David McDivitt: Dignity is one of our core values. I actually think of dignity and respect as, one of our other core values, as part and parcel of the same value of dignity and respect. And that is treating people who come into the firm as clients, treating people who work at the firm with dignity. Value their perspectives as people; value them as people.
Amy Christensen: It gives us the characteristics that we need in helping our clients. I think it helps us represent them more effectively. Being able to share in their experiences and have that sensitivity to what they may be going through during a difficult time.
Michael McDivitt: Not every lawyer out there actually believes in the dignity of the individual. I firmly believe in the dignity of the individual, and we’ve imparted that whole concept throughout our core values in this office.
Edward Lomena: Every staff member, attorney, everybody is treated with dignity. Everybody is treated with respect. If you do something good, you’re going to hear about it.
Karen McDivitt: When you respect somebody’s dignity, it means you respect them as an individual. You don’t see someone in terms of their injury. You see someone in terms of who they are as a person. And when you dignify someone, you connect with that person. You’re saying to that person, you and I are connected. We’re connected on a human level.
Elizabeth McClintock: Respect for the client means that you need to understand that they’re individuals, and clients will deal with their problems in different ways. And really the basis is that they’re here because they have a problem. That they need help.
Cindy Sabbagh: It’s — there’s a lot of gray area when you get injured: How long will I be treating? Can I go back to work? Will my car get fixed? Just a lot of questions that need to be answered, and it’s a lot easier to answer the questions and show them the respect so they can walk out the door and to sleep better that night.
Edward Lomena: We have different — different clients that come in. From a homeless guy, to the wealthy business owner, and a lot of times they all come in, they’re at their wit’s end. A lot of times they’ve been robbed of their dignity because of the way they’ve been treated, because of the fact they are hurt, they can’t work, they can’t support their family, so they’ve been robbed of their dignity. So when they come in, if we can treat them with dignity from the moment they first call, to the moment they first walk into the office, to the moment we resolve their case. When we resolve their case, we’re not just giving them a check. We’re actually giving them a little bit of their dignity back.