Happy Anniversary
Greetings, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I want to thank you for your support and assistance with joining me as a guest or providing me with my guests for my shows. As always, I’m grateful and I am available to provide any assistance whenever you need it. I want to give a special thanks to those who have read my post on my BLAWG, “The LegalBEAT”, and I hope I have provided some meaningful and product insight for you.
This coming October 2009 is an exciting time for me. Effective October 1, 2009, my law firm will celebrate its TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY. In addition, October 2009 will constitute my TWO AND A HALF YEAR anniversary of “IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves”. And FINALLY, my BLAWG “THE LegalBEAT” will celebrate over THREE YEARS of postings! To celebrate these great milestones, I am RE-vamping, RE-packaging, and RE-PRESENTING my firm, my blogs, and my shows starting October 7, 2009! As always, I am reaching out to you because YOUR contributions are the main reasons that I have been successful.
As I prepare my schedule for the upcoming Fall, I want to be the first to extend to you the opportunity to return as a guest on my show in order to share with me some of your great updates. Feel free to provide me with any new music you have. Also, now is the time to give me the chance showcase some of your fabulous colleagues. Please don’t be shy about letting me know WHO YOU think the WORLD NEEDS to KNOW ABOUT and I will make sure that the world is “IN THE KNOW”. And finally, please let me know if my postings have been helpful. I want to make sure I’m giving some meaningful contributions.
Again, thanks for your time and your contributions. Of course, I know that know that technology can be a beast sometimes so I want to make sure you have the ability to contact me. If you have any difficulty with this e-mail, I can, also, be reached ‘anthony@reevesfirm.com’.
Welcome to my anniversary celebration and I look forward to growing with you.
Sincerely,
Anthony
Why Diversity in the professional ranks is so powerful
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to walk into a room where I was meeting a new client. Nothing spectacular. My client was a 59 year African American woman who was applying for Disability benefits. Now, you are probably wondering why I emphasized the fact that she was African American. Well, when I came in the room and sat down, the first thing she said to me was “Are YOU going to be my attorney??”. I responded with a soft yet slightly perplexed “Yes”. After I sat down, she looked at me and she just smiled. A big grin that extended from ear to ear. Her smile wasn’t because she KNEW she was going to win (And she did win, thank YOU very much. lol). Her smile was a casual acknowledgment to how powerful the times have changed. She had an African American Attorney and that fact alone was a SIGNIFICANT experience.
It’s interesting to note that in almost any culture, community, or society, there will almost always be a MAJORITY and a MINORITY. In the US, this dichotomy is emphasized through race and ethnic groups. Because these distinctions have been a mainstay in the fabric of our socioeconomic and political culture for so long, people some time fail to remember or even acknowledge that Minorities historically did not have the same opportunities as the Majorities. In addition, the ‘mythical yet truthful’ FIRST tend to be and continue to be a staple in Minority cultures. These FIRSTS may be the FIRST Doctor, the FIRST lawyers, the FIRST college graduates, and so on. Now, there are those in the Majority who have FIRST of their own but history has been kinder to that population in terms of opportunities.
These numbers are greatly magnified in the legal ranks:
Minority representation in the legal profession is significantly lower than in most professions. The total minority representation among lawyers is about 9.7 percent, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, compared to 20.8 percent among accountants and auditors, 24.6 percent among physicians and surgeons, and 18.2 percent among college and university teachers (Miles to Go: Progress of Minorities in the Legal Profession, 2005).
The overall student population for Florida law schools during the 2004-05 school year was 6,605. Of that number, approximately 66.3 percent were white, 8.75 percent were black/ African American, 13.5 percent were Hispanic, 3.39 percent were Asian/Pacific Islander, .61 percent were American Indian and 7.45 percent were of other races and nationalities.
Because Minorities are still experiencing various FIRSTs to this day, Minorities have a tendency to reach out and embrace those persons who they have typically not had access in the past. While this may seem weird to some, you have to look at certain things in their context. In many minority communities, historically individuals didn’t have access to accountants, doctors, lawyers, or other professionals who were minorities. No one is indicating that those who are the majority are unable or unwilling to service the majority population. What is being said that the minority population have not had the ability (in the past) to have access to those professionals who may have particular understanding of their unique cultural demographics.
In addition, access to Minority Professionals creates opportunities for educational excellence as well. When people have the opportunity to see minorities excelling in a variety of professional endeavors, these professionals open the door to the minds of others who may have viewed the opportunity to pursue such professional routes as being impossible to attain. Also, many minority populations are INSULAR in their communities. As a result, these communities would have a desire to receive services and interact exclusively with those are from their communities.
In the end, Diversity is more than just putting color to a concept. In the end, Diversity is recognizing and appreciating the unique cultural differences that various demographics present and encouraging bringing in those who can provide you with a direct connection to those cultures. It’s not about a quota. It’s about recognizing that minorities have a distinct quantitative and qualitative uniqueness. And it is this UNIQUENESS that can not only broaden the scope of any environment but also provide insight into a world that has typically been underappreciated.
Don’t KILL your case!
The legal process is a frustrating beast and let me be the first to tell you, the BEAST always wins! Now, I am not saying that the BEAST will beat you but what I am saying is that most people get so upset with the waiting, the red tape, and all of the little steps you have to take in order to get from point A to Point B that they sometimes do things in order to fight the BEAST.
If you’ve hired an attorney, your attorney is trained to fight for you as well as deal with this BEAST that is known as the LEGAL process. Unfortunately, too many times, people will do things that may potentially HURT (or even KILL) their case:
1) Talking to witnesses on your own. Depending on the situation, you really should let your attorneys talk to potential witnesses. Why? One, attorneys tend to fully document the context of the conversation. Two, attorneys tend to have specific, well crafted questions that they ask which will give them an idea of whether the witness’s information is helpful or harmful. Three, what you tell your witnesses may eventually come back to bite you in court. You don’t know how someone will convey what you said to them.
2) Sending in your own evidence. So you found something that you think is useful, that’s great. Make sure you let your attorney see it first. Most attorneys are aware of discovery requirements but if you decide to give the other side some information that you didn’t necessarily have to give and it’s damming to you……….do I need to go further??
3) Taking steps without consulting your attorney. If you are going to do what you want to do, then you probably don’t need an attorney. Most attorneys work to carefully lay out a plan of attack to deal with any issues or problems that may arise and if you decide that you are going to do things that undermine that, the attorney can’t help you.
4) Responding to the court or the other side on your own. If you get documents from the court or the other side, unless you don’t have an attorney, please be careful not to respond. So much time, we think that if respond to someone right away, it will help our case.
5) following the advice of someone who is NOT your attorney. I had a friend of mine who is an attorney tell me that she has to tell her client’s all the time “I didn’t know they gave out law degrees at the gas station?”. The reason she says this is because so many times, her clients will come to her FIRED up because someone who is NOT an attorney will tell her client something and then come to her HOT! Becareful about following the road of some person who THINKS they know what’s going on when in reality, they don’t.
Like I said, the legal process is a BEAST but don’t add to the problem by giving the BEAST food to eat. The process is tough but it can be tougher if you do things to make it worse.
Five Things you probably SHOULDN’T say to an attorney you are trying to hire
When looking for an attorney, you may find yourself in position of wondering why some attorneys may not wish to work you as a client. Here’s a few phrases that usually sends red flags to attorneys about you as a potential client:
1) I didn’t know I had to pay.
People sometimes don’t realize that NOT ALL cases are contingency fee cases. In other words, not all cases operate under the premise that you don’t have to pay unless the case is won. Attorneys are business peopole and their time is valuable. The last thing they want is a client who is thinking that they may get something for nothing. Before you come into an appointment, ask questions about payment arrangement and initial consultation fees so that you are aware what you may or may not have to pay.
2) The other attorney I spoke to said they could………
You are well within your rights to search for an attorney. You should take every opportunity to determine which attorney works for you. However, choosing an attorney is not like going to Walmart. You can’t say “K-mart” will charge me this lower price for the same product and think you’re going to get a better deal. Every attorney is different but the last thing an attorney wants is to have a situation where the client is OPENLY telling them that someone offered that client a better deal and what can the attorney do to match it. Usually, those words lets an attorney know that this person may be looking for an attorney who is either looking to tell them what they want to hear or the person has unrealistic expectations about their case.
3) Let me review your documents and talk it over with my family and I’ll call you back.
In most cases, most attorneys probably think that you are NOT going to come back. When you’ve taken the time to come to the office, sit down with the attorney and discuss the details, the thought is that you have taken the time to determine if this is the attorney that you want. However, if you say those words above, the attorney may think that there is something that you have a concern with and so you leaving to ‘review the documents’ is just a nice way of saying ‘i’m going to look for someone else’.
4) My ________ (brother, husband, wife, girlfriend, sister, etc.) wants to be there when we talk.
Remember, if you are of sound mind and body, YOU are the person that the attorney is going to work with and provide consultation. Sometimes, people think that they need to bring in a bunch of people to sit with them when they are meeting with the attorney for the first time. In some instances, this might be a problem. If the potential client is a child or has a cognitive or mental problem, it may not be an issue. However, when you bring other persons in, you have other people who may have in their minds their own view of what should and should not happen. As such, an attorney may be concerned that they are answering to a bunch of people as opposed to one person.
5) I don’t care WHAT you say or do. I want to win at all costs!
Most Bar organizations prevent attorneys from creating unrealistic expectations. As such, most attorneys want to make sure that their clients fully appreciate what they are getting into when they are handling their case. However, some clients don’t want to hear about about the pros and the cons. They want you to GUARANTEE a win. Let me tell you how FAST an attorney will RUN from you when you want a guarantee! They haven’t made a clock fast enough to time that speed!! The problem with guarantees is that if the attorney does NOT fulfill your demand, the attorney may be looking at a malpractice suit or a bar complaint.
I’m sure that there are plenty of other examples that attorneys can provide. Just remember, attorneys don’t have to take your case. If you ever wonder what may make them run away from you quickly, here are a few words.
Duty to NOT create unrealistic expectations
You have a case. You have a significant case and you are looking for an attorney to represent. So you have a consultation and you have the opportunity to sit down and talk about the details of your situation. After about 30 minutes to an hour of answering questions by the attorney, the attorney then gives you an assessment of your situation. However, the one thing you notice is that the attorney is spending more time telling the negative points of your case. Say what? What is his/her problem? Don’t they know your case is serious? don’t they that you have been harmed? Don’t they realize that you have a winner? Why are they slamming your case?
Why? Because they have to be REAL!!! Here’s why they have to be real:
1) Most BAR organizations require it. Most Bar organizations require attorneys to NOT create any unrealistic expectations. As such, attorneys are ethically bound to tell you the bad things. It’s an unpleasant part of the process because alot of times, people have their own opinion about the value and the potential of success for their case. However, the attorneys have a duty to ensure that the attorney is not reassuring the client of an unexpectation that has a probability of not occurring.
2) It makes for bad business. The attorney has a duty to ensure that the client has a full appreciation of the good and the bad of the case. The attorney lives and dies on his or her reputation. As such, it’s important that the client is honest about the pros and cons of a case. If the attorney develops a reputation for constantly presenting a “We win EVERY case” attitude, the word will get out if he or she doesn’t win every case.
3) You need to know what you’re up against. Sometimes, the plain and simple truth, you need to have an appreciation of the significance of your case. You need to realize that for all of the great things that may be in your file, you may have some REALLY hard problems that you have to overcome. As such, it is important for you to understand the ‘big picture’. Attorneys are business people and despite how great you think your case may be, the attorneys must assess how many obstacles they must overcome and how much it’s going to cost in order to overcome those obstacles.
You can always get a second opinion
Working in a service industry like the law is a difficult endeavor. Invariably, you will always find people who disagree with your assessment of a situation. As such, I have one simple phrase that I like to share.
“You can always get a second opinion”.
Now, please don’t think I’m trying to be stank when I say these things. I’m merely offering insight. Let’s look at this logically for a second. If you didn’t go to medical school, why would you argue with your doctor about his or her diagnosis? If you don’t agree, just go to another doctor. If you don’t know anything about cars, why would you argue with your mechanic about his or her assessment of your vehicle? If you don’t agree, just go to another doctor.
In most cases, we find ourselves with a particular professional that we like and we are just committed to getting them to see things our way. I can respect that alot. There is nothing wrong with offering your perspective about a situation or even asking questions for greater insight.
However, at some point of the process, you have to rely on the opinion of those individuals you have obtained. You may not LIKE what they are saying but it’s important that you have TRUST in what they are saying. If you truly trust your doctor, you will follow their treatment regiment. If you truly trust your mechanic, you will follow their recommendations.
When using an attorney, it’s sometimes a little different. In most cases, your attorney is attempting to get you something you have lost or help you resolve some issue in your favor. Most times, we are so passionate about positions that we don’t necessarily see things from a totally objective standpoint. When you are using an attorney, an attorney has to balance your desire to see that your goals are satisfied as wel as ensuring that you have a complete understanding of the ramifications and legal implications of your case.
Sometimes, this doesn’t always come into play. In these difficult times, we find ourselves being placed in very difficult and unfortunate situations and we want to get a resolution that will correct the situation. As black and white as that sounds, this resolution may not always be that clear. So it’s important for you to understand that when you are seeking legal advice, you may not LIKE or necessarily AGREE with what you are hearing.
What is important to understand is that you have 2 fundamental options. One, you can follow the advice of your current attorney and allow them to take the necessary steps to advance your interests. Or two, you can seek a ’second opinion’ and obtain a new representative that meets your requirements.
Understanding your role in the legal process
My heart goes out to NFL Player Ryan Moates and his family because of this powerfully unfortunate situate he recently went through. If you are not familiar with the siuation (and it’s very sad), check it out here: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4017382. Just to give a few brief background facts, Ryan was driving an SUV and ran a red light while en route to the hospital to take his wife to visit her mother (his mother in law) who was dying of breast cancer and only had a short period of time to live. Unfortunately, a police pulled them over in the parking lot. Despite several statements by Ryan, his wife, family members, another police, and a couple of medical personnel that the mother in law was indeed “on her death bed” and only had short time to live, the police still detained Ryan and his wife for 13 minutes so he could write them a ticket and lecture him about his attitude.
Despite being in what I would clearly call an EMOTIONALLY charged situation, Ryan kept his cool. Of course, we can talk about the significance of the event and how everything was handled by the police but this post is really more about RYAN! He handled himself EXCEPTIONALLY well. Towards the end of the lecture with the police, he was telling the officer ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir’. How many of YOU could be that cool if your mother was upstairs dying?? (For the record, she had just died by the time the police let them go upstairs).
The point I want to illustrate with Ryan Moates behavior was that Ryan demonstrated his understanding of his role in the legal process. Had Ryan started cussing, getting belligerent or even walked away, his legal situation could have gotten infinitely WORSE!! So many times when we get fired up or emotionally charged about our legal situation, we don’t look at it from the big picture. Bear in mind, your role in the legal process is extremely crucial:
1) Contrary to popular situation, you can make your situation worse! Go ahead and get stank and tell everyone how you’re going to sue your employer and get all this paper. And you know what? Don’t get salty when those SAME people appear on the witness stand to testify how you were telling everyone that you were going to sue your employer and get this paper! What would YOU do if you hear this?? Also, in most situations, you have a duty to ‘mitigate’ your situation. For instance, if you get fired because of wrongful discharge, you can’t just sit on the couch and wait for your law suit to come through. You gotta look for a job!
2) I hope you didn’t think the other side was just going to sit there and take that beating from you! IT’s amazing how people think that when they use the legal process that the other side is just going to TAKE IT! Recognize, every body has the right to defend their position and utilize an attorney just as much as you. More important, if you thow a brick, don’t be made if they throw a concrete block back at you.
3) Look at the LEGAL situation and not your PERSONAL situation. So many times, when we are mad about something, we constantly look at ourselves as the victim. When you feel like this, you don’t want to hear about all of the consequences and scenario. We want vindication. We want revenge. We want someone to go down in flames. However, it is important to be able to stop and look at the whole situation from an objective standpoint so you don’t lose sight of the big picture.
4) Don’t expect anyone to keep FIXING the hole if you keep putting HOLES in the boat! So many times, people think that when they hire an attorney, this allows them the ability to do what the hell they want to during the legal process. Unfortunately, these same people may make their legal situation worse and when they do this, they expect their attorney to fix their situation (even when they are TOLD to NOT to do something). Remember, if you make your situation worse, don’t expect anyone to hang around to help you fix it.
Any legal situation is difficult but understand that you play a role in the process. You can help your situation but you can, also, hurt it. Play it cool and play it smart.
Be patient
One of the hardest things people have to deal with is the fact that the legal process is notoriously slow. Unlike Criminal procedures that ensure that a defendant is guaranteed a speedy trial, most other legal proceedings tend to take a while to manifest themselves.
Most areas of law have various deadlines that must be met in order to ensure that the cases are advanced. However, depending on the nature of the proceeding, several steps may need to occur before you seek a resolution.
This situation is even more pronounce if you’re attempting to file a civil suit. If you think about it, you file your suit. The other side has time to respond. Then you go through discovery where each side has to reveal certain things. During that time, you may have a few depositions. Then, you may have to go to mediation. Then, if you get to this point, you have to get ready for trial. THEN, you have the trial. All of the steps I just took you through could easily take up to year.
People, when you avail yourself of the legal process, you HAVE to go in with an understanding that it may take a while to seek a resolution. And when I say “A WHILE”, it’s not by YOUR standards of what you think “A WHILE” is. Typically, most legal processes are governed by some rules of procedure that outlines what must happen and WHEN it is going to happen.
It gets tougher because now that we are in a tough economic time so you have a definite desire to get the resolution that we desire as soon as we like. Understand this, you have a right to seek a resolution through the legal process but be patient. In order to get the outcome you seek, you may have to wait for it to come.
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