Gibson Law Group February 2018
DIVING DOWN
WITH GLG
FEBRUARY 2018
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CELEBRATING AMERICA’S LEGACY A NATION BUILT BY IMMIGRANTS
I n 27 years of practicing law, I’ve been privileged to work with clients from literally all over the world, from Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America to places as mysterious and exotic as California and New York. They come from dozens of countries and even more industries. In addition to needing a really good lawyer, they all have one thing in common — they are all Americans. Whether here by birth or by choice, they all believe in the American way and dream the American dream. “I AM CONVINCED THAT MEN HATE EACH OTHER BECAUSE THEY FEAR EACH OTHER. THEY FEAR EACH OTHER BECAUSE THEY DON’T KNOW EACH OTHER. THEY DON’T KNOW EACH OTHER BECAUSE THEY DON’T COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER, AND THEY DON’T COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER BECAUSE THEY ARE SEPARATED FROM EACH OTHER.”
and watch the same movies in the same theaters. We rise or fall together.
Whether our ancestors came over on the Mayflower or an Airbus 747, America is and always has been a nation of immigrants. And despite much of the rhetoric coming out of Washington these days, that is precisely what makes America great. Being at least fifth generation on both sides, my own family has been here a long time. My mom’s folks immigrated from Ireland in the 1840s. No one knows when or from where my dad’s side arrived, but they lived in Indian territory long before it became Oklahoma. My wife is Australian. My step-father’s parents were from Czechoslovakia. My sister-in-law’s family is from Mexico. My future son-in-law is from Albania and, other than being a Patriot’s fan, I couldn’t ask for a better man for my daughter. My family is certainly not unique, but we are thankful, both for our own heritage and for that of the many immigrants who made America and the world great. The list could go on forever, but consider just these few. • Alexander Hamilton. Though all of the founding fathers were born in British colonies, Hamilton grew up on the tiny Caribbean island of Nevis, which never was or would be a part of the USA. • Albert Einstein (Germany), Enrico Fermi (Italy), I.M. Pei (China), John Muir (Scotland), Joseph Pulitzer (Austria), Levi Strauss (Bavaria), John James Audubon (Haiti — yes, that Haiti!) • Alfred Hitchcock (England), Irving Berlin (Russia), Oscar de la Renta (Dominican Republic), Liz Claiborne (Belgium, first company founded by a woman to crack the Fortune 500), • eBay founder Pierre Omidyar (France) • Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang (Taiwan) • Sun Microsystems co-founder, Vinod Khosla (India) • Google co-founder Sergey Brin (USSR) • YouTube founders Steve Chen (Taiwan) and Jawed Karim (East Germany)
–MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
From this rich diversity of clients, I have learned much, but perhaps most importantly, we are all fundamentally the same. Regardless of race, color, religion, political affiliation, or country of origin, we all worry about the same big-ticket items: making ends meet; protecting our loved ones; raising happy, healthy, productive children; enjoying time with friends and family; and leaving our country and the world a better place than we found them. Whether we worship on Sunday mornings, Friday nights, or not at all, we all root for the same sports teams, complain about the same traffic, eat at the same restaurants,
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WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM THE KING OF CUSTOMER SERVICE
to find Murrell’s leasing office. When the panel moved on to other topics, Murrell’s Amazon comments were seemingly forgotten — that is, until two days later when ScreenJunkies News streamed another video, during which Murrell shared his experience with a customer service representative who reached out to him. After seeing the first video, the representative said they wanted to rectify the situation. They personally checked that Murrell’s most recent order, a bookshelf, was scheduled to be delivered on time, and they gave Murrell the opportunity to air his grievances about third-party couriers. During the panel discussion, Murrell mentioned that he’d never seen the movie “Lawrence of Arabia,” and the representative told him that Amazon had sent him a Blu-ray copy of the film, free of change. Also, $100 was added to Murrell’s Amazon account.
What happens when an internet personality complains about your company? If you’re Amazon, you make sure the next time they talk about you, they’re singing your praises. ScreenJunkies News is a popular YouTube channel dedicated to media and pop culture. In early November of 2017, the channel streamed a panel discussion that focused on comments from Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, who said he wanted to pursue video content that would appeal to a broader audience. One of the panelists, Dan Murrell, quipped that he’d rather Bezos make sure the DVD racks he ordered from Amazon arrived on time. This off-the-cuff complaint garnered laughter from the other panelists. They chimed in with their own comments on Amazon’s delivery practices, and one panelist brought up third-party couriers’ inability
INTRODUCING GENERAL BUILDING MAINTENANCE (GBM)
Our First Client Spotlight
At The Gibson Law Group, we are privileged to represent so many incredible business leaders from a wide array of industries. We know that our firm simply couldn’t exist without the support of each and every one of you driving success and growth in Texas and beyond. That’s why, this month, we’re excited to introduce our readers to General Building Maintenance Service, an industry leader for complete building services in the DFW area. For over 18 years, GBM has been providing custom, comprehensive janitorial services to bring buildings into full compliance with LEED certification standards.
a combined 55 years of experience, they and their team are consistently exceeding their clients’ expectations, keeping facilities clean and beautiful with only the highest standards of service. GBM’s customers particularly tout the company’s integrity, honesty, and dedication to utilizing the very best cleaning practices on the market, as well as their careful attention to each client’s specific needs. If you’re interested in seeking out GBM’s services, you can reach them at (817) 277-2200 or through their website GBMco.com/ contact_us.htm to discuss whatever you might need. We can personally attest that throughout our relationship with GBM, they’ve been a business interested in doing right by the people they serve. Certainly, we’ve loved representing them every step of the way, and look forward to working with them in the years the come.
GBM is a family-owned and -operated business, started in 2001 by Jose Cadena and Michela Perez-Christiansen. With more than
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WILL THE DECEMBER NET NEUTRALITY REPEAL HURT MY BUSINESS?
This response may seem over the top for a YouTube joke, but Amazon’s model works. Last year, Jeff Bezos became the richest person in the world, surpassing Bill Gates. The key to Amazon’s success? Don’t wait for complaints. If a package is late, Amazon sends the client a new delivery date. Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet includes a Mayday Button, which encourages customers to contact around-the-clock support the moment they feel frustrated. And, by reaching out after seeing Murrell’s complaints, Amazon is no longer the company that can’t deliver a DVD rack on time. Now, to Murrell, the other panelists, and the channel’s 1.5 million subscribers, Amazon is the company that makes things right. Who wouldn’t want to do business with a company that takes care of them?
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• Intel co-founder Andy Grove, born Andras Istvan Grof (Hungary)
For every famous person listed above, there are countless thousands of others whose contributions have made America great. In 2016, all six American winners of the Nobel Prize in economics and scientific fields were immigrants. Since 2000, immigrants have been awarded 40 percent of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans in chemistry, medicine, and physics. Immigrants have started 25 percent of public U.S. companies that were backed by venture capital investors. Per the SBA, immigrants are 30 percent more likely to start a business in the U.S. than non-immigrants, and 18 percent of all small-business owners in the U.S. are immigrants. According to the Census Bureau, despite making up only 16 percent of the resident population holding a bachelor’s degree or higher, immigrants represent 33 percent of engineers, 27 percent of mathematicians, statisticians, and computer scientists, and 24 percent of physical scientists. Perhaps not surprisingly then, foreign-born inventors are credited with 75 percent of the patents issued to the top 10 patent-producing universities in the U.S. I truly believe, as Dr. King said, that hatred is driven by fear and fear is driven by ignorance. As one who has had the privilege of getting to know so many wonderful people from all over the world, it is vital to me that we celebrate the role of immigrants in this society. And to those of you who don’t feel safe in these interesting times, know that we are here to help. Just pick up the phone and call me. Even if you don’t, know that I and tens of millions of others across this country are in your corner, offering whatever support we can, recognizing everything you’ve done and continue to do for our country. –David Gibson
In December, the Federal Communications Commission, in a three- to-two vote along party lines, voted to end net neutrality. These regulations, enacted during the Obama administration, were designed to keep the internet fair and equally open to everyone. The FCC reached its decision despite public outcry, including the opposition of 18 attorneys general from across the country and millions of comments from constituents overwhelmingly against repealing net neutrality rules. Luckily, legal challenges have already begun to arrive in advance of the repeal taking effect. But what does this mean for consumers and business owners? Without the protections afforded by net neutrality, internet service providers (ISPs) will be allowed to control how online content is delivered. They can discriminate either for or against the transmission of data by methods such as blocking, halting, slowing, or increasing the delivery speed of certain paid content. Proponents of the repeal argue that net neutrality was only recently enacted into law and was an unnecessary extra regulation imposed by big government. But consumer experience from before the adoption of net neutrality suggests otherwise, as there were already many documented instances of ISPs interfering with the transmission of data for their own competitive advantage. Still, the repeal has not yet taken effect, and legal challenges may further delay any potential changes for ISPs. It may be a while before you feel the impact of the decision. When it does take effect, the biggest shifts will likely be felt by the creators and consumers of online video content. But if your business relies on cloud software or internet-based business applications, there is a distinct possibility these services may be bundled at a higher price by ISPs or blocked in favor of a competitor’s service. And, at the very least, everyone should expect to pay higher prices to access internet content.
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IN SIDE A Word for Those Struggling in Today’s America
What Makes Amazon the King of Customer Service?
Client Spotlight
Net Neutrality and Your Business
Take a Break!
3 Holistic Remedies Hiding in Your Kitchen
SPICE IN YOUR LIFE? Need a Little
purchase whole nutmeg seed, found in most specialty food stores. You can incorporate nutmeg into your diet by taking it as a supplement in capsule form or simply sprinkling it into your next chai tea. Your achy joints will thank you. GINGER This root is an essential natural anti-inflammatory. It can help ease an upset stomach and finally tame your nausea. You can safely eat it raw, candied, as a supplement, in tea, or in baked goods. Ginger is most effective when it’s ingested raw or in capsule form. If you have morning sickness, raw ginger might do the trick! Just ask the people of ancient China. Like many spices, ginger’s use as a supplement goes back centuries. Southeast Asian countries used it to ease their own common ailments. Call it tried and true. PEPPERMINT You can use peppermint as an essential oil, steep the leaves for tea, or take a supplement capsule. Each form comes with its own benefits. As an essential oil, peppermint is great for treating colds. It’s a mild decongestant, and it helps with coughs and stuffed-up noses. It also soothes sore throats and headaches. Rub one or two drops under your nose, on your temples, or over your sinuses and feel the relief wash over you! Even further, a study published by The BMJ found that when administered as a capsule, peppermint helped reduce the symptoms of IBS in a majority of patients.
Spices and herbs add much more than flavor and aroma to your favorite beverages and treats. They also offer many health benefits. When properly utilized, these spice rack staples can ease a variety of symptoms. Ready to find your new holistic health kick? Read on. NUTMEG This spice, known for its earthy, nutty flavor, has anti- inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. Want to calm nagging pain? This spice has been used to treat joint pain and arthritis. It can even be used to remedy bad breath! Nutmeg is most potent when it’s freshly grated, so it’s recommended you
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