Take a look at the first edition of our brand new newsletter!
For The Ambitious Advocate BRIEF RECESS
NOVEMBER 2022
FROM THE LAW OFFICES OF J. PRICE MCNAMARA
How an Attorney’s Story Can Draw In Clients AND CREATE A BETTER WORK ENVIRONMENT
Everyone has a story. Our lives until now are more than just a collection of memories; they’re
Since I worked for a bigger firm, I spent more time watching trials than participating in them.
accomplished practice. Here are some ideas that I have found helpful in incorporating my story into my business. Use your struggles to connect with your clients. Everyone has experienced loss and heartbreak. Let your clients know you understand their pain, and that it’s because you can relate to them that you’re the best lawyer for their case. This is especially important if you have struggled with something in the field of your practice. You can advertise this on your website, or let your clients know in that first meeting that you’ve been in their shoes before. Clients who see you as someone like them will be more likely to use your services. Be the boss you wish you had. When I started working at a firm, I saw many lawyers who equated being overworked with success. This is not true! Think back to your first job in a law office. What things do you wish your boss had done differently to help you? If you constantly felt stressed by your job, think about how to prevent this from happening to your employees. I’ve found that it’s best to create jobs that fit people, not the other way around. Everyone has their strengths and talents; cultivate that and give them a place to use their gifts to better your firm. Think about your life: the good, the bad, the sad, and maybe even the ugly. How do they make you a better lawyer? Things happen for a reason, so instead of leaving life at home, build your practice around it!
lessons. These lessons help us become the best lawyers and leaders we can be. Your story is an incredible resource to draw in clients, especially if they plan on putting their trust and future in your legal hands. They want to feel like they know you personally, maybe even view you as a friend. I’m going to tell you my story in an effort to make you think about your unique journey and how to use your experiences to create a better business future. When I was growing up, my father was an attorney, so legal happenings surrounded me most of my adolescent life. To our town, my father was a source of guidance, and not just for legal troubles. People would often stop by for a moment of my father’s time, asking what they should do about their child who was caught up in drugs, or what rights they had in their upcoming legal struggle. I admired that about my father, and when he became a federal judge, it gave me an entirely new respect for the legal system. I knew I wanted to follow in his footsteps, but I wanted to feel like there was a cause I was fighting for. I needed a crusade. After law school, I found my first cause when I began working in defense of insurance companies. The crusade here was fighting against people who were trying to commit fraud. However, I quickly realized I was missing that personal connection.
I left insurance defense and began work for the district attorney’s (DA) office, where my new crusade was fighting crime. This was a part-time job, so when I wasn’t involved in a murder trial, I was doing plaintiff work on the side. In my plaintiff side hustle, I began doing more personal injury cases. I even found myself in some pretty big ones. In these cases, I was able to help better the lives of suffering people, often people who were sick or injured. I left the DA’s office to start fighting my next cause. But before I could start, New Orleans, where my wife and I lived, was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. We moved to Baton Rouge, and I lost my brother, father, and sister in the span of a few months. During their struggles, I recognized the importance of the insurance benefits they were able to receive, especially for someone nearing the end of their life. I decided to open my own practice in Baton Rouge and began doing ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) long-term disability work. I saw firsthand how ERISA stacks the deck against people because it’s so complicated that they simply don’t know what they need to win. After the experience of my family’s passing and witnessing the mistreatment of my clients, I found a new injustice to fight. My life has been filled with many unique challenges and successes, and learning from these experiences has allowed me to run an
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THE TIME I WENT TO Fishing the Louisiana Gulf Coast has always been a passion. It’s what I did with my father growing up. The tradition continues with my sons Bennett and Chris. My wife Susan and daughter Stephanie usually tag along too. I got Susan addicted while dating, and getting the whole family hooked has helped with how often I get to go. And we always have a blast! With a Grand Isle camp as our home base, we fish for trout and redfish along the coast. When it’s calm, we venture farther out for red snapper, ling, amberjack, wahoo, and mahi-mahi. On this particular morning, when Bennett, Chris, my brother-in-law Jimmy, and I dropped bait 25 miles out near an offshore platform, in water only 200 feet deep, catching yellowfin tuna wasn’t a thought. They just don’t hang out there — ever. Yellowfin are typically found over 80 miles out, and the tackle needed for a 150-pound yellowfin is much bigger than what we were carrying. When my pole bent and the drag screamed, we figured it was amberjack. After 45 minutes with Jimmy at the wheel following the fish, the unmistakable giant yellow “sickle fin” cut the surface. It was a huge yellowfin! After my knees stopped shaking, we finally boated it and headed straight in. I immediately called Susan and Stephanie at the campsite and told them that tuna was on the menu for dinner! HOW I ENDED UP AS A D
Many people deal with unwelcome, intrusive thoughts every day. We’ve all experienced unwanted images or notions racing through our minds, and it can be difficult to concentrate on what we need to be doing. These thoughts can also trigger feelings of anxiety, worry, and shame. But know you’re not alone — some estimate that 6 million Americans are affected, so many can empathize with what you’re going through. Here is some good advice about intrusive thoughts and how to manage them in a healthy way. What are intrusive thoughts? Intrusive thoughts are unwanted ideas that occur without warning at any time, often triggered by stress or anxiety, or even short-term biological factors, like hormone shifts. They can come in many forms, and people often worry about what they mean, so naturally, they try to control or stop the ideas altogether. But trying to prohibit these thoughts can make them more persistent. What can you do? Instead of pushing these thoughts out of your mind, acknowledge that they are intrusive concepts and allow them to linger. Understand they will pass, but prepare yourself for other unwanted thoughts. Most importantly, push through and HOW TO MANAGE INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS Why Do I Constantly Think About This?
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! WE VALUE YOUR REFERRALS!
continue to complete your tasks and errands when the thoughts occur.
If you try to control, suppress, question, act, or engage with intrusive thoughts, you’ll likely be even more fixated on them. You’ll feel more in control if you allow them to pass through your brain instead of trying to avoid and ignore them. Intrusive thoughts can feel distressing, but allowing them to freely enter and exit your mind will provide you with ease — even if it doesn’t seem that way. However, if intrusive ideas persist and continually impair your ability to work or do things you enjoy, seek information from a mental health professional. You’re never alone in your struggles, so don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it.
ERISA is all we do!
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O COURT OVER TUNA DEFENDANT BY MISTAKE The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and
Prudential Would Would You Want an ER Physician on Opioids in Charge of Your Family?
Fisheries boat flashed its lights, asking us to stop as we entered Barataria Pass. We were just minutes from camp and eager to show our catch. I preached about having current fishing licenses to my sons while handing them to the agent, proud of the big fish he was eyeing on deck. But then he said, “Show me your HMS license.”
I asked, “My what?” And the mood changed instantly.
Our client, a Texas ER physician, fought to continue working as long as he could after major cervical and thoracic spine issues which ultimately required the fusion of levels C2–T3 vertebrae. His job duties in the ER required quick thinking and rigorous physical action, performing orthopedic dislocation reductions, intubation, and lumbar punctures as well as placing central lines. He also regularly encountered combative, intoxicated, and drug-altered patients. His post-laminectomy syndrome pain and medication regimen took their toll. He began to falter physically and mentally until it became impossible for him to perform his job safely. Unrepresented, he filed for long-term disability insurance benefits with Prudential after years of premium payments. He explained to Prudential that his pain and increasingly limited mobility endangered his patients. His treating surgeon said he had become “increasingly reliant on a chronic pain regimen including opioids and other controlled substances to function in even the most basic manner” and suffered slow, clouded, and unreliable thinking. He figured there was no way in the world he’d be denied. Everything he submitted was the absolute truth. Prudential had its physician review his medical records. Without bothering to meet with our client, Prudential’s physician decided that he could continue his full-time duties as an ER physician. Prudential credited its record reviewer’s opinions over our client and his treating providers’ opinions, denying the claim. We filed his ERISA-mandated pre-litigation appeal, loading the administrative record with better objective and opinion evidence of his disability. We also included a more detailed sworn testimony from our client, explaining exactly how his restrictions would endanger patients under different scenarios. Prudential reversed its denial, and they will now pay our client monthly through retirement age. Unfortunately, this case is typical. When insurers like Prudential deny long- term disability claims, they hope their insured will “appeal” by arguing disagreement with the denial. They know ERISA law prohibits the court from considering any evidence not submitted with the appeal before filing suit (most people don’t realize this until it’s too late). Loading the administrative record with the best evidence before filing a lawsuit is critical to getting claim denials like these reversed.
Having a “highly migratory species” permit for yellowfin was news to me. It was a freak accident that we had caught one at all. The grim agent photographed us with the contraband, advised that he was confiscating it, and wrote me an arraignment summons.
He ultimately let us keep the fish, which made us and some neighbors happy, and the DA dismissed the case with a warning at the arraignment. Let’s just say if I ever find myself with a wildlife violation again, I will surely regret it. What I won’t regret is that fantastic day!
Vegan Butternut Squash Chili
Ingredients • 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, plus 2 tbsp for sautéing • 5 cloves garlic, minced • 2 lbs butternut squash, peeled and diced • 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped • 1 yellow bell pepper, diced • 15-oz can black beans, drained • 15-oz can pinto beans, drained • 28-oz can diced tomatoes • 1 cup cooked quinoa • 1 1/2 tsp paprika • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon • 1/4 tsp table salt • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Directions 1. In a large pot,
heat 2 tbsp vegetable broth over medium heat. 2. Add garlic, butternut squash, and chipotle peppers. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 3. Add bell pepper and cook for another 5 minutes. 4. Add black beans, pinto beans, diced tomatoes (with liquid from can), remainder of vegetable broth, quinoa, paprika, cinnamon, salt, and pepper, stirring to combine. 5. Bring mixture to a simmer
and cook uncovered for 10 minutes or until butternut squash is tender, then serve!
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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
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Use Your Unique Story to Be a Better Lawyer
A Healthy Way to Manage Intrusive Thoughts
A Yellowfin Tuna Sent Me to Court!
Vegan Butternut Squash Chili
Reversed On Appeal: ER Physician’s Denial of Long-Term Disability Benefits
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Calico Cat Saves Owner From Would‑Be Burglars
GUARD CAT MODE ACTIVATED FELINE DEFENDER PREVENTS ROBBERY
We’ve heard of guard dogs, but have you ever heard of a guard cat? Well, Bandit the calico cat somehow knew exactly what to do when she spied intruders at her owner’s back door! Some may call it instinct, some may call it luck, but to Fred Everitt, she’s a hero. Everitt, a 68-year-old retired oral surgeon, was sound asleep in his Mississippi home on Sunday, July 24, when Bandit started letting out deep meows sometime between 2:30–3 a.m. Everitt assumed Bandit had seen another cat or other animal outside. Cats tend to be active at night, and Bandit is no exception. She’s been known to roam the living room and explore the kitchen cabinets while Everitt sleeps soundly. He quickly realized it was something else when she came into his room and tried to pull his comforters off and clawed at his arms. Bandit’s behavior was unusual, so Everitt knew something was wrong. “She had never done that before,” Everitt said. “I went, ‘What in the world is wrong with you?’”
Bandit’s persistence eventually pulled him from bed, and after throwing his robe on, he went to investigate. When he finally got into the kitchen, he noticed two figures — one with a crowbar and one with what looked like a handgun — trying to break into his back door. By the time Everitt returned from retrieving his own handgun, the intruders were gone. Thankfully, it didn’t turn into a confrontational situation, and Everitt gave credit to the 20-pound cat that he adopted from a humane society. If it hadn’t been for Bandit’s alertness, it could’ve been a completely different story.
“I want to let people know that you save a life when you adopt from a pet shelter or rescue one,” Everitt said, “but the tides could be turned. You never know when you save an animal if they’re going to save you.”
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