In 2021 we had five goals that we wished to accomplish during the year. Looking back on last year, we didn’t just meet all five but exceeded them.
Did you miss 2021’s goals? Catch up here.
Setting goals helps provide a long-term vision with key stepping stones along the way for our firm. We loved how last year’s goals made us focus and hone in on our mission for the year. It created a culture in our firm that we plan to carry into 2022.
This year we are leveraging last year’s goals and digging deeper to further develop them throughout the year. Below you will find our top five goals for 2022.
-
Continue to Grow in San Antonio (and Beyond!)
Last year we were fortunate enough to have an increase in our caseload that resulted in a need for more attorneys and staff. We were able to expand our Mass Tort Department to include an office in Puerto Rico which has 74 staff members, seven of which are attorneys. This is on top of our 74 staff members we have in our Mass Tort San Antonio office! Our civil litigation, commercial litigation, personal injury, and product liability attorneys and staff also saw their teams grow with additional members to include five attorneys. This growth was essential so we could better assist our clients that we took on in our growing number of cases on our docket.
Due to this expansion, we are running a little low on space in our current San Antonio offices. After much deliberation and analysis, we are excited to announce that in late 2022 we will be relocating to the Creamery building located at the Pearl!
Check out the official announcement here!
That being said, our focus this year is to make our transition to downtown as seamless as possible for not only our clients but employees as well. We want to make sure that there are no interruptions for our clients and staff, which will remain our highest priority. We will capture the process of the move on our social media, so make sure you are following us!
-
Get (More) Involved
2021 brought us many opportunities to give back to our community. Some of the things we were able to participate in or sponsor were local school programs and teachers. We helped provide classrooms with supplies, donations for programming, and funded local athletic teams. Our team also rallied this past holiday season and donated toys to our local children’s hospital. We want to continue these philanthropic efforts into the new year which is why it is one of our 2022 goals again. By giving back to our local community, we can help the current and next generations achieve their dreams or assist them when times are tough.
-
Further Develop our Law Clerk Program (“The Grasshoppers”)
This past year we have had an average of 20 aspiring attorneys who were considering law school or in law school helping with our cases participate in our Grasshopper program. These attorney hopefuls trained with our Associate and Income Partner attorneys and helped complete case-essential documents all while being fully immersed in the legal field.
While in our program the clerks are able to sit in, prepare for, and witness depositions, mediations, hearings, and trials. During their time here they also made valuable connections with professionals in the legal field. They had one-on-one conversations with judges, spoke with the Dean of the Law School at St. Mary’s University (Patty Roberts) to ask admission questions, and even had a one-on-one call with Erin Brockovich herself! In this new year, we hope to further develop the program so that any clerk who is a part of our program feels well-equipped for whatever direction their legal career heads to next, whether with Watts Guerra or not.
-
Help Mentor the Next Generation of Successful Attorneys
Whether a member of our firm or not, we want to make it our goal to help those around us in the legal community. This past year we focused internally on our grasshopper program where we were able to promote two of the past members to Associate Attorneys in our firm.
Check out our former grasshoppers, Oscar Quiroz and Lance Kimbro
At our firm, we also pair our Associate Attorneys with Income Partners so they can be exposed to the more challenging aspects of the legal field, like how to prepare your first opening statement for trial.
See who was promoted this year from associate attorneys to income partners here
Our attorneys were also involved in many local organizations like SAYLA, TTLA, and ABOTA which focus on interacting and networking with other attorneys. In fact, our Capital Partner, Frank Guerra, was able to deliver a few memorable presentations on Empowering Your Trial Team and The Jury Selection Process for some of these organizations.
In the new year, we hope to continue developing our internal mentorship efforts while reaching out to our community at the same time. The legal community is a tight-knit group that we are so proud to be a part of.
-
Continue to Consistently Help our Clients Obtain the Justice they Deserve
This was a goal of ours last year and will continue to be every year. Our success completely revolves around client service and ensuring that our clients’ needs are being met. We plan to continue to remain a source of hope and help for those who come to us in a time of stress and uncertainty. Our unmatched dedication and work ethic every member of our team has for every case is what we plan to bring to the table and assist anyone who needs us in 2022.
Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook to see more Watts Guerra news!
