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LEGAL BRIEF
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DECEMBER 2025 FriedmanSimon.com
CHRISTMAS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE ONE HOLIDAY TRADITION AT A TIME
Every December, my family and I drive from New York to my in-laws’ home just outside Philadelphia. It’s been our holiday tradition ever since my oldest daughter was born, and now that she’s 8, it wouldn’t feel like Christmas without it. My wife has three siblings, and almost everyone has kids of their own, so by the time we arrive, the house is often already packed. There’s noise, toys, conversation, and activity coming from every corner. I grew up with one sibling, so the early years at my in-laws' were overwhelming. There was always something going on, and it took me a bit to get used to that level of chaos. But after my first daughter was born, I realized my stress might take away from her Christmas memories. I wanted her to feel that Christmas was magical, just like I did as a kid. Now, I remind myself that these moments are about family, memories, and appreciating our time together. How many more holiday seasons do we really have with their grandparents? I want to make them all special. Before we even hit the road, though, December can get hectic. My wife and I are attorneys, which means the weeks leading up to the holidays are full of court dates, deadlines, and the kids’ school events. The best way we’ve found to stay sane is to plan everything out together. We share one big calendar that tracks everything: school concerts, office closures, and travel days. It may sound intense, but having that schedule is key to actually enjoying the season instead of just trying to survive it. When I think back to my own childhood, my holidays looked completely different. I grew up in Phoenix, where December meant clear skies and sunshine. I don’t think I even saw snow falling until I was around 18 or 19. We spent most Christmas mornings riding bikes or throwing a football outside in shorts and a T-shirt. One year stands out above all the rest. My brother and I were sure we were getting a trampoline for Christmas. We opened every gift and looked out the window again and again, but we saw nothing there. I tried to hide my disappointment, but I’ll never forget what happened next. My dad said we needed to take all the trash from the wrapping paper to the trash trailer behind the truck. When we went outside, there it was: a big box in the trailer holding every piece of a trampoline.
We built it together that afternoon in the Arizona sun, and it felt like the best gift ever.
Now, years later, the holidays mean something entirely different. My mom sends us a real Christmas tree every year, a tradition that started when my wife and I were in law school. Back then, we had a little car, and it was too difficult to get our own tree. Things have changed since, but we still look forward to it every year. It usually arrives right after Thanksgiving, and the girls help us decorate it before we head to Pennsylvania. Another favorite tradition is our trip into Manhattan to see the Rockettes, followed by stops at FAO Schwarz and the American Girl store. It’s a long day, but it wouldn’t feel like the holidays without it. More than anything, I’ve learned to slow down and appreciate these moments. Work will always be there, but my daughters won’t stay little forever. The holidays remind me to step back, enjoy the noise, and be present. I don’t want to look back and regret missing it.
Wishing you and your family a happy, peaceful holiday season.
-Michael J. Mills
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What Colonel Sanders Teaches Us About Resilience Burned Down, Passed Over, But Still Cooking
The road to success is often paved with mistakes and failure. As a business leader, you probably know this all too well. You may have damaged team morale by hiring the wrong people or investing in technology or products that didn’t pan out as well as you had hoped. Mistakes are a part of growth, especially in the business world. Whenever you encounter one, you pick yourself up, try to learn where you went wrong, and develop strategies to ensure you don’t make the same mistake again. Do this repeatedly, and soon, you’ll have a flourishing business. Many of our country's most successful and prominent businesses were started by entrepreneurs who refused to call it quits when things got tough. They pushed through adversity, found ways to improve their industry, and built businesses that have stood the test of time. One of the best examples of this comes from the world’s most famous fried chicken restaurant, Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC. Harland Sanders was born in Indiana in 1890. His father passed away when he was 6 years old, which sent his mother into the working world, leaving him to watch over his two younger siblings. This is where his passion for cooking developed. By age 10, Sanders started working outside the home as a farmhand. Two years later, he dropped out of school to live and work at a farm full time. Sanders landed a job emptying ash pans from train engines in Alabama when he was 16. It didn’t take long for him to move up the ladder and become a fireman for the railroad.
In 1927, Sanders tried another venture. He started a Standard Oil gas station in Nicholasville, Kentucky, which sadly only lasted three years due to the Great Depression. However, he took the business idea to Corbin, Kentucky, where he opened another service station and decided to sell his homemade chicken to truck drivers. Sanders Court and Café was wildly successful, which prompted Kentucky Gov. Ruby Laffoon to commission Sanders as a Kentucky colonel. Unfortunately, bad luck continued to hang over Sanders’ head as the Sanders Court and Café burned down in 1939. But he built it back bigger and started pressure-frying his chicken. However, a new highway opened in 1956 that bypassed his restaurant. He packed up shop, determined to find success, even though he was now in his 60s. Thankfully, in 1952, he secured his first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in Salt Lake City. After Sanders Court and Café shut down, Sanders desperately needed money to fund his retirement, so he began traveling the country, searching for franchising opportunities and selling his secret spice blend.
Restaurants that used his spices and patented pressure cooking technique would pay him 5 cents for every chicken they sold. Within seven years of starting
this venture, Sanders had accumulated 600 locations across multiple countries. He sold the business to investors in 1964 for $2 million, allowing him to retire comfortably. Starting a business is rarely easy, but you can find incredible success if you persist through the challenges, adapt to changes, and remain determined. You may even find your face front-and-center on storefronts across the country, just like Colonel Harland Sanders.
It appeared as if Sanders would have a long, fruitful career with the railroad, but his temper got in the way. He was fired from his firefighter position for alleged insubordination and lost his next job after a fight. He moved throughout various industries over the next few years, even trying a short-lived stint in the legal field that came to a close after a fight with a client. He started exploring the idea of starting his own business. He created a ferry boat service over the Ohio River when he was 30, which became irrelevant when a bridge was built nearby. He also started an oil lamp business that failed once electricity became more mainstream.
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Finding Coverage in the Chaos
Where Intent Meets Accident
Every case is different in personal injury law, and the most unusual ones are sometimes the most memorable. One I’m working on right now involves an injury that happened during what started as an assault. At first glance, you might assume there’s no way to recover damages in a situation like that. Most people believe insurance never applies when an intentional act is involved, but that’s not always true. In New York, homeowner’s insurance policies generally exclude coverage for intentional or criminal acts. However, the situation becomes less clear when someone is injured by accident during one of those incidents. The key question is whether the injury was intentional or simply happened in the middle of another event. That difference can completely change whether coverage applies or not.
Consider this scenario: You’re at someone’s house and a fight breaks out. You aren’t part of it, but you get hurt while trying to move out of the way. The person who caused the injury didn’t mean to harm you directly. Under certain circumstances, that injury might be covered by the homeowner’s insurance policy. Courts understand that not every injury connected to an assault is the result of intentional harm, but you need to be careful in how you present the case. That’s why preparation is important. In the case I’m handling now, our client was hurt during an altercation, but wasn’t the intended target. By focusing the claim on the negligent act rather than the assault itself, we kept the insurance company from disclaiming coverage outright. The case is currently ongoing, but our client now has a
legitimate path to recovery that might not have existed otherwise.
If you ever find yourself injured in a chaotic situation like this, it’s critical to talk with an attorney before giving statements or testifying. The way a case is framed can make all the difference between receiving compensation and being left with nothing. SUDOKU
Crispy Prosciutto and Cheese Sliders
Ingredients • 3 oz thinly sliced prosciutto • 1 package dinner rolls, halved lengthwise • 1/4 cup fig preserves • 3/4 cup shredded fontina cheese • 3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup melted butter • 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce • 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme • 2 chopped garlic cloves • Black pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. 2. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, arrange prosciutto and bake for 8–10 minutes. 3. On a separate lined baking sheet, place the bottom halves of the rolls and spread fig preserves over them. 4. Layer with fontina and Swiss cheese. Top with crispy prosciutto. 5. Place the top half of the rolls over the prosciutto and gently press down. 6. In a bowl, mix butter, Dijon, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, garlic, and black pepper. 7. Pour butter mixture over rolls. Cover with foil and bake 10 minutes. 8. Remove foil and bake an additional 10–15 minutes, and separate before serving.
Inspired by HalfBakedHarvest.com
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Colonel Sanders and the Power of Persistence INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1 2 3 The Gray Area of Injury Claims
Making the Most of the Holiday Season
Crispy Prosciutto and Cheese Sliders
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Build an Email List That Works for Your Business
Stop Collecting Emails, and Start Building Relationships
As a business leader, finding ways to connect and stay in contact with your customers is key to growing your brand and encouraging repeat business. This isn’t always easy, however. You may have asked your customers to share their email to stay up to date on upcoming sales and promotions at checkout but had mixed results. Maybe you even bought an email list of people in your area, hoping to reach new potential customers, but it likely proved fruitless as well. So, how do you create a high-yielding email list that benefits your company? Here are three strategies!
without any other offers or information, would you provide it? Most people don’t want to give their information to stores unless they get something in return. Offer a 10% discount or a dollar amount off a purchase to anyone who joins your email list, and continue to offer loyalty benefits to everyone who enrolls. While this might seem like you’re offering extra discounts, you’ll effectively increase your repeat business.
Deliver compelling content. How many emails from other businesses are sitting in your spam folder right now? How many look similar? They probably contain big graphics drawing attention to a specific sale, but the email doesn’t contain anything else worth noting. Provide content that connects with your audience and provides a better understanding of who you are and what your business stands for. With email content your customers find valuable, coupled with attractive incentives, you can build a customer base interested in your brand and what you offer.
Make signing up easy. Customers do not want to jump through a million hoops to receive your emails. It should be straightforward, whether they provide it at the register, sign up on your website, or opt in through other marketing or communication efforts. Don’t require them to add identifying information. All you really need is their email and name to give you the power to reach out and make a connection. Offer incentives. If you were to enter a store where you shop regularly and the cashier asked for your email
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