LATHROP AND GAGE: Lighten Up & Enjoy Your Lucre (Part 1)

Dear Lathrop and Gage:  lighten up and enjoy your lucre. Regards, Unhappy Franchisee

Lathrop & Gage, the powerhouse law firm, is tattling to mommy that Jonny Fortman said bad things about them on UnhappyFranchisee.com.

Lathrop and Gage has filed a Defendant Motion for Sanctions and a Defendants Motion for Protective Order (on behalf of their clients) against Fortman, their opposing counsel in the case of Markeeta Rivera, et al., Plaintiffs, vs. Simpatico, Inc., Stratus Franchising, LLC, et al., Defendants.

Lathrop & Gage is defending the alleged sleazedog scam artists (note that I said alleged, counselors) known as Stratus Franchising, LLC and Simpatico, Inc., headed by Dennis Jarrett and Pete Frese.

Attorney Jonathan Fortman is representing more than 100 alleged victims, many of whom turned over their life savings to the defendants and their master franchisees for “guaranteed” janitorial jobs, and received little to nothing in return.

Lathrop & Gage is being paid huge sums for their team of lawyers (Scott J. Dickenson, Mathew A. Jacober, John D. Ryan, Emily E. Kiser - referred to collectively as the “poodles”** on UnhappyFranchisee.com),  presumably from the life savings of many of the plaintiffs.

Attorney Jonathan Fortman is working on contingency, since what little savings his clients amassed was seemingly stolen from them in the Stratus Building Solutions franchise scam.

Lathrop & Gage has 281 attorneys and is the 150th largest firm in the United States*.

Jonathan Fortman has Jonathan Fortman… and a single paralegal (the formidable Kelly Spann).

Lathrop & Gage has gross revenues of $138,000,000, revenue per lawyer of $475,000, and profits per partner of $465,000*.

When Jonathan Fortman wins a big settlement, as he did on behalf of the defrauded franchisees of Contours Express, he uses his portion to finance representation of those who can’t afford representation, like the janitorial franchisees of Stratus Building Solutions.

Lathrop & Gage is Mr. Potter chiding George Bailey for “playing nursemaid to a lot of garlic-eaters.”

Attorney Jonathan Fortman is George Bailey, sticking up for clients others take advantage of, then discard.

Lathrop & Gage is like the redcoats, insisting on lining up in the open and firing from proper formation… using $1000 dollar bullets paid for by their clients.

Jon Fortman is like the minutemen, firing musket loads of grapeshot from behind trees, rocks and bushes.

Lathrop & Gage brags it was founded in 1873 “on the heartland principles of honor, service, trust and value.”

Jonathan Fortman personifies honor, service, trust and value in the present day.

Jonathan Fortman was described as being like a “junkyard dog”** on a conference call conducted by Lathrop and Gage attorneys.

Lathrop and Gage attorneys Scott J. Dickenson and Mathew A. Jacober were described as “poodles” by the Stratus insider on the same call**.

Now the poodles have their fluffy coats in a bunch because the junkyard dog has expressed opinions in a public, unpaid forum (ee-gad)… and that, yap the poodles, is unacceptable and just not FAIR!

Reason #1 Lathrop & Gage Should Lighten up & Enjoy the Lucre: Partner Profits

Lathrop and Gage should put aside its hurt feelings and remember the ultimate goal:  to get that profit-per-partner up to $500,000.

Without a bogeyman, kids’ nightlight manufacturers would be out of business.

In the movie Hook, remember how miserable Captain Hook was without Peter Pan to battle?

Predatorial franchisors have gotten snug and secure, hiding behind their well-constructed corporate entities, behind their clever structures where they can use individual master franchisees as scapegoats, and mountains of one-sided agreements that favor them.

But we all know the big, big partner profits are not in creating corporate entities and master franchise agreements.  The BIG, big partner profits come when enraged corporate con-men and thieves come running to a law firm like Lathrop and Gage, waving their checkbooks, because somebody has the audacity to publicly call them con-men and thieves.

Corporate con-men and thieves have invested in a system they believe will protect them from being outed as con-men and thieves.  When that protective veil of polite discourse and “professional conduct” is broken, money is no object – they will pay whatever it takes to defend their fictional honor.

So, Lathrop and Gage should not work so hard to silence the voices that enrage the con-men and thieves.

After all, it is that outrage and indignation that transforms con-men and thieves from really good clients into GREAT clients.

Continue reading LATHROP AND GAGE: Lighten Up & Enjoy Your Lucre (Part 2)

Read more here:  Janitorial / Commercial Cleaning Franchise Issues

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH LATHROP AND GAGE?  SCOTT DICKENSON AND MATHEW JACOBER?  STRATUS BUILDING SOLUTIONS?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

Contact UnhappyFranchisee.com

* Source:  The American Lawyer

** The actual nicknames “junkyard dog” and “poodles” were coined by UnhappyFranchisee commenter and Stratus insider Reasoned Source.

Disclaimer:  The assertions and personal characterizations in this post are personal opinions and should be interpreted as such.  They are opinions – Smart, well-reasoned and clever opinions – not statements of fact.