Rowel Manasan

I went to law school to help people and make a meaningful difference in their lives. As part of my law school admissions essay I wrote about how I envisioned my funeral. I wanted my parents to be proud of the man I had become. I wanted my daughter to speak about how I loved her and guided her through the ups and downs of life. I wanted my wife to say that I loved her completely with a kind, caring, and giving heart. And I envisioned a packed church filled with people who spoke about how I made a real positive difference in their lives. When I was accepted by the University of California Berkeley for law school, I was ready to make good on this vision.

However, law school has a funny way of changing your plans. I love my school, but there was this unspoken pressure for students to work in large corporate law firms. You see, working at a large law firm brings a certain amount of prestige to your career because of its competitiveness and work with high end corporate clients. The environment however wasn’t me because the large corporate law firm didn’t fit my personality. It was large, intimidating, and at times cold. I felt out of place in my surroundings. Oddly enough, I sensed clients felt the same way too.

First, none of the clients wanted to talk to me. At $400 per hour, the sound of my voice and the corresponding bill in the mail would make them cringe. In some instances, I could sense clients were afraid to talk to me as if I were a large intimidating bully ready to take their money. Filipino clients would jokingly call me Rowel Manasan Attorney “Outlaw” which was a pun on Attorney “at law.” I sensed I wasn’t building a positive and meaningful relationship in their lives. I couldn’t expect these people at my funeral. They probably would be happy that I was dead!

I tried several practice areas and other law firms, and at each place I found myself drifting further away from the lawyer I wanted to be; a lawyer making a difference. This really came into the picture when I represented an uncle in his divorce case. I was painting a picture of his wife as this terrible person in court and doing a masterful job, just the way I was trained. However, after the hearing was over and I was about to leave, I saw my own cousin in the background looking on and shaking her head. I was tearing this family apart, and it wasn’t just A FAMILY, they were a part of mine. Now envisioning my funeral, I already knew that my clients were not going to be at my funeral, but now it was my family.

I knew something needed to change; some aspect of my practice. It wasn’t until my grandfather’s death that I realized the importance of getting your house in order before you die. Although my grandfather was in his eighties, I failed to explain to him the importance of legal planning in his life. About a month before my grandfather died, he was checked into a hospital because he had trouble breathing. We found out that he had cancer and an incurable bacterial infection. He had a plastic mask placed around his face and I watched in anguish how hard he struggled to breathe in life sustaining oxygen. In one instance, his heart stopped, but because there was not a Do Not Resuscitate order, the hospital resuscitated him. He looked as if he was in even greater agony. For weeks, my family agonized over the decision to let him go. Brothers and Sisters verbally and physically fought over whether my grandfather would have wanted to live or die. Had he left just a simple instruction about his wishes or appointed someone who was very familiar with his wishes and given the authority to make this important decision, my family could have avoided a lot of this strife. To this day, members of the family who were for letting him go or letting him fight feel a deep sense of regret regardless of the stance they took.

This incident got me thinking about estate and family wealth planning and how it can make profound difference in people’s lives. I began to talk to other clients about their estate planning experiences or lack of one. One of them told me about a person who had actually had a trust made by an attorney who charged them a few thousand dollars, but because the trust assets were not owned in the right way, the family went through a long and costly court process to settle the case. I know young children who had to endure both the death of their young parents, Child Protective Services, and an uncaring foster system because their parents thought that estate planning was for older folks. Families were torn apart fighting over a parent’s assets because a plan was not in place or the plan they did have failed because they got it online. So many of these problems could have easily been avoided through careful planning.

My desire is to bring back that whole notion of a personal family neighborhood lawyer to ordinary folks like you and me. So I decided that eliminating billable hours would be a key to building relationships with my clients. That means you will get charged flat fees agreed to in advance. You absolutely won’t receive any surprise bills in the mail. If you call me to let me know that your second child is born while talking to you about your legal issue, you can rest assured that you won’t get billed for that. Second, I want to remove all the intimidations and fears associated with meeting with an attorney in their office. I will make myself available to come to you in the comforts of your home and meet with you to discuss your family’s legal situation during the design of your plan. I find that clients love the comfort of being in their own home, and I enjoy getting an opportunity to really get to know you and your family because these insights will make the family wealth planning more valuable to you. Third, you don’t have to be a corporate big wig such as a Bill Gates or a Warren Buffett to get the same type of compassion and caring that I intend to provide all my clients. By choosing one of 4 estate planning plans and by enrolling in our VIP membership program, you can rest assured that all your plans and fees will be tailored to your family’s specific needs. You will be treated as if you were already a member of my own family. And because I have experience in other legal areas (e.g. personal injury, family law, immigration, creditor-debtor law), I can be that legal advisor who can direct the initial phase of your case. Think of me as your own personal legal concierge with access to the best lawyers in town. I want to make that general knowledge available to you as well. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have their own personal lawyers. You should be able to have one too.

Next, our law firm will be there to guide you every step of the way through your family wealth planning process. If you have a question, our client services director Erica will be there to answer your quick questions. She genuinely cares about helping you and will not hesitate to respond to your needs. So if you’re at the bank and you have a question about what your attorney said to you at a family wealth session you can call us and expect a response from Erica or one of our team members within 24 hours if not immediately. If your question is about a strategic or legal issue, my client services director will schedule a phone call with me for your convenience. This process is both easy and efficient because it will allow me time to think about your legal issue and give you solid answers before speaking with you. This also eliminates the inconvenience of constantly playing “phone tag” before we finally reach one another.

Also, our law firm is not just about documents. Our firm is dedicated to guiding and counseling you throughout your lifetime to insure that you have all the information that you need to make the best decision for your family. At the bare minimum, we provide a review of your plan every three years. If you wish to make any changes at that point, there will be a charge, unless you are a member of one of our valued membership programs. And finally, when the moment arrives, our firm will be there for the people you love. We will be there to help them heal and to guide them through the process of putting into action the plan you left behind for their benefit. You participation in this planning will increase your peace of mind and your family’s peace of mind while at the same time increasing family harmony.

Finally, when my grandmother passed away, I spoke at her eulogy, and one of the things that I mentioned was how she had the weirdest voice. She had a surgery done on her throat which made her voice very distinctive. When she called out for my dog Rambo, I would laugh at her and imitate it. I remember saying to myself, I would give the world to hear her voice again. But because our family wasn’t big on videos or recordings, I simply have forgotten the sound of her voice. I don’t want this to happen to others.

Through a program we call Priceless Conversations, we sit down with you and capture your voice, your stories, and your insights so that future generations can benefit from your life experiences and feel connected to you simply by listening to your voice. As a Filipino American, the stories of my parents coming to America are especially important to me because much of who I am is really defined by their struggles and triumphs. Certain traditions and influences of my heritage shape who I am and who I will become. My children and their children deserve a chance to value this heritage in their own lives. It would be a shame for that to get lost through time. I have personally done my own priceless conversation, and it made me think even more about the things that I want to pass on to my daughter and loved ones as well. You will have the opportunity to pass on your own unique stories and experiences while working with us.

Today, I feel proud of the Manasan Law Group its mission and the direction of my own personal goals in life. I have no idea when my life will end. But until then, I aspire to make a meaningful positive difference in yours.