There is a certain mind set when it comes to tough times that goes a little something like this: When the going gets rough, circle the wagons, cut all unnecessary expense, then cut some necessary expenses and rise out the storm hoping for the best.

There is no doubt that the economic times in Western New York have been less than optimal for quite some time and many companies large and small have taken the aforementioned approach. That's what makes yesterday's announcement by the law firm of Damon Morey LLP all the more refreshing.

Managing Partner Peter Marlette summoned his attorneys to the conference room at 9 am. No matter how much you like your job or how good your company is to work for no one wants a 9 am meeting — ever.

But alas, there was no doom and gloom on the other side of the door. Instead, there was Marlette standing alongside a mountain of white boxes, each containing a loaded iPad2.

The plan to equip every attorney in the firm with the latest technology had been kept under wraps with very few people knowing what was coming.

The reaction was what one might expect: jubilant enthusiasm. In my office the boss bought pizza yesterday and we were ecstatic — had I walked in to a new iPad, I might have passed out.

When I sat down with Marlette to talk about the high-tech initiative, he made one thing very clear: This wasn't some sort of altruistic effort on his part to reward or thank his employees for a good year. This was a sound business decision.

My math isn't the best, but given the devices, equipped with 3G and all of the latest apps a lawyer might need, and the quantity, I pegged the bill to be in the neighborhood of $65,000. That doesn't count the ongoing cost for every new attorney who joins the company as well as the monthly cost of the 3G service. At a time when firms are (rightfully) looking in every corner for opportunities to trim costs and save a few bucks, Damon stepped up and made a significant capital investment in its operations.

It seemed so opposite to what we commonly hear from business owners not just in Western New York, but nationwide. The idea of spending money when the chips are down seemed so foreign to me, I kept coming back to the issue with Marlette as we sat in his office in the Avant, overlooking downtown Buffalo.

He told me that though times were indeed challenging, the firm had just completed "a record year."

He talked about adding six attorneys to his staff in the last six weeks and credited the firm's success with refusing to bow to tough times, instead making the decision to pursue aggressive growth and position itself for a bright future.

"We have consciously decided to grow, we aren't just growing for the sale of growing," Marlette told me. "We knew in some cases we were stepping out and taking risks that could have impacted the compensation of our equity partners, but they were willing to do that because we had a vision."

Marlette says the decision to move into the Avant along with the iPad initiative as well as other plans the firm has all stem from one basic concept: Serve the clients well. He sees happy attorneys who feel confident they have the tools they need as valuable assets who are going to better serve their customers and thus, bring in greater revenues.

As I left the office and began my walk back across town, I found myself wondering: How many businesses in this economy, in this region, would invest that kind of cash into their employees. Then I thought back to the old adage a financially-wise friend used to preach to me: "If you want to make money, you've got to spend money."

I can attest to that first-hand. After my boss invested in some pizza and pop I came back to my desk energized and satisfied and promptly wrote three stories. Money well spent.