Take a look at our August newsletter!
For The Ambitious Advocate BRIEF RECESS
AUGUST 2023
FROM THE LAW OFFICES OF J. PRICE MCNAMARA
NO STRANGER TO ADVERSITY How I Built a Law Firm From the Ground Up
If you didn’t know, Aug. 1 is National Mountain Climbing Day, and while I’m not much of a mountain climber myself, I do know a thing or two about uphill battles. When Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana in 2005, my wife, three kids, and I were living in New Orleans. Susan, my wife, was working at her medical practice full time, and I was running my own law practice, too. As soon as we heard about the impending storm, we packed up a few things and headed to Baton Rouge, where Susan was originally from, to stay with her parents for a bit. We figured the kids would enjoy some time with their grandparents while we let the storm pass. But then, that storm turned into what we all remember today as Hurricane Katrina — flooded streets, destroyed homes, and people on roofs waving at the passing helicopters for help. We found out later our own house was unlivable after being completely flooded, and we lost two cars, too. We watched all of the chaos unfold on TV from Baton Rouge and decided we would stay there and start over instead of trying to completely rebuild in New Orleans. However, almost immediately after making this decision, Susan and I realized that meant we were both out of work and had to find new jobs on top of a new place to live and new schools for our children to attend. At the time, nearly all of my business came from word of mouth. I worked defending insurance companies for a while in New Orleans and later as a prosecutor, so I met a lot of criminal attorneys during my many hours at the courthouse. These criminal attorneys didn’t do civil law, so when I started my own firm, they would refer any civil cases to me. After a while, I had a steady stream of business. But now, in a new city, I didn’t have the connections I did back in New Orleans, and I figured I would have to start from scratch. The one thing I knew I absolutely did not want to do was work for someone else.
Susan found work in the form of a part-time job, which ended up being a godsend with three small children, but my clock was ticking, and the time to decide was fast approaching. Would I choose to start over on my own or work at someone else’s firm? I began looking online for any information on starting a law practice from scratch, and I found a group called Great Legal Marketing. They were having a seminar in Fairfax, so out of a mix of curiosity and desperation, I decided to go. What I found there was a group of upbeat consumer-facing lawyers from all over the country who shared their ideas and information on the foundations of building a law firm. The first thing they said I needed was a website, which I didn’t have. The next were videos, which I also didn’t have. And the last was a book to promote in those videos and on that website, which, you guessed it, I didn’t have. But when I returned to Baton Rouge, I did those three things — and it worked! I started getting calls from prospects, and slowly but surely, my firm became what it is today. Since then, I’ve been far more involved in working on my business instead of only in it. It was through adversity and desperation that my family and I sought a whole new world, and ultimately, we’re really glad we did. It was a struggle for a while, and the uphill battle was never easy, but continuing to climb paid off. But with all that said, if you can take one thing from my story, it’s to join a national group. You don’t need to wait for a giant disaster to do it, either. Of course, I’d recommend Great Legal Marketing, but if you look around, you’ll find many groups with incredible ideas ready and willing to help you.
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Does your office turn away calls about “long-term disability insurance” claim denials because you don’t handle administrative appeals or “ERISA litigation” in federal court? We want to hear from you! We happily share fees on referred ERISA long-term disability, life insurance, and accidental death insurance denial cases. Send us an email at HelpDesk@jpricemcnamara.com or call (225) 201-8311 to start the referral process! WE VALUE YOUR REFERRALS! Even if you’ve never actively sought referrals from other attorneys, you’ve likely had clients in your core practice areas referred to you by other attorneys. That means you’ve probably also noticed that referred cases tend to be higher-quality cases, and the client has absolute trust in the referral attorney’s recommendation of you, which transfers to trust in you. This makes the client relationship great. So, why let the process of getting referrals be haphazard? You can easily cultivate high-quality referrals from other attorneys by creating a referral system that runs on autopilot. Sure, there’s some front-end work to get the system in place, but the effort pays off. Here are four essential components your system needs in order to make referring a client a smooth experience. Simplicity It must be so easy for the referral attorney to refer the potential client that it takes no more time than it would to turn away a caller. For example, at our firm, you can refer the case without even calling us. You or your intake staff emails the client’s contact information (with their permission) to us at HelpDesk@jpricemcnamara.com , copying the client, or you tell the client to contact us directly and tell us you sent them. WITH LESS THAN A 2-HOUR M Get High-Quality Referral C
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As much as many of us wish we could have an endless summer, all good things must come to an end. But why let the season close with a whimper when you can go out with a bang? Strive for a memorable last few days of the season with one of these family-friendly ideas. Take a family road trip. What says “summer” more than piling in the car and driving somewhere? You don’t necessarily have to go far. A new town a few hours away can still be an adventure. Check out a local state park or nearby museum you’ve always meant to visit and let your children enjoy the novelty of sleeping in a hotel room or camper. Even a weekend away will feel like an occasion and stick out in everyone’s memories. Spend a day on the water. Enjoying the water is one of the summer’s greatest pleasures, so make the most of it one last time. Depending on where you live, you might incorporate this idea into your road trip. Head to the nearest beach, lake, or river and pack in as much summer fun as possible with a favorite summer activity or something new! You could help your kids build a sandcastle, rent a kayak or paddleboat, or try water skiing. You might even surf or snorkel. Have a late night. Bedtime routines are about to make a return for school kids, much to their possible dismay, but you can indulge them with one last hurrah. Plan a special late night the family can enjoy together. You might go to a drive-in theater or host a movie marathon at home with plenty of popcorn. Camping on your lawn will also allow staying up late together doing something exciting. No tent? No problem — build a pillow fort in the living room instead! Summer only comes once a year, so don’t let its final days go to waste. A special celebration to mark the season’s end will leave you with lasting memories and even more reasons to look forward to next year. Summer Isn’t Over Yet! 3 MEMORABLE WAYS TO CLOSE THE SEASON
ERISA is all we do!
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MONTHLY TIME COMMITMENT Cases From Other Attorneys
HOW WE OVERTURNED AN UNJUST DENIAL FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS OMAHA LIFE TO PAY Our client was 64-year-old Bill (not his real name). He had hypertension and blood pressure that predictably spiked with his anxiety and panic attacks triggered by his high-stress career as a safety and emergency manager. His primary care physician advised him to stop working or risk having a stroke. He was earning $84,645 annually and hated to stop working. But his condition wrecked his personal, family, social, and professional lives and made it impossible for him to work at his stressful job. Bill was glad he had a long-term disability insurance plan and policy he paid for to protect himself and his family. But Omaha denied his claim, stating that his evidence was insufficient to prove his case, despite his treating physicians’ unwavering opinions that working would put him at risk of a stroke. He appealed, but Omaha denied the appeal as well.
Superior Communication and Follow-Up Without Exception The referring attorney must never have to wonder about the status of a case, so your system must let the referring attorney know you have contacted the client and either signed or declined them. If you signed the client, the system needs to update the referring attorney by email about the case’s progress without the referral attorney needing to ask how it’s going until you conclude the case and disperse fees. If you decline the client, you must copy your referring attorney by email with a respectful decline letter to the client, outlining the reasons and advising that if they ever need future legal services, they should contact the referring attorney. This must always happen without exception. The referring attorney trusts you to serve the client well, keep them informed, and honor any fee-sharing agreement. Fumble on that once, and you’ll lose that trust and never see another referral from that attorney. Superior Client Service and Experience Your referring attorney is putting their reputation on the line by trusting you. The last thing they want is for the referred client to feel that retaining you was a bad idea. You want to ensure the client raves about their experience with you and your office. Broad Awareness of Your Core Practice Area and Why You’re Worthy of Their Trust You must let noncompeting attorneys know your core practice area and how it benefits them to refer a case to you, then remind them of those facts regularly. In addition to traditional avenues of communication, a mailed newsletter like this one is a great way to get the word out. You simply compile a list of addresses for noncompeting attorneys and send it! Then, as you’re spreading the word about what you do, your newsletter readers can seamlessly direct the caller to you for evaluation by email. Instead of turning potential clients away, they can just as quickly send them to you and split fees in compliance with Bar rules. It’s a win-win!
Being accustomed to a steady (and high) wage, Bill was scared to death about losing everything. He never imagined having to fight Omaha for the benefits he purchased to protect himself, all while coping with a difficult medical condition. But Bill was also scared to work. In Bill’s own words: “If I try to perform my usual job duties, I will begin to get anxious, and my blood pressure will rise. When this happens, I get headaches, shortness of breath, and blurred vision. Xanax helps, but I need to lie down and decompress for 2–4 hours, depending on the stress level I have experienced. My required medications cause dizziness and drowsiness, leading to errors and the inability to keep pace as required to accomplish any work timely because my ability to do everything is much slower, including all activities of daily living and attending daily work meetings. I cannot concentrate on one task and experience increased anxiety over the pressure to complete my work.”
We also had Bill’s wife and a few close friends testify that they observed Bill having panic attacks.
Thankfully, presented with undeniable new evidence, the judge found Omaha’s denial of Bill’s claim to be arbitrary, capricious, and in bad faith and ordered Omaha to pay full benefits and attorney’s fees. In the end, because he continued to fight, Bill maintained his financial security while taking some much-needed time to relax, pursue further treatment, and focus on healing. It was an honor to help this wonderful gentleman overturn such an unfair claim denial!
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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
ERISA INSURANCE J. PRICE MCNAMARA Claim Attorney
10455 Jefferson Hwy. Suite 130 Baton Rouge, LA 70809 (225) 201-8311 WinMyBenefits.com
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
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How I Started Over From Nothing
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End Summer on a High Note
The Secret to High-Quality Referrals
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2 Denials by Omaha Life Couldn’t Stop Us!
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A Guardian Angel Covered in Fur
HOW WILLOW SAVED HER OWNER’S LIFE We all wish our pets would be there for us in an emergency. Dogs, cats, and other animals can accomplish amazing feats when provided with enough love and A CAT’S NOSE KNOWS
Willow went to the living room, where Amanda’s husband had fallen asleep watching television. Willow proceeded to bite his leg and jump on him until he woke up around 4 a.m. He could tell something was wrong, as this was abnormal behavior for Willow, so he followed her to the bedroom, where he spotted his wife. She was slumped over and unresponsive, and he immediately called her an ambulance. Doctors informed Amanda’s husband that she was moments away from slipping into a diabetic coma, but Willow had smelled something off and gotten help before it was too late. Most pets would get a few extra treats for their heroism, but Willow’s feats earned her a more prestigious award. The National Cat Awards named Willow as a finalist for their “Moggy Marvels” category. If Willow wins, she’ll receive a trophy, a £200 pet store voucher, and a year subscription to Cats Protection’s “The Cat” magazine. Although Willow likely doesn’t care about the trophy or the subscription, she’ll be happy enough with £200 worth of goodies and her owner safely by her side.
care, and a cat from Liverpool named Willow recently proved that many times over. A cat’s sense of smell is incredibly effective at detecting when something is abnormal, and Willow used her nose to save her owner in the nick of time.
For many with diabetes, falling into a diabetic coma is a constant concern, and they regularly check their blood sugar levels and take insulin shots to avoid that scenario. Amanda Jameson, a 51-year-old woman from Liverpool, received a diabetes diagnosis years ago but had always stayed on top of it. In April 2023, she fell asleep while her blood sugar was dangerously low. Thankfully, her cat, Willow, noticed something was wrong and sprang into action.
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