Take a look at our December newsletter!
OVERRULED
Louisiana Estate and Injury Attorneys
New Orleans • Covington
December 2023
(504) 384-7978
www.ScottVicknair.com
Cheers to a Successful 2023!
We’ve officially arrived at the end of the year. I’m sure we’ve all experienced our fair share of ups and downs this year, but hopefully, there was more good than bad. I love this time of year because it provides us with the perfect opportunity to reflect and analyze everything we have accomplished during the past 12 months. We don’t think about our successes on a regular basis, so taking some time to reflect will give us the best perspective possible as we enter 2024. In recent years, I have spent ample time with coaching and leadership organizations, learning how to become a better leader in the firm. I wanted to ensure the business was running efficiently. At the time, I didn’t realize how blind I was about strategic planning and creating a vision for the business that we could communicate with our team. It took time to figure out the best path forward for our business, but I can say with confidence after some reflection that there is so much that I should be proud of, especially during this past year. We saw tremendous growth in our practice this past year. Although we had two locations, we only had one office administrator and human resources director who oversaw everything between both offices. We’ve added another full- time office administrator and HR director to make things easier for everyone at both offices. We’ve also decided that we’re going to dedicate more resources to grow our brand, so we added a chief marketing officer and coordinator to shift our business into growth mode. You’ll likely see more news, events, and announcements from our team in the coming years! All in all, we added seven new team members in positions that didn’t exist previously at our firm. This will help set us up for even more success throughout 2024, 2025, and beyond. Over the next few years, we plan to strengthen those departments by adding more experienced team members and improving our internal and external processes. We want to give our team the technology, tools, and resources they need to do their jobs as efficiently and effectively as possible.
There are plenty of reasons to get excited as we enter another new year. As we approach the end of the month, take some time to reflect on all you did this past year in your personal and professional lives. Think about everything that went right and analyze the situations you could have handled differently. Then, put some plans into place to ensure that 2024 is a successful year for you. Maybe you want to travel overseas or start your own business. You have to plan if you want to accomplish your lifelong goals, and there’s no better time to create and reassess goals than at the end of the year. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, a tremendous end to your year, and a successful start to 2024!
-David Vicknair
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As Christmas shopping gets increasingly hectic, knowing what to get for the tech lovers in your life can feel impossible. New devices and gadgets hit the market daily, and following tech trends might not be part of your daily routine. Fortunately, 2023 has brought some standout innovations anyone would love to unwrap on Christmas Day. Noise Canceling Headphones Considered a modern staple, noise-canceling headphones are the perfect gift for a special someone who needs a break from the chaos and a way to focus. You can find a variety of headphones in different price ranges, so staying within your budget is easier. However, if you want to splurge, Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 are an excellent choice with crystal clear sound and over 20 hours of battery life. Smart Alarm Give the gift of a good night’s rest and a peaceful morning! Smart alarms have been a popular gadget this year, with features like white noise sound, artificial sunrises, Bluetooth speakers, and gentle morning wake- up calls. For a sleek design, try the Loftie Clock with its all-black look. For a faux sunrise to fill the room, go for Philips HF3670/60 SmartSleep. Self-Cleaning Water Bottle These days, everyone is carrying around their oversized water bottles. Let your tech-lover be ahead of the curve with a self-cleaning water bottle! These innovative bottles use UV-C LED technology to sanitize the water and the inside of the bottle regularly. The LARQ Bottle PureVis is a popular choice as it also can keep beverages cold for 24 hours. UV Phone Sanitizer Did you know your smartphone is 10 times dirtier than a toilet seat? This year, grab a UV phone sanitizer for yourself and your loved ones that can remove 99.99% of bacteria. The PhoneSoap Pro can clean your phone and other small items with its sleek design. Pet Camera With Treat Dispenser Do you know a tech lover who also dreads leaving their furry friend home alone? A pet camera strapped with a nifty treat dispenser might be their favorite gift of 2023! A small surveillance camera allows pet parents to keep an eye on their fur babies, and Petcube’s Bites 2 also lets them dispense a small treat to keep their pets happy. 5 Must-Have Tech Gifts for Christmas 2023
Join the Scott Vicknair Law Firm on the “Overruled” podcast for relaxed yet informative discussions on business, law, and leadership. Your hosts, David Vicknair and Brad Scott, interview clients, friends of the firm, and many other experts to uncover fascinating details about people who are making a dent in the world in small but beneficial ways. Check out some of our latest episodes to get practical, effective, and up-to-date insight on business, personal and professional growth, and much, much more! WELCOME TO ‘OVERRULED’! See Who’s Making a Dent in the World!
Available at ScottVicknair.com/ podcasts or listen on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
Referrals Welcome! Thanks for allowing us to represent you. We would love if you continued to trust us for your referrals of friends and family. We are only a call away! CALL NOW – OPEN 24/7 (504) 285-7675
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Holiday celebrations are some of the most exciting moments for kids, be it trick-or-treating or tearing open Christmas presents. But properly celebrating New Year’s Eve may be a struggle for the little ones. If you’ve let your kids try to stay up until midnight in previous years, you may have experienced sleepiness, tantrums, Smart Strategies for a Kid-Friendly New Year’s Eve Party Make It to the Countdown Without a Meltdown
And the Winner of This Year’s Scholarship Is ... We are proud to announce the selection of Cruz Cassard as the recipient of the Scott Vicknair Law Firm 2023–2024 annual scholarship in collaboration with Nicholls State University. Cruz is a freshman from Thibodaux majoring in political science.
and cranky mornings the next day, which isn’t the best way to start the new year. Well, this time around, you can be better prepared! Thanks to countless clever parents sharing their tips and tricks, we’ve compiled the most genius hacks that will make this New Year’s Eve not just kid- friendly but actually fun! A little secret won’t hurt ’em.
He aspires to work in politics as a policy advisor or chief of staff on the state or federal level. He is currently working as the senior voluntary advisor to the campaign manager of both the Louisiana House and Senate races, is Nicholls State’s SGA athletics senator, is a proud member of the 2022 Louisiana Boys State family, and serves as senior speech writer and advisor for legislative affairs of the Governor’s Office, Senate Pro-Tempore, and City Public Defender. When not debating U.S. domestic and foreign policy with friends, he enjoys reading political and historical fiction and watching high school and college baseball, especially Nicholls State and Southern Miss.
Have you tried a faux countdown? You can save yourself the headache entirely by implementing a little white lie. Changing all the clocks forward isn’t exactly new, but now, with the help of streaming services and YouTube, you can make a bulletproof fake countdown. At your preferred bedtime, play last year’s New Year’s Eve countdown on the TV. Amp up the celebrations with a rowdy countdown, cheering, and glasses of sparkling apple cider! Then, bring the festivities to an end and get your kids ready for bed. It’s as easy as that! If they do stay up, make it fun! Of course, if you would rather stay up with your children, feel bad lying, or don’t think you could pull the wool over their eyes, then there are some creative ways to keep them entertained until midnight without a meltdown. • Number colorful balloons and let your children pop one every 30 minutes or hour. You can even fill the final balloon with confetti to celebrate New Year’s Day! • Have everyone dress up fancy to make your at-home party feel more like a New York celebration. • Create a bucket list together for everything you want to do in 2024. • Get outside and play with sparklers! • Every hour, turn off the lights, play a song, and crack some glow sticks for a dance party! • Make fun and easy party appetizers together. • Look through old photos and videos of the past year together. When you plan ahead, you can ensure that your kids have enough activities to make it to midnight without any hassle. Of course, the fake countdown is always an option too!
Inspired by TheModernProper.com SKILLET CHICKEN POT PIE
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup butter • 1 cup chopped onion • 1 cup sliced celery • 2 cups sliced carrots • 1/2 cup flour • 1 tsp salt • 1/2 tsp pepper • 1/2 tsp celery seed
• 1 tsp garlic powder • 1 cup milk • 2 cups chicken stock • 2 cups peas • 4 cups cooked chicken • 1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed • 1 egg
Directions 1. Heat oven to 425 F. 2. In 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, melt butter, then add onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté for 5 minutes. 3. Add flour, salt, pepper, celery seed, and garlic powder to pan and stir. Sauté for 2 minutes. Slowly incorporate milk. 4. Add stock and bring to a simmer, whisking until mixture thickens. Add peas and chicken. 5. Roll out pastry sheet into 16-inch square on floured surface. Cut into 3-inch squares and place overlapping onto chicken mixture. 6. In a small bowl, whisk egg with 1 tbsp water. Brush egg over pastry and place in oven for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
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Louisiana Estate and Injury Attorneys
(504) 384-7978 www.ScottVicknair.com 909 Poydras St., Suite 2025 New Orleans, LA 70112 Inside This Issue
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Year-End Reflections
Give the Gift of Innovation This Christmas Welcome to ‘Overruled’!
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Skillet Chicken Pot Pie Genius Hacks to Celebrating New Year’s Eve With Kids
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The Unbelievable Story of WWI’s Christmas Truce
A BRIEF PAUSE IN THE TRENCHES The Heartwarming Tale of the Christmas Truce in WWI
Christmas is a time for kindness, yet for those in the trenches during World War I, no one expected mercy. It was Christmas Eve 1914 when British soldiers huddled in the mud-filled trenches, trying their best to ignore the harsh winter winds. Well, that was when peace broke out all along the Western Front. It became known to the world as the Christmas Truce after countless men wrote about their experiences amid the ceasefire. Records reveal the Germans called over to the British at around 10 p.m. to share some wine. At first, the British soldiers were skeptical, yet as they met halfway along the battlefield, amiable chatter and merriment began. All along the trenches on various battlefields, French, German, Belgian, and British soldiers followed the Christmas Truce. Men who were shooting at one another the day before began to share cigarettes, sip wine, and joke around. One account even recalled a soccer match between the British and German soldiers. A German lieutenant named Kurt Zehmisch wrote of the match in his diary. He wrote, “Eventually, the English brought a soccer ball from their trenches, and pretty soon a lively game ensued.” Zehmisch added, “How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus, Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.”
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