“We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them” ― Albert Einstein

Practicing law is not as demanding as rocket science or brain surgery. Even when it comes to mastering the intricacies of the Internal Revenue Code or the fine points of securities regulation, a good lawyer must be careful and attentive to detail. The IRC and the Securities Acts of ’33 and ’34 aren’t quite as challenging as higher level math or neuroanatomy.

The most important qualities in good lawyering are basic legal savvy combined with organizational skill and a healthy dose of common sense.

When it comes a major legal assignment, such as preparing a 10-K filing or S-1 registration statement, we always begin the same way. We start by breaking the job down into its constituent parts. We identify the individual steps that need to be accomplished and the inputs from third parties necessary to complete each task along the way. Organization and method go a long way when you need to tackle what appears to be a daunting legal challenge.

Clients typically come to us lacking internal systems or procedures in order to handle their regulatory reporting. This lack of infrastructure and defined process can result in confusion and panic as the next filing deadline approaches. All too often we find these clients scurrying around and trying to surmount their next 10-K with the frenzied effort of an amphibious assault on hostile beach instead of the methodical, boring approach of what is, after all, nothing more than a regulatory filing.

Our role is a simple one. We are there to impose order and method to madness and confusion. Using tools and our legal project management skills, we work as a team with outside auditors and the client’s internal finance staff, taming the chaos and instituting an orderly business routine. Everyone has a role, and a responsibility; each task is broken into sub-tasks with deadlines. Working together with management, our methodology of divide, assign and conquer, effectively streamlines and makes manageable the process of regulatory reporting.

The benefit of our experience is that it allows us to put in place an orderly business process that establishes and maintains regulatory compliance for our clients with a minimum of angst and wasted effort. By partnering with our clients, we develop a thorough understanding of their business operations, which enables us to prepare regulatory filings that are informative, compliant and accurate. Our ultimate goal is to minimize the costs and burdens of reporting and compliance for small and mid cap companies.

You can read more here about our approach to partnering with small cap companies in the profile of our firm that appeared in the most recent issue of Forbes.  Or else feel free to contact us to learn more about how we can help your company better manage the the process of securities reporting.