public static String lTrim(final String value) {
        if (value == null) {
            return null;
        }

        String trimmed = value;
        int offset = 0;
        final int maxLength = value.length();
        while (offset < maxLength && (value.charAt(offset) == ' ' || value.charAt(offset) == '\t')) {
            offset++;
        }

        if (offset > 0) {
            trimmed = value.substring(offset);
        }

        return trimmed;
    }