Legal Eagle

By Jay Winchester

Litigation and liability: Two words that no business owner- large or small- ever really wants to hear. Unfortunately, as our society continues to expand the opportunities for litigation, the chance for a lawsuit to be brought against you and your business expands exponentially. When that reality hits- and don’t be mistaken, it can hit hard- it is vital that you receive top-flight legal advice. Unfortunately, getting that kind of advice often proves costly…unless you call WorkplaceLegalSolutions, Law Offices of Sheri D. McWhorter, P.A. Why? Simply put, because this practice was put in place especially for people like you.

“WorkplaceLegalSolutions provides client-focused employee relations counseling and proactive employment law solutions to businesses and non-profits throughout Florida and the greater Tampa Bay area,” McWhorter says. Her firm works with employers facing questions and concerns, or encountering any kind of issue related to the company’s employees, independent contractors, or related in any way to the company’s workplace. “In those situations, we are the ones to call,” she emphasizes. “For example, when a company receives an inquiry from a government agency such as the EEOC or the Department of Labor, or receives notice of investigation, or a lawsuit, we get involved, and provide prompt, thorough, cost effective and business savvy advice and, where needed, legal representation.”

McWhorter opened the doors of the new firm in 2008, after leaving a partner position at a large firm. “I was the partner in charge of the labor and employment law practice for the Tampa office of Foley & Lardner LLP,” she recalls. “I had been in private practice for 10 years before leaving Foley to found WorkplaceLegalSolutions.” Before entering private practice, McWhorter was corporate labor and employment counsel in the legal department of Florida Power Corporation, now Progress Energy.

When she left to start her own firm, she had a ready-made client base, but one that came with some reservations. “One of the early challenges was the natural concern by those who had been my clients while I was a partner with Foley & Lardner, a firm with over a thousand attorneys,” McWhorter says. “Now they were faced with deciding whether to move with me to my solo practice.” For some, taking on a large firm like that might have been an exercise in futility…but not for McWhorter. She had both a vision for meeting her clients’ needs and a value proposition many of those former clients found appealing.

'We overcame their concerns by providing superior client service and outstanding legal work, at a fraction of what they had paid for the same work – my work – while I was a partner with Foley,” she states. “It didn’t take long before my clients realized they did not need to pay for their share of the overhead for the marble floors and the fine artwork in the lobby of a large law firm in order to receive the top notch legal representation for all of their labor and employment related needs. By leveraging technology and keeping overhead low, we are able to price and deliver our services in such a way as to provide ‘big firm’ quality legal services and expertise at a more reasonable cost.” Of course, many people are influenced by the media image of lawyers as ego-driven, greedy pariahs endowed with huge egos. McWhorter takes a completely different view of what she does as a lawyer. “Here, we are problem solvers, first and foremost,” she says. “We pride ourselves on our responsiveness to our clients, and our ability to step in and get up to speed quickly as a trusted member of the client’s business team. We provide our clients a rapid response with practical and specific advice and recommendations for addressing the people-related workplace challenges all businesses inevitably face. We understand business, so our proposed solutions and recommendations not only make legal sense; they make business sense as well. We price our services competitively.”

That entrepreneurial approach to providing legal counsel, while unorthodox for many law firms, works for McWhorter, whose firm has an office on both sides of the bay. Not only does her approach work, it is building a sound business. “Our first year success exceeded projections by a substantial margin, which is quite an accomplishment given the current economic conditions,” McWhorter says. “We are excited about our second year, and looking forward to continued success in 2010. We remain continually grateful to all of our clients who have made our success possible.”

Her drivers are many. “I am driven by the personal satisfaction I receive from a job well done and the achievement of a successful outcome for my clients,” she says. There is also a familial motivator at work in her life. “I am also very driven by the need to set a personal example for the next generation in my family,” McWhorter says. “Neither of my parents attended college. I am the only one of their four children to attend or graduate from college, let alone from law school.  My daughter graduated from college and is well on her way to a successful career with the U.S. State Department. I know she looks up to me to set a good example, as do the youngest members of our extended family.”

An avid adventurer and traveler- after all, this is a woman brave enough to try cage diving among great white sharks off the western coast of South Africa- what keeps her returning to the law are those all-important client relationships. “I have had the opportunity to develop strong and meaningful professional relationships with clients over the years, which has been very rewarding,” McWhorter states. “In my experience, clients rely on us for our sound judgment and advice. When clients express sincere appreciation and gratitude for our good counsel and assistance in difficult legal situations, it makes it all worthwhile.”