Two City Lawyers Form Practice
Smith and Worthington share elder law expertise
Mark Worthington said that although he and Paula Smith work in the same field, they bring different skills to the joint practice.
"Some things that might hang me up for hours don't hang her up at all, and vice versa," he said.
Before forming the partnership, Smith and Worthington both had private practices in Worcester. Smith had also previously been a partner at Lian, Zarrow, Eynon and Shea in the city. While working in their individual practices, the two got to know each other through a professional association of elder law lawyers.
Worthington said that, while lawyers in firms often operate much like individual businesses, handling their own cases and jealously guarding their clients from their partners, he and Smith work together on 80 percent of their cases. He added that the rarity of that kind of ability to cooperate makes it unlikely they will add any more lawyers to the firm.
"It's kind of like lightning striking," he said. "I kind of doubt it will happen again."
But Worthington said their support staff of two will probably grow as they add more business.
He said that growth is likely even if the economy continues to slip, since people will always need help dealing with issues like disability planning, wills and guardianship issues, as well as navigating the Medicare and Medicaid systems.
"The bottom line is that, first of all, people don't stop dying and they don't stop becoming incapacitated regardless of what the economy does," he said.
But Worthington said the field is only a good one for lawyers who don't want to do a high-volume business.
"There's so much you can do for people, but not if the attorney meets with you for an hour and then never sees you again," he said.
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