Engage's Member Spotlight: Tarleton Law Firm

Allan is a trusts & estates attorney that is Board Certified in Estate Planning & Probate by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Before opening his own firm in Dallas, he practiced with prominent estate planning and business law firms in Houston. 

Allan’s educational background includes an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Chicago, and a J.D. from SMU. Prior to commencing his legal career, he served as an artillery officer in the US Marine Corps and was honorably discharged as a Captain. He completed various deployments to Asia and the Middle East, including a combat deployment to Iraq and participation in the second battle of Fallujah. Allan continues to support veterans by volunteering with Service 2 School, a nonprofit group that advises veterans in applying to graduate and undergraduate programs and supports the families in his local community as a board member of Jason’s Center of Hope.

What inspired you to start your own law firm?

Part of what attracted me to the legal field was the unique independence available to attorneys and the opportunity to specialize in one area of expertise throughout a professional career. I liked that opening my own law firm would allow me to fully take advantage of that opportunity for independence and also give me the freedom to work on those areas of law and matters that interested me personally. In addition, my professional work experiences in the military and other law firms shaped my views of what I consider good business and management practices, and I wanted to create a new firm that would allow me to implement those best practices.

What kind of law do you practice? Why did you want to go into that area?

I practice in estate planning and probate, which also includes related real estate and business matters. I confine my practice to non-litigation cases. I enjoy the constructive nature of this area of law in helping families build a plan for future generations, or to help a family sort through the probate process to receive an inheritance. I had an interest in this work before attending law school due to personal experiences very early in my life involving probate disputes, and I also had excellent law professors at SMU in tax and probate whose classes further encouraged my interest.

What do you wish someone had told you before starting your own practice?

I opened my firm in Dallas, after practicing for many years in Houston and moving back, so I had serious doubts about whether my existing network in Dallas would be enough to help me get my first client and that weighed heavily against whether to go forward with opening a firm. I wish that I had known just how supportive and powerful even a small network of attorneys and other professionals can be in helping a new firm get off the ground and continue to grow.

What makes your practice different from others? 

One difference that I try to make in my practice is a commitment in fully educating clients on their options and in understanding their documents. I use both visual and written tools to illustrate and explain the decisions that clients are making. For example, I always use a large whiteboard to diagram a client’s estate plan, to help illustrative both the dispositive plan and the effects of taxes. It also helps clients better understand the meaning of typical estate planning terms like “per stirpes” when they are illustrated visually.

What will your practice look like in 5 years?

In my experience, clients appreciate the ability to handle most of their personal legal matters (such as estate planning and business succession) at one firm. So, in the next 5 years, I am hoping to add additional attorneys to my firm to add depth to complementary practice areas such as real estate and business transactions, but still keep my firm small. This year I added a legal assistant and anticipate adding a new estate planning attorney next month, so I am on my way toward that goal.

Have you ever worked from exclusively home (i.e., no other office to go to, except perhaps for a virtual office) If so, what did you like about that location/situation? What did you most dislike?

I haven’t yet worked solely from home, but since opening my firm have divided my days each week between my home office and a professional office. Even though my home office has all of the same resources as my space at Engage, I find that I am much more focused and efficient when I am in a professional office space. It can be too easy to be distracted with household chores and family matters when trying to work at home. 

How do you expect Engage to help you meet your goals?

I think one of the best parts of Engage is having a receptionist to help welcome clients and to assist with document signings, which are both services that I need but do not want at this point to hire full time staff for that. As I look to grow my firm, it provides an opportunity to adjust my office space without having to move each time. And, it simplifies things from an overhead perspective, since phone, internet, etc. is all setup for me.

If you’d like more information on Allan Tarleton and his practice, check out his website. If you want to know more about Engage, please visit our website and book a tour.

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