To gauge the health and strength of a tree, you have to monitor its growth. Is its base solid and firm? Are the branches full and strong? Will it survive strong winds and inclement weather? When a tree has been nurtured it will exhibit all of these characteristics: strength, resilience, bounty. In the 15 years that GSE has existed, it has developed its strength and resilience.

It has formed into living, breathing organism that provides for those who care for it. Maria Farah Z. G. Nicolas-Suchianco or simply “Dimples” is one of the original caretakers and the “S” in GSE.

Dimples could be considered high strung. She is often set at “11” but is the type of person who thrives at such a high setting. She likes the responsibility of taking on projects and logistics in order for smoother operations and when the setup of GSE was underway, she was the person in charge of most of the logistics. “When we started the pressure was high. It was hectic for me personally because of the cases and the projects. I had handle my cases while setting up the logistics of the office.”

This was not a new role for her. In fact, that was one of the roles she played in her former firm. “But this is your own so you’re more invested,” she intimates. Still, even if Dimples was accustomed to working at such a high level, this does not mean that she had it all under control. “I would go into fits of rage,” she says with a hint of pride. “I’m a perfectionist. I don’t like losing. I don’t like things not being done the right way or the best way we could.”

Of course, over the years, one mellows and she became more forgiving of herself and others. She gained patience, relative to others of course (she often says that “patience is for losers”), and learned to share responsibility and not take on the burden all by herself. “In the beginning, Toby was learning how to become a partner, Raul was more concerned about the delivery of service and I was more concerned about the admin. It’s still a process. I have let go of a lot of things. Luckily, I have really good partners who have been trained well and they’re very patient with Raul and me.”

The idea of training good partners is the driving force of the growth in the firm. When you are able to trust in the people around you, you are able to maximize potential and perform exponentially better. “The best evolution was on our sixth or seventh year,” Dimples explains. “We started letting go and started training our lawyers to be like us. We duplicated ourselves into the lawyers. So you retain certain a degree of how we envision our firm to be.”

In Dimples’ opinion, each of the founding partners brings their own flavor to the makeup of the partnership. According to Dimples, the value of Raul is the direction of the firm. He gives the vision and the direction of where the firm should proceed. Dimples defines her role as a consensus builder. She learned from her political role model parents that the idea of leadership comes from coming together. She believes that, whether legal, maintenance, non-legal, or whatever level you may be, everyone has something to say. Toby’s value is he is the reasonable one among the three. He is a stabilizing voice and provides reason and thoughtfulness. “When Raul and I are at odds, Toby is the reasonable one. He doesn’t add fuel to the fire.” These ideas of vision, consensus-building, stability, and reason influence the next level of partners and lawyers within the firm and, as Dimples says, makes duplicates of themselves.

The journey of the firm over its 15 years was one of discovery and identity. There were discussions of who they wanted to be and how they wanted to serve. Raul had a very distinct idea of what he wanted GSE to be: a full service law firm, dedicated to great work and developing great relationships. From the onset, you could see the effort to establish that trust from the clients. Dimples explains their beginnings, “The first three years we relied on the clients who followed us to our new firm. We were very conscious in handling everything personally. Really personalized service.”

One of the ways GSE empowers their lawyers is through a more democratic system, much different from their previous firm. Dimples explains, “The system in GSE is such that, even if you’re an associate, you feel like a partner since you have a stake in whatever you are doing. The beauty of it all was our ability to adapt to the changing world and the changing personalities in the world and we were able to adjust our policies without compromising our initial and core values.”

The core values they want to maintain are the words strewn across the first page of their website: integrity, commitment, excellence. These words were developed in the firm’s 10th year but were always in their DNA. “Before we couldn’t verbalize it, but it’s encapsulated by the three words we use in profile we developed in the 10th year.” These are not hollow words meant to build the illusion of legitimacy. These are deep-seeded beliefs for which the firm stands. Adjustments inevitably are made through the years but commitment, integrity, excellence, this is their true north.

Evaluating the growth within the firm, Dimples knows of whom she’s most proud. “Number one: our people. We are lucky that we got a lot of very good people both legal and non-legal who have been loyal to us. We have even developed a special bond with all their families.” Aside from the people that make up the firm, she also values the clients they have, who, to some extent, she also considers a little like family. “What I can be proud of is the relationships with our people and our clients. There is a specific client who will only refer his clients to us. He would say how I have saved him so many times that he will only entrust me with his problems. It makes your heart full.”

Lastly, she is very proud of the firm’s standing in the legal community. “We might not be one of the bigger firms, but we have a reputation of handling referrals or projects that are usually handled by big firms and we are able to deliver the same quality of work if not better and probably cheaper.”

The firm’s reputation in the legal community can only be bolstered by their performance through the pandemic where they not only retained all their employees but were able to increase their clientele. “This has become most evident during this epidemic. I know so many friends whose law firms are having such a difficult time. We are still getting referrals and still getting clients. That shows us the place that we are at in the eyes of our clients and our business communities. And I’m very proud of that.“

When Raul approached her to join him in his endeavor, she was hesitant at first. She always prides herself on her loyalty (she still only uses one type of toothpaste since she was a child). She was leaving a firm where the older partners were like fathers to her. However, she saw the passion of Raul’s dream and believed in what he had to say. Initially, she had to be convinced of her potential but once she realized what they could become together, the outcome was obvious.

She explains, “I cannot sell myself like that but I suppose the fact that I have my name on a law firm was a draw. People started taking me seriously. Not that they weren’t taking me serious before, but I was someone they could reckon with and trust their problems to. I’m a worker. Give me a problem and I will find a way to resolve it.”

Looking to the future of GSE, Dimples ponders on what the future holds. She believes she still has 10 to 15 good years of practice remaining and that the firm is still on its path to growth. She wants the firm to have an established reputation outside of the personalities of Raul, Toby and herself. “I want GSE to become a brand. When you look at it and see it, you know you’re going to get your money’s worth and you’re going to be well represented. Even applicants will flock to you because you are known in the industry as professionals, a law firm that has excellent lawyers, with passionate lawyers.” To a great extent, that is already the case, and to feel that there is more to bring is even more admirable.

In the beginning, the growth of the firm began with the founding partners. Raul is the culture bearer. He maintains the ideals from where they have come and the culture that has been built. Toby looks to the future with his thoughts on succession planning and preparation for what will happen when they are gone. Dimples lives for the now. She handles what happens today and keeps operations headed in the right direction. She is the oil in the engine. Together they represent the past, present and future of the firm. Fifteen years of excellent service and commitment is an impressive benchmark. As they continue to grow and provide strength and stability for their firm and the clients they help, Dimples is there to cultivate and nurture its development through the combination of her father’s loyalty and her mother’s ability to call you out on your mistakes. As previously stated, growth is a key metric of health. GSE, through its 15 years, is the picture of health. ■ Earl Custodio