-level attorneys who don’t appreciate what they’re up against, who then get steamrolled!

But this story also confirms what I often tell my clients: Size does not equal quality. In fact, in those massive environments, your case can easily become just another number on a spreadsheet managed by a "portfolio" team under pressure to cut costs. I have seen this issue crop up time and time again with the startups I consult. They hire the name and get poor quality. In fact, I’ve been hired to pursue malpractice claims against some of these giant law firms because they do such a poor job.

This is exactly why our firm operates differently.

You may know that we are very selective about the cases we accept. We turn down a significant amount of work, and that is by design. We don’t have "portfolio attorneys" or a "B-team." By keeping our caseload manageable, we ensure that we endeavor to read, research, and verify every single document we file.

When you hire us, you aren’t paying for a factory; you’re paying for craftsmanship. We believe you deserve a lawyer who treats your case with the seriousness it warrants. We always want to be adding value.

Be careful out there when you're looking for counsel. Bigger isn't always better. Better is better.

(And, while we’re biased, we like to think we’re the best).