Tell us a bit about your practice/company.
Waterville Advisors is a Plaintiff-only Settlement Planning firm solely focused on assisting Plaintiffs plan for their future.
What is your firm/company’s mission statement?
We dedicate our practice to assisting our Plaintiff attorney clients, and thus their clients, navigate the settlement process regarding all aspects of their recovery.
How has your business/practice changed during the pandemic?
Normally, we visit our clients in their living rooms, helping them plan the next steps of their lives after litigation. Of course, given social distancing restrictions, we have had more Zoom and out-of-office meetings. Nevertheless, we remain committed to interacting personally with our clients to assist them with their settlement planning goals.
What is one habit/practice that you’ve adopted during the pandemic that you plan on keeping?
Zoom! It is such a great way to interact with clients immediately and efficiently! We wish we had discovered and used this technology sooner. We get meetings organized a lot quicker via Zoom.
Share with us a career highlight of yours.
There’s so many – we are proud to work with the top attorneys in Chicagoland. The cases we truly enjoy are the ones where we can implement settlement planning for the whole family – taking care of the injured person, making sure their kids’ futures are set, helping plan a new career or venture – really dynamic plans that go way beyond normal investment needs.
What is the most challenging part of your practice/business?
It’s twofold – getting attorneys to understand why introducing a settlement planner is the right thing to do; and, getting clients to buy-in to the big picture – not just the immediate impact of money.
What is the most rewarding part of your practice/business?
Having a family understand the exact reasons why we have recommended a course of action; and when clients allow us to implement those things.
What sets you apart from your competitors?
Well, first and foremost, we’re lawyers, so we understand lawsuits, injury victims, their families and the intricacy of litigation. But what also sets us apart is that we’re Plaintiff-only – we are zealous plaintiffs’ advocates and always have that frame of mind.
How do you create opportunities for women and young attorneys in your practice/business/firm?
We’ve had several young legal students work for us while they were in school. College students are always welcome to work with us over summer to see our practice. We are always trying to educate young plaintiff’s attorneys about the values of proper settlement planning within their practice. And, Nicki McNally runs our Indianapolis office – she certainly has created a successful settlement planning practice for herself in her hometown.
Why are you a supporter of the WBAI?
We support the WBAI because bar associations matter. They help attorneys network and through their philanthropic work, help people. And that is what we’re concerned most with too – helping people. So it was an easy decision for us to support the WBAI because we share that common goal.
When this pandemic is behind us, where do you most want to travel?
We would love to get back into safely seeing clients in their living rooms – a face-to-face settlement planning meeting is always going to more productive than one over Zoom.
What do you/your firm/company/business hope to accomplish in the next 12 months?
Over the next year, we would hope to continue to get our message out to the plaintiff’s attorneys and their clients.