A fourth-year twist that could serve as an added benefit
Articles
From the President’s Desk
A fourth-year twist that could serve as an added benefit
We are in the midst of a leap year, a calendar quirk that adds a day to February every four years.
The 366th day is added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year, a phenomenon best explained by the fact that our planet takes 365.25 days to orbit the sun, creating the need for a “leap” every four years.
Given the various upcoming activities in the World of Primerus, perhaps this year’s extra day can be viewed as a special gift, affording members and their clients more time to map plans to participate in the events ahead.
As Primerus has grown over the past three decades, so have the opportunities to enjoy various enriching programs, conferences, seminars, workshops, and community service activities. Many of these can be accessed by the wonders of Zoom technology, while others are traditional in-person events staged in some of the most appealing cities in the world.
For instance, this week on February 15 and 16, the 2024 Primerus Defense Institute Transportation Seminar will take place in Tampa, Fla. at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, offering members and clients a chance to travel to the beautiful Gulf Coast community for an educational program in a warm weather environment.
Relatedly, this spring the Primerus Defense Institute Convocation will take place April 18-20 in another magnificent coastal city, this time in Monterey, Calif., one of the top tourist destinations in the West. The Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa will serve as the host site for the three-day event in the quintessential ocean town on the rugged and stunning California coast.
And to round out the coastal offerings, the Primerus Business Law Institute will hold its 2024 International Summit May 8-10 in Miami Beach, Fla. at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, one of the premier resorts in the city’s Art Deco District that has long been a magnet for vacationers.
These, of course, are just a sample of the yearly offerings by Primerus, which since its founding in 1992 has developed a certain mystique among members for fostering and furthering relationships on business and personal levels.
Much of the credit for that can be traced to how such multi-day events are structured, combining educational, recreational, and social activities into one package. Traditionally, each of those events begins with a community service project, which range from packing and distributing food boxes for the needy, to sweeping beaches of debris that could be harmful to wildlife and the environment in general. Invariably, the projects also serve another purpose, doubling as a bonding experience that sets a positive tone for the Primerus gathering.
Those ties are further cemented by our shared belief in the value system of Primerus – the Six Pillars, which have helped extend our reach to more than 50 countries around the globe.
From the beginning, we have framed our efforts within the concepts of “Good People Who Happen to Be Good Lawyers.” It became our first trademarked phrase and has helped provide the guideposts for attracting only the finest boutique law firms in the world, those which continuously meet the highest standards of the legal profession.
The standards are encapsulated within the Six Pillars, which emphasize the ongoing importance of such principles as integrity, quality, value, competency, civility, and service. They serve as the measuring stick for Primerus firms and work as a natural filtering system for those that can and cannot cut it when qualifications are considered.
Members who are engaged in Primerus programs and activities stand to benefit in myriad ways, foremost of which are developing meaningful friendships and business relationships that transcend time and geographic distance. Thanks to ongoing advances in video technology, we are able to make contacts and build bridges on a global basis, expanding our operations from a merely local presence to a now worldwide audience.
In recent years, we have increased our efforts to better tell the Primerus story, making significant investments in our website, Weekly newsletter, and Paradigm magazine, highlighting the people, programs, and platforms that make us tick.
We also have placed greater emphasis on ways to make member firms increasingly successful, focusing on programs dealing with quality-of-life issues, cybersecurity measures, and in lowering overhead expenses by leveraging volume purchasing.
Those initiatives dovetail with our plans to launch the Primerus Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to marshalling the forces of “Good People” for the overall benefit of society. When fully operational, the Foundation hopefully will serve as a much-needed beacon of shining light for the world to see.
Best regards,
Jack Buchanan, President