David Feakes was featured in Boston Voyager’s Inspiring Story Series. (Read or share the full article here.)
What is the Inspiring Stories series? Here’s what the folks at the online publication have to say about it: “Every neighborhood in the Greater Boston area has its own vibe, style, culture and history, but what consistently amazes us is not what differentiates the various neighborhoods but rather what they all have in common. From Cambridge to Quincy (and everywhere in between) we’ve been blown away by how many creative and talented people call Boston home. [These are] some of the inspiring stories we’ve discovered throughout the city.”
DECEMBER 11, 2017
Meet David Feakes of The Parents Estate Planning Law Firm in Acton
Today we’d like to introduce you to David Feakes.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The story of our law firm is really the story of my family. One of the main reasons I started my own firm was to be able to spend more time with my oldest daughter who had just turned one. Commuting from Littleton, MA to Boston and back took up 3 hours of every day. I often left before Hannah woke up in the morning and came home after she was asleep for the night. I wanted more time with her – and I wanted to see her with her eyes open! Opening my own firm enabled me to be able to read bedtime stories with her, feed her and just enjoy watching her grow up.
It was shortly after our second daughter was born that my wife quit her job to stay home. Once both girls were in school, Paula decided she wanted to go back to work. I invited her to help me out in the office. That was 10 years ago. Paula is now my Marketing and Client Services Director. We are both equally passionate about what we do and truly enjoy working together.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Really, the biggest challenge to building a successful law firm is that law schools never teach you how to start and grow a sustainable law business. Period. And, a law firm is a business – we are in the business of selling legal services. The other major (ongoing) challenge for me is learning how and when to get out of my own way so the firm can do what it wants to do naturally – grow and help more people. I work a lot on my mindset because I know the firm can only grow as much as I grow personally.
The Parents Estate Planning Law Firm – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The work we do is also the story of my family.
I started out in Boston as a litigator, but when I opened my own firm, I wanted to practice in a way that was non-confrontational. I tried estate planning and really enjoyed it. Focusing on estate planning for young families allowed me to work with clients who were like me: parents with young children – who most often have no idea how or where to get starting in the important work of protecting their children in the event of a disaster. I had done all of the planning with my own family, figured out where “traditional estate planning (aka, the way it’s always been done)” was failing young families, and created unique planning elements that filled those gaps and made sure my kids were protected – no matter what.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
For me, success is defined when I work with a client who walks out of my conference room feeling content and relieved that they have a plan in place to protect their family should something happen to them.
Someone once asked me if “luck” played a role in my success. Honestly, I am not a believer in “luck”. I truly feel that people make their own luck, and I subscribe to the philosophy that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. What some people perceive as luck is almost always an opportunity that presents itself after a lot of effort and often many failures.
I have a Japanese proverb posted on my bulletin board: “Fall Down 7 Times, Stand Up 8”. It’s a reminder to me that, no matter how many setbacks I encounter, I always need to be moving forward.
Contact Info:
- Address: 289 Great Road, Suite 302
Acton, MA 01720 - Website: ParentsEstatePlanning.com
- Phone: 978-263-6900
- YouTube: www.youtube.com/@parentsestateplanning
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/parentsestateplanning
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/parentsestateplanning/
- Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/the-parents-estate-planning-law-firm-acton
