Parris Law Firm, Lancaster’s largest firm, has racked up a series of high-dollar verdicts in the past few months – a feat that reflects its growth since inception, growth that now includes a second location in the county.
Founder Rex Parris and partner Alex Wheeler in September secured a $20 million award for the family of a Lancaster woman killed in a head-on collision. Earlier in the month, attorneys Jason Fowler and Jonathan Douglass won a $6.88 million verdict for a client injured in a crossover collision – far exceeding the $100,000 settlement offer from the defendant’s insurance carrier. And in July, Parris and son Khail Parris won an $8.9 million award for a client severely injured in a head-on drunk driving collision, well over the defendant’s policy limit of $25,000.
“They do seem to be coming,” Rex Parris deadpanned in a recent interview.
Founded in 1985 with Rex Parris arguing cases and wife Carrol Parris as the administrator, the firm now has 19 total attorneys. This has allowed it to go from arguing one case a year to having at least 10 trials in a year.
“I’m happy I don’t have to do it myself anymore,” he said. “I’ve got a group of really good trial lawyers and another group on the bench who are developing really good skills. That’s gratifying.”
The firm also opened its second location this summer, leasing out a Westwood office and staffing it with three attorneys – with room to grow.
“In order to get the talent we want, they won’t always move to Lancaster,” conceded Rex Parris, who is also mayor of the Antelope Valley city. “We’d like them to be in Lancaster for a few years, because there’s a culture we want to transfer there. We have a few guys who have been here for a few years work out of the Westwood office, but ultimately, it’s going to be for new lawyers, because that’s the only way we can get them.”
Rex Parris freely admitted that that sons Khail and Rutger Parris would eventually get the keys to the business. He also expects the firm to continue growing and become a mainstay in the Antelope Valley, as opposed to other private practices that shutter when the founder retires.
“We built it to be a generational firm,” Rex Parris said. “It was always built to hand to the kids, and that makes a substantial difference in how you do the firm.”
Khail Parris described building a career under his father’s tutelage as being an interesting experience, with both advantages and disadvantages. As he and his brother prepare for the ultimate leadership change, he acknowledged that perhaps the biggest shoes to fill would be those of their mother, who has run the business end of the operation since day one.
“What we’re doing is putting together a leadership team that can take on the role that she had,” Khail Parris said. “Ever since the firm started, she’s been the boss. Everybody knew that if you needed something done administratively, you went to her.