Estate and Trust Litigation Firm Incentivizes Creativity and Collaboration in New Hires

For a successful law firm, building a sparkling reputation can provide enormous competitive advantages. For example, a reputation for effective litigation can lead to consistently higher settlement offers. But developing that sort of standing isn’t easy, and it doesn’t happen quickly. And even if a firm manages to distinguish themselves by their tenacity in the courtroom, earning the respect and admiration of their peers — even the opposing counsel — is another story. Law firms that enjoy both a stellar record and the recognition of their peers? Few and far between are the firms that enjoy this rarified air.
Today, Hackard Law is synonymous with victory, excellence in performance, and ethics and remains positioned as the gold standard of estate and trust litigation across California.
For the team at Hackard Law, a track record of significant recoveries, coupled with the esteem of the California legal community at large, is the result of 40 years of the firm’s creative, collaborative and client-focused approach. Today, Hackard Law is synonymous with victory, excellence in performance, and ethics and remains positioned as the gold standard of estate and trust litigation across California.

Now Accepting Resumes from Qualified Individuals

Hackard Law’s track record of obtaining significant recoveries for its clients has allowed it to expand its geographic reach. As the firm adds to its ranks, legal professionals seeking to develop their careers or find a new home would be wise to take a look at Sacramento’s Hackard Law, where exciting career opportunities await lawyers, business support professionals and aspiring graduates. Talented individuals with a knack for critical thinking — and those who share the firm’s core values — are encouraged to apply. By becoming part of a dynamic and diverse team, new hires help shape the growth and prestige of the celebrated firm.

A Culture of Support, Collaboration and Creativity

New team members at Hackard Law learn about the firm’s culture right away; it is a collaborative and creative atmosphere, where mutual respect is part of the game plan and credit is shared for successful outcomes. The operational goal for Hackard Law is to build partnerships with clients and one another; this is where the culture of collaboration and creativity comes together. “Mike, Brian, Sarah and Dave were all born in Sacramento and share deep roots in the region,” says Hackard Law founder Michael Hackard. “[We are] a tight-knit group. We use our proximity to each other to have conference meetings that may just last a few minutes.… We hear about each other’s cases, share insights, and discuss similarities to cases that we’ve had in the past.” This collaborative approach affords the team at Hackard the chance to solve problems creatively. It’s an adaptive strategy designed to handle challenging situations, and it gets results.
The operational goal for Hackard Law is to build partnerships with clients and one another; this is where the culture of collaboration and creativity comes together.

Why Hackard Law?

Okay, you’re thinking, teamwork is important. But what sets Hackard Law apart from other firms? One unique element of the firm is their focus on flexible contingency fee arrangements. A contingency fee is essentially an agreement that the attorney will keep a percentage of what a client ultimately recovers via settlement or trial. Generally, contingency fee arrangements are seen in collection cases or personal injury suits. In these types of cases, the attorney is comfortably certain that they will win their client monetary awards. Estate litigation is trickier though. In fact, most lawyers do not make special payment arrangements for estate and trust litigation at all. It can be difficult to recover client assets, and many estate litigation firms don’t like to assume the risk ― that is, not getting paid.

Working on contingency is a unique challenge and one that distinguishes Hackard from the majority of firms across California. “We are advocates whose ethics demand that if we take a plaintiff’s case, we think that it is meritorious,” says Michael Hackard. “This doesn’t mean that it’s a slam dunk; it means that given what we know, there is a reasonable chance that we might be able to prove the case by a preponderance of the evidence.” Hackard is confident in this strategy; he has 40 years’ experience in successfully resolving trust disputes to guide him.

The focus on flexible contingency fee arrangements limits clients’ out-of-pocket expenses during litigation and motivates the firm to obtain maximum results. Hackard Law’s attorneys share in the successful completion of contingency fee cases. In fact, in 2021, all Hackard Law employees received bonuses. This reflects the firm’s philosophy of sharing its success with everyone who contributes to it. In general, associate attorneys receive five- to six-figure bonuses annually.

Core Values

Founder Michael Hackard emphasizes the importance of maintaining the firm’s core values. “We share faith roots,” he says. “Roots that include ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’” At the heart of these values is the belief that people are the firm’s most valuable assets. Their individual passion for life and the law lets partners and associates contribute to the firm in unique ways. Though the client-first focus is concerned with delivering the best possible outcomes, partners and associates work with colleagues they value and respect. What does all of this mean to a new team member? It’s a sign that working within a culture of collaboration and mutual support contributes to the pride enjoyed by everyone on the staff.
Learn How You Can Join the Team

Michael A. Hackard is the principal attorney of Hackard Law, a California law firm that represents families with extensive business interests as well as individuals harmed by the wrongdoing of others. Hackard serves clients who have significant trust and estate disputes in California’s largest urban areas, providing both individuals and businesses with accomplished representation in a broad array of practice areas — from estate, trust and probate litigation to elder financial abuse cases and more. For information about Michael A. Hackard, or to learn how you can join the team at Hackard Law, visit http://www.hackardlaw.com

For more than 30 years, Michael has received an AV* Preeminent rating, Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer review rating. He has also received an AVVO rating of 10 out of 10 and has been selected to the Super Lawyers list Top Rated Estate & Trust Litigation Lawyers in Northern California.