Attorney at Law Magazine sat down with Derek J. White senior partner of The White Law Group to discuss his practice and firm. White is a trial attorney who focuses his practice on nursing home and wrongful death cases along with his work on will preparation.
AALM: Tell us about your role models and the lessons they taught you.
White: My role models are my mother, Josephine White, and Herschel Walker. My mother taught me to love and respect everyone I meet and to give my all in my endeavors. I seek to follow those lessons every day. Since becoming friends with Herschel, he has shown me how to put those lessons into action.
AALM: What do you love most about your work?
White: Serving as chief judge for the Municipal Court of Pt. Wentworth and judge for the city of Pooler. The most satisfying accomplishment any person can make on a daily basis is assisting a fellow citizen. Judges have this opportunity and I am very pleased that every single judge in this county does so.
AALM: What case most defined or redefined your practice?
White: It is not any one case that defines our practice. It is our approach and attitude that defines us. We understand it is about our clients and not ourselves. Arthur Ashe once quipped, “From what we get, we can make a living. What we give; however, makes a life.” A paycheck is nice, but endearing words written by our clients expressing how much they appreciate what we have accomplished for them are worth far more.
AALM: How would you describe the culture of the firm?
White: With God, all things are possible. (Mark 10:27) With this Bible verse at the heart of everything we do, our office motto is: Christianity is our profession, practicing law is our hobby.
We love helping others. Unfortunately, we are not big enough to have an attorney dedicated solely to pro bono work. Hopefully, that will change in the future. The world needs to see and feel that there are professionals that can make a difference – professionals who truly care about the well being of their fellow citizen.
We strive to be those professionals. When people leave our offices, they should truly know that we put our best foot forward to assist them. Even if a client’s current challenges are outside our expertise, they should still leave knowing that we did everything within our abilities to get them to the proper attorneys to handle their challenges and that we did so because we care about them.
Bottom line – clients first at all cost!
AALM: Tell us about your hobbies outside of the office.
White: When I’m not in the office, I am outdoors enjoying God’s creation. My hobbies are fishing, tennis and walking on the beach with my wonderful and lovely wife, Kelli. People are often surprised to learn that I used to bass fish professionally.
