Our founder, Todd Feinstein, sent out a little update to our most loyal long-term clients. Several of them told us we should post it here, and since we always listen to our clients…
“The storm only comes to teach you how to skillfully sail your ship.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo
As spring in the Pacific Northwest began to spring this past March, just days after returning from my twenty-third overseas trip in twenty-four months, I prepared to close on a new house. Our small, shippy law firm was steadily adding clients in both the US and Asia, and the momentum of nearly a decade in practice was paying dividends. A sense of real accomplishment, firm morale, and financial rewards were following along. We were sailing along under full sail without a worry in the world beyond solving our clients’ problems.
And then the world changed.
The COVID pandemic led to an instant crisis of identity and a review of our business, all while I was minutes from closing on the largest single purchase of my life. Would ‘international law’ even be a thing after COVID? What would happen to companies raising capital during a pandemic? Would they just evaporate? Would the market crash? How would we service our international clients while locked in our homes in Washington or Michigan or San Diego or Florida? What about our offices? Our team in Myanmar? Is the firm spread too thin? How am I going to pay my mortgage!?
I’m proud that Feinstein Law has earned its worldwide reputation for navigating through complicated and rapidly-evolving issues. Our ability to handle chaotic legal and financial issues doesn’t come from law school, or from other firms. We’ve worked hard to always stay on top of important developments in securities regulation, but our resourcefulness is part of our firm’s culture. It comes from the sea.
As a lifelong fisherman, USCG-licensed captain, and bluewater sailor, I’ve learned 90% of my most valuable life lessons at sea, on a small boat far from land, where the consequences of any bad decision are often dire and occasionally fatal. Most of Feinstein Law’s staff and attorneys are mariners too, and together we’ve accumulated tens of thousands of miles on open water. We’re all a little superstitious, but we follow the rules of shipboard life, and one lesson stands out above all else during the current craziness: “While the storm rages, prepare for the next.”
To get that preparation going, I held a call with every member of the Feinstein Law team around the end of March. We each made a commitment to each other and the firm to assist one another and stay connected through the crisis. We’ve always been more like the crew of a boat than the staff hanging around at the company picnic, but during COVID, we’ve treated each other more like a family than I could ever have dreamed. At our COVID survival meeting, in addition to setting firm goals, I implored each team member to choose a personal goal to achieve, and to commit to helping one another reach that goal during the pandemic.
Our team has used our COVID time to apply for international scholarships, increase our knowledge base with securities courses and professional credentials, and apply to MBA programs. We’ve become yoga practitioners, built new diet regimes, and addressed relationship and mental health issues. Perhaps most importantly, we’ve tripled the amount and quality of time we’ve spent with our sons and daughters. And wherever possible, we’ve all pitched in to help one another accomplish these personal goals.
As the crew worked on personal improvement, we spent most of the year doing the same thing for the mighty brig known as Feinstein Law. It was time to shore up worn timbers, replace the sails and halyards, and serve the rigging; everything we’d need to get her through the coming gale.
Our seamanlike activities included the complete build out of an entirely new Feinstein Law website, including a full rewrite of all content, a reformat of our current database of articles, and a new platform for the many articles we’re publishing about securities regulation in the US and Asia. We’ve added staff in both Myanmar and the US, and continued to add to our of counsel relationships with our friends at Global Legal (San Diego). The ship is ready for whatever may come.
I share this emotional journey with you not to promote, advertise, or brag, but rather to offer my experiences over the past 8 months in the hopes that you find a little guidance if you need it. When chaos hits, doing what you can is often better than trying to figure out what you should do. I once heard a salty old tall ship captain shout at a wavering crew through 40 knots of wind and driving rain that “Fear won’t trim the sails!” The sails still need to be trimmed or the ship may founder.
These positive thoughts and plans that I’m sharing are only possible because of the trust, friendship, and patronage of our clients. We have been blessed with a robust and diverse group of clients who looked into the face of the abyss with resilience, experience, and stoicism. The level of courage displayed by many of our clients is incredible in this sticky business environment; they are a true source of strength to my staff and me.
As you all know, things are not the same, and it may be a long time before they are. The winds have definitely changed direction, but we’re still sailing into the holiday season with momentum, clarity of purpose, and the confidence that our little vessel is shipshape and bristol, and can handle anything that the wild ocean sends our way.
In closing, I would like to leave you with a crucial thought: Many of us have not seen loved ones in months, far longer than is bearable. Small moments of face-to-face camaraderie are more valuable than gold, and I encourage you all to make more effort to try to see those you care for more, even if it is inconvenient or socially distanced.
And next time we see each other, I hope it’s with a handshake or hug and an unmasked smile. But if not, we’ll keep sailing with you anyway.
Stop by and browse the new site, we hope you find it useful.
Sincerely,
Todd
