Meet Thomas Codevilla | Partner, SK&S Law Group LLP

We had the good fortune of connecting with Thomas Codevilla and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Thomas, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I took a typical path at the start of my career- BigLaw, In-house. 6 years into practicing law, I found myself working harder than ever and gaining no new insights or skills, not to mention a stagnation in compensation. Then I realized I had counseled entrepreneurs for years but had not started a business myself, so I thought it was time to give it a try for myself. I explored the idea with a couple friends and we took the leap. 4 years in, it’s the best decision I ever made, next to getting my dog.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
SK&S Law Group has 3 main practice areas: Financial Services Deals (accounting, investment advisory practice sales), Outsourced General Counsel work (any small business legal need except litigation), and Intellectual Property (mostly Privacy and Trademarks).

What Sets Us Apart: Sara and I both have big firm experience and both realized there was a better way to practice law. We always tell people, once you as a lawyer realize how much you’re worth, you will never go back to being satisfied with the crumbs that big law firms pay their associates and even income partners. We are proud of doing deals opposite big firms and providing great results for our clients. We realized that you don’t have to sacrifice your life to do good legal work at a reasonable price; practicing law can be win-win if you’re not trying to support massive overhead.

How We Got Here: We started with a modest book of business and hustled like crazy to grow it. It was not always easy. We spoke at conferences, events, gave interviews, blogged, networked, taught seminars, anything to get our name out there. Gradually our network grew and we spread by word of mouth. I could not be more proud of our growth; 2023 was our best year ever and we’re growing.

What We Learned: In brief: Responsiveness makes clients happy. Paying for referrals does not work; sending thank you gifts to referral sources does. Do not work with people you do not trust, or who do not value your time. If someone fights with you over 6 minutes of your time, they will not pay a bill for 6 hours of your time. For work that you repeatedly do, build systems that enable you to track details and minimize the chances for errors in your work. Most importantly, find a niche and own it.

What We Want You to Know: We genuinely love what we do, not just the legal work but the challenge of growing a business, understanding a client’s needs, and doing it for less than half the price of a firm. We believe the practice of law need not be adversarial or pretentious. We will talk to you in plain english, ask questions about you and your needs, and tailor our level of service appropriately. One of my clients recently said “Tom is the only lawyer I know who would rather be climbing or mountain biking than billing me”, and it was one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever gotten.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This actual trip happens all the time and I never get tired of it! Day 1: Breakfast at Lucille’s or Sassafras, hike around Morrison, beers at Improper City, catch a show at Red Rocks.
Day 2: Volleyball at City Park, indoor climbing at Movement, dinner at Uncle Ramen or Mister Oso,
Day 3: Hike in the Indian Peaks wilderness (Navajo Peak or Mount Toll), tea at Dushanbe Tea Room, dinner at Fish and Beer or Necio.
Day 4: Rent bikes and do a brewery crawl!
Day 5: See a Rockies game from the Rockpile in the afternoon, see a show at the Ogden or the Bluebird.
Day 6: Take a drive into the mountains to the best brewery in the world, Outer Range in Frisco, CO. Trust me on this one.
Day 7: Grilling party after a visit to Edwards’ Meats in Arvada. I would live in this place if I could.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My amazing law partner Sara Sharp deserves so much credit in my story. She initially reached out to me because I got the in-house job that she had applied for and she wanted to know why I got the job over her. So she bought me some beers, we became friends, and started working together on the side. That side work turned into SK&S Law Group where we both work today. Her strengths complement my weaknesses and vice versa; she is relentlessly positive and a fantastic marketer, has great vision in my blind spots, and always offers a different perspective when we’re working through a problem together.

Website: skandslegal.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-codevilla-11524557/

Twitter: @DealAcademySMB