Take a look at our May newsletter!
For The Ambitious Advocate BRIEF RECESS
MAY 2023
FROM THE LAW OFFICES OF J. PRICE MCNAMARA
Not Taking Inbound Calls Changed My Practice WHY I SWITCHED TO SCHEDULED CALLS ONLY
For Your Calendar Remember, you’re in control of your day, so just because you’re switching to scheduled calls doesn’t mean every hour of your day is up for grabs. In my case, I know I work best in the mornings, so I block off the mornings on my calendar. However, I leave a few hours in the afternoon open for my team to schedule client calls. You can tailor your calendar to your own needs or hours of productivity, but be sure to communicate your time blocks to your team if they’re the ones scheduling client calls. For Your Team Once you convey your scheduling hours to your team, it’s time to set some rules around them. At my firm, my team knows that under no circumstances should anyone schedule a call outside of my allocated hours. If they believe there is a special exception or an emergency, they should consult me first. In the beginning, it’s probably a good idea to outline what constitutes as an emergency client call so team members know what to look for when scheduling.
While many lawyers love their jobs, they often complain about the nearly infinite interruptions their busy schedules face each day — especially from phone calls. However, while phone calls may be the biggest interruption facing lawyers today, failure to take or respond to calls is the most common complaint lawyers receive from clients. Despite this complaint, I’ve found that refusing to take unscheduled calls from clients has both increased my productivity and made my clients happier. You may wonder, “How the heck is that even possible?” This counterintuitive practice works for a few reasons:
a lawyer, that team member can organize a meeting that works with your schedule. Scheduling a call instead of taking them as soon as they come in guarantees the client will get an answer from you. This makes them feel better and doesn’t distract you in the middle of your workday. Scheduled phone calls are also generally more productive because you’ve had time to review the case and prepare for that client’s specific questions or concerns. If a client knows your time is limited and allocated to certain people and tasks, it makes them feel special. It shows them that out of your busy schedule, you’re taking the time to personally address their issues without letting their voicemails pile up in your inbox.
•
•
•
•
When clients are upset that their lawyer didn’t get back to them or didn’t pick up their phone, they’re really saying that they want to know the status of their case. Really, they just want to know you haven’t forgotten about them and that someone is still working hard to help them receive a resolution to their problem. But a team member who isn’t a lawyer can handle these calls, and if the client or issue requires
Customer service is essential to the success of any law firm, but it doesn’t have to come at a price. It’s entirely possible for you to dedicate time to every single one of your clients while remaining calm, organized, and productive. However, if you’re used to playing hot potato with your telephone, making this transition to a more structured process can take time and effort. Here are the rules I follow that you can use to phase out unscheduled calls in your firm.
Continued on Page 3 ...
(225) 201-8311 1
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 BriefRecess@jpricemcnamara.com or call (225) 201-8311 to start the referral process! The meteor shower was made from Halley’s Comet. Eta Aquariids is a collection of leftover space debris from the famous Halley’s Comet — mostly ice and dust. As these meteors pass through the Earth’s atmosphere, they heat up and glow bright enough for you to see. Every year, you can watch as these small chunks of Halley’s Comet burn and leave shining streaks in the night sky. WE VALUE YOUR REFERRALS! All month long, countless astronomy aficionados will be camping out in the dead of night to catch a glimpse of an annual meteor shower. First discovered in 1870, the meteor shower known as Eta Aquariids can be seen from Earth every May. This stellar space show moves as fast as 44 miles per second and leaves a bright, glowing trail behind it. Eta Aquariids is visible to both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, making it an optimal summer night event. However, this one might be for the night owls since it peaks past midnight. Curious to know more about this mysterious annual meteor shower? Let’s discover the origins of Eta Aquariids and how you can catch a glimpse of this galactic sight. WHY YOU NEED TO Don’t Miss Thi
R
3 Hotels to Visit for a Great Night’s Sleep
?
If you’ve ever planned a vacation, you’ve probably picked a few key places to visit, like a museum, restaurant, or historic site. However, a new vacation trend is becoming increasingly popular: sleep tourism, where a
traveler plans their entire vacation to get the best quality sleep during their time away.
Before, common goals for vacations were to eat delicious foods, stay up late to see the sights, and fit in as much
activity as possible. However, this left travelers completely exhausted. And as our culture continues to understand how important sleep is to our health, more people are prioritizing rest even while they’re away. But being a sleep tourist is about more than going to bed early and ensuring you get your recommended eight hours of rest. It’s about building your vacation around sleep. Some hotels even offer rooms tailored to sleep tourists, with amenities so popular that their sleep options have become regular offerings.
So, if sleep tourism sounds like something you’d be interested in, here are three hotels that help you catch those z’s.
Park Hyatt New York (NYC): This hotel features a “Sleep Suite” designed by Bryte, a company that uses AI to facilitate sleep. The room touts an intuitive “Restorative Bed,” which adjusts to relieve pressure points and controls climate temperature throughout the night, according to each person’s needs. This suite also includes an array of soothing essential oils, a diffuser, and books about sleep. The Cadogan, a Belmond Hotel (London): This hotel offers a “sleep concierge,” which boasts prerecorded sleep meditations and a pillow selection menu for every type of sleeper. Sleepers can even benefit from the hotel’s weighted blankets, scented pillow mist service, and their proprietary sleep tea. Zedwell (London): The first ever “sleep-centric” hotel, Zedwell uses recycled materials to insulate every door, wall, and floor from sound. This hotel also purifies the air within the hotel and fills every space with ambient lighting.
ERISA is all we do!
WinMyBenefits.com 2
SEE ETA AQUARIIDS is Astral Event It takes nearly 76 years for Halley’s Comet to orbit the Sun just once, and the last time we saw this iconic comet was in 1986. It won’t even reenter our solar system again until 2061, but luckily it left us the yearly gift of Eta Aquariids. Here’s how to best view the Eta Aquariids. There’s no specific date to see Eta Aquariids, and we only know the time range of early to mid-May. Your last chance to witness this spectacular sight in 2023 is May 27. Yet, 2023 is said to be an exceptionally bright year for this meteor shower. According to Bill Cooke, the lead for the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA, the meteor rates will be over two times the average speed which will cause an abnormally vibrant glow. For specific stargazing dates, check the American Meteor Society’s official calendar ( AMSMeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar ). To best view this magnificent meteor shower, you’ll need to get cozy in your lawn chair around 2 a.m. It’s crucial that you give your eyes at least a half hour to adapt to the darkness so you can see the shower. There’s no need for binoculars or telescopes since Eta Aquariids is visible to the naked eye. Simply find a dark spot away from city lights and wait for the show!
Bad Grade? Sue Your Professor! During your school career, you probably got at least one grade that was less than you deserved. Maybe you painfully accepted the grade or confronted your instructor for an explanation. Most people choose one of those two options — but have you ever heard of a student taking their professor to court? That’s precisely what this Pennsylvanian student did when she discovered her C+ grade wouldn’t let her graduate. Megan Thode, a Lehigh University graduate student, sued her professor and school for the mediocre grade that would ultimately cost her a degree. Thode reported that due to the incorrect grade, she couldn’t graduate and, therefore, couldn’t pursue a career as a licensed therapist. Thode demanded a grade change from this lawsuit as well as monetary damages. How much exactly? She wanted $1.3 million. According to Thode, this represented the money she would lose from not earning her graduate degree and starting her desired career. We should note that since Thode was the daughter of Stephen Thode, a finance professor at Leigh University, she attended the school for free. Her professor, Amanda Eckhardt, gave Thode a zero in class participation, lowering her overall grade to a C. And Eckhardt stood by her evaluation. According to USA Today, when questioned, the professor remarked, “I believed she received the grade she earned.” In fact, Eckhardt testified that Thode had explosive behavior in class, acted unprofessionally, seemed emotionally unstable, and didn’t even heed a warning letter. As expected, a judge quickly rejected this case in court. NPR announced that, after only four days of testimony in the civil trial, the judge determined the university never breached any contract and did not owe Thode a dime. In the end, Thode changed her master’s degree to human development. She won’t be anyone’s therapist any time soon!
... continued from Cover
For Your Clients Once you decide to move over to scheduled calls only, it’s vital that you lay down the ground rules with every new client you onboard after that point. In my first consultation, I always make a point to inform new clients that they can contact our paralegal for the quickest response to any questions or concerns. I also provide clients with a welcome packet pointing out that I only take scheduled calls and even explain the four benefits I list above for this practice. If you have current clients who are used to calling you whenever they please, urge another team member to call them back, explain your policy, and schedule a time to call. For You Whatever rules you decide to make for your calendar, team, and clients, follow them yourself too. If you fail to follow the system, your team members and clients will too!
(225) 201-8311 3
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
1
Why You Need to Stop Taking Unscheduled Calls
2
Want the Best Sleep of Your Life?
Stargaze This May
3
Student Takes C+ to Court
4
Potbellied Pig Terrifies Burglars
On the night of New Year’s Eve in 2014, a group of burglars experienced the fright of a lifetime. Expecting to rob a quiet home in Derby, England, the intruders instead came face to snout with Ludwig, a 240-pound potbellied pig. Abandoning all thoughts of crime once they spotted the pig, the burglars instantly fled the scene and ran for their lives. The “hero ham” had already become a popular figure in his town and was well-loved for his gentle demeanor. In fact, Michael Maughan, Ludwig’s owner, is confident that Ludwig wouldn’t have harmed the intruders, even if he does look quite intimidating. Local officers believe the robbers must have heard Ludwig’s Rottweiler-like “growl” and immediately hit the road, leaving the door wide open behind them. The story of this heroic potbellied pig became a sensation throughout Europe. Countless fans have applauded the Canadian-born hog for his loyalty to his owners. But the owners want to ensure people understand that Ludwig
would never hurt anyone. Some fabricated web stories made Ludwig sound more dangerous than he is, so Maughan spoke to the Toronto Star to dispute any defamations against Ludwig’s kindness. “He’s being painted as a vicious creature when he’s actually quite a sweet animal,” he explained. “He didn’t exactly bare his tusks and charge, I don’t think. I think he got absolutely, ‘Arrgh,’ and they just ran for it.” In fact, Maughan detailed that after a two-month separation during their move to England, the pig shed tears during their reunion. Adorable and affectionate, Ludwig would have probably become friends with the intruders in no time. Even if his “bark” is worse than his bite, Ludwig succeeded in keeping his owners safe while also protecting their home. This 240-pound potbellied pig continues to enjoy his comfortable home in Derby and is considered a town hero. Anyone looking for a guard dog may want to consider a hefty hog instead!
A Ham-Fisted Attempt at Robbery
INTRUDERS FLEE FROM LUDWIG THE PIG
4
WinMyBenefits.com
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator