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MAR/APR 2023
I COME TO FIGHT. I DON’T BARK. I BITE! WWW.THETEXASLAWDOG.COM 817.775.5364
WHY YOU SHOULD ALWAYS STRIVE FOR GROWTH Continuous Improvement
At Aulsbrook Law, we are constantly seeking to improve our firm. We regularly attend continuing education classes to make us better as a firm because I genuinely believe that if an organization isn’t growing, it’s dying. Our leadership team recently attended a legal conference in Salt Lake City, which was a three- day event. We learned a lot from our time there and plan to implement what we learned to better serve our clients.
legal professionals from all over the U.S. attended, trying to gain knowledge, improve their law firms, and grow as individuals. I always learn
from both the presenters and the attendees at conferences, and this one was no different.
So, ask yourself, are you constantly seeking to grow? If not, what area of your life would you like to improve? Physical? Emotional? Relational? Career? Financial? Spiritual? What are you already doing to continuously improve in that area? I encourage you to take a walk, take a new class, apply for a promotion, take your spouse on a date, or whatever it means for you to improve continuously. What’s important is not always the part of yourself you’re trying to improve but the fact that you’re doing something to positively push your life into the future. I’m not saying it’s always going to be easy. Sure, my team attended a conference and went snowmobiling, but the hard part is when we return to the office and push ourselves to use what we learned. Pushing through the challenging aspects of growth is what yields the best results. And if one thing is for sure, I’ve never been sorry for investing in myself. I promise you won’t be either.
We heard a lot about best practices from other law firms, and we also heard from non-legal speakers, too. One speaker spoke on how to have the best place to work, while a venture capital investor talked about what makes a start- up company attractive to investors. The most interesting presentation for me was
The software company we use for our case management hosted the conference. Over 1,000
from an academic on grit. After years of research, she concluded that it’s not the smartest or best looking that succeed in life, but rather the people with the most determination or “grit.” We also did some team building and had a lot of fun there. We drove over to Park City and did some snowmobiling. It was a record-setting year for snowfall there this year, so needless to say, we had a blast. Some team members even said this was one of the most incredible experiences of their life.
A referral is the greatest compliment you could ever give us! If you know someone in need of our services, we are eager to help. Please pass this newsletter along and tell them to call 817.775.5364 or visit TheTexasLawDog.com/contact-us. Thank you!
–Matt Aulsbrook
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In Texas, using an electronic device while driving is illegal, including drafting a message or pressing “send” on a message you wrote beforehand. This is because using a device like a cellphone can be a major distraction to drivers and is considered a reckless act that puts others on the road — and in your car — in danger. In 2021, 1 in 5 crashes on Texas roads was due to distracted driving, resulting in 431 deaths and 2,932 serious injuries. To honor April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month, we wanted to define distracted driving and the simple tricks anyone can use to keep their focus on the road. What is distracted driving? Distracted driving includes any activity that takes someone’s focus away from driving. And a distraction doesn’t have to be physical; it can be as simple as letting your mind wander. In fact, there are three types of distracted driving. No. 1 Visual: This type of distracted driving is when you take your eyes off the road. It includes using a cellphone, looking in the mirror, searching for something in your car, staring at an accident or landmark, and even looking at a passenger. No. 2 Manual: A manual distraction occurs whenever your hands leave the steering wheel. Common manual distractions include eating food, adjusting the radio, typing on the phone, reaching into a bag, or handing someone something. No. 3 Cognitive: This kind of distraction occurs whenever you take your mind off the task of driving. It includes daydreaming, thinking about an argument you might have had, thinking about your day at work, and succumbing to road rage. How can you avoid distracted driving? The easiest way to prevent yourself from distracted driving is to take care of all the tasks you attempt to accomplish behind the wheel before you ever drive off. So, before you leave your driveway or the parking lot, adjust your mirrors, select your music, eat your food, and send your texts. That way, there’s no need to divert your attention anywhere else. If a text message or phone call is too tempting to resist, you can block your phone from receiving notifications while driving. Some cellphones already have this feature, or you can download an app to help. STAY FOCUSED TO SAVE LIVES What Everyone Should Know About Distracted Driving
It’s March — the month of spring-cleaning! While many often think of scrubbing the windows or washing the floors, spring is the perfect time to reorganize your house into a more efficient space. And no, you don’t need fancy storage furniture or shiny color-coded bins to get your home in order. There are many small things you can do just by using clever tricks and throwaway household items. So, try these organization hacks to tidy your home this month and beyond. Keep your matching bed sets together by using a pillowcase to store them. Organize your linen closet by slipping the flat and fitted sheets into one of their respective matching pillowcases (fold the other pillowcase in there as well!). This way, you’ll never have to hunt for the matching sheets again! Use an old disinfecting wipes container to store your plastic bags. If you like to reuse plastic shopping bags at home, finding a way to store them can be a pain. Next time you run out of Clorox Wipes (or another generic equivalent), rinse the inside of the container with water and store your plastic bags there. Then with the container’s built-in feeding lid, you’ll be able to pull the bags out one by one as you need them. Label messy cords with tape. As working from home and numerous consumer electronics (shut up, Alexa!) become more prevalent in our lives, the cords connecting these devices can become tangled and hard to differentiate. By wrapping a piece of painter’s or washi tape around a cord, you can create a tag to write what that cord is attached to. So, no more guessing which cords you’re unplugging! Add some chalkboard paint to your jars. Sometimes, we have no idea what’s inside the jars in our pantry. Maybe it’s flour, or maybe it’s powdered sugar. Sometimes, it can be neither! To solve this, you can buy a little jar of chalkboard paint at your nearest craft store and paint squares on your jars (or other unlabeled containers around ADD ORGANIZATION TO YOUR SPRING- CLEANING LIST! 4 TIPS TO KEEP YOUR HOUSE TIDY
the house) to write with chalk what’s inside! The best part is you can erase these labels and change them based on the jar’s contents. These hacks will help you give your spring-cleaning a major boost by keeping your home neat and tidy for the rest of the year!
You can use whatever distracted driving solution you’d like as long as you keep your eyes on the road and drive safely!
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Avoid These Mistakes After an Accident
3 Things You Should Never Do
No. 2: Refusing medical treatment. Even if you feel fine immediately after an accident, a medical professional should still evaluate you. Sometimes, internal or more severe injuries are not always apparent to our naked eyes, and only a professional can truly say if you’re unharmed. So, if an ambulance shows up at the scene of your accident and offers to evaluate you, it’s a good idea to let them do so. Also, the courts may find it harder to believe your injury case without a medical examination. This evidence will always help support a claim for damages from a crash. No. 3: Failing to collect evidence at the crash site. The best time to collect evidence from an automobile crash scene is immediately after it happens. Failing to collect evidence is always a mistake because the scene of an accident immediately begins to change as authorities remove cars and witnesses leave.
Unfortunately, even the most focused motorists are at the mercy of distracted drivers. That’s why it’s always wise to understand common mistakes to avoid after an accident, so even if you can’t control other drivers, you can always control how you react in the aftermath of a car crash. And the reason it’s so crucial to avoid making mistakes after a wreck is that failure to follow specific steps can jeopardize your legal options.
So, what missteps should you avoid if you’re involved in an accident with a distracted driver?
No. 1: Not calling the police. The most common mistake people make after an accident, distracted driving or not, is not calling the police. Sometimes, the other person in the crash might beg you not to. Maybe they claimed they only looked away from the road for a second, or perhaps their mother called them while driving. There is no good reason to avoid calling the police after an accident because you can use the report you gave to authorities as evidence to bolster your case. Texas-Size LAUGHS
After an accident, the best thing to do is take pictures of all affected vehicles and the contact information for any witnesses.
If you’ve been in an accident involving a distracted driver, guidance from a skilled attorney can help you avoid making any of these crucial mistakes. Call us at 817-775- 5364, so our experienced attorneys can help you get compensation for damages due to someone else’s distraction.
ONE-PAN CHICKEN AND MUSHROOMS WITH EGG NOODLES
INGREDIENTS
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3 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, halved
• • • • • •
8 oz button mushrooms, trimmed 8 oz shallots, peeled and halved
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3 cups chicken broth 1/2 cup heavy cream 8 oz egg noodles
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Salt and ground pepper 3 tbsp butter, divided
1/3 cup chopped fresh dill
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large pan over medium heat, cook bacon until browned, 7–9 minutes. Remove from heat, discard fat, and set aside. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Return pan to medium-high heat and melt 2 tbsp butter. Add chicken, skin-side down. Cook, turning a few times, for 10–12 minutes until browned. Transfer to a plate. 2. Place remaining 1 tbsp butter in pan to melt. Add mushrooms and shallots; cook 8–10 minutes. Add broth and cream; bring to a boil. Stir in noodles. 3. Add chicken (skin-side up), cover pan, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring once halfway through. Cook about 10–12 minutes. 4. Uncover and simmer until thickened. Stir in dill and top with bacon. Serve and enjoy!
HOW YOU FEEL WHEN THE JURY LAUGHS AT YOUR JOKE
Inspired by MarthaStewart.com
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INSIDE Invest in YOU! 1
Pro Tips to Organize Your Home This Spring
The Dangers of Distracted Driving 2
3 Mistakes People Make After an Accident
One Pan Chicken And Mushrooms With Egg Noodles 3 The Crazy Facts About Kangaroos 4
Cases We Handle: • Personal Injury • Wrongful Death
• Car Wreck • Truck Wreck
Crazy (and Scary!) Kangaroo Facts
hand more than the other also occurs in kangaroos. In a study of three types of kangaroos, researchers found they mostly used their left hands in activities that required precision, like grooming and eating. What was even odder is that the kangaroos’ hands seemed to be specialized. While they use the left in activities requiring accuracy, they use the right mainly in activities requiring strength. They can also shift this preference depending on the task. A group of kangaroos is called a mob. While some kangaroos prefer to be solitary, they typically stick together to travel or feed, and when a group of kangaroos convenes, it creates a mob. A kangaroo mob can consist of a few or several dozen kangaroos in one spot. Who rules the mob? The largest male in the group. To fight for this spot, kangaroos will kickbox for the title, and to give you an idea of what their blows feel like, a kangaroo’s kick
can exert about 759 pounds of force at 40 mph. But their kicks aren’t their only tool; they also use their mouths. A kangaroo’s bite can pack 925 pounds per square inch, which is just under that of a grizzly bear and six times stronger than a human.
In America, we don’t have to deal with one of the biggest pests Australians face: kangaroos! And while they’re a huge bother to their human neighbors in the land down under, they’re also full of strange and unusual quirks, some of which are downright terrifying.
They drown their foes. Since kangaroos are pretty tough (and large!), they don’t have many natural predators, but when another animal makes chase, one of the first things a kangaroo will do is flee toward a body of water. Kangaroos are great swimmers, so they wade into the water until they’re about chest-deep before turning around to face their attacker. Then, with their strong arms, they grab and submerge their predators for good.
So, here are some of the most interesting facts about the animal that has acquired quite a bit of international fame.
Kangaroos are left-handed. Many scientists initially believed that the ability to be “handed” is unique only to primates. However, recent studies have shown that the ability to use one
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