Fall, Fall, Fall

By Carol Dillon

One of the most charming aspects of the Fall season is falling leaves. They are so lovely. I like to listen to the crunch of leaves beneath my feet and I love it when my dogs dart through piles of raked leaves, causing me to have to rake them again. But what isn’t so charming is when your neighbor has a dead tree that falls onto your property and causes property damage or, knock on wood, personal injury. I recently attended my first homeowners’ association meeting, and boy was it feisty. One of the hot topics, besides no one paying their dues, was what to do with all the dead trees in the neighborhood. Apparently there are lots of them and no one is cutting down the trees or at least the branches. One particularly feisty neighbor said that a strong wind might just blow some of the trees down and then what? Well “then what” is that if you know your tree is dead and has the potential to fall over and it does, you are on the hook for any property damage or personal injury caused to your neighbor’s property because of your tree. So, if the tree is near the street, check with the City, it might be their property and their responsibility to cut it down. If the tree is on your property, start cutting, but please do it safely and watch out for anyone who helps you, or my next blog will be about what to do if someone sues you over cutting down your tree!!

Importance of Face-to-Face Interaction

By Jeb Crandall

Last week I attended an Assisted Living Facility/Long Term Care Facility seminar in Chicago, Illinois. While you might think this sounds about as enjoyable and entertaining as a root canal, it was actually a great experience. While the seminar itself was useful and informative on the substantive areas of the practice, the real benefit and enjoyment of attending such a seminar is the opportunity to meet clients and attorneys that we typically only communicate with through email and phone calls.

Putting a face with a name goes a long way in developing a relationship and trust with a client. Face-to-face interaction with people is something that has really gone the way of the Dodo Bird with the advent of email and all of our other technological advancements. It’s amazing how much you can really get to know somebody over a few beers at a hotel bar. Those moments are what make relationships between attorneys and our clients both rewarding and enduring.