The Law Firm of Jason Huf International (JHI) wishes all of our friends around the Muslim world a happy Eid Al Adha. As pilgrims from all over the world celebrate the completion of one of Islam's most cherished Holy Rites, I am pleased to announce that JHI has successfully finished a journey of its own:
Last year, we published a discussion of JHI's business model, "Big Firm Resources Without the Massive Overhead", which described the broad range of resources made available to JHI's clients in a manner that keeps our costs competitive. From the the firm's beginning, my goal was craft a business model that made the provision of legal services more efficient and client-friendly.
At JHI's 5-Year Anniversary gathering last month, I unveiled news of a critical development toward my continual commitment to achieve this goal. As planned from its foundation, JHI's New York City presence is now a purely "virtual" one.
When I started JHI, there was simply no substitute for "Being There" - I had to be in Manhattan, day in and day out. Now that I've established myself as the "Mr. Middle East of Lower Manhattan", the brick and mortar facility formerly known as The Monastery is no longer necessary. As planned from the jump, JHI will maintain the advertised address at Suite 615 of 11 Broadway as a mail stop and shared services facility, but will no longer have to bear the expense of fully operational and staffed physical plant elsewhere Downtown.
While time zone differences and varying work weeks in different cultures are still a factor, technology makes it possible for me to run my practice from anywhere in the world. Physical plant will always be necessary in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia & our associated office at the Khalil Khazindar Firm remains unchanged. JHI also maintains additional resources, including VAT practitioners and experienced litigators/ arbitrators, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE - Abu Dhabi & Dubai), India and Singapore. However, having successfully planted our flag in the Big Apple, I can now execute the original plan for the firm's business structure by operating from New York City on a purely "virtual" basis, and do so in a manner wherein JHI keeps its access to a wide network of attorneys working in a broad range of practice areas.
In short, with overhead even lower than before, JHI's rates will remain competitive; and, we still provide clients with seamless access to "Big Firm" resources in a way that is extremely economical.
From my own perspective, a total of over four hours of commute time, round trip daily, can now be used for more productive purposes. Whether its additional billable time, special projects unrelated to my practice or simple relaxation necessary to maintain work-life balance, that's more than 20 hours per week that I will devote to, well, whatever I want...
Though I will be back from time to time as business requires, I already miss taking occassional breaks in Battery Park. Working from the office in my home is certainly an adjustment. I may write books, teach, put more focus into booking public speaking engagements, or just sit in the back yard and read for fun (I haven't read for fun in years). I may even become active/ reengage in politics.
I will almost certainly travel more often to points East. Not being grafted to a desk two hours from my house on a near-daily basis will make such travel more feasible. I view this as critical as JHI enhances its capabilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and throughout the Gulf (GCC) region, and becomes the GCC-wide "Regional Super Firm" I set out to establish five years ago.
So, it seems exploring the boundaries of my own business will further enable JHI to help our clients (you and your company, I hope) to Explore the Boundaries of Your Business. I couldn't be more pleased.
Happy Eid Al Adha!
– Jason Huf
Thursday, August 16, 2018
"Parts Unknown", USA