DAVID VOLK: ‘We Want the Hard Cases. Anyone Can Handle the Easy Ones’

By  //  February 27, 2022

SPACE COAST DAILY COVER STORY

David J. Volk, Esq., has conducted approximately 85 trials and more than 800 hearings as sole or lead counsel. Foundational principles such as faith, recognizing the need for mentors, humility, and never giving up is what has led Volk throughout his life and career as a lawyer and business owner.
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BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Years of experience creates a deep pool of knowledge and wisdom. If your lawyer has built up years of knowledge and wisdom, you will have better guidance in evaluating and managing problems.

“Our primary problem-solving practice area is money and property lawsuits,” according to lawyer David Volk.  “Because of our deep well of knowledge and experience, Volk Law lawyers can size up the quality of a case, prepare the case, find the courthouse, and know what to do when we get there.”

Foundational principles such as faith, recognizing the need for mentors, humility, and never giving up is what has led David Volk throughout his life and career as a lawyer and business owner.

“I’m in my 35th year of trying to get better at achieving what clients want and expect,” said Volk.

“I went to a Pat Williams motivational speech many years ago. He talked about being a life-long learner. I love that concept. With that mentality, even in the career starting out phase, we can learn by leaps and bounds. We can become great at something, but what makes life interesting is working at getting better.

“To fuel your desire for life-long learning, accept and embrace the fact that people are counting on you. They need you to do your best. When it comes to clients, we know they are trusting us. We want to honor that trust. Many times, a friendship arises from helping someone. And, you cannot learn as fast if you try to do it all yourself. I was fortunate to have great mentors throughout my life including, of course, my parents,” he said.

VOLKLAW HAS BEEN CARING about and caring for clients for over 25 years. “Our primary problem-solving practice area is money and property lawsuits,” according to lawyer David Volk. “Because of our deep well of knowledge and experience, Volk Law lawyers can size up the quality of a case, prepare the case, find the courthouse, and know what to do when we get there.”

Volk’s parents had a range of business activities including a beer distributorship. He worked for them from age 12 starting out in the beer warehouse.

“I guess that was a step up the ladder from my paper route and selling firecrackers,” said Volk.

“Ward Smith was the boss of the warehouse. Later, my boss was Bob Johnson who ran our mobile home business. Those guys were nice to me. They took me under their wing and taught me a lot. I would not be the person I am today if not for Ward and Bob. My law school friends, including Mark Monteleone and Marc D’Antoni, were incredibly disciplined students, and I tried to become more like them. As I recall, we were either in class, in the library, or drinking beer, listening to country music, and making fun of each other.

“After graduating law school one of my first jobs blessed me with a great boss, Andy Graham, who to my great sadness recently passed away. He was very smart and always seemed cheerful. He trusted me to do good work. If someone trusts you to do good work, you owe it to them to do good work. My parents were my best mentors and taught me the value of hard work. They worked harder than people should have to work, did not complain and just kept working hard. Everyone I just mentioned were great mentors for me. I don’t really think I would have accomplished so much in my life and career without those inspirational figures guiding me.”

ATTORNEYS David Volk, left, and Michael Dujovne. Volk Law’s mission is to create and maintain long term relationships with clients, referral sources, and professional community partners while helping its clients achieve their business objectives.

Growing up with entrepreneurial parents, Volk learned that the life of a business owner is never easy. Entrepreneurs work very hard and Volk likes working with them and wants to help their success journey.

“It is always entertaining when I tell them people probably think they are lucky to have the success they have achieved, and they don’t know what it took to get there. I had a real estate developer client and friend who told me when I asked how hard it had been for him during the real estate crash. He said that the stress was so overwhelming, he sometimes woke up at night and threw up,” Volk said while shaking his head and giving a wistful smile.

Experience Counts

Volk Law’s mission is to create and maintain long term relationships with clients, referral sources, and professional community partners while helping its clients achieve their business objectives.

If you are dealing with legal issues pertaining to lawsuits, business, real estate, construction, employer rights and creditor rights, you head to Volk Law, not a jack-of-all-trades attorney.

“Attorneys are not generalists, because the law is so complex,” said Volk, who started the highly specialized Melbourne law practice 26 years ago.

ATTORNEYS David Volk, center, and David Jones, right, with Paralegal Sharon Fitzpatrick.

Volk will tell you experience counts, and both his own background and that of his legal team are vast. The attorneys at Volk Law average about 25 years’ experience.

The firm’s research and writing team lawyers have worked on 22 cases that reached the United States Supreme Court and the company’s insurance expert, who helps clients who have been denied insurance claims, has a lifetime of experience that includes successfully operating a commercial coverage insurance agency.

“To succeed, you need a great team that cares about the client,” said Volk, who himself has 34 years of business litigation experience, including 15 years as a board-certified business litigator.

“If your lawyer cares about you, you are going to have an engaged collaboration instead of a lawyer who is emotionlessly carrying out a task. We value our clients and know the outcome will be better when we work together.”

While Volk will devote his efforts to helping clients settle out of court when it is to their best advantage, he is also a skilled litigator with an outstanding track record in the courtroom. Volk firmly agrees with poet Robert Frost’s description of a jury as “twelve persons chosen to decide who has the best lawyer.”

DAVID A. JONES has successfully completed the classroom training to become a certified Florida Circuit Court Mediator and is in the process of completing his practical requirements for certification. He is the author of Frye v. Daubert – Time to Bring Florida Into the 21st Century, The Florida Bar News, November 9, 2015, and has lectured and written on various other topics including mortgage foreclosures, evidence, ethics, and standards for the admissibility of expert testimony.

Best Lawyer in the Courtroom

In all cases he takes to court, Volk strives to be the best lawyer in the courtroom. He says “that is not that hard. You just have to care a lot, work hard to learn the facts and law of the case, and work hard to get organized for the hearing or trial.”

He and his team take a methodical, realistic approach to all cases, be they big or small and in and out of court. The result is saving millions of dollars for their clients.

“You work on a case to achieve specific objectives,” he said. “So, we start out reflecting on our clients’ objectives. We get up to speed quickly, and then we put the knowledge to use consistent with client objectives.”

When he launched VolkLaw, Volk created an exhaustive procedures manual that has kept growing through the years and encompasses everything from how receptionists answer the phone to how documents are named and filed.

Time is money in a lawyer’s office, and the more processes are sharpened and standardized, the lower the cost for clients. “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel with each case,” said Volk.

BARRY K. BAKER has been a first and second chair litigator for over 20 years. He has litigated a wide variety of employment law claims in state and federal courts involving Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Florida Civil Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

The scope of cases is varied and far too numerous to detail here today, but there are some very memorable ones. For example, Volk successfully prosecuted a receivership involving an aircraft equipment remanufacturer and 35 other defendants with possible claims to some of the property on the premises.

The firm prevented bankruptcy discharges of approximately $2 million in business debt owed clients and, in another case, negotiated for a $5.4 million foreclosure in favor of the firm’s client and allowed the lenders’ completion of the building project with the developer’s assistance.

In another case, Volk Law conducted an eight-day trial on behalf of a young family who had purchased a riverfront home with a faulty foundation that would have cost over $200,000 in repairs. The couple won the case including their attorney’s fees.

Assisting Businesses Succeed

The firm helps businesses to start-up, survive and succeed and clients to buy, sell and own real estate. It prepares and reviews contracts, change orders, insurance coverage issues and other problems that may arise in the construction industry.

Volk’s legal team also provides advice and counsel on labor and employer issues, guiding clients through the “alphabet soup” of employment laws.

Collections, creditor rights, defamation, employer rights, fraud, foreclosure, landlord rights, injunctions, insurance, land use, trademarks and service marks, medical and healthcare, mediation and arbitration are examples of the Volk Law experience base.

MEET THE VOLK LAW TEAM: Back row, Bryan J. Yarnell and Barry K. Baker; Front row, David J. Volk, David A. Jones and Michael E. Dujovne.

Volk Law Offices and their team of attorneys have extensive legal experience, in-depth industry knowledge, and are leaders in our community.

“Our firm and many of our attorneys are frequently recognized by leading industry groups and publications for the work that we do,” said Volk.

“However, what makes us great is we are each part of a firm that is committed to the tough and rewarding work required to earn them. While we have been fortunate to receive these accolades, our clients and community are the true beneficiaries of our efforts.”

Giving Back to the Community

Volk believes in giving back to the community and is or was active in numerous local organizations including the Melbourne Police Foundation, Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, the board of Melbourne Central Catholic High School and the Melbourne-Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce. His team at Volk Law are as equally engaged in serving Brevard.

As closing advice, he recommends clients establish a relationship with their attorney well before a crisis occurs.

“You don’t want to wait until you are involved in a lawsuit to get an attorney to help you with your business,” said Volk.

“A good lawyer can help you avoid the landmines in your path.”

ABOVE: Brenda Plocharczyk, VolkLaw Director of Operations & Business Development.

Experience counts. Meet the Volk Law Team.
■ David J. Volk, Esq.
• 34 years business litigation experience
• 15 years board certified in business litigation

■ Michael E. Dujovne, Esq.
• 29 years real estate and litigation experience
• 13 years board certified in real estate law

■ David A. Jones, Esq.
• 35 years big law complex commercial litigation experience
• Superlawyer. Best Lawyers in America.

■ Barry K. Baker, Esq.
• 22 years litigation experience
• 6 years of employment law experience
• Proudly served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Harrier pilot

■ Brian J. Yarnell, Esq.
• 23 years commercial litigation experience
• Harvard Law, former Navy nuclear physics instructor
• Proudly served his country in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, Army National Guard and U.S. Navy

■ Steven G. Gieseler, Esq.
• 16 years’ experience in constitutional law, property rights, and free enterprise
• Appointed member of the Judicial Nominating Commission for Florida’s Nineteenth Circuit
• 11 Supreme Court cases

■ Nicholas M. Gieseler, Esq.
• 13 years of environmental law, zoning/land use, and business litigation
• Former Florida Gubernatorial Fellow
• 4 United States Supreme Court cases

■ Michael P. Sapourn, Esq. *Of Counsel
• 24 years of insurance and compliance experience
• Certified insurance counselor
• Certified risk manager

For more information, visit VolkLawOffices.com or call 321-726-8338.