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May 2025 The Contractor’s Advantage
HarrisonLawGroup.com (410) 832-0000 jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com
LESSONS FROM THE MESS MY 4-STEP METHOD FOR CONQUERING ANY DISASTER ZONE
When my wife and I bought our first house, we had no idea what we were doing, especially when it came to the oil heater in the basement. That became painfully clear the day the bottom rusted out and dumped oil all over the floor. To put it simply, it was a mess. Luckily, a local fuel provider was able to clean it up for us, but I will never forget the stomach- dropping feeling of that discovery. This wasn’t the last big mess we would have to clean up. (We do have two children after all.) Nor would it be unique to my personal life. As an attorney, I have plenty of “messes” I have to manage on a regular basis, but there are always a few that stick out. One of the most frustrating came from a court case in Virginia. The judge ordered my client to respond within a certain time frame, and if they didn’t, they would lose their case. There was just one problem with this: The court never actually filed the order. So, when we heard our client had lost the case, both we and the opposing counsel were dumbfounded. To prove we had never received the initial order, I asked the court to track their records. It took six months to sort it out. Ultimately, the court fessed up to the mistake, and the case was settled.
Yet, that situation taught me a huge lesson and changed how I work. Now, every week, I ask my assistant to review the online court docket for all active cases, save them as PDFs, and share them with me. I then review each one to ensure we haven’t missed an order. It may seem tedious, but it has saved us more than once since. I have found similar circumstances where the courts made a decision without notification. I can’t imagine what would happen if we continually missed this information. Messy situations — whether professional or personal — are part of life, but I’ve developed a strategy that helps me deal with them more effectively. Here’s my four-step method for tackling a big mess, no matter what form it takes: 1. Identify what’s urgent: Take care of the most urgent task first. There’s a difference between what’s important and what’s urgent. Doing my taxes by April 15 is important, but if I have a court motion due on Thursday, that’s urgent. 2. Create a workspace: When I recently got fed up with my kids’ chaotic playroom, I cleared everything out of the room and created a space where I could work. Whether it’s mental or physical, creating a workspace provides you with a solid foundation upon which to start. 3. Know the order of importance: After handling the urgent matters, determine what steps you need to take next. What’s most important? What can wait? Knowing the order of operations gives you a road map. 4. Take it one step at a time: Big messes can be overwhelming if you try to tackle everything at once. So slow down and take it one step at a time. Bite-size problems are much more manageable.
I don’t wish any messes your way, but when they do happen (and they will), I hope this process helps you clean them up a little faster and with a lot less stress.
-Jeremy Wyatt
jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com | HarrisonLawGroup.com | 1
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Turning Tension Into Trust
SMART STRATEGIES FOR HANDLING TOUGH CUSTOMERS
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, more than 70% of workers experienced or witnessed acts of incivility daily during a three-month period in 2024, potentially damaging productivity and morale. Customers and clients who display challenging, disruptive behavior are clearly an increasing problem. Many business owners just chalk it up to the costs of striving for growth and success, but more than a few wonder if some customers create more problems than they’re worth. Is it ever okay to “fire” a customer? The decision requires business owners to weigh the costs of serving that customer against the toll on productivity. Here is a deeper look at the tradeoffs involved. Seize the Opportunity Challenging customers can serve as an incentive to learn and train employees in new interpersonal skills. The first step is to listen carefully and discern the customer’s motives. Some people complain because they want you to recognize their wants and needs as important. Some behave aggressively to cover up their anxiety or irritation with life in general. Others claim to know more than you based on a need to control others or show off. It’s equally important to realize problems that have nothing to do with your company may have triggered the customer’s difficult behavior. For example, someone having trouble paying expenses might blow up over a small billing problem. Business owners should consider the possibility that the
avoiding distractions, and signaling your understanding by verbally confirming you hear their concerns. Dispel the Tension Show empathy by acknowledging the customer’s anger or frustration. And never, ever descend to the customer’s level by abandoning your professionalism, politeness, or respect. Repeat a description of the customer’s complaint to show that you understand. You might say, “If I understand you correctly, you’re upset because the product you received arrived too late for you to use.” This shows the customer you’re paying attention and also validates their emotions. Even if your business is not to blame, it can be helpful to apologize for the distress they are experiencing, such as, “I’m sorry this has caused you so much frustration.” Then, engage with the customer to find a solution. Ideally, present more than one option for them to choose from. Then, follow up later to ask whether the solution was helpful. How you handle the problem demonstrates to the customer that you are committed to excellent service, which will, ideally, lead to a trusting relationship. Let Go If a customer’s behavior crosses a line into abuse, it may be necessary to end the relationship. Threatening language, aggressive behavior, or insults are unacceptable. Keep notes on such behavior, and
set limits by saying, “I would like to help solve this problem, but I cannot help if we aren’t able to have a polite conversation.” If you decide to terminate the relationship, do so politely. Express your regrets honestly, and explain that another provider would likely better serve their needs. However, this step should only be a last resort. Given the power of online reviews and social media, finding a resolution is nearly always worthwhile.
customer is having difficulty understanding instructions or having a bad day. Figuring out the underlying issue can help you respond most effectively, even empathically.
To understand the customer’s problem, allow them to voice their complaints completely without interrupting. Practice active listening by making eye contact,
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The platform uses the same AI-powered applicant- screening technology used by life insurance companies to assess surrogate candidates, including social media analysis, public records, and financial data. Nodal claims the efficiency of that process allows the company to increase the supply of surrogates.
Much of the media and film dealing with surrogacy focuses on traditional partnerships, in which the mother’s egg plays a role in fertilization. Nodal arranges gestational surrogacy relationships, which use eggs from other sources. The pregnancy is created from the intended parents’ sperm and egg or a donor embryo and implanted in the surrogate via in vitro fertilization. Once the baby is born, parental rights are assigned to the intended parents. These arrangements are legal in 48 of the 50 states. Nodal launched 2 1/2 years ago and claims to have matched 108 parents with surrogates. The company has raised $8.7 million in venture
Prospective parents pay Nodal $500 monthly to create and post a profile and $15,000 to complete a match. The company also can provide a case manager for an additional $10,000. As expensive as that is, it is a bargain compared with the $100,000– $200,000 prospective parents usually spend through traditional intermediary companies. The average waiting time is 45 days, compared with the 9–18 months required to make matches using traditional methods. Levine also partners with fertility benefit companies, including Carrot, Maven, and Progyny, to arrange fertility care at reduced costs.
funding and is expanding its partnerships with fertility clinics to increase referrals. “We have saved our intended parents over $5 million in fees,” Levine told TechCrunch in a recent article. “You can have a baby on the Nodal platform before you get off the waitlist at a Nodal competitor.”
HAVE A Laugh
MONSTERS LOST TO TIME Weird, Wild, and Once Feared History is full of strange creatures. Some may not haunt our imaginations today, but their stories provide a fascinating glimpse into the fears of the past. Bycorne The Bycorne was a cow-like beast with a human face that thrived on “patient husbands” for food. His spouse, Chichevache, ate patient wives but was always lean. The Bycorne’s legacy reflects how folklore blended humor and fear with cultural commentary. Lamia In Greek mythology, Lamia was a beautiful queen who became a child-devouring monster. Her name later became synonymous with witches and female demons.
Snallygaster A reptilian-winged beast, the Snallygaster emerged in early 20th-century American folklore, inspiring public hysteria before fading into obscurity. However, its name survives in “snollygoster,” a term for an unprincipled person. Though these monsters vanished from everyday discussions, their stories remind us that legends and the words used to describe them are constantly evolving.
jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com | HarrisonLawGroup.com | 3
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Jeremy Wyatt jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com HarrisonLawGroup.com (410) 832-0000
40 West Chesapeake Avenue, Ste. 600 Towson, MD 21204 Inside This Edition
1.
What I’ve Learned From the Biggest Messes of My Life
2.
Savvy Ways to Handle Difficult Customers
3. 4.
The Monsters History Tried to Forget
New Tech Platform Links Surrogates With Wannabe Parents
CONNECTING HOPEFUL PARENTS WITH SURROGATES SWIPE RIGHT FOR PARENTHOOD
To couples who want a baby but are unable to carry a pregnancy, finding a surrogate can be a heart-wrenching journey that costs up to $200,000 and takes months or even years to complete — with no guarantee of success. To Dr. Brian Levine, a New York infertility specialist, that dilemma reflects a supply-and-demand problem he is
working to resolve with technology. Levine is the founder and CEO of Nodal, an online surrogate-matching marketplace that screens and connects surrogate mothers with intended parents. After more than a decade spent working with couples struggling to have a child, he claims the idea for the company sprang from seeing the frustrating hurdles faced by couples and gestational surrogates alike. Dr. Levine’s business model borrows technology from other fields to provide surrogate mothers and prospective parents more transparency and control over the matching process. Nodal can also cut tens of thousands of dollars in costs for intended parents by eliminating the surrogacy agencies that serve as go-betweens. The Nodal platform resembles the dating app Bumble, enabling the surrogate to make the first move toward finding a match with a set of parent applicants. Nodal claims this gives surrogates greater control over the process than agencies offer and produces better matches.
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