Schuyler “Rocky” Reidel
I am the founder and managing attorney for Reidel Law Firm. I started the Firm in 2014 with a vision to provide valuable, cost-effective counsel to business owners in Texas. As the Firm has grown, I have expanded my practice to bring my personable and accessible brand of counsel to include franchise law and international trade matters. While my firm is based in Galveston, Texas – where I grew up, I am often found around the world traveling for business events and assisting clients around the world. If I am not in Texas I am most likely to be found in Russia, Panama, United Arab Emirates, or China. But don’t worry, we still have US business hours and we’ll find a way to work with you anytime.
I am still learning Mandarin and Russian but feel free to quiz me on the basics. I have many friends, colleagues, and trusted resources in China, Russia, and around the world. When I am not helping clients build successful businesses around the world, I enjoy hiking, fishing, sailing, chess, and (very) amateur fencing. I currently reside in Galveston, Texas with my lovely wife after graduating from University of Arkansas-Little Rock’s Bowen School of Law and Sam Houston State University with a public relations degree. I have previously enjoyed hosting my own radio show and have developed an enthusiasm for free and open source software.
I have a major passion for helping businesses thrive and assisting owners to reach their full potential. I built the Firm to embody the very values I find important in any business relationship: accessibility, efficiency, and dependability. Here are a few of the ways I practice those values everyday:
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I answer my own phone and emails. How can you get important and timely counsel when you have to go through robot menus or a thousand assistants to just chat about what the issues are? I hate robot phone menus, we will never use those at Reidel Law Firm. We also have developed a secure, encrypted communications channel for our clients to use so they are not constrained by our office hours to reach us. You can check it out here: chat.reidellawfirm.com.
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Every project is flat fee, so don’t sweat the nickels and dimes with Reidel Law Firm. I believe billing by the hour is neither efficient nor ethical for attorneys (more on that below) so we do not bill by the hour here, each project is billed on a flat fee determined by the scope of the project, the complexity of the matter, and the time involved. We are on the same side, let’s get the project done the right way and on time.
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I meet my deadlines and show up ahead of schedule. A big reason for this is that I provide realistic timelines for my clients or potential clients. I don’t have 24-hour turn around. I keep my practice areas limited so I don’t get behind on schedule and work efficiently for clients.
If it sounds like I or Reidel Law Firm might be a fit to assist you and your business, give me a call – let’s find a way to work together. My job as an attorney is to make your life easier by having an experienced and knowledgeable counselor on your side to take or give punches to protect your business.
Bar Admissions and Licenses:
- Texas, 2014
- US District Court – Southern District of Texas, 2015
- US Court of International Trade, 2016
- US Customs Broker, 2016 (CHB)
- Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, 2021 (CAMS)
- Certified Global Sanctions Specialist, 2022 (CGSS)
Associations:
- Council Member, Business Law Section of the Texas State Bar (2020-2022)
- Vice Chair, Business Law Section of the Texas State Bar (2021-2022)
- Chairman, General Practice Committee, Business Law Section of Texas State Bar (2016-Present)
- Secretary/Treasurer, Business Law Section of Texas State Bar (2019-2020)
- Member, Business Law Section of Texas State Bar (2016-Present)
- Member, Forum on Franchising, American Bar Association (2014-Present)
- Member, Association of Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (2020-Present)
- Member, International Compliance Professionals Association (2021-Present)
- Member, National Defense Industry Association (2021-Present)
- Member, US-Russia Chamber of Commerce (2021-Present)
- Member, Houston Customs Brokers Association (2021-2022)
Interesting Activities:
- Speaker, Franchise Saudi Arabia, Small & Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha’at) (2019)
- Featured Speaker, Middle East & North Africa Franchise Association, Dubai Exhibition (2017)
- Member, Sindjelic Fencing Club, Belgrade, Serbia (October 2017 – Present)
Free or Open Source Software I use and Sponsor:
Why Flat Fees?
Flat fees make sense for everyone involved, especially clients. Costs to an attorney in the practice of law are not relevant to a client’s interest. Client’s want a problem solved, and are not concerned about what the cost is to the attorney to achieve that goal. A law firm is a business like any other and nearly all costs are fixed. Consumers in any other industry are not concerned with the costs of production, they are concerned about the price to the consumer. The legal market is no different.
Flat fees help take an attorney’s attention away from the time factor for a project and better focuses on the complexity of the matter and how to achieve the best results for the client. Ultimately, it aligns both the attorney’s and client’s interests to achieve the right results in the right time frame.
Whats Wrong with Billing by the Hour?
Frankly, it is bad for clients. The fundamental problem with hourly billing is that it places the interests of the client out of alignment of the interest of the attorney, creating a conflict of interest. When an attorney has a financial incentive to spend more time on a matter, an attorney is likely to spend more time on the matter. Clients want problems solved, solved as quickly, effectively, and economically as possible. The attorney’s interest under the billable hour is to make more money, i.e. to spend more time on the matter.
Most medium and big law firms require associates to bill a certain number of hours each year to receive a bonus. Under pressure of the billable hour system, associates become very inefficient at the clients’ expense. The client’s interest and the firm’s interest are not aligned and causes problems.
