Hutchinson law firm borne from experiences
His dad,
He operated his own company for many years out of an office on East First, exposing Scott to the experience and idea of someone running his own company instead of working for someone else.
His father and another architect died in a plane crash in 1977, when Scott was a junior at Buhler High school, after the small plane hit severe weather returning from a school board meeting in
The experience of his mother dealing with the insurance company, and the assistance that attorney local
"Just how helpful he was in walking through things with my mom," Mann said of Peirce's influence. "She was obviously still grieving and then having to handle lots of things she was not used to handling."
The survivor's benefits, along with scholarships, including a basketball scholarship at
He joined the
"It was a great experience," Mann said. "They are great people, good mentors. But after 15 years, I wanted to start my own business. I was sort of getting a mid-life crisis. If I stayed there, I would have been fine, but then I'd always think back 'why didn't I challenge myself more.'"
Small Business of the Month
He initially set up in a small office off
In 2006, Nation Meyers, who had bought his father's building years earlier, advised him one of the primary tenants was moving out and the building was for sale.
He was ready to expand in 2008, but the financial crisis hit, so he waited a year before adding another attorney, Mann said. Then he hired
The firm has since expanded to six attorneys with offices in three states.
"We have satellite offices in
"We concentrate mainly on motor vehicle accidents and any kind of personal injury accident work," Mann said. "Anything that involves insurance companies and claims against insurance companies, we can help people with that."
The decision to focus on injury law and not do commercial or domestic work was a conscious one, said Mann, 56.
"If you're going to be good at something, that's what you've got to do," he said. "We don't do commercial work, but we refer a lot of cases in that regard."
They also receive a lot of referrals, he said.
"Having done this for 32 years now, you build up all kinds of relationships," he said.
Growth
Which is how they ended up with offices in three states.
"We started getting calls from people outside
Initially, they referred those cases to attorneys in those states as well. But, in 2014, they opened in office in
All of the attorney's in the office are now licensed to practice in all three states. They are also all from
After Wyatt -- who went to
In 2017, they hired
"I try to hire a law student as a summer clerk every year," Mann said. "It's a good way to mentor. I know it was helpful to me, and those kind of jobs are not everywhere."
His newest attorney is
"My growth plan has never been a plan," Mann said. "It's always been people. It seems like we've been blessed with meeting the right people... By hiring younger guys, it also energizes you. They're excited and have great ideas. When I went to law school, we didn't have computers or cell phones. Bringing in younger guys really transformed the level of our practice."
Backing them
Beside attorneys, the office employs seven full-time staff. They include
"The biggest thing I heard starting out was people complaining about their attorney being too busy and not calling them back," Mann said. "We really try to stay on top of that. We have a great staff. Carrie, my legal assistant at Gilliland and Hayes for 10 years, has been with me almost another 20 years in my own office. It's the best staff I've ever had and all are from Hutch, their families are from Hutch."
Mann and his wife, Theresa or "T" -- a
The family has attended
"It's been an important part of our lives and our kids' lives," Mann said.
Besides church, members of the firm are involved with the
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