Veneer to virtual:

“When I was practicing at the old firm, there were six attorneys, so I was kind of limited in what I was practicing to mostly family and probate law. I wanted to have the ability to do civil practice as well.

“My leaving was very cordial, but at that point after I left, Gaston, Marion and Stubbs has been very helpful, offering their advice and support. I am very appreciative of that,” Corbett said.

If you had asked Corbett a year ago about starting his own law firm, he would have responded, “it would be a frightful adventure to even consider doing it. But over time, it took less time than I thought. You need a law degree, obviously, but other than that, you need malpractice insurance and a place to work,” he said.

For a while after he left the GM&S firm, that place where he practiced law was his car.

“For a while, I felt a little bit like the Lincoln Lawyer (from the Michael Connelly book and Matthew McConaughey movie of the same name), because I was meeting clients anywhere and talking on the phone, and Maria Hedgpath, who is the head of the Fern Creek Group, allowed me to use the space in her office,” Corbett said.

“I never thought working out of your car as a lawyer was possible, but it is,” Corbett said.

“As long as you have the ability to represent your clients, print out any documents and advocate, you can practice anywhere,” he said.

Corbett intends to get into more personal injury cases. GM&S already had two good personal injury attorneys so Corbett’s chance to practice that kind of law was limited.

“I would get the family court cases, and I enjoy family court, I enjoy probate court and business litigation as well,” Corbett said.

With Hedgpath’s input, Corbett set out to mold both the office and his practice to his specifications.

“The work you see in the office was all her handiwork, and we’re very satisfied with it,” Corbett said.

In addition to offices for himself and paralegal Anne Shirley, Corbett has a “multi-fitness” room with a treadmill and a stand-up desk, a reception area and a virtual “office” where you come into the room, sit down on a beanbag chair, slip on a VR headset, and you are instantly on a starship orbiting the earth. Oh, and you have three virtual “desktops” to work from, composing emails or notices, writing legal briefs or even communicating with a client…all at the same time.

“In this office, we try to make it a moveable space, in every room. You’ll see a TV in our conference room — we can lock into any of the laptops we have through a docking station. And the laptops can be docked with the docking station in our multi-fitness room. That gives Anne and me and the employees that we have not only the flexibility to work but also to enjoy the space. I’ve been on the treadmill before typing out a letter, and forgot I was walking. I got in two and a half miles that day,” he laughed.

The space seemed almost tailor made for a law practice (barring the innovations and modifications).

Incredibly, the previous owner of the building lived two miles from where Corbett went to high school in Myrtle Beach. Corbett’s dad was acquainted with the owner, as they were both dentists.

Confidentiality is an attorney’s stock in trade and this building where Corbett is “building” his practice certainly offers that.

“What makes this building nice is it was an old dental practice, so the walls are all insulated and soundproofed. This 2,000 s.f. building gives us the opportunity to conduct mediations; I can have one client in this room, the breakout room, and one client in the conference room, and they’ll never hear what each other is saying. The installed speakers that were there in the dentist office can be set to play white noise (or soothing music, as it was doing during the ribbon cutting that day) and we can definitely mute the sound going in and out of the building,” Corbett said.

“A lot of times, you don’t want the other side hearing what the discussions are in the room, because there are a lot of things that happen that is not necessarily told to the other side in a mediation,” he said.

Corbett said his law firm may accept more mediation cases, both ADR (alternate dispute resolution) and arbitration cases. He also is considering adding bankruptcy proceedings to his list of services.

In addition to starting up a new law firm, Corbett has to juggle his law practice with his public duties as a Chester County Magistrate. He was appointed as a Magistrate Judge in May of 2023.

“I’ve been a magistrate since May, and we’ve been working on getting this office up and running. When the scheduling does pose some challenges, one of the great things is when I have a hearing set for Thursdays or Mondays; the other magistrates are very keen to switch out days with me. They are great to work with, and they will give me a Friday whenever I ask for it,” Corbett said. As a judge, each magistrate must occasionally put in a weekend, which are Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

“There have been some conflicts and a little juggling is required, but with (Chief Magistrate) Kim Williford, and Magistrate Judges Angel Underwood and Angela Boyd, we work it out,” he said. While Corbett’s office may gleam with the very best of new shiny equipment in the new school manner, his approach to serving the clients is decidedly old school. “The first year, the first thing that we want to focus on is just making sure we are giving the clients 100%, that we’re able to manage our clients the best we can, and really give them the services that they deserve,” Corbett said.

“We are here for the community. If I won the lottery today, I’d still come in to practice law tomorrow. I come in because I like solving problems that other people need help with.” And old school or new school, there’s nothing wrong with that.

Cyrus Corbett Attorney at Law is open Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, and by appointment. Call 803-818-2007.