Who We Are

From the Desk of James Ferrell

A Little Background…  I set out to create a non-traditional boutique estate planning and probate law firm unlike any other in Memphis.  With an emphasis on families, estate protection and basing plans on what you and your family need not what is best for a lawyers pocket book.  We have thrown out conventional hourly billing and instituted flat-fee only billing for estate planning services. By doing this our law firm is transforming the way estate planning lawyers have traditionally conducted business. I started back in 1999 with a national investment advisory firm and later worked as president of a wealth management firm. 

Using my experience in prior positions, I formed the Ferrell Law Firm in 2006.  I took what I had learned, created my own best practices and left behind what simply didn’t work. Because of this, we are very different from other law firms in three distinct ways:

  1. Your Memphis Estate Planning is About You, Not the Lawyer: It doesn’t matter how many families I have helped, or how many degrees I have.  It doesn’t matter how much I know about complex estate planning strategies and divorce.  In the long run, I’m not the one who has to live with your divorce or estate plan … you are. Some Memphis estate planning lawyers feel that they need to impress their clients with how smart they are, or pressure them into one-size-fits-all plans.  My job is to listen to you, truly listen to you, and use my experience to help guide you to the right direction for you and your family. 
  2. We Do all Estate Planning on a Flat-Fee Basis: People like things that they can count on in their lives.  What they don’t like are expensive and unexpected bills from lawyers.  For these reasons, we have gotten rid of all the unpleasant surprises by performing your estate planning on a flat-fee basis.  We speak openly about our fees up front, and our clients work with us to choose their own fees. That’s right, they choose their own fees. Our clients are a lot happier with this arrangement, and so are we. 
  3. We Make It Easy For You: As a father I understand firsthand how busy working families can be, and that it can be a struggle to put your own needs ahead of your kids, your family, your clients and your customers. The reality is that if something like estate planning can be put off, it will, sometimes indefinitely.I can not tell you the number of times I’ve spoken with a new client who walks through my doors and admits sheepishly, “James, we’re embarrassed to tell you this, but even though our kids are 5 and 7, we haven’t done any estate planning.”I want to say, “It’s okay, you’re definitely not alone.” But the truth is that no one knows when they will die. While you may not feel that it is likely that something will happen to you prematurely, it’s possible. And if you don’t have a plan, or don’t have a plan that works for your needs, the effect of an early death could be absolutely catostrophic to your family and young children in particular.
    Because of this, we do everything we can to make it as easy for you as possible.  With a typical family, we complete a plan in 2 to 3 meetings over the course of 4 to 8 weeks.  We offer complete trust funding services and offer a plan review every three years so you can have total peace of mind that your plan will work when you need it.  

Read more about Why We Are Different.
Read more about Who We Help.
Read more about Our Attorneys.