EXPLORING THE RICH HISTORY OF SCRABBLE
Hiring someone new for your business can be a stressful situation, but it becomes much easier when you’re already familiar with the person you plan to bring onto your team. This past April, we welcomed Eric Moser to the Emery Law Office family as our newest attorney. Over the past few months, he’s already proven himself to be a vital asset to our efforts, and we know he will continue to support our clients with whatever they may need. Eric Moser Joins the Team Eric’s interest in law started when he joined the mock trial team at Bellarmine University while an undergrad. After graduating from Bellarmine, he attended the University of Notre Dame and worked at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Eric spent many years in the legal field before taking a job with Phil Rich Law, a small personal injury firm based in his hometown of Louisville. Melissa worked with Eric at Phil Rich Law for two years, where she experienced his work quality and ethics firsthand. Eric continued to work at Phil Rich Law after Melissa left to open Emery Law Office, but the two reconnected to co-counsel during the past year. Phil Rich had accepted a position as an administrative law judge in Kentucky and closed his practice as a result. Eric still wanted to work in the legal field and In 1931, the Great Depression — the worst economic crisis in American history — had thoroughly dampened the country’s spirit. Amidst the crisis, Alfred M. Butts, an out-of-work New York architect, decided to create a game to take his mind off the economy. Aspiring to develop a classic to join the ranks of other timeless card and board games, Butts came up with the idea for a board-and-tile game he non- committedly named “Criss Cross,” which we now know as Scrabble. The Architect’s Plan At its core, Scrabble was inspired by crossword puzzles and always featured the iconic lettered tiles, each with separate quantities and point values. Butts determined the point values by surfing through his collection of local newspapers and counting how often each letter appeared. To prevent players from creating too many cheap plurals, he included only four “S” tiles in each box and assigned the letter a measly 1 point. Butts was eager to share his idea with the world, but the world was not as eager to receive it. He pitched the game to several publishers and retailers, but all rejected it. Butts had to retail it on a small scale, and the game did not become the surefire hit he expected it to be. It wasn’t until fellow New Yorker ADDING VALUE, ADDING TALENT
James Brunot discovered the game that things changed for the better. Brunot offered to mass-produce the game and, in exchange, would provide Butts with a portion of the profits, which Butts happily agreed to. Brunot’s Bargain As soon as Brunot secured the rights to the game, he began making significant changes to it. These included redesigning the board, its color, players’ starting position, and the location of various score multiplier tiles. But his most important contribution was changing its name to Scrabble! The owner of Macy’s then discovered the game and offered to carry it in his stores. Brunot went from creating 12 copies of the game an hour when he first acquired the rights to 2,000 sets per week by 1952. By 1954, millions of copies were sold. Today, the game has been translated into over 20 languages and has sold over 100 million copies. People play the game worldwide, in tournaments and living rooms alike, and it has allowed millions to share in the joy initially envisioned by a down-on-his-luck architect in a time when hope was a distant prospect.
approached Melissa about an opportunity with her firm. She knew he would be a great fit and was thrilled to welcome him to the team.
The rest of the team at Emery Law Office quickly determined that Eric was a welcome addition to the team during their first get-to-know-you lunch. In addition to asking about his vast qualifications as a lawyer, they asked the most critical question possible: “Do you own a dog?” Per Emery Law Office standards, Eric proved he was the right person for the team thanks to the fact that he is a proud dog owner!
We’re so glad Eric is on our team and know that he has been diligently helping clients since starting this past April.
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