Fresno Business Journal
Four partners with Fresno law firm McCormick Barstow have struck out on their own to form a new boutique firm that will be majority women-owned.
Former McCormick partners Tim Thompson, Marshall Whitney, Mandy Jeffcoach and Niki Cunningham have joined forces to establish Whitney, Thompson & Jeffcoach. The attorneys have years of trial experience in areas including professional malpractice defense, business litigation, health care law, public entity defense, estate and trust litigation and construction law.
Combined, the four have nearly 90 years of experience in litigation practice and hope to create a lasting legacy in the Central Valley legal scene with their new firm — called WTJ for short.
WTJ’s clients include family-owned businesses, Fortune 500 companies, accountants, lawyers, physicians, farmers, landowners and other professional.
In addition to an emphasis on serving clients, WTJ’s attorneys said they will also focus on creating a culture of teamwork to foster creativity and problem solving.
“The founding of this new firm, based on the core values we will require of each other, energizes me to look forward to many more years of successfully serving our clients,” said Whitney, who had been with McCormick Barstow since 1978.
As a majority women-owned law firm, there will also be an emphasis on achieving a better work-life balance using collaboration, flexible schedules and remote-working technology — methods to exceed client needs while not being confined within four walls.
“Both women and men today want to spend quality time with their families,” Jeffcoach said. “It’s important for us to respect that balance, and our clients like to see that is a part of our overall teamwork and firm culture.”
In addition to the four partners, WTJ will begin with two support staffers, and will soon begin looking for a couple more associates to join the firm.
“Our approach to this firm opens a lot of doors in practicing law that others may not have available to them,” Cunningham said. “We want the right people, who are in this industry for the right reasons.”
Thompson described the split with McCormick Barstow as amicable, with some surprised of the move and others not since the four operated as a sort of unit within the Valley’s largest law firm.
Thompson said he and his partners are excited to start building a “separate and different legacy.”
“It is a tremendous responsibility when a client trusts us to resolve their legal disputes or counsel a business on ways to avoid disputes and grow their business,” he said. “We all feel blessed for these opportunities to serve and know that our clients recognize and appreciate the teamwork and collaboration my partners will all provide in our service.”
The WTJ office is located at 8050 N. Palm Ave., Suite 110, in Fresno. The firm can be reached at wtjlaw.com or 559-753-2550.
