The Lawyer Dad

Potty Training

2012-01-03T06:06:00.000-08:00

We are all very proud that Kate is getting potty trained. She is actually doing an excellent job (primarily because she is long overdue). Today I was working from home and had a couple of conference calls. Unfortunately, going potty and the subsequent M & M award are far more important than Daddy's work. It was a wild time of helping her go potty, going on and off mute, and then cheering for her when she was a success. In the end I had to admit to my client that I had a little friend with me.

No Confidentiality

2011-09-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

I was driving Grace and one of her friends to a gymnastics practice today. On the way home I tried to take a shortcut and got turned around. The girls were giving me a hard time for "getting lost." Grace quickly chimed in "and he had a wreck too last month, a wreck, he wrecked his car." So much for confidentiality. I cannot wait for Grace's friend to share that information with her parents. And for the record, I did have a wreck.

When you have crayon marks on your Will ...

2011-09-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

You can blame my paralegal.

My Five Year Old Conscience

2011-05-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

Grace saw me working on my phone and said "Daddy, why do you spend so much time on twitter? You should work. Working is more important." She reminds me of her mother more and more every day!

Fighting for a Just Cause

2011-04-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

I do not support the death penalty and have recently decided to take action against what I see as a true injustice. If we do not speak out against injustice, we can commit a sin of omission and become just as guilty as the perpetrators. I sent the following letter to the Governor of Alabama to share my views on an upcoming execution.

April 20, 2011

The Honorable Governor Robert Bentley
State Capitol N 104
600 Dexter Ave
Montgomery, AL 36130-2751

Re: Mr. Jason Williams

Dear Governor Bentley:

The purpose of this letter is to request that you commute the sentence of Jason Williams, who is scheduled to die on May 19, 2011. I understand that you prayed for William Boyd prior to his execution last month. I want to ask that during any prayers for Mr. Williams you reflect on the following scenario:

Imagine that Jason Williams is one of your sons. For some reason your son committed a terrible act and now sits on death row awaiting his execution. Would you support your son’s death and ask the State to quickly execute your own child? I believe that you (like most parents) would ask for mercy. You would ask that his life be spared and that he be punished by remaining in jail until God decides to take him from this Earth.

Why should the treatment of Jason Williams be any different than your hypothetical treatment of your son? As a Christian I try to live by Jesus’ command to do unto others as I would have them do unto me. If Jason Williams were my child, I would beg the State for mercy because I could not stand to see my own child put to death. How then could I allow the State to do unto another parent what I would never want them to do unto me?

Your position gives you a unique ability to significantly and profoundly do unto another human being as you would have them do unto you. Jesus’ command had no disclaimers and no restrictions because “others” was meant to apply to everyone, even our “enemies.”

As I reflect on the Lord’s death this Good Friday, I will continue to pray that God moves your heart towards mercy and gives you the courage to stand-up to what must be your fear of being called “soft on crime.” Please have no fear, for when Jesus stopped the stoning of the adulterous woman, no one later accused him of being a soft on crime liberal. Even if they did, wouldn’t you still want to emulate him?

Very truly yours,

Jack T. Carney

Grace's Art Work

2011-04-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

When I first moved into my Homewood office (about a year and a half ago), Grace gave me some artwork of her own. I proudly hung it next to my law school diploma and my bar license. When she was in my office the other day, she said, "Daddy, I can't believe you have those pictures. I just scribbled them." At the ripe old age of five, she was not impressed with her earlier work.

Lunch Meeting

2010-11-30T20:29:00.000-08:00

Today Grace and Kate were having a great time playing outside. After a few minutes I realized they were playing "lunch meeting." Grace would tell Kate that she had to run to a lunch meeting and then she would hold the meeting, then run back to Kate and play with her. This happened again and again. I blame Grace's Mommy and Daddy.

Parents Night Out

2010-11-13T01:24:00.001-08:00

Every month our church holds a "Parish Night Out," which is a great opportunity for church members to meet and mingle. The best part of the night is that we offer free child care, which is such an incredible ministry as it gives parents a gift of freedom to meet other like-minded people. I had the opportunity to serve as a nursery worker today and had a great time. My daughter really enjoyed craft time, as you can see below. By the way, all faiths are welcome, so please consider joining us in January 2011.

Christmas Comes Early

2010-11-11T13:03:00.000-08:00

As I do not have a traditional 9-5 office job, I have the opportunity to have some unique experiences with my girls. My wife had a client meeting on Veteran's Day and I had the opportunity to spend the time with the little ladies. Fortunately, the Blue Willow, which is a local gift shop, had a Christmas event we could attend. I must commend the Blue Willow on an incredible event. The highlight of the morning was Grace's first opportunity to talk to Santa.

The children also had an opportunity to write a letter to Santa. Grace was really concerned that Santa would not be able to understand her younger sister's scribbling. Fortunately, Santa was most pleased with Kate's letter and said that he understood every word!

The Event was a party to honor the "Magic Elves." I was really proud of the girls as they were not afraid of the elves at all. I actually had to remove Kate so as to give other children a chance to meet the elves.

Lessons from a Four Year Old

2010-10-17T19:20:00.001-07:00

Grace gave me another good lesson today. Out of the blue she said "Daddy, I like being a girl. I really like myself." I am in awe of her natural self-confidence and it is something I need to strive for myself.

St. Thomas More

2010-10-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

I attended a meeting today of the St. Thomas More Society, which is a group of Catholic lawyers that meets monthly to discuss faith and the law. It may surprise many people that some lawyers are actually concerned about the morality of their daily actions. I really enjoy the dynamics of the group and discussing the struggle of living our faith in the "real world." We also recite a great prayer, which is as follows:

St. Thomas More Prayer

Lord, grant that I may be able in argument,

Accurate in analysis,

Strict in Study,

Candid with clients,

And honest with adversaries.

Sit with me at my desk,

And listen with me to my client's plaints,

Read with my in my library,

And stand beside me in court,

So that today I shall not,

In order to win a point,

Lose my soul.

My Little Assistant

2010-10-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

I recently sent a mailing to make some great announcements about my firm. Some of you may notice that the stamp on your letter was quite crooked. I apologize for the unprofessional appearance, but my assistant (who insisted on helping me) is 4 years old.

Life is not fair

2010-08-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

I have found myself practicing quite a bit in Domestic Court. You really have to be careful when you swear you will never do something. Grace (my 4 year old) asked me about what I do for clients (referring to a divorce client I finished speaking to). I did not want to explain divorce, so I told her that sometimes people aren't fair and that I need to help them when that happens. Her response was: "Daddy, that is not very nice at all!" She was stunned that people would not be fair. Unfortunately I cannot insulate her from this unfortunate reality of the world.

Morning with Grace

2010-08-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

I had an opportunity today to spend a morning with Grace (my 4 year old). Her younger sister was hanging out with her Mom, so we took this opportunity to spend some time together. We started with breakfast at Panera. We had a great conversation about self-affirmation (something I really struggle with). I told Grace that she was "so sweet." She responded, "Daddy, don't call me sweet, why don't you call yourself sweet? You are sweet too, you should tell yourself that." She made me tell myself that I was sweet and then she did the same for herself. Grace, you do not know how insightful you are sometimes.

When we got to my office, Grace told me that she could color for me. I struggled to find a use for such a skill in the legal field, but I could not find one. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know!

Grace did ask me if she could sign a document, so I gave her a draft of the first document I had handy--- an Advance Health Care Directive. She was very into it and really wanted to complete it. I told her that she could use it to let people know if she wanted help when she was really sick. She of course said "yes," but then changed her mind and said no (as you can see below). I sure hope she does not have problems in the future because her Dad discussed these horrible things with her.

For some reason Grace and I were talking about "will," not the testamentary variety, but rather the desire to do something. Grace confused the two and asked: "Daddy, I have a Will, don't I?" She then followed-up with "what is a Will?" I explained that it is a document that says where you want your stuff to go when you die and go to heaven. I told her that when Mommy and Daddy go to heaven (in a long long time), everything we own will go to Grace and her sister. Grace perked up and said, "Daddy, I am going to do a Will for my kids and I will give them my flip flops and head band. They will love them!" She was referring to the flip flops and head band she was wearing at that particular moment.

New Toys for the Office

2010-07-31T08:31:00.000-07:00

Grace and Kate were shopping with their mother at the Dollar Tree and they bought some new toys for my office. I frequently have children accompany their parents to my office and toys have become a necessary component of my law practice. Grace is trying out one of the new puzzles that is now a part of my supply. She told me that everyone but Kate can play with the new toys. Poor Kate- Grace thinks she is still too little to trust with any new toy!

Death and Dying

2010-07-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

As an estate planner, I frequently have to discuss the topics of death and disability. These topics can be extremely uncomfortable for people (and on top of that I ask people to pay me for the privilege of this discussion). I recently learned a good lesson from my four year old about the fear of dying. First, just a few days ago (and totally out of the blue), she told me “Daddy, I don’t want you to get killed.” I replied “me neither” and we had no more to say about that topic.

Just a few days later, Grace told me that she had to tell me something. She put her hands on my cheeks and said “Daddy, I love you. Will you promise something? When you die and are in heaven, you watch me, ok. I will be old when I get there, but when I get there we can love each other forever and ever, ok?“

I was of course a little surprised and had an immediate dread that something was coming for me and this was my omen. She then made me laugh when she said, “write it down ok, so you don’t forget.”

After some reflection I learned a lesson from Grace. She is too young to harbor all the fears and concerns our society has about death. Perhaps it is something (especially those of us who are Christians) should feel comfortable discussing and perhaps we should even embrace it. By the way, Grace, I will watch you.

Play Date

2010-07-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

Grace often calls our time together at my office a “play date” and that she loves having them with me. She also really likes to write and draw on my letterhead (I know, it is an expensive piece of scratch paper for her). She asked me if I could order her some letterhead, which could be pretty funny, especially for letters to opposing counsel.

Keep Me Busy

2010-06-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

Grace really enjoys working with me in my office. At my home office, she has her own little desk and chair. When she comes with me to my business office, she has her own lap top and a stack of coloring books on my shelf. The last time she was at my business office, she became a little frustrated because she did not have much to do. She pleaded with me “Daddy, keep me busy. I need to be busy!” One day she may understand that not being busy can be an incredible blessing!

Goldfish

2010-06-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

I never thought that goldfish would be such an important part of my law practice. When I refer to goldfish, I am not talking about the actual fish, but rather the tasty little cracker. I often take my daughters to my office. Mrs. Barbara (who is the office assistant for my landlord) always has a supply of goldfish, which are especially for kids. My girls have certainly caught on to the plan. On one of our last visits, Grace asked for a snack and I told her we had none. She responded "you have goldfish, you always have goldfish at your office." Her younger sister even gets into the game, for every time she comes to my office she stands in the lobby and cries "I wan cacker." [sic] Thank goodness for goldfish. I could not practice law without them.

Grace Should Write Greeting Cards

2010-05-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

I have some new artwork in my office (see below). It was Grace's "work" one day when she was spending some time with me. The picture depicts Grace and me. There are also two stickers on the paper: a heart and a smiley face. Grace actually had a specific reason for these two stickers and I quote:

"I put the heart on because I love you and the smiley face because I smile every time I see you."

Working With Daddy

2010-05-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

Kate's Charity Work

2010-05-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

If an 18 month old ever needs a resume, then Kate is well ahead of the game on building her own curriculum vitae. I am so lucky to be able to spend a lot of my time with my girls. Often this leads to some childcare issues and I have to depend on the kindness of others to put up with my kids. I serve on the board of Neighborhood Housing Services, which is an incredible charity providing housing counseling and foreclosure assistance to those in the Birmingham area. This month I had to bring Kate to our monthly board meeting. NHSB is amazingly kid-friendly --- or at least no one seems to mind the antics of my children.

She behaved very well (primarily because I let her share my Chick-fil-a lunch). The highlight of the meeting was when she walked across the room and began to help herself to some chocolate in a candy bowl. I did not know her eyesight was so well developed! Believe it or not we were actually able to conduct some good business at our meeting.

Kate Goes to a Client's Office

2010-05-21T21:13:00.000-07:00

I met with a client to discuss a lease agreement. We decided to meet at the client's office. Kate was out of school and I had the pleasure of spending my day with her. I decided to take a risk and take her to the client's business. My hunch proved correct and the place of business was most kid friendly and in fact my client had her two young daughters with her. Kate had a great time and I was actually able to do some good work.

Kate and her new friend.

Casual Day

2010-05-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits of having my own practice is that I set the dress Code for the office. On days like today (when I have no client meetings or court appointments) I generally dress casually (golf shirt, shorts and sneakers with no socks). There is always the risk that a client may drop-by. I had such a drop-by today and had to endure some good natured kidding about my dress code. Fortunately, my client did not mind my casual dress and in fact I believe he was a little jealous.

Amazing Vacation

2010-05-09T21:31:00.000-07:00

The entire family (along with my in-laws and my sister-in-law and her family) had an amazing vacation in May at Club Med in Florida. I was able to work just a little, but I actually enjoyed the rest and relaxation so much that I did not work near as much as I had planned (probably a good thing).

A great sunset

Sarah on the archery range. She was actually very good.

Nana and the girls

My brother-in-law and I participated in a sailboat regatta. We finished dead last in the first heat, but I am most proud of our second place overall finish. I must admit that I did not know a thing about sailing prior to this event and I only served as an ornament decorating the deck of the boat.

Seminar Day

2010-04-19T15:17:00.001-07:00

I had an opportunity to attend a NBI Seminar on Trust Administration today. The primary reason for my attendance was to speak for about an hour on the issue of ethics in a trust practice. I decided to stay for a few extra hours to see if I could learn something from the other speakers.

The highlight of my day is that I had lunch with my girls at my wife's office. My wife had a client meeting today, so she needed me to sub for her for an hour or so. Lunch was wild as always and I probably let the girls eat more sweets than actual lunch food (such is the prerogative of a Dad).

Grace and I had a most interesting conversation when she asked me if she could eat a lollipop that my wife had in her office. I told her "no" and her response was "ok, I will wait until you died [sic] and then I will decide if I will eat it." She added further that "when you died I will be old, so I will not need you to take care of me." At that point I must admit I had my feelings a little hurt. I asked her if she would miss me and she responded, "no, I'll see you in heaven one day."

Once I overcame my surprise about the nature of our conversation, I began to reflect on the fact that children can speak about death with incredible ease, whereas we as adults become instantly uncomfortable with any mention of the subject. Death is just a part of life and for Christians we see it as the beginning of our new and better life. Perhaps I should accept this as a lesson from my 'wise' 4 year old.

Bye Bye

2010-03-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

Due primarily to my car being in the repair shop, I have had an opportunity to work a lot at home this week. My 15 month year old has been a frequent companion. I have had to make numerous phone calls to clients, which is always dicey with a little one in the room. Nevertheless, she becomes quite enthusiastic at the end of each call, for every time I say bye or find myself about to say bye, she starts chirping 'bye bye, bye bye, bye bye." If we have been on the phone this week, I am sure you may have received this extra "bye."

Morning Errands

2010-01-18T08:59:00.000-08:00

Had a great morning today running some business errands with Grace. She was so excited about helping me. By the way, if you receive a package from me and the mailing label is a little crooked, I blame my little assistant!

On the Phone Like Daddy

2010-01-13T19:46:00.000-08:00

I was walking around the house talking on the phone to a client, when I noticed that Kate picked up a toy screwdriver and began to imitate me. She was even talking, which sounded like "la la la la ta la la ta da da ..." I imagine that is how I sound at times, especially when I lapse into legalease.

Getting my Niece Involved in the Family Business

2010-01-12T19:51:00.000-08:00

My niece is spending the week with us. We have had a great time. She even had an opportunity to come by my office and spend some time working with me. If you receive a bill from me with this time entry:

Colored Elmo and friends- 30 minutes

You will know that Isabella was responsible for that good work. I also provide fruit snacks and juice for folks who get a little restless!

Dictation

2010-01-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

I enjoy using a digital recorder, which allows me to dictate letters, legal documents and special instructions for my secretary. It is a great device, especially for my practice on the go. My three year old routinely uses it to record songs, stories, etc. I was dictating a letter today and she came over to me and said "I want to say hi." I of course let her say "hi" in the middle of my letter. About five minutes later she wanted to say "bye." Hopefully my secretary will pick-up on the voice change and I will not have a couple of extraneous words in my document!

My Tattoo

2009-11-21T12:03:00.000-08:00

Grace received a couple of dinosaur tattoos in a goodie bag from a recent birthday party. For some reason her mother convinced her that it would be a good idea for Daddy to wear the tattoo so he could show his clients. I told her that I would wear it and suggested my upper arm. She said "no Daddy, your clients not see it there. I want to put it on your hand." She won the argument and this was the result:

I had quite a few comments about it, as I had three client meetings and a Rotary lunch the next day. If anything, my new accessory was quite the conversation ice breaker! Grace was so excited when I told her about my day that it was totally worth it.

New Office

2009-11-05T11:50:00.000-08:00

I recently moved into a new office in Homewood. I had to run into the office one evening to handle a few matters and I decided to take Kate with me. I did not get much done, as Kate became quite the little explorer.

I decided we had enough when she went to my printer and started trying to send a fax!

Like Father, Like Daughter?

2009-09-15T01:04:00.000-07:00

I do not know if I should be proud or horrified, but Grace spent her morning walking around the house on her princess cell phone "talking to clients." She told my wife that she was busy and had to work. She also had a little note pad (just like her Dad) so that she could track all of her appointments. She had a lot of client meetings, but she also left some time for a "lunch meeting." I only hope that I was somewhere on her busy schedule!

Dessert

2009-08-24T09:43:00.000-07:00

I have my regular Rotary meeting today. Grace is insistent that I take some dessert with me to eat after my "lunch meeting." She has tried to entice me with M&Ms, muffins and chocolate chip cookies. I tried to explain to her that dessert is provided, but that led to another great idea: "Daddy, you can have two desserts!"

A Great Saturday

2009-08-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

This Saturday the Birmingham Bar Association coordinated a volunteer event at Children's Village, which is a home place for children who do not have a home. The lawyers brought bounce houses, snow cone machines, games, food and desserts and everyone had a great time.

I brought Grace with me so that she could help. Unfortunately she might get the wrong impression about volunteering, as she had a tremendous amount of fun, as you can see below:

When we were finished Grace asked me if we could come back. We left the volunteer outing after a great lunch and then met my wife at Panera Bread (where I had one of those casual Saturday client meetings). It was a great day--- I was proud of my little volunteer and was happy to share such a nice experience with her. By the way, she was most disappointed that she was unable to stay for my client meeting!

The Girls

2009-07-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

Alabama State Bar Annual Meeting- Part 2

2009-07-18T21:43:00.000-07:00

The Annual Meeting's signature evening event was a carnival night. It was another great family event. The food and music were great (there was even a knee high buffet table with kid friendly foods). Some of the activities included temporary tattoos, carnival games, ice cream, and an obstacle course.

The night ended with a great fireworks show, which both girls (and Mom and Dad) really enjoyed.

Alabama State Bar Annual Meeting

2009-07-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

The Alabama State Bar held its annual meeting in July at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama. Approximately 400 lawyers and their families attended this event. The Alabama Bar deserves a lot of credit for making the annual meeting a true family affair. Our girls were welcome at all events (and fortunately they know how to behave at parties and receptions). There was also a lot of down time for fun activities:

Kate relaxing near the pool.

Grace enjoyed the very nice pool.

Grace made some new friends on the beach

Unique Client Meeting

2009-07-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

I had an opportunity to meet with two of my clients at their very nice home. I scheduled the meeting for a morning that I had the girls (with the clients’ consent of course) and brought them with me. My clients were almost too hospitable to the girls. While we were “talking business,” Grace enjoyed a homemade muffin and a tall glass of milk. My clients also turned on the television for her and she was able to watch one of her favorite shows. The only downside is that Grace now asks to go to all client meetings. I am thinking she assumes that Daddy conducts all of his meetings with muffins, milk and cartoon shows! How nice it would be if it that was always the case.

My Little Networkers

2009-07-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

The Vestavia Chamber of Commerce routinely hosts ribbon cuttings, which honor and welcome new businesses to our area. These events are typically after work and are always quite fun.

I brought both girls with me to an open house at Altadena Dental. They had a great time and were very well behaved. Grace really enjoyed the chicken tenders and fruit. She even had two cookies for dessert. I had an opportunity to see some old friends and meet several new ones. My girls are never going to have any trouble meeting new people and mingling at a social event!

Friday Night Adventure

2009-07-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

One Friday night I agreed to go with a client to an entertainment venue to discuss the terms of a contract for an upcoming event. My wife had previously made plans, so my two little legal assistants came with me.

At one point, Kate was sitting in my lap. I was holding a contract and listening to a discussion. I did not realize that Kate (who was being strangely quiet) was chewing on the document. I quickly ripped the paper from her hands and realize a little bit of the corner was missing. It is really professional to be asking about an indemnity clause, while picking out pieces of paper from your six month old’s mouth.

Grace quickly realized that we were probably going to go out to dinner and started immediately lobbying for “Old McDonald’s.” I’ll admit that it is not my first choice and I tried to take us by a client’s restaurant. However, that restaurant was extremely crowded (great for them!) and the wait would not have worked well with our bed time, so I ended up using the aforementioned fast food option.

I ordered a Happy Meal for Grace and when asked to choose between white and chocolate milk, I chose chocolate (I was feeling generous because she was so good at our meeting). I guess I did not realize that my wife has tried to prevent Grace from realizing that chocolate milk was even an option at restaurants. No less than five times for the remainder of the evening Grace would randomly say, “chocolate milk, mommy is not going to believe this.” Needless to say, before even saying hi, Grace informed her mother that she had chocolate milk for dinner.

Race Report

2009-06-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

The Sweetwater 50K race was a lot of fun. The race directors deserve credit for crafting an incredibly difficult course (it is almost as if they took some pleasure out of it!). I finished the race in about 6.5 hours, which was pretty good considering the water crossing and numerous hill climbs. I had a great time and look forward to the next event. Editor's note- Grace was sick the weekend of the race, so the family was unable to make the trip with me, hence, no photographic evidence of my trek.

Asking for Trouble

2009-05-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

Grace has now completed her “Mother’s Day Out” program, which means that she becomes an additional child to juggle during the busy work week. Last Monday my wife went into her office and I had the girls. I made the mistake (?) of scheduling two signing meetings with clients. In addition, I had another client planning to drop by to sign his estate planning documents.

I did of course disclose to the clients that there was a chance for the meeting to be most disruptive. No one seemed to mind and everyone was excited about seeing the girls. I am happy to say that things went better than I expected. Kate was her usual happy self and she either smiled at everyone or slept in her car seat.

Grace was also good and was most polite. While her Daddy explained the documents, she sat in the corner and played with golf balls and a golf towel (I know, strange toys, but she claimed a golf tournament goodie bag of mine as her own). At one point I did feel a little tap on my arm and Grace was standing there next to the conference room table with the towel on her head. She was just beaming and she received the laughs she was looking for from all of us.

I really do appreciate the patience of my office staff and clients that allow me to make the girls a part of my practice.

Race Day

2009-05-16T17:16:00.000-07:00

Enjoyed a fun trail half-marathon today. The Twisted Ankle Race takes place every May in Summerville, Georgia. It is an understatement to call the course "hilly." My brother-in-law and I had a great time and as you can see below, we had a fairly decent time (considering we took a wrong turn at one point and had to double back). Even more importantly, we had great support from family and friends!

Another Monday Meeting

2009-05-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

My wife typically heads into the office for a few hours every Monday morning. I usually forget this fact and schedule at least one client meeting on Mondays. My three year old usually attends her "Mother's Day Out" classes, which means I am typically left with Kate. We recently had another one of our Monday meetings, where I was discussing an estate administration with a client. I had Kate in her car seat in a chair next to me. For some reason, she decided to crane her neck and stare down my client. She appeared mesmerized by what he was saying.

As he was talking to me, I could see him glance over at Kate and try his mightiest to keep from smiling. He eventually gave in and just started to laugh. I apologized for my little distraction, but the client thought it was great. Kate, you add much needed levity to some serious conversations. I wonder if I can get away with bringing you into the courtroom?

Shopping for Office Supplies

2009-05-02T19:08:00.000-07:00

I outsource a lot of my copying and office needs to Staples (where I am a proud Rewards Member). I took my 3 year old with me today. She was very upset that Staples did not have "anything for her." Nonetheless, she was able to find something she wanted. She was proud that she brought some money with her (3 pennies) and I did not have the heart to tell her that she did not have enough (I was more than happy to make up the difference).

The picture below shows my girls playing with her new purchase (a roll of tickets):

Putting the Day in Perspective

2009-04-29T22:37:00.001-07:00

It was quite a busy day: some traveling, some work, preparing dinner for the family, etc. Once I arrived home and began to prepare dinner, Grace asked me to play with her. I quickly told her that I was busy and that I would play with her later. Her response was "But Daddy, you my best friend." You could hear my heart melting. Nonetheless, we had to eat, so I finished dinner (but I sure did dote on her for the rest of the evening).

Your Documents

2009-04-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

I occasionally review documents at home (when the kids are occupied). My five month old daughter has developed an obsession for paper and she began to lunge for my work and was able to even grab a page. My three year old came bounding into the room shouting, "Daddy, Daddy, she trying to get your documents!"

On a similar note, Grace occasionally brings me a page from one of her coloring books and tells me that she needs me to sign some documents. I guess that is what I get when I take her to Will signings.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T13:30:00.001-07:00

I had an opportunity to spend the Easter weekend participating in a variety of family activities, including, but not limited to: church, two Easter egg hunts and a meal at Cracker Barrel. I also had an opportunity to conduct a Will signing. Some of my clients (who reside in my parents' hometown) decided that the Easter holiday would be a great time to get together and sign updated estate planning documents. One couple and two of their children all signed documents (all at the same time). We had a great time and I felt like a member of their own holiday table (there was the exchange of lots of family stories and memories). I was also impressed that a family would use their holiday time together to address such an important aspect of their lives. It was truly a testament about how they felt about one another.

The Risks of Meeting at Home

2009-04-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

Last week I met with a new estate planning client in our home. I usually do not invite clients to our home, but this particular person could be considered a close friend (and she wanted to see both girls), so I gladly bent the rules.

Kate sat with us for a few minutes and was as sweet as she could be. She cooed and smiled and did everything that a cute 4 month old should do for a guest. Her sister on the other hand was another story. Grace was experiencing (for no apparent reason, other than the fact that she was three) what her mother and I fondly call a nuclear meltdown. Typically, these are of the relatively harmless "Three Mile Island" variety. On this particular day, she earned a full-blown "Chernobyl" rating. While I was meeting with my client, she was in her room screaming. When I tried to get her to come out, she proceeded to scream "I no like your client, I no like anyone." I of course closed her door and left her in her room.

I was most surprised when Grace showed up in the hallway. She had opened her door and came to find me (and my client) to once again scream that she did not like my clients. The only plus side to her coming out of her room is that my client did get to see her (albeit a tear stained, angry variety of Grace). Before things got worse, the cavalry arrived (Michelle came home) and whisked Grace back to her room for a good talking to and a much needed nap!

Scenes from the Home Office

2009-04-02T20:14:00.000-07:00

My New Legal Assistant

2009-04-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

I had a week full of meetings and was fortunate to be able to take my new legal assistant with me to two of them (my 3 month old Kate!).

I have actually developed a grade system for Kate's behavior at client meetings. I am happy to say that this week she scored a solid A (which is so much better that the F she earned last week). During one meeting with a family, I had Kate strategically positioned behind my desk. However, she is quite the socialite and made a fuss until I held her in my lap so she could see everyone. Apparently she spent the time smiling at my clients because during our discussion they would randomly crack a smile. Kate was a great addition to what could have been a very somber meeting.

The Lawyer Dad

2009-04-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog! Over two years ago I decided to open my own law practice for two reasons. First, I enjoyed the practice of law and I wanted to have an opportunity to work with families to address important legal issues. More importantly, I wanted to have the opportunity to set my own schedule so that I could spend more time with my family (especially the two little girls you see below).

My family has become an integral part of my law practice, as you will soon see if you continue to read this blog. The overall theme of this blog will be to explore whether it is possible to have both a fulfilling family life and a successful professional career. I believe it is not only possible, but a attainable goal for individuals in any professional field.