Law & Justice Attorney Les Shields, Morris & Shields, Attorneys At Law

Law & Justice
Attorney Les Shields, Morris & Shields, Attorneys At Law

Attorney Les Shields of the firm of Morris & Shields handles mostly civil matters in the western communities, primarily Royal Palm Beach and Wellington.

Shields has been in practice for 23 years. Admitted to the Florida Bar in 1993, he has a vast amount of experience representing both lenders and homeowners in mortgage foreclosure actions, as well as a wide array of civil litigation cases.

Wellington The Magazine interviewed Shields about his legal background and his law firm.

 

How long has your firm been doing business in Palm Beach County?

I’ve been doing business in Palm Beach County for about 25 years. This firm has been here for 25 years; it was owned by my father-in-law, Bob Morris. About five years ago, he retired. I purchased the firm from him. My wife is my paralegal, my assistant, my office manager and my right-hand woman. She has been here for the full 25 years, working first for her father, so she has experience since day one. It works out great, because not only is she experienced, she knows the clients.

 

Why did you choose Palm Beach County to establish your practice?

I actually came down here to go to law school. I worked for the Hertz Corporation in Nashville, and I moved down here to go to Nova Southeastern Law School. The area has grown a lot in the time we’ve been here, that’s for sure. During my three years of law school, we fell in love with Wellington, as well as the climate and the equestrian community.

 

What type of cases do you generally handle? What percentage of your practice is devoted to this type of law?

The big three [that we handle] are estate planning, wills and trusts, and probate. We do a lot of business law, and we handle a lot of litigation, where one business is suing another business.

I represent several electrical suppliers that supply materials to builders. Sometimes builders will take the supplies and use them, and then not pay for them. We work to get the money or the supplies back.

My first jobs after law school were all representing major banks and insurance companies, so I know a lot about that. The firm that I left to come to this firm was a general practice.

 

How many cases has your firm represented in this field of the law?

There are too many to count. It would be hard to count how many are going right now.

 

What other special training or knowledge do you have on your team that sets your firm apart from other law firms?

Working in the corporate atmosphere with the insurance companies and the banks, I have a lot of hands-on experience doing litigation. I was in court literally every day. In the morning, I was in court, and then taking a couple of depositions in the afternoon, then a mediation before quitting time. It was extremely busy, jam-packed with experience. I was exposed to things that I wouldn’t normally experience representing a large company.

 

What are some of the things to consider when hiring an attorney?

The type of experience is important, especially trial experience. People ask me, “Can I do this probate myself?” I tell them, “Yes, you can, technically, but there’s no way you should.” Attorneys have been doing this for a long time, and they still make mistakes, so the chances of you actually doing it right by yourself are very slim.

You need to hire someone with experience in the areas you are dealing with. Someone who is not afraid to go to court. I know attorneys who just despise going to court, having to put on a tie. I wear a suit and tie and go to court every day.

Another thing that is important is that the firm not take on too much work. They need to be comfortably busy. See if it is going in a forward manner, not at a crawl, at a convenient, plausible speed.

Find an attorney you can trust. I’ve known less than a dozen attorneys in the past 25 years that I trust enough to refer to someone. It’s very important to talk to the attorney and find out how they charge; how much the service is going to cost.

 

What kind of community support does your firm participate in?

We handle a lot of mortgage foreclosure cases. I handled bank foreclosures for years, and now I’m on the other side handling individuals. It’s very rarely a positive situation for the people being foreclosed upon. They don’t have the money, obviously, or they would have been paying their mortgage. Often, they don’t even have the money to pay an attorney [the full amount]. If they seem sincere, and they’re trying to make the payments, then we have no problem taking on the case.

 

Morris & Shields is located at 685 Royal Palm Beach Blvd., Suite 205, in Royal Palm Beach. For more info., call (561) 793-1200 or visit www.fllawman.com.

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