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OBIORAHFIELDS.COM | 404-994-6218 | DECEMBER 2019
THE FRONTLINES OF DEVELOPING TOMORROW’S CITIZENS WHERE WE GIVE BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY
T he holiday season has a way of instilling generosity and goodwill in everyone, and not just toward the people we know. In 2018, 30% of all charitable giving happened in December alone. It may not be the only month to give back, but, since we’re all more likely to adopt a generous mindset around the holidays, I wanted to talk about one way our firm supports our community year-round. Last year, Obiorah Fields Law Office partnered with Clayton County to provide gifts to Clayton County Schools’ teachers and students of the month. Every month, each school recognizes a teacher or staff member who goes above and beyond their responsibility to help and educate students as well as a student who excels in their coursework and extracurricular activities. Then, from that group, we and Clayton County pick an educator and student to recognize with a gift basket and a cash reward. As integral as these individuals are to the well-being of a community, they don’t always get the honor they deserve for all their hard work, and we wanted to do what we could to change that. In the past, schools in Clayton County have had to overcome a lot of flak and a lot of challenges. In 2008, the district lost its accreditation. When
schools lose their accreditation, it means students aren’t eligible to apply for certain scholarships, and some of them might not be able to go on to higher learning programs as a result. At the same time, when schools in Clayton County lost their accreditation, they lost the support of a lot of local businesses as well, severing an important connection in the community. A few years ago, the schools got their accreditation back, and this success was a testament to the hard work of the school districts’ staff and students. One school has even developed a STEM program that’s picking up a lot of steam, and we’ve been fortunate to recognize some of the teachers and students who are a part of that. We’re fortunate to work with Clayton County to recognize the hard work that’s gone into getting these schools on the rebound. Our firm also chose to support teachers and students because they have the biggest potential to impact the community for the better. In turn, when something impacts the students, teachers, and schools in our communities, it affects us all. Teachers are on the frontlines of developing tomorrow’s citizens. Recognizing the hard work of just a few of them is about
more than just those who get the gift basket — it’s about recognizing the important role that every teacher and student has in our community. This is the cause our firm felt compelled to support, but it’s not the only one that can have a positive impact on people. If you’re trying to find out how you can give back, ask yourself this question: What are the most important causes in my neighborhood, my city, or my country — to me? If you give back to something you really care about, you can’t go wrong.
–Danielle Obiorah
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THE JOY OF A GINGERBREAD HOUSE EVERYTHING YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THIS HOLIDAY TRADITION Of the many seasonal traditions that sweep our nation, few are as creative, delicious, and satisfying as building your very own gingerbread house. Whether you’re looking to create a simple table decoration or bake a tasty treat to nibble on, everyone can enjoy this holiday activity! THE ORIGINS OF GINGERBREAD Ginger was first cultivated in ancient China, then traded into medieval Europe. There, Europeans incorporated it into culinary traditions and used it to bake cookies into elaborate shapes and works of art, including figures of animals and people. The gingerbread house first appeared in the early 19th century in Germany. Although historians don’t know an exact date, it’s speculated that it gained popularity around the same time that “Hansel and Gretel,” the popular fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm, was published. THE LARGEST GINGERBREAD HOUSE In 2013, the world record for the largest gingerbread house in the world was broken. The house, topping out at 21 feet and covering 2,520 square feet, was built by Traditions Golf Club in Bryan, Texas, to raise money for a local Level II trauma center. To construct the house, builders created a recipe that required 1,800 pounds of butter, 2,925 pounds of brown sugar, 7,200 eggs, 7,200 pounds of flour, 1,080 ounces of ground ginger, and a few additional ingredients. BUILD YOUR OWN! While you don’t have to challenge yourself to beat the Guinness World Record, you can still have fun creating your very own gingerbread village. Starting your gingerbread house from scratch can be a fun activity for the whole family to enjoy. Give the kids a chance to mix the ingredients, roll out the dough, and set out plenty of candies and frostings to use, and remember to have fun! If you’re looking for unique gingerbread house ideas, take a look at 20 gingerbread house ideas at TasteofHome.com/ collection/gingerbread-houses.
DANIELLE OBIORAH AND TERI FIELDS: SUPER LAWYERS WHAT IS A SUPER LAWYER?
Obiorah Fields Law Firm has an exciting announcement to make: Both Teri Fields and Danielle Obiorah will
be included on the 2020 Super Lawyers list. This honor means that both of them are in the top 5% of all the attorneys Super Lawyers evaluated, based on reviews from their peers, third party feedback, and independent research. Being a Super Lawyer sounds like a huge honor, and it is, but if you’re not an attorney, you
might not be aware of exactly what that means. Super Lawyers is an online rating service that evaluates attorneys from over 70 practice areas in order to give attorneys
and consumers a resource for choosing the best legal counsel. Among attorneys, becoming a Super Lawyer is an incredible achievement that shows their determination to practice their areas of law to the best of their ability as well as their dedication to helping their clients. The 2020 list will be the first one that has included both Teri and Danielle, which makes for some extra excitement surrounding this honor. The Super Lawyers list is distributed to attorneys in each winner’s state or region, as well as to ABA-accredited law school libraries. It’s also published in various regional magazines across the country. Attorneys can’t nominate themselves for this award, and they can’t campaign for it either. Every attorney on the Super Lawyers list earns their spot solely based on the hard work they put in serving their community. Not just any attorney can become a Super Lawyer, and the ones who make it through the evaluation process absolutely earn it. Obiorah Fields Law Firm is lucky to have two incredibly talented, hardworking attorneys at its helm. We’re excited about their achievements, and we have no doubt that though this is their first year on the list, it certainly won’t be their last.
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THE GIFT OF PLANNING FOR THE UNTHINKABLE GIFT YOUR FAMILY AN ESTATE PLAN THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
You might not think of an estate plan as a gift, but in the event of your death, it could be the best thing you can give your family. When the alternative is not having one, an estate plan can be an immense blessing for your family. Here’s how. IT’S A COMPLICATED PROCESS When many people think about estate planning, they might envision a process that just includes a few quick signatures and a couple checked boxes. However, allocating your assets and deciding your final wishes for your estate involves a lot of nuance. It involves serious, intentional discussions with your family about what’s best for them and best for you in the event you pass away. Those might not be easy conversations to have, but having them will make things a lot easier for your family after you’re gone. IT’S A GIFT THAT LASTS FOR YEARS Having an estate plan means your family avoids the timely, costly process of discerning your will for your assets after you’re gone. This means they don’t have to deal with the animosity that can arise between family members over who gets what assets, or the uncertainty of whether or not they’re carrying out your final At Obiorah Fields LLC, we’re not your standard, run-of-the-mill law office. We don’t just do what’s required of us — we go the extra mile to make sure justice is served in every case we take on. If you’ve worked with us before, and you know somebody who could benefit from taking us on as their legal team, please don’t hesitate to give them this newsletter and show them who we are! We want to help as many people as we can. We’re just one phone call away from new potential clients. If they contact us through our website and give us their name, contact info, and a brief description of their situation, we will give them a free case evaluation and report. Don’t hesitate to refer us! DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO NEEDS OUR HELP? GIVE THEM THIS NEWSLETTER!
wishes. Instead, your family will have years of peace knowing everything happened as you wanted it to.
IT’S NOT SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO DO ALONE Maybe you’ve been hesitant to get your estate plan nailed down. Whether it’s because the size of the task or it’s not a subject you want to dwell on, just know you don’t have to put together your estate plan all by yourself — in fact, you shouldn’t. Let your family know you’re doing it for them, and enlist the help of an experienced estate planning attorney. Danielle Obiorah and Teri Fields can sit down with you and help you make sure your last will and testament is actionable and that your family will be taken care of. Give Obiorah Fields a call at 404-531-1591 for a free evaluation.
NEED A SPEAKER? If you are interested in having Teri Fields speak to your organization about estate planning, please contact us at 404-994-6218.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
How Can You Give Back to Your Community?
1
Building Your Own Gingerbread House
2
Atlanta’s Newest Super Lawyers
Gift Your Family an Estate Plan This Holiday Season
3
Do You Know Someone Who Needs Our Help?
The History Behind Christmas Lights
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LIGHT UP THE NIGHT WHY DO WE HANG CHRISTMAS LIGHTS?
The first string of twinkling lights illuminating your neighbor’s house is always a telltale sign of the upcoming seasonal festivities. Christmas lights are a holiday staple, but have you ever wondered where this beloved tradition started? The tradition of hanging lights on the tree originally started with candles. Because this posed an immense fire hazard, Edward Hibberd Johnson, a close friend of Thomas Edison and vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company, vowed to find a better way to decorate Christmas trees with light. In December 1882, three years after Edison’s invention of the lightbulb in November 1879, Johnson hand-wired 80 red, white, and blue lightbulbs together and wound them around a Christmas tree in
his parlor window. A passing reporter saw the spectacle and declared in the Detroit Post and Tribune, “One can hardly imagine anything prettier.” Johnson continued this tradition, increasing the number of lights each year and eventually putting them up outside. But because electricity was still a new concept, many years passed before the fad took off for regular Americans. In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge began the tradition of lighting the National Christmas Tree, which spurred the idea of selling stringed lights commercially. By the 1930s, families everywhere were buying boxes of bulbs by the dozen. Today, an estimated 150 million Christmas lights are sold in America each year, decorating 80 million homes and
consuming 6% of the nation’s electricity every December.
Whether you’ll be putting up your own lights or appreciating the most impressive light displays in your neighborhood or town, let the glow fill you with joy this season. Just don’t leave them up until February!
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