Category: The 10 Most Influential Leaders in Legal Services 2022_Profile Story

Meet Rui Jorge Coelho Lopes, the Founder, Managing Director, and Head of Africa Relations of Lopes Attorneys Inc., a market-leading, boutique law firm based in Johannesburg. The law firm’s practice areas include civil litigation, corporate commercial, banking and finance, data protection and privacy, media law, access to information, trade, environmental law, ESG compliance, employment law, aviation law, maritime law, anti-bribery and corruption, anti-money laundering, etc.

Thanks to its pioneering solutions, Lopes Attorneys has become a leading boutique law firm on the African continent, overtaking competitors who have spent several decades within the industry. Being a firm completely grounded in a client-first philosophy, approaching its clients and mandates with holistic, creative, and cutting-edge solutions places the firm at the forefront of what it offers its clients.

The Steadfast Leader

After completing his Bachelor of Laws Degree with Distinction from one of the most prestigious universities in South Africa, the University of the Witwatersrand, Rui underwent his articles of clerkship with one of the world’s largest law firms. Later he moved on to become a fully qualified lawyer at the same firm, gaining experience in litigation, employment, and compensation, corporate commercial law, banking and finance, investigations, regulatory, and compliance.

During his tenure at his previous firm, Rui gained a keen interest in environmental law and animal welfare, which helped him bring environmental change in a meaningful manner. Soon, Rui solely started growing his own client base through his work. However, not many law firms wished to specialize in these niches. So, he decided to start his own law firm, which eventually started its journey in January 2021.

Soon after starting its journey, Lopes Attorneys Inc. was shortlisted as a finalist at the African Legal Awards as Specialist Law Firm of the Year. In the same year, the firm was also regarded as a Recommended Law Firm in South Africa by the Lawyers Global and Information and Media Law Firm of the Year and Sustainability and Natural Resources Law Firm of the Year by the Global Law Experts.

Later in January 2022, the firm was accepted into the prestigious legal network of the Legal Netlink Alliance, an alliance of independent small to medium-sized firms across the globe, which helped expand the firm’s reach and ability to service clients globally. Also, during the same year, Lopes Attorneys Inc. was shortlisted as Specialist Law Firm of the Year at the African Legal Awards. Moreover, the firm was awarded Sustainability and Natural Resources Law Firm of the Year by Corporate Live Wire.

Throughout this wonderful journey, Rui and his team had the privilege of serving several local and international clients on various mandates, from litigation, corporate advisory, and commercial transaction work to cannabis compliance and data protection.

Serving a Wide Range of Clients

Lopes Attorneys Inc. is a boutique law firm that serves many clients, from individuals to corporations, locally and internationally. The law firm always places its clients’ interests at the forefront of everything it does and strategizes novel courses of action and strategies for clients.

Under Rui’s leadership, Lopes Attorneys has brought back the old principles of attorneys, revitalizing and refreshing the profession, and turned the concept of engaging attorneys on its head. The law firm looks beyond what appears at face value, and in doing that, it ensures that value adds that come with engaging the law firm.

Preparing for the Future

Being the law firm’s founder, Rui advises young entrepreneurs to know the worth of their team and strive to be the company that pays above market and treats their staff as family members. “Your biggest asset is your staff members, so invest in them.”- He said.

Regarding the future of the boutique law firm, Rui plans to start an office in Cape Town and make its presence felt throughout Africa by opening new branches across the continent.

Meet Michael W. Cardamone, the founder, and CEO of Cardamone Law, a rare boutique firm dedicating 100% of its practice to the strong representation of injured workers under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. Currently, the law firm is spread across Pennsylvania, from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, and it has two attorneys and one ‘of counsel’ lawyer to serve clients effectively.

A graduate of Villanova University School of Law in 1999, Attorney Cardamone is a Certified Specialist in Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation- a designation earned by approximately 10% of the practicing Workers’ Compensation Lawyers in Pennsylvania.

Over the years, Attorney Cardamone has been recognized by the Best Attorneys of America, Super Lawyers, Top 100 in Pennsylvania, Lawdragon, and has a perfect 10 on 10 rating on Avvo.

Attorney Cardamone’s father was a well-known attorney in Montgomery and Buck Counties during the 1970s-90s. While growing up, Attorney Cardamone would listen to the fascinating stories at the dinner table, which eventually encouraged him to pursue law. Later in 1999, he got a job in a small but excellent law firm in the suburbs of Philadelphia, which introduced him to Workers’ Compensation Law. Since then, he has always handled Workers’ Compensation cases, and once he started to garner many of his own clients from 2012-2013, he decided to go on his own.

“For many years, I always put my head down and did my work- learning the nuances of Workers’ Compensation Law and absorbing as much as possible inside the courtroom. Then, perhaps 10 years ago or so, I started to get more involved with speaking, teaching, writing, etc.” – asserts Attorney Cardamone.

Eventually, just a few years ago, he landed a prominent role on a radio show as the Pennsylvania Work Comp Expert Attorney to help educate the population about the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Law. Later in 2022, he was selected as the Co-Chair of the Montgomery County Bar Association, Workers’ Compensation Committee, where he is still currently serving in this leadership role.

Changing Lives

“I love many aspects of the job- especially winning! There is nothing better than making that phone call to a client who has suffered physically, emotionally, and financially to alert them to the fact that we won and that they will have money coming to pay their bills.” – asserts Attorney Cardamone.

He enjoys the strategy involved in determining how to try a case, who will be the potential witnesses, what kind of documentary evidence will be needed, etc. Attorney Cardamone also loves the marketing aspects; he feels that realm is wide open and endless with possibilities vs. the legal side of things, which has a tendency to box you into particular forms, ways or behaviors. In fact, he recently branded “Always Call Cards!®”- he was nicknamed “Cards” while in high school by a math teacher at Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia, and the nickname stuck. His firm also boasts a trademark, “Comp? Cardamone!®” which highlights the fact that the firm exclusively handles Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation cases.

One of the main USPs of Cardamone Law is the level of care it provides for its clients. “I’ve heard countless clients over 23 years tell me that I listened to them, that I cared, and that I put so much effort into their cases. Too many lawyers become robotic and emotionless. I take my cases personally- which isn’t always good for one’s health, but it’s the way I’m wired. I do whatever I can, within the ethical rules, to win.”- says Attorney Cardamone.

Suggestions for Young Lawyers

Attorney Cardamone says, “The key advice I would give to a lawyer or a business person is, to be honest at all costs. Honesty is the root of everything else and so fundamental. The people that I see fail the most often tend to struggle with being honest and genuine. Be yourself- and embrace who you are and what makes you different. Be bold, but always stay ethical and honest- and always read and re-read the rules of ethics that govern your practice- or business.”

He also suggests young entrepreneurs to go at their own pace. “Do what feels right for you and your lifestyle. It’s great to speak to others about their experiences, but ultimately you have to call the shots. Don’t be guided by fear. If things don’t work out, you can always go back to what you were doing before.”– he added.

“Honesty and Passion should govern what you do. If either is missing, you won’t hit your goals.”

Picture of the Future

As the owner and founder of Cardamone Law, Attorney Cardamone never wanted to make the firm a big organization. Instead, he likes the law firm’s boutique size and the quality of work, which gives it an edge over other law firms. He says, “we are quite busy, and it’s not a long shot to add another lawyer in the near future. I want to keep the firm at 5 lawyers or fewer in the long term.”

It is very difficult to know exactly when private investigators appeared. Researchers say the first-known private investigation agency was founded by a French soldier and privateer named Eugene François Vidocq in 1833. François was inserted into the jail system (undercover) and used former prisoners as agents to investigate in the “grey areas” of the law. He developed several private investigation techniques that are still used today.

As Private Investigation became a reality, private investigators began to act independently of police in matters where clients had low confidence in the police, and to assist the police in areas where the police faced limitations or lacked contacts and experience. Presently, Private Investigators are employed through a licenced Investigation Firm or Agency, who are in turn hired by individuals, businesses, corporations, charities, law enforcement agencies, and even government agencies to conduct research, document evidence and find answers that others don’t have the experience, time, money or resources to.

Over the years, PI companies have faced fierce competition, which means they rarely worked together. Their focus was primarily on competing to land a client or discrediting their competitors, rather than providing the best possible result for the client they had landed.

For many years, this frustrated and annoyed, a veteran Information Gathering Specialist named, Axis Geffen, and through a series of interesting events, he established Axis Vero Incorporated in 2015. “Many investigations were much harder and therefore more expensive than needed. In those days, it was far more common to end the workday sitting in your employer’s back room having a drink and discussing the failures of a day than it was to have a senior investigator teach upcoming investigators how to avoid pitfalls and improve themselves. In fact, many PI firms, had an unwritten tradition that if you did something wrong, you were required to bring your boss a bottle of Scotch or whatever they drank, and then the issue would be forgotten. That wasn’t right. It wasn’t good for clients, and it kept investigators from becoming better than their predecessors, so, I changed it.”– he states.

Upon establishing his investigation firm, Axis’s strategy was to avoid things he didn’t like about companies he had worked with for years. Instead of basing his firm on surveillance and then trying to supplement with other investigative techniques, research, and technology, Axis flipped this pyramid model upside down and focused the base on solid, accurate, and reportable research, time-proven investigation techniques and supplemented with surveillance (where necessary).

Producing Accurate and Cost-Effective Results

The private investigation firm offers nearly endless investigative services, from Research to Digital Forensic Analysis and Data Recovery. It covers every genre of law and strives to produce the most cost-effective and accurate results for its clients. Axis explains by saying, “In a nutshell, it can be said that we are in the “Answers” business. Clients (from any location and in any number of situations) approach us with “Questions” they want answered, and we determine the best path to get those answers and report them to our clients in a timely and reliable manner.” By reversing the investigative model, Axis effectively secured his firm’s position in the investigative community and during the pandemic, while many competitors closed their doors (temporarily or permanently), Axis Vero Incorporated continued to grow and thrive, currently opening additional locations throughout Canada.

Serving a Wide Range of Clients

Axis and his firm work with everyone, starting from common people to law firms, governments, airlines, banks, law enforcement agencies, and even other security and investigation companies from around the world. He feels happiest when he can build a rapport for long-term friendships. Axis doesn’t need every client to bring him a file every time they speak. Many of his clients feel comfortable reaching out with a general question or just to “check in.” As the founder of the private investigation firm, Axis prefers to be viewed as someone’s trusted resource rather than a common supplier.

Advantage Over Peer

Axis’s greatest advantage over his peers is his perception. “I don’t see competitors – I see people I can help become successful. I don’t see clients – I see people that need help, and I want to help them.”– he says. Instead of chasing money, Axis often works in flat fees or pre-set retainers, like a law firm, so he is not racking up hours or thinking about billing – he is fully focused on the job, and since Axis is not waiting to get paid, he has no bias in his results. Lastly, he’ll work with anyone that wants his help, irrespective of their financial status or clout.

Using Technology 

Axis Vero Incorporated uses vastly different technology than many others. Currently, the firm offers a Digital Forensics Division headed by its Lead Digital Forensics Analysts, Aniko Kiss and Martin Musters. It also has a TSCM division for ‘bug-sweeping’ electronic devices, often supplemented by the developers of leading Canadian TSCM Software, Kestrel. It also operates in both Apple and PC environments, in-house and remotely.

At present, Axis is most proud of his client to colleague ratio. He feels that while it’s great to have a state-of-the-art Digital Forensics lab, countless resources, frequent awards for service or status, and even opening new locations, the most exciting thing is knowing that so many of his clients are considered personal friends. Many started as Axis’s direct competition or a law firm supporting an opposite side. However, today they are the people that Axis reaches out to, or they can reach out to him and just say ‘Hi.’ “I don’t feel like that is as common as it should be for other people in our industry. PIs have a long history of large egos, solitary lifestyles and one-off assignments, the way I see it, clients should feel comfortable to contact you always with anything or nothing.”– he says.

Challenges for Young Investigators

Axis feels young investigators face the challenge of gaining knowledge in a field of often paranoid or restrictive superiors. Many of the senior people in Security and Investigation firms have a very limiting attitude towards learning. While a few want young investigators to know what to do, they don’t want to share knowledge, as often, they have gaps in their training and experience themselves. “Once you succeed at learning how to do something, they (managers) often shelf you or limit your growth because they’re worried that you might outshine them. It’s a real problem in investigations that we’ve worked hard to overcome.”- he says.