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LEGAL BRIEF
516-800-8000
FRIEDMANSIMON.COM
OCTOBER 2019
Full of Surprises The Ups and Downs of Founding a Firm
Life can work in funny ways. For instance, in 1989, a good friend and colleague offered me tickets to a Knicks game. However, I was expected to be at an event held by the state bar association the same night. Still, this was a tough decision to make. After all, the late ‘80s were an exciting time to be a Knicks fan — we had the likes of Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley. In the end, one factor swayed my decision. The game was just a preseason match. So, I decided to pass on the tickets and go mingle with fellow members of the bar association. And that is where I met a young, friendly lawyer interested in personal injury law. I had spent three years on the other side, at an insurance defense firm, before becoming a consultant for multiple litigation attorneys. Naturally, this lawyer had plenty of questions for me, and pretty soon, we developed a friendship. His name was Edward Friedman. If basketball season kicked off a little earlier that
where our firm is today, I am far more gratified by the work that got us here. This was the biggest surprise that came with starting a personal injury firm: just how deeply the work would impact me. I knew that representing people who had been seriously hurt
felt hollow, like we’d somehow missed the purpose of what we were really here to do. This case haunted me for a long time until I saw the young woman a few years later.
She was a completely different person —
would be a powerful experience — it’s one of those jobs where you really get to change someone’s life for the better. But I didn’t understand just how much this work would mean until a moment came where it failed to make a difference. I will never forget this case. We were representing a young woman who had been paralyzed in a car accident. The case had been contentious, and our adversaries took it all the way to the steps of the Supreme Court
smiling, warm, and independent. She called my name from across a parking lot and told me to come give her a hug. Shocked, I asked her what happened, and she said, “I just needed time, Roger.” She’d been able to get the treatment she needed and didn’t have to spend her time worrying about medical bills and lost time at work. Seeing her smile was hands down the most rewarding moment of my career. And it’s a moment that gave me perspective. Yes, the firm Ed and I built has the privilege of being able to make a profound impact on people’s lives, but we don’t do it alone. Chiropractors, physical therapists, psychiatrists, MDs, and countless other professionals make the recovery of our clients possible. I have a deep respect for what these professionals and their staff are able to achieve, and I recognize our shared passion for bringing a smile to those who need it most.
year, well, the two of us may not have built the firm we have today. That story’s not the only part of our history that took me by surprise. If you had told me 30 years ago that Edward and
of the United States, but we won and won big. Yet, our client remained in a deep depression. When I visited her to deliver the good news, she wouldn’t even look me in the eye. She kept the blinds to her room closed and wouldn’t get out of
“I didn’t understand just how much this work would mean until a moment came where it failed to make a difference.”
I would build this firm to where it is
now, I wouldn’t have believed you. When we formed our partnership in 1991, it was just me, Ed, and one other individual. From this humble beginning, we’ve grown to include 16 employees working away at our beautiful location in Jericho. But, as proud as I am of
bed. We’d done all we could to make sure her needs would be taken care of, but the truth is that just isn’t enough on its own.
Here’s to making a difference,
516-800-8000 1 ––––-Rog er Simon
I’d never felt so heartbroken over winning a case. Could I even really call it a victory? It
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Taking the Time to Care
BUILD A MILLIONAIRE’S LIBRARY
Book Recommendations From the Ultra Successful
What Patients Want
What does every successful person have in common? They read. Avid reading is a key characteristic of the ultra successful because, through great ideas, you can learn how to achieve your full potential. If you want to be more successful in business and in life, you should definitely add these great books to your reading list. ‘BUSINESS ADVENTURES: TWELVE CLASSIC TALES FROM THE WORLD OF WALL STREET’ BY JOHN BROOKS Who read it? Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Famously loaned to Bill Gates by Warren Buffett himself, “Business Adventures” was written and originally published shortly after the stock market crash of 1962. In this book, John Brooks recorded the successes and failures of 12 major companies of the era, including Ford, Xerox, and General Electric. ‘LETTERS TO A YOUNG POET’ BY RAINER MARIA RILKE Who read it? Jen Rubio, co-founder and president of Away From 1903–1908, renowned German poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote letters to a young, aspiring poet. These candid thoughts from one of the greatest artistic minds offer insights on life, love, and how to fully experience the world we live in. Each letter is a valuable reminder that we should never underestimate our own artistic spirit. ‘IT’S NOT ABOUT THE COFFEE: LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES FROM A LIFE AT STARBUCKS’ BY HOWARD BEHAR Who read it? Katrina Lake, founder and CEO of Stitch Fix Starbucks is known for its quick coffee and seasonally controversial cups, but that’s not what turned the company into a world-conquering success. In “It’s Not About the Coffee,” Howard Behar highlights the importance of company culture and the role business leaders play in helping their team members reach their full potential. ‘CREATIVITY, INC.: OVERCOMING THE UNSEEN FORCES THAT STAND IN THE WAY OF TRUE INSPIRATION’ BY ED CATMULL WITH AMY WALLACE Who read it? Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and CEO of Facebook Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar, is responsible for some of the most successful animated movies in the history of cinema. “Creativity, Inc.” explores the creative process behind such films and how this process can be replicated in any industry. Forbes has suggested that Catmull’s book “just might be the best business book ever written.”
Our firm has a lot of respect for medical practitioners. We may help people get compensation for their injuries, but chiropractors, physical therapists, and other professionals actually get them back on their feet. One thing we’ve noticed in our interaction with accident survivors is the best care goes beyond treatment. Here are other elements of care that can make a difference for your patients. HONEST COMMUNICATION Injuries sustained in an accident leave people with a lot of questions. Will they be able to return to work? How long will the pain last? Can their life return to the way it was? Regardless of the answers, being open and honest about these questions is the best policy. Communicating what your patient can expect, in clear, uncomplicated terms can help put their mind at ease even when the news may not be what they want to hear. PROFESSIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE A patient won’t judge a clinic on a practitioner’s bedside manner alone. The experience they have from the moment they come in your door can be the difference between a satisfying treatment or a transfer to another provider. Many factors influence it: caring staff, timely service, responsive phone and email systems — but they all contribute to how valued a patient feels. At a time when an injury may make them feel powerless, a patient needs every member of your team to listen and care so they feel heard. EMPATHY Most importantly, patients shouldn’t feel isolated by their pain. Empathetic care is more than just about being kind; it’s about letting someone know you see the struggles they’re going through and understand how these may be affecting them. This is especially crucial when a patient may be suffering from depression or anxiety due to their injury. As a firm, we practice all three of these elements ourselves. We’ve found that by communicating honestly with the people we represent, providing the best customer service possible, and making every effort to empathize with them, we build relationships that last. More importantly, we’re able to bring a sense of comfort and stability into these people’s lives when they need it most.
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In health care, helping patients get better goes beyond simply treating an injury. It’s not enough to fix a dancer’s broken ankle if they aren’t rehabilitated to get back in the spotlight, or to mend a taxi driver’s head wounds without the psychiatric help to get them back behind
DEVIL IN THE DETAILS Simply making note of the effect an injury is having on a patient’s life can make a world of difference. Are they having trouble moving or sleeping? Can they go back to work or do the same hobbies they
FOR THE RECORD
the wheel. Most practitioners realize that to truly heal those in their care, they need to provide resources and support to get patients’ lives back to a sense of normalcy. However, many miss a key step in this process: capturing the impact of these injuries in their records and testimony. THE FULL PICTURE To some medical professionals, recording an injury’s residual effects may seem redundant. After all, they have the expertise to extrapolate those kinds of conclusions from simple notes. But sparse accounts can make it difficult for a patient to receive compensation for the full extent of their injuries. For example, without context for how a wound is impacting a person’s life, insurance companies or civil courts may underestimate the damages an accident victim is owed.
enjoy? Do simple tasks take them longer to complete because of what they’ve been through? Adding this layer of context can go a long way toward more-accurately representing the pain and suffering a patient is going through, especially when you are called upon to provide a narrative report in a personal injury case. A REASONABLE PROJECTION When testifying as an expert witness on a personal injury case, you may also be asked about what a patient’s injuries might mean for their future. It’s easy to get lost in “what ifs” when faced with these sorts of questions, so use your knowledge and research to give predictions with a reasonable degree of certainty. This keeps you from sinking into the realm of speculation while doing your due diligence to convey the long-lasting challenges your patients may face.
Chocolate-Dipped Fruit
SUDOKU
Inspired by Food Network
This super easy and fun way to create homemade treats provides your kids with a healthier and more delicious alternative to packaged industrial candy. As a bonus, making it is an awesome Halloween activity for your family to enjoy.
Ingredients
• 1 package melting chocolate • Assorted dried fruit, including apricots and mangoes
Instructions
1. In a large saucepan, bring 1 inch of water to a boil. 2. Place a large, heatproof mixing bowl on top of saucepan so that no steam can escape. Place melting chocolate in mixing bowl and double boil until melted. 3. Dip half of each piece of fruit in chocolate before transferring to a parchment-lined baking sheet to rest. 4. Let cool for 10 minutes until chocolate solidifies. 5. Place in school lunches, serve at parties, and indulge in a few for yourself.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1 2 3
How Friedman & Simon Came to Be
A Reading List for Real Success
3 Elements of Comforting Care
Good Records and Recovery
Chocolate-Dipped Fruit
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Automation Has Come to Small Business
LET THE ROBOTS DO IT
Automation Has Come to Small Business
Apptivo. With features to track tasks and submit timesheets, this scalable tool allows everyone to stay up to date on the logistics of business and make coordination a breeze.
Running a small business means wearing many hats. More often than not, CEOs find themselves moonlighting as marketers, customer service specialists, human resources representatives, project managers, and just about any other job that needs doing. That’s why more and more entrepreneurs are exploring automation to free up their time and focus on growing their business rather than just keeping it afloat. AUTOMATION ON YOUR LEVEL In the past, automated systems were solely within the purview of big businesses. Applications for organization were either too expensive or too wide in scope to fit the needs of smaller companies, but those days are over. Plenty of tools have been developed to help you and your team reduce workloads and run more efficiently, no matter your company’s size. REDUCING THE CHAOS Unless your business is large enough for several project managers, chances are that every employee is responsible for their own organization. This quickly leads to miscommunication, conflicting schedules, and roadblocked projects. Thankfully, many basic functions of a project manager have been automated thanks to applications like
RESPONSE TIME IS EVERYTHING Many small businesses hesitate to bring “bots” into customer-facing operations because they don’t want to lose their human touch. But humans are busy, and an unanswered request for a quote or a delayed response to a question will quickly give current and potential customers a bad impression. That’s why software like Keap exists. Keap allows you to send automated email responses at the first point of contact. This message can be as simple as an acknowledgment that their message was received and will be answered soon. The important part is that your customers are reassured that they are being heard. Far from making your business more robotic, automated tools allow your team to focus on what they do best. That means more time for thoughtful customer service emails, personalized interactions with customers, and well-executed projects. That’s something you and your clients will appreciate.
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