The Legal Pad

Message in a Bottle

    You're walking on a beach. Look over there -- Do you see that bottle in the water? There's a message inside the bottle and it's within easy reach. You start to walk by. Wait a second! Are you just going to walk away? Aren't you curious? No one I know will just walk by when there's a message in a bottle.

    There's lots of information in the vast ocean we call the Internet. Much of the information floating around you can discard, delete, or ignore -- but sometimes, the cyberwaves crash onto your beach and something valuable washes up.

    Unexpected things happen to all of us -- People become seriously ill, people have accidents, people have emergencies, and people die. If you're faced with having to deal with the responsibility of taking care of someone else's business -- would you be able to find the information you need? Probably not.

    What if something happens to you? If there's an emergency -- are your own records easy to find if someone needs to get that information?

    If you lost your wallet with all your credit cards in it, would you know how to contact the credit card companies to report your card stolen? What's that 800 number you need to call? Do you know your credit card numbers or your driver's license number off the top of your head? If you had that basic information in a file -- written down -- you could get that information quickly and take care of business.

    You could start small by writing down the information you have in your wallet onto a piece of paper so if you lose your wallet -- or if it's stolen -- you'll have the information you need. Then, expand the idea -- little by little, you can write down ALL your vital financial and personal information so you have it all in one place -- just in case you need it quickly or if someone else needs it in an emergency.

    Need some tools to help you organize your information? We've found a few resources that washed up on the beach that can help you get a good start on your project.

    At Today's Seniors there are six different kinds of personal and financial organizers in PDF form for you to download and they're FREE.

    At Frankford Financial there's a 25-page Financial Organizer that's FREE to download entitled, "Are You Prepared For a Financial Emergency?" Access it by clicking on the word "Hello".

    The University of Wisconsin-Extension has a publication called, "Money 2000 and Beyond: Organizing Your Financial Records". You can view it in PDF form and can order it for $1.00 plus shipping. It's at the University of Wisconsin-Extension Learning Store.

    There are a number of different organizers on the Internet that can be purchased. Prices range from $20.00 plus shipping on up. They're found in many forms -- binders, notebooks, with dividers, with pre-printed forms, refill forms, etc.

    Consulting with an attorney about your estate planning issues is also a good idea -- but if you write down your vital financial and personal information and take it with you when you visit with your attorney, it can provide your attorney with some of the information he/she will need to prepare your estate ahead of time.

    Don't forget to tell your family members where you put your information so they can find it. Be careful -- there's confidential and sensitive information that you'll be putting in writing -- so make sure you put it in a safe place.

    Did you figure out what the message in the bottle is? ... "Prepare for the Unexpected".

      

10 Easy Ways to Offend Everyone in Your Office

     Hey kids! Gather 'round! Grab your cowboy hats, your lassos, and your six-shooters! Let's have some fun!

    Today, we're going to talk about how you can offend just about everyone in your office!

    We begin with the <groan> office-wide missive. Someone in your office said or did something that was offensive to somebody else. Instead of trying to work things out between them, the complainer decides everyone needs to be enlightened. They, however, must remain -- anonymous. It's a secret. After everyone receives the communique, the anonymity lasts about ten minutes. Is it just me, or does this smack of being right back in elementary school -- where the teacher decides to punish all the students because one or two did something wrong? It's silly. It's also effective. It's one of the best ways to offend everyone in the office.

    Even though you had nothing to do with the situation ... you, along with everyone else, got the message. Now what do you do? Do you ignore the whole thing? Do you get irritated? Angry? Do you start to feel paranoid? Do you resent the implication that you're guilty -- just by association?

    It's not difficult to offend your co-workers. Think you're immune? You may already be offending your co-workers and you just don't know it.  On the other hand, maybe you do know, and you're using that offensive behavior as your weapon of choice against others. Let's see...

    Here's a list of ten ways to offend just about everyone in your office -- and we'll begin with the stinky stuff...

(1) Wear heavy perfume or aftershave. Make sure you wear enough so your co-workers can smell you before they see you. Apply liberally so the scent can permeate the furniture and walls long after you're gone.

(2) Light a candle, plug in an air freshener, burn incense, buy some fragrant oil sticks in a bottle so your office mate or co-worker's eyes burn and they choke from the smell of cookie dough or pinecones in the forest.

(3) If you're a smoker, make sure you smoke near the ventilation system so the smoke wafts into the office and everyone can enjoy your second-hand smoke. Smoke outside, close to your co-worker's open windows. Smoke everywhere but in the designated area.

(4) Burn that microwave popcorn, warm up the left-over fish from last night's dinner, leave remains of fast-food onion rings you had for lunch in your trash can, and be sure to keep fruit in your cubicle or on your desk long enough so the fruit flies can have a feast.

(5) Leave your food-encrusted, dirty dishes in the breakroom sink for someone else to wash. Leave crud on the table and counters. Leave your food in the community refrigerator until it's unrecognizable or spoiled. Spoiled milk is a great choice -- anyone who opens the door -- gets to experience the gag reflex.

(6) When you're telling a great adventure story, be sure everyone within earshot is able to hear you loud and clear. Yell, holler, laugh, or cackle loudly in the office. Be sure to keep your door open when you're on the phone -- particularly when you're using the speaker phone. Project your voice!

(7) Turn the music up in your area. Everyone loves the same music as you do. Be sure to crank up the volume, so that if affects everyone in the office. Everybody... Dance... Now! 

(8) Don't shower or bathe. Don't comb your hair. Don't wear clean clothes. Be sure to wear that strappy little see-through number with those ratty, ripped jeans on casual days -- or the tie with those gravy stains that have been there awhile.

(9) Share your internet jokes and internet hoaxes with your co-workers. Everyone appreciates those ethnic-leaning jokes. Don't forget to add "LOL" at the end of your email so everyone knows how truly funny it is. Your recipients are especially pleased when they receive religious warnings or blessings that advise bad things will happen to them if they don't forward that email on to others. Don't forget to add a motivational quote written by someone famous under your email signature block. Your co-workers will be impressed that you've made it your very own.

(10) Decorate your area -- your cubicle, the desk you share, the bookcases, file cabinets in common areas, your own office -- with items that have obvious religious tones. You can make your own shrine or tabernacle. Share your religious beliefs with everyone. While you're at it, seriously consider foisting your far-right or far-left political opinions onto your co-workers too. Decorate your area with that special stuffed toy collection. How cute! Fill up that cubicle -- the more the merrier. And...your office area isn't complete until you post a "thoughtful" sign that will motivate others.

    Well cowboys and cowgirls -- there you have it -- ten items guaranteed to knock you right off that high horse you've been riding. If you've read the list and found nothing in there that applies to you -- you get a gold star and The Ricochet Award!

    Here's a darn good question for you to ponder: How do we maintain professionalism, observe basic business etiquette, and have civility in the workplace -- but still feel like we have some freedom at our workplace to be ourselves?

    Jump right in, buckaroos! We'd love to hear what you're thinking...    

    Oh...one more thing...I almost forgot. It certainly isn't my intention to cause you any distress by writing this article, but if so...I truly apologize if you're offended.

The Annual Check-Up

    It happens every year about this time. Dana, the friendly and efficient office manager who works in my doctor's office, calls to tell me I need to schedule an appointment. The game begins.

    I always ask her why in the world she thinks I need to book an appointment. She always chuckles and tells me the appointment is for my annual check-up. I always tell her I totally forgot. She always says she knew I would forget, so that's why she's calling me. I book an appointment and I always tell her how much I appreciate her calling. Great follow-up!

    So, what does any of this have to do with working as an office professional -- in a law firm? Well...it can mean a lot to your firm.

    No, no...I'm not suggesting you call all your clients to book yearly appointments to come in and visit with their attorney. What I am suggesting -- is that you take some time to check-up with the clients to ask them how they feel about the services they've received.

    When I refer someone to an attorney, I follow-up with a client survey letter. The client survey letter is a good way to find out what's going on -- with the client -- and with the attorney too.

    We thank the client for using our referral service. We know that most of the time, potential clients can locate attorneys for themselves, so we let them know we appreciate their business.

    We tell the clients that we're always trying to improve our service and we'd like their feedback. We ask simple questions. We provide plenty of paper space on the letter. If the client has any comments, suggestions, or would like to elaborate about their experience, there's room on the letter for them to tell us. We provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope so it's convenient for the client to respond. Part of doing business is good follow-up.

    When was the last time a business contacted you for some feedback? Can't remember? Wouldn't you like to get a letter from a business asking for your thoughts on how they rated in your eyes?

    Maybe you need to think about scheduling an Annual Client Check-Up. If you make your check-up friendly, easy to read, easy to respond to, and convenient to return -- you might be surprised what your clients have to say!