Firm aims to make legal services accessible and affordable for everyone.
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A New Home
That corner, once occupied by a drab and
dismal unoccupied building — an abso-
lute eyesore — has been reborn thanks
to Kresch, who has been married to wife,
Lin, for 26 years. They have five daughters,
ages 10 to 24, and live in Farmington Hills.
He undertook a major renovation of the
property he purchased in 2010. "It was
almost like building a new building, but
more difficult because we had to decon-
struct the old:' he says.
For example, the 1960s-era air condi-
tioning unit had to be cut into pieces and
hauled out by crane. All of the mechani-
cals in the building had to be replaced
as well as the heating and the windows,
which were replaced with floor-to-ceiling
glass. The lobby was updated with a spec-
tacular atrium for a more inviting feel.
"There are no hardwoods or dark
woods. It's a youthful space with open
ceilings that has a subliminal feeling of
health and well-being:' says Kresch, who
belongs to the Birmingham Temple in
Farmington Hills and lends his support
to the Holocaust Memorial Center, the
Yiddish Book Center, the annual Men's
Club Intercongregational Dinner, JARC,
Yad Ezra, the Jewish Federation, AIPAC
and Friends of the IDF, among others.
The architect of that "youthful feeling"
is Israeli designer Arik Green, who runs
his design business from Ferndale. "It was
definitely a challenge he says, "to create
the look of a non-traditional law firm and
feed into that character:'
The look Green wanted was "slick, up-
to-date and hospitable he says.
He succeeded. Guests to the firm enter
a warm and welcoming wide-open lobby
as they step off the elevators, where they
can pour a coffee at the beverage bar. Five
8
February 7 • 2013
conference rooms of various sizes — some
with sofas instead of conference tables for
a more intimate feel — line the perimeter
of the lobby.
"This is where we entertain our clients:'
Kresch says. "But the really cool stuff is
the office space where we celebrate our
employees and have fun"
The work space boasts an open lounge
with industrial ceilings, a fitness room and
a walking track nearly one-tenth of a mile
long, where you can find employees taking
laps and listening to music on their lunch
breaks. On the interior of the suite, you'll
also find "phone booths:' cozy, soundproof
private spaces where employees can relax,
read or make personal calls.
The fun space attracts a youthful work
force, says Kresch, who prefers to hire
young attorneys.
"It's a new world:' Kresch says. "We're
trying to get away from hourly billing. I
believe hourly billing is an inherent con-
flict of interest. How is the client supposed
to have any idea of how much it will cost?
We like to quote percentages or flat fees.
For example, we can incorporate a busi-
ness for $49:'
Saving Clients Money
1-800-LAW-FIRM has several practice
areas, many focused on consumer law,
such as personal injury, medical malprac-
tice and product liability. The firm, which
has offices in all 50 states and Puerto Rico,
has successfully taken on big pharmaceu-
tical companies, despite Michigan's laws
protecting them from liability.
Their newest practice area is centered
on property tax appeals, which they will
be rolling out nationally later this year.
That practice area grew from Kresch's own
experience with purchasing the company's
headquarters, which he did for more than
$1.3 million. That year he was taxed in
excess of $183,000, even though the build-
ing stood gutted and empty. The high
assessment was based on a fully finished
structure.
Kresch was outraged and started the
process toward lowering his taxes. An
agreement was reached with the city of
Southfield, and he recently received a
check for more than $250,000 for tax
reductions on the 2010, 2011 and 2012 tax
years.
"Thousands of commercial and resi-
dential property owners are being over-
assessed and it's costing them millions of
dollars:' he says.
Joshua Shillair is
managing partner of
1-800-LAW-FIRM's
Property Tax Division,
where all appeals are
done in-house. He
recently put on a semi-
nar for 60 area brokers
to educate them on the
Joshua
property
tax appeal pro-
Shillair
cess for both residential
and commercial properties.
"Assessments are too high and taxes
higher than they should be Shillair says.
"And it doesn't look like it's getting cor-
recter
Appeals could net residential property
owners anywhere from 10-15 percent
annual tax savings in the Farmington
Hills and West Bloomfield areas and up to
70 percent savings in the city of Detroit.
Commercial property owners can realize
about 20 percent in savings on their prop-
erty taxes by appealing — more in Detroit,
according to Shillair.
Bruce Liebowitz, owner of Post Guard, a
manufacturing company in Metro Detroit,
asked 1-800-LAW-FIRM to take a quick
look at his home's assessment. "It cost me
nothing out of pocket:' he says. The appeal
reduced his Farmington Hills property tax
bill by $1,000. "I'll save that money every
year going forward:' he adds.
Ari Fischmann, an insurance bro-
ker as well as real estate investor, had
1-800-LAW-FIRM take a look at the port-
folio he runs with other investors. "We've
saved 25 percent so far. Some appeals are
still pending; says Fischmann, who also
appealed the assessment of his Southfield
home and saved $930. "The process was
smooth and painless. I did virtually noth-
ing but sign my name:'
Educating The Public
The property tax seminar for brokers was the
first of many educational opportunities the
firm plans to hold to educate the public on
how to access the law for their benefit.
"It's going to take some time for the mass-
es to come to understand the way our legal
services are delivered:' Kresch says.
Stuart Dorf, president
of 1-800-LAW-FIRM,
who's been with the firm
about a year, says he was
attracted to Kresch's vision
of leveraging technology
to give accessibility and
affordability to anyone
Stuart Dorf
who has a legal need.
"Most firms want
million-dollar clients:' he says. "We don't. We
want millions of clients because we can do
more good that way"
The firm has an in-house videographer
who is creating educational materials, such
as webinars and videos as well as a website
where the public can go for practical legal
documents, such as roommate agreements.
A mobile app is also in the works, which will
give consumers information on the law.
"We're building a concept here," says
Kresch. "We want to be the Google of
law:'
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