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LEGAL BRIEF
SEPTEMBER 2022 FriedmanSimon.com 516-800-8000
THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE LIFE MEANINGFUL DEDICATED TO MY FAMILY — AT WORK AND HOME
Hi everyone. On Sept. 26, we celebrate the people who make our lives meaningful — family. I’m lucky enough to have two: my personal family and my Friedman & Simon family. I couldn’t be more grateful for their important contributions to my quality of life. In honor of U.S. National Family Day, here’s just a little bit about them. At home, I’m blessed with a beautiful, supportive wife of 37 years. We’ve raised our three children, who range in age from 19 to 28. To our amazement, all of our kids still live in New York, and they actually enjoy hanging out with us. Our newest family memory is the marriage celebration of my oldest, my 28-year-old daughter — and it was one of the best days of my life. For five hours, life was perfect. She married her high school sweetheart, whom she’d been dating for 13 years. He’s a loving, hardworking guy and places a great importance on family, just like I do. I couldn’t be happier for them. My middle child, my son, has just completed his first year of law school. He set a goal to finish near the top of his class — and, after working very hard all year, he did just that. It was also amazing to see the transformation of my youngest daughter, who has just completed her first year of college. We sent her off as a teenager, and she came
our team. Despite popular conceptions of lawyers, we see ourselves as being in the people business. We can’t treat our clients like family unless we treat each other like family. I admire that nobody at our workplace talks down to each other, or thinks they’re more important than anybody else. In my opinion, this attitude has helped us develop
back as a mature, motivated young adult. I’m very lucky to see my kids doing so well, and we don’t even have to drive far away to see them. Over the years, I’ve come to admire my family’s work ethic. My wife and three kids all work hard, have strong common sense, and value family, which brings me to my family at Friedman & Simon.
phenomenal talent on our team. One of our staff members pointed out on her work anniversary that she’s worked here for over half her life, starting only one week after high school. She’s been with us for 22 years now. I know I can’t take anything for granted. Some people pour their whole hearts into their families and jobs, and it doesn’t work out. I’ve managed to be lucky and blessed, both at home and at work. I’m including you, too. Our clients are always part of
“Not only do I have one successful marriage, but I have another successful marriage to my partner, Ed Friedman. We’ve been partners for over 31 years.”
Not only do I have one successful marriage, but I have another successful marriage to my
partner, Ed Friedman. We’ve been partners for over 31 years. They say most people spend more time at work than with their actual family, and if that is the case, I couldn’t be luckier to work with Ed, who values every single person in our amazing, diverse team like I do.
our family at Friedman & Simon, and we’ll always be on your side. Thank you for choosing us, too.
- Roger Simon
It’s always been our vision to make sure every person knows their job is important and makes a valuable contribution to our clients and
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So Many Social Media Outlets Which One Should You Use?
DETERMINING FAULT MAY NOT BE SO SIMPLE IN NYC LAW Comparative Negligence
This past month, we won a settlement for our client in the amount of $815K. The case involved the legal principle of comparative negligence.
Our client was a passenger in a vehicle attempting to go around a double- parked car, which then moved and sideswiped the car in which our client was in. The driver of the double-parked car claimed the other vehicle side- swiped his vehicle. The double-parked car had a $100,000 insurance policy limit, while the host vehicle had $3 million of available insurance coverage. The double-parked car paid $90,000 dollars of the settlement while the car attempting to go around him paid $725,000. New York is a comparative negligence state, meaning that an at-fault party is responsible for the percent their negligent conduct contributed to causing the accident. For example, if a jury awards $100,000 in damages and determines that a defendant is 40% at fault, then that party is responsible for $40,000 of the damages. However, in motor vehicle accidents, New York allows the injured party to collect 100% of the damages from any at-fault party, even if that party was only responsible for as little as 1% of the negligence that led to the accident. This is to ensure the injured party receives adequate compensation for the harms they suffered. Also, justice is considered better served by an at-fault party being responsible for a greater percentage and having a right to pursue the other at-fault parties for their share, than for the injured party being left to pursue that amount from the underinsured at-fault parties. In the case above, if a jury had awarded our client $815,000 and determined the car going around the double-parked car was even 1% responsible for the accident, then our client could have recovered the full $815,000 from the party found 1% liable. If you have questions about any accident case where the at-fault party claims they were not fully responsible — or not responsible at all! — the case must be analyzed with an application of comparative negligence rules. One of our experienced and dedicated personal injury lawyers will welcome your call to review your situation.
A social media presence is essential to connecting with your company’s customers and prospects. But do you need every media platform to engage with others? Each outlet meets different needs and interests, so it’s crucial that you analyze which one will net the most engagement for your business. In fact, the demographic of your targeted audience will help you decide. Let’s look at the three main outlets customers use to discuss their needs and wants. FACEBOOK is primarily used for family-friendly content. Recently, there is an added focus on business ads for networking purposes, which can help you attract more leads. The demographic on Facebook mainly focuses on individuals who are 45 years old and older. This platform is great for businesses targeting seniors, like those in the home improvement and estate planning industries INSTAGRAM was popularized by teenagers, but now over half of its users are between the ages of 25–34. Small businesses use this outlet to share upcoming events, sales, and products because of the new business feature on the app. Relationship-building is the sole focus for companies on Instagram because you can engage with customers through stories, live videos, and interactive polls. TWITTER is the best place to have personal conversations, brainstorm, and share news. Over 59% of Twitter users are between the ages of 25–49, and 56% have completed some college courses or have a degree. Some businesses use Twitter to see what others are saying about their services and resolve any issues that occur. This is a great way to build trust with your customers and ensure that they know you care about their experience with you and your company. If you want to learn more about the different demographics for each outlet, go to Blog.Hootsuite.com/Social-Media- Demographics for more in-depth analysis and statistics.
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YOU AREN’T ENGAGED. Showing up to work every day is not half of the battle! While it’s important to be punctual and reliable, when you come to work and do the bare minimum, you’re only a body and easily replaceable. To put yourself on the fast track to promotions, make sure you are engaged and participate in meetings and demonstrate passion for the job. YOU’RE A SORE LOSER. Whether you lost the costume contest at work or you don’t get the promotion the first time around, expressing a poor attitude or jealousy will surely not help your chances of securing a career advancement any time soon. Resist the temptation to become disengaged or show resentment or frustration. Turning healthy competition into positivity is a great trait to have! YOU LACK CONSISTENCY. Are you showing up to work a few minutes late some days, on time the next, and five minutes early the following day? Are you quiet and reserved early in the week and outgoing, passionate, and engaged towards the end of the week? Are you only willing to help out sometimes but not all the time? Your boss may pick up on your patterns, no matter how small, so the best thing you can do is to stay consistent with positive and productive traits. YOU COMPLAIN HERE AND THERE. Simply put, complainers don’t make good leaders so the next time you have something that you’d like to complain about, work to come up with a solution instead! SUDOKU
How Not to Get Promoted 5 BAD HABITS THAT MAY BE COSTING YOU
If you’ve got your eyes set on a promotion in the near future, are ready to sink your teeth into some new challenges, and/or are always on the hunt for advancement opportunities, your current habits could be hindering those efforts of securing that new role!
Here are five behaviors and habits to avoid so you aren’t hurting your chances of a career opportunity.
YOU LACK INITIATIVE. If you’ve been at your job for a significant length of time and you still always wait for your boss’s instructions every step of the way, then you may not be on the list for promotion any time soon. Employers are looking for leaders who can make good, ethical, and productive decisions on their own. The next time you’re faced with a decision or you have an idea to make a positive contribution, go for it!
Green Bean and Eggplant Stir-Fry Inspired by ThePlantBasedWok.com
In just 30 minutes, turn a pile of summer veggies into a Chinese-inspired dish.
Ingredients
• 2 Chinese eggplants, cut into 1/4-inch strips • Salt, to taste • 3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided • 6 oz green beans, trimmed • 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2-inch piece of ginger, thinly sliced • 1 red chili pepper, thinly sliced • 2 tbsp soy sauce • 1 tbsp vegan stir-fry sauce (like Lee Kum Kee Vegetarian) • 1/8 tsp pepper
1. In a large bowl, add the eggplant and coat with salt. Cover the eggplant with water and soak for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry. 2. In a wok over medium heat, warm 2 tbsp of oil. Add the eggplant and fry for 4–5 minutes. Remove and set aside. 3. Add the remaining oil and green beans to the wok. Fry for 5 minutes, then remove and set aside. 4. Add garlic, ginger, and chili before stir-frying for 1 minute. Return the green beans and eggplant to the wok and add the soy sauce, vegan stir-fry sauce, and pepper. Toss to coat, then serve over rice! Directions
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516-800-8000 FriedmanSimon.com
390 N. Broadway, #210 Jericho, NY 11753
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1 2
Why I’m Grateful for Family — At Work and Home Finding Your Audience Is Key Other Driver Is 1% at Fault! Now What? 5 Habits That Hinder Promotions Green Bean and Eggplant Stir-Fry 3 Tips to Improve Customer Service
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priority. But how can you improve this service effectively to better serve customers?
lets your customers know you value them, are willing to improve, and want to resolve their issues. It will help establish trust and may prevent them from voicing their concerns or negative comments on social media.
It would be hard to find a company claiming not to care about customer service. But actions speak louder than words, and many business horror stories involve poor customer service experiences. So, how do you improve your company’s customer service to increase your retention rate? THE KEY TO BETTER RETENTION IS GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE BUT FIRST, WHY IS CUSTOMER SERVICE SO IMPORTANT? Excellent customer service increases your customer lifetime value (CLV), and HelpScout.com found that 89% of customers say that good customer service led them to make additional purchases. Other consumers mentioned that great service turned them from one-time clients into loyal, recurring customers. According to SuperOffice.com, after surveying 1,920 business professionals, 46% stated that improving customer service is their top
STRENGTHEN YOUR TEAM. Improving customer service all begins with your team. You want employees to develop five main skills to enhance the customers’ experiences: empathy, patience, communication, listening, and knowledge. You can organize training sessions to help your employees improve their skills and provide resources so they can easily navigate customer problems. For example, record customer interactions and point out which tactics work and don’t work in a situation. ENCOURAGE CUSTOMER FEEDBACK. To provide excellent customer service, you first need to know what you can improve on. To do this, ask consumers how they think and feel about the service you’re providing them. You’ll get a chance to understand their needs, experiences, and pain points and create a model to enhance and strengthen those areas. You can request reviews and testimonials by telephone or email surveys. You could also incorporate a complaint page or feedback system on your website. Requesting feedback
USE MULTICHANNEL SERVICING. Providing multiple channels to assist
customers with their questions and concerns can help boost your brand’s reputation and credibility. One way to achieve this is by using social media. It’s a great tool because many customers turn to social media for queries and complaints. Have a team in charge of checking your company’s social platforms so questions can be easily answered and problems will be resolved promptly. Monitoring mentions of your company and reaching out to your customers first, instead of them reaching out to you, shows that you care about their experience and want to provide effective solutions in any outlet. Keeping your customers happy should be more important to your business than anything else. If they are satisfied with your customer service, they will continue to use your company!
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