About Marin Law Center

Marin Law Center was founded in 1994, originally named "Lawyers on Duty" and renamed "Marin Law Center" in 1999 by Fred A Rico Hurvich, Esq., with the following principles:

  • Clients can often be given the information they need to do the legal work they have to do without any attorney fees at all by, for example, buying a Nolo Press self-help law book from our lobby (or any bookstore, or by borrowing one from a library). Supplied with the right information, clients can often be spared legal fees altogether. We also refer people to certain offices and agencies that can sometimes help them without charge.
  • If legal services are needed, we try to keep costs to a few hundred dollars, rather than thousands, by having legal secretaries and paralegals prepare forms - under the attorney's supervision. When an attorney's time is needed, as it is in the initial consultation, we charge at a rate ($280) well below market rate.
  • Originally, part of the concept of the firm was that our attorneys would not go to court to litigate at all. While attorneys could make phone calls and write letters and briefs, clients could represent themselves in court, if necessary, or an outside litigator could be brought in as a last resort. This provided clients with the security of knowing that their attorney was not building a case up into unnecessary litigation. However, it created the need for a new, outside attorney to familiarize themselves with the case should a court appearance be required.
Gregory R. Brockbank, Esq., was one of the primary litigators brought in on such occasions, and in 2003, on the pending retirement of Rico Hurvich, Greg took over the firm. Greg adhered to the original philosophy of providing low-cost and low-stress legal services, but he made one major change: while we avoid going to court as much as possible, when necessary, we will, so there is no longer any need to bring an outside attorney up to speed when that is necessary. Nonetheless, we continue to emphasize low fees on everything from brief consultations to full representation, emphasizing family law (divorces), landlord/tenant law (evictions and eviction defense), and living trust packages (a living trust and various accompanying documents). We also do general civil litigation and other transactional work, such as contracts, name changes, administrative law, etc. Rather than charge large retainers (and then, as too many attorneys do, litigate a case excessively in order the justify that retainer), we only charge the client on the first day the cost of the initial consultation, and we then bill them for future work. Our clients only come to us when they have problems, and we want them to leave feeling that their interaction with their lawyer was one good part of the experience.