Bridge City Law Firm - A Bridge of Support Between Accidents and Settlements

A law firm on a mission

Jim Dwyer, managing partner of Bridge City Law Firm, has been a personal injury lawyer for the last 35 years, following in the footsteps of his father, who practiced the same kind of law for almost 60 years. “My first job was in sixth grade working in my dad’s office taking deposits to the bank, mail to the post office, and filings to court. In high school, my dad talked to me about his cases, but most importantly, he talked about how to care for clients. That made a big impact,” says Jim.

Bridge City Law Firm is on a mission. “Our entire team shares the same goal: to help our clients feel heard, respected, and valued, and to do what we can to help our clients have a full recovery. True justice is more than money,” says Jim. “When people feel that human connection, it’s really powerful.”

In addition to directly supporting clients, Jim serves on the board of The Commons Law Center, and Bridge City Law Firm is a monthly contributor. The Commons Law Center works to make family, tenant, and criminal law services more accessible and affordable.

Bridge City Law Firm might be the only legal practice in the country providing resources to medical providers to help them care for people going through a personal injury claim. “Insurance companies’ jobs are to make money for their shareholders and contain costs. The laws around personal injury are complex, which can be intimidating for medical providers. We want to help empower them with information so that their patients can receive the care they need.”

Legal services as a force for good

Bridge City Law Firm was the first personal injury law firm in the country to become a B Corp. “B Corp certification gave us metrics to help us make our company even more socially and environmentally responsible,” Jim says. “There are a lot of companies that exist to help you make more money. This certification helped me understand how my firm could do a better job for our staff, our community, and the environment. It’s an opportunity to learn how to be more impactful.”

Bridge City Law Firm demonstrates that a business can be successful and help clients at the same time. Jim explains, “Personal injury cases are contingency-based, meaning we get paid if our clients get paid. We won’t take a case if we don’t think it’s in our client’s best interest.”

Jim’s commitment to helping others has shaped the direction of his business. He says, “The questions we ask ourselves are important because they set us on a path toward a particular answer. In business, if I were asking myself, ‘How do I make the most money?’ I would be on a different path than I am today. In our business, we ask, ‘How can we make sure every client is treated with dignity and has the legal information they need regardless of whether they choose to hire us?’”

Doing business with other B Corps

Bridge City Law Firm has its Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTA) with Beneficial State Bank. “This type of account is closely monitored by the Oregon State Bar,” explains Jim. “Trust accounts are complex, and it’s important to manage them well. When a law firm holds money for a client, it has no options about what it can do with the interest earned. The Oregon State Bar uses the interest to support access to legal services for indigent people, seniors, and those with disabilities.”

“It can feel overwhelming to move a trust account from one bank to another since it’s so important the funds are handled correctly. The ease of communication that we have with Beneficial State Bank and the way their team can customize services to meet our specific needs made it easier than we expected,” says Jim.

Jim continues, “B Corps support other B Corps. That’s part of being in this movement. Moving our IOLTAs to Beneficial State Bank is one way we show that we prioritize doing business with other B Corps.”

Read more from Jim. Learn more about Bridge City Law Firm.