Agriculture Today - August 2007
Sawyers & Holland, LLP specializes in providing legal services to the ag community.
There are some areas of law where the work can become relatively routine; that’s not the case when it comes to ag and water,” said attorney Dave Holland.
Holland’s partner, attorney Gary Sawyers, agrees. “We encounter unique situations that require new ideas everyday,” he said. “You have to be constantly creative to find solutions.”
The firm of Sawyers & Holland, LLP, focuses on areas important to farmers: water issues, real estate, farm program and environmental issues. In particular, the firm focuses on matters unique to agribusiness in the Central Valley, such as helping their clients receive federal project water from the Bureau of Reclamation, and navigating the complex rules of the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to receive federal farm program payments.
Although both lawyers have both been practicing law in Fresno for many years, the firm itself is new. The two became partners in September 2006. Sawyers received his law degree from UCLA in 1980. He returned to his hometown of Fresno in 1986 to raise his family, and developed a specialty in water law. Holland received his law degree from UC Davis in 1992. He joined a firm in Fresno where he developed a specialty in agribusiness, including working with farmers and their bankers on ag financing.
Because their individual practices are so similar, they found themselves frequently working on the same deals but for different clients. Holland said, “We came to respect each other’s abilities while working on opposite sides of the table, and realized that we had the same views about the business and practice of law. We saw that we’d have many advantages in working together.”
Looking for ways to provide value
We’re always looking for new ways to provide high quality services in a cost-effective way,” Sawyers said. “We realize that no one likes to pay legal fees.” One way the firm tries to save money for its clients is through paralegals Joanne Gomez and Bob Phillips. Gomez specializes in FSA matters, and Phillips specializes in Reclamation matters.
Prior to joining the firm, Gomez worked for several years at the Fresno County FSA, reviewing farmers’ and ranchers’ paperwork to participate in the federal farm programs. Holland explained “we do a lot of FSA work, and we got know her while she was working at the agency. When we heard she might be leaving, we saw an opportunity to put her expertise to work for our clients. She knows what the agency is looking for, and she has great working relationships with FSA offices all over the Valley.”
Bob Phillips spent his career at the Bureau of Reclamation, with much of his time devoted to compliance issues for West Side farmers and water districts. When Bob retired several years ago, Sawyers immediately invited him to work in his firm. “Before Bob retired,” Sawyers said, “he was the first person we’d go to with Reclamation questions. He still is. Having him in our office is a huge resource for our clients.”
Gomez and Phillips allow the firm to get FSA and Reclamation work done quickly and a lower cost. “Joanne and Bob were the people who reviewed the paperwork farmers and lawyers submitted to their agencies, so who better to prepare that paperwork?” Holland asked. “And when Gary or I have questions about that paperwork, Joanne and Bob are the people we turn to for answers. We can have Joanne and Bob do that work, and we have great confidence that it’s getting done right because of their expertise. It’s a great deal for our clients because we don’t have to charge attorney rates for that work.”
Relationship-Driven
I asked the two lawyers about their business model and goals for the new firm. Both agreed that maintaining and developing close relationships with their clients was their highest priority.
Sawyers believes that their clients are more than just clients. “I consider a great many of my clients to be some of my closest friends,” he said.
Our office is small and informal. We respond to our clients on both a professional and a personal level,” Holland said. “Their problems are our problems. When they have an issue, we use our knowledge of their operations to get it resolved in a way that makes the most sense for them.”
Sawyers added, “We like to think of ourselves as part of the ag community. We think ag is something special, and with so many people attacking it we want to help protect it.”