OUR VALUES
At Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres, we share a common set of values that guide our partnerships with our clients and our colleagues:
Our focus is always on our clients’ needs and concerns and helping them achieve their goals. To that end, we partner with clients as true counselors and collaborators rather than mere legal technicians. Our relationship-based model and flexible fee structures allow us to build long-term, authentic relationships so that we can advise our clients for years to come, not just in closing their current transaction. No request of us is too big or too small.
We scale and staff small teams that invest in learning about our multifaceted clients, their plans, and their anticipated challenges. That’s how we can stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients and provide innovative, superior client service.
We strive every day for excellence among our team members. We train and learn not only as lawyers, but as professionals and leaders. Our focus is on each team members’ personal growth and development, at every level.
We also work tirelessly each day to deliver the strategic, knowledgeable, creative, experienced, and efficient counsel our clients demand and deserve in today’s fast-paced, challenging business environment. We purposefully pursue opportunities to continue to learn and innovate with our clients so we can grow and succeed together. We know this approach matters to clients, and we remain steadfastly committed to this philosophy.
CFDB was built on a foundation of developing its own unique culture and work environment. We value entrepreneurial team members. We listen and embrace collaborative leadership. We encourage lawyers and non-lawyers alike to chart their careers and define success on their own terms. We embrace flexible work arrangements, as we have done since our founding, and we recognize that a person’s value and contributions to the firm and each other come in all shapes and sizes. While we measure hours worked and billed, this is only one metric for measuring contributions to the firm. Not only does this model allow people to bring their whole selves to work and manage caregiving and other personal responsibilities, but it is the reason we punch above our weight in recruiting top-tier legal talent. The best and brightest want to work for a firm that values them, listens to them, and provides a platform for them to succeed. Our clients reap the benefits.
CFDB has grown and succeeded because of our commitment to equity, inclusion, and diversity. We recognize that those words must be more than just words on a website; we must live, learn, and be humbled by the importance of those words as operating principles in every decision we make.
CFDB is majority women-owned and controlled. We are also a certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. Businesses across a range of industries already know the importance and economic value of more diverse leadership teams. We have been, remain, and always will be committed to the foundation and future of our firm’s diversity across perspectives, race, gender, and LGBTQ+ and disability identities.
CFDB leadership works tirelessly to create an open, productive culture that encourages sharing ideas, collaborating across experience levels, and voicing honest feedback. All team members are integral to the firm’s success. Firm committees include participation of staff at all levels, and all decisions are grounded in the respect we show one another. Partnering with our clients starts first with being authentic partners to each other.
Our firm’s founders are entrepreneurs like many of our clients. As a growing firm, we navigate the same challenges that our clients face. We have been there. And our whole team embraces the mentality of building our firm together. This positions us well to really understand our clients’ businesses.
We know that entrepreneurs are a unique breed. We have adopted the entrepreneurial spirit of our clients. We enjoy new challenges and treading new ground. We enjoy digging deep to solve problems, stretching ourselves and leaning-in hard to get the job done. We are always learning and growing so we can deliver the best service and experience. It is this mindset that has helped us grow and will help us continue to impress our clients and recruit the best and brightest.
Though we can and do work anywhere — and many of us have worked in some of the largest firms in the world — we are first and foremost a Chicago firm. Our sense of place as a firm born, raised, and growing here, involving ourselves in the fabric of civic life, is an essential part of our culture. We are proud to serve Chicago, by creating jobs and opportunities, and to be part of the conversations shaping its future. And as we expand, this same commitment will expand to new communities and locations, as we encourage all of our team members to get involved locally for their own growth and fulfillment.