Spotlight On: Roland Sanchez-Medina, Partner, SMGQ Law

Spotlight On: Roland Sanchez-Medina, Partner, SMGQ Law

2022-12-28T15:20:34-05:00October 13th, 2022|Legal Services, Miami, Spotlight On|

2 min read October 2022 SMGQ Law is an AV-rated, South Florida-based law firm offering its clients expertise in a wide range of areas. Invest: spoke with Partner Roland Sanchez-Medina about the firm’s challenges, biggest milestones, his overview of the legal sector in Miami and the firm’s priorities going forward.

What are some of the lessons that you and your team were able to learn from the past years’ challenges?

The biggest lesson COVID taught me is humility. When the world turned upside down, we were confronted with certain vulnerabilities and needs that in normal times were fulfilled easily. Frankly, we never really acknowledged and focused on those issues. This is true also from a professional perspective. SMGQ Law quickly identified what our needs were: continuity of service to our clients at our highest potential and personal safety of our employees. We quickly adapted to our circumstances to meet those needs, whether improving access to zoom and other technology, fortifying cyber security, allowing flexible work schedules, and staying in constant communication with attorneys and staff.  As a result, we are not only survivors, but we became the best version of ourselves because of it. We are fully automated allowing us to provide all services and consultations remotely, our employees and staff are fully equipped at home, etc. I couldn’t be prouder of how we evolved during an extremely difficult time.

What are some of the biggest highlights and milestones over the past year or two?

SMGQ Law has truly been blessed with our highest revenue year to date. We worked with unprecedented intensity to seize on the opportunities that arose early in the pandemic. For many years, the large influx of South American newcomers to South Florida helped law firms overcome some of the economic challenges we faced over the past 15 years. Some of that dynamic has changed as businesses and wealth are coming from California, New York, Illinois and other domestic areas, which alongside with the continued South American influence, keeps us growing, expanding opportunities, and building strong local and international foundations to support the ever-growing cosmopolitan city that Miami is today. SMGQ Law is also fortunate that many of our partners are entrenched in the community and those local relationships keep us growing at an enviable rate. 

What is your overview of the legal sector in Miami right now?

The legal sector is changing as more of the larger national firms are coming into Miami. As a result of the new businesses and entrepreneurs coming to Florida, law firms are following them to the area. Fortunately, there is a lot of work being generated by the business newcomers which is feeding the legal newcomers. These factors are changing the legal landscape and also, among other things, increasing salaries for attorneys in Miami. All good and welcome changes, the future of the legal sector in Miami is bright.

How has the past year or two further pushed the legal industry toward digital transformation?

The past two years have put our digital transformation on steroids. All the issues that we knew about and those that we thought would come up later in time were accelerated, there was no other way around it. We are much more sensitive to making sure we have everything in the cloud to protect our work and our clients. Now more than ever, we have focused our internal assets on upgrading SMGQ with top-of-the-line IT equipment and servers working as well and as quickly as they can. With everybody logging in remotely, we are extra careful about the sensitivity of some of the information we have and making sure that security is as good as it possibly can be. The practice of law has been changing for a while now and there are some challenges with that, but the technology side impacts every law firm whether you are a solo practitioner or a medium size firm such as SMGQ Law. We are happy to be tackling that challenge head-on and to be at the forefront of technology.

What advice would you give the new generation that is entering the legal profession?

In any profession, make sure that you keep your reputation intact. Even in Miami, which is a large legal community, lawyers still know whom they can trust and whom they can’t. Keeping your reputation intact is the No. 1 factor because it will inevitably come back to honor or haunt you. Unfortunately, it can be one thing that sullies your reputation for many years. Also, get involved in professional organizations. It helps you get referrals and build your clientele. The other thing is to be involved with more professional organizations. It’s not only a great way to communicate and meet other attorneys and learn what’s going on in terms of your profession, but it’s another great way to get referrals. For many attorneys, a lot of the work comes from referrals.

What are the biggest challenges SMGQ is facing?

Finding quality people in today’s environment is very difficult. Without any doubt that has become an issue across all industries. The unemployment rate in Florida and the Miami metro area is impressive on an objective basis, but makes hiring new people a challenge. The issue with employment is exacerbated when you consider that people now want to work from home which does not necessarily complement well with some of the work we do at SMGQ Law. The legal business is a people business, and many times the job requires people to be present. It is a very challenging time and another reason why you want to keep your people happy.

What is your near-term outlook for SMGQ and your top priorities?

The next six to twelve months will probably be a very busy time for SMGQ Law. We have more work than we ever have. Having a work-life balance is difficult to achieve, it is really a challenge in today’s world but it is a good problem to have. Our priority is always the client, and keeping service at a top level in spite of the increase in work. Communication is key. There is a lot more to being a lawyer than that but that becomes the 900-pound gorilla in the room. You have to communicate with your client, return their calls promptly, respond to texts promptly, and get the work out promptly. I’m not saying it is easy. It is, in fact, challenging, but in today’s world, clients want that from the people they are compensating well. There’s just no other way around it. It’s a challenge to do all of it.

For more information, visit: 

https://www.smgqlaw.com/ 

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