I dedicate this song to all those sorry sack of s*& attorneys that steal clients from other attorneys after they sign them up. 

(Scroll to the bottom and click on the video to get "the beat".)

I Already Got An Attorney 

Verse One:
Aiyyo sweetie, you’re lookin kinda hurt
What’s a client like you, doin rubbin their face in the dirt
I’m just here, tryin to hold up my frown
Yeah, I think I like how that sounds
What you say we gets to know each other better?
That sounds good but I don’t think that I can let ya
I don’t know, tell me is it so
Do you get a kick, out of tellin attorneys no?
No it’s not that see you don’t understand
How should I put it, I got an attorney.
What’s your attorney got to do with me?
I told ya
I’m not tryin to hear that see
I’m not one of those clients that go signing up all around
I’m not some defense attorney, so don’t play me like a clown
I’ll admit, I like how you litigate it
Now you’re talkin baby, dats da word of mouth I need
Now don’t get excited and spewing legalese
I already told ya, I got an attorney
What’s your attorney got to do with me?
I got an attorney
I’m not tryin to hear that see
I got an attorney
What’s your attorney got to do with me?
I got an attorney
I’m not tryin to hear that
Now you can persist to play King of Torts all day
But ain’t nothin gonna change
Yeah baby, sure you’re right
I’m a break it down and do whatever I gots to do
I tell you now, I got a personal investigator already working for you
You got eyes, but they not for me
You better use them for what they for and that’s to see
You know what’s the problem, ya not used to greed
I’m Big Daddy Warbucks, and your attorneys picking up somebody’s Starbucks
I got a question to ask you peep
Are you on the Trial Lawyers Listserve, cause its got a leak
You know what they say about those who represent themselves
You might find the fool, by yourself
I’m not waitin because I’m no waiter
So when I litigate that big case, don’t try to kick it to me later
All them other clients must got you gassed
A-when they see a good thing they don’t let it pass
Well that’s OK, cause see if that’s their plan
Cause for me, I already got an attorney
What’s your attorney got to do with me?
I got an attorney
I’m not tryin to hear that see
I got an attorney
What’s your attorney got to do with me?
I got an attorney
I’m not tryin to hear that
What am I, some PI paying off low life ambulance runner
that just caught wind of a death case and sweatin you for a date?
I don’t want no beef, I just wants to strike you with leather
But how you talkin, pssssh, whatevah!
We can’t have nothin
It all depends
Well if we can’t be professionals than we can’t be friends
Well then I guess it’s nothing
Well hey I think you’re bluffing
Well I’m a call my attorney
Well I am going to be huffing and puffin about not knowing you had an attorney
Ya better catch a flashback remember I’m the King is this small town
You know my style, I don’t let nobody hold me down
All I remember’s an excuse me miss
You can’t get a client like me with a lame ass runner like this
Well look I’ll get you paid
My attorney gets me paid better
I talk sweet on the phone
My attorney writes me letters
I’ll tell you that I want you, and tell you that I care
My attorney says the same except he’s sincere
Well I’m clean cut and dapper, that’s what I’m about
My attorney reads me things and lets me pout
Well you can keep your attorney, cause I only go the money route
Don’t you know you better respect my authority
There’s a lot of clients out there who won’t say no
You’re out for numero uno
Boom batter my pockets is gettin fatter
I wanna treat you up and provide for you
Let me know the spot on your body and I will have a doctor treat you
So when your attorney don’t treat you like he used to
I kick in like a hen house Rooster
You want lawyering you don’t have to ask when
Your attorney’s a headache, I’ll be your aspirin
All confusion, you know I’ll solve em
I got an attorney
You got a what?
How long you had that problem?
What’s your attorney got to do with me?
I got an attorney
I’m not tryin to hear that see
I got an attorney
What’s your attorney got to do with me?
I got an attorney
I’m not tryin to hear that
I got an attorney
Aiyyo baby put the dial numbers or your address
I got an attorney
I told ya I treat you right
I got an attorney
Aww c’mon now ain’t no future in telling the truth
I’m not havin it
C’mon Miss, oh we back on that again
Uhh, I’m not tryin to hear that see
I got an attorney
But your attorney ain’t me
Uhh, uhh, I got an attorney
You got a WHAT?
Uhh, uhh, uhh, I got an attorney
You got a WHAT?
 

 

You hear that ___________ Law Firm, they already got an attorney!

 

 

Positive K – I Got A Man – Positive K

When I inquired with friends on Facebook about legal issues they would like to learn more about on my blog, the issue of making a will was top on their list.  Although I do not do Wills, Trusts, or Estates, in my law practice, it was on the SC Bar and I passed the Bar (that was before they threw questions out when people missed answers-click here to learn more).

A will in South Carolina must be

  1. In writing;
  2. signed either by the testator or someone in his presence and by his direction; and
  3. signed by two credible witnesses, each of whom must have witnessed either the testator’s signing of the will or his acknowledgment of his signature of his will. 

An article written by Betsy Simmons, J.D. entitled "Making a Will in South Carolina" goes over several key questions and should answer almost anyone’s general inquiries to making a will.  However, as Ms. Simmons’ biography indicates, she is a California lawyer. 

No. You do not need an attorney to perfect a will. However, keep in mind that if you have varying incorporated entities, extremely valuable assets, and/or certain greedy relatives you know you do not want to have your possessions; you may think about paying an attorney to protect your interest. 

Otherwise there are several online websites that offer templates for you to insert your personal information and complete a basic will. Some of those websites are listed below:

  1. US Legal Forms promoted by Dave Ramsey;
  2. Legal Zoom– ranges from $69.00-$119.00; and
  3. Nolo

 

Ron Barnett of "The Greenville News" reported today that:

If there was an upside to last summer’s spike in gas prices, it could be that it helped save more than 150 lives by reducing the number of miles driven on South Carolina highways…..

The ups and down of the economic woes we have faced over the past year or more continue to have their far reaching impact.  Likewise, I indicated that drivers were forgoing their insurance premiums as another way to cut costs.

As Mr. Barnett indicated in his article:

Greenville, the state’s most populous county, had the most traffic fatalities in 2008, 70, a decrease from 88 the year before.

The number of roadway fatalities in Pickens County fell from 26 to 17, while Oconee dropped from 24 to 14, Anderson went from 49 to 27 and Laurens was down from 17 to 15, according to the preliminary numbers.

The increase in highway patrolman was also credited as a potential factor in the decrease in fatalities.  As prior articles have indicated:

  1. Biker Deaths were on the rise in 2008;
  2. November is the peak month for deer collisions; and
  3. Nobody plans on dying in a freak accident.

Keep driving safely!

I hate to reveal the secrets of personal injury litigation that help me reduce my student loan debt and feed the families of my staff.  However, I was given a second chance at life for a reason and that reason could be to educate you on not getting screwed by your insurance company or an at fault party’s insurance company.

As with any legal endeavor the most important factors are the facts and circumstances surrounding the issue, or problem. Each case is different and there is no universal answer for every case. These are the most basic rules I could think of without leading you astray.

  1. Liability/Contributor to Negligence– Who? What? Where? When? and How Many?  are questions you need to identify in regards to how you incurred the damages, either personal or property, with your claim.
  2. James K. Ferrell of the Memphis Injury Law Blog gives a great 10 Step Guideline to follow after an automobile accident. No need for me to recreate the wheel. I would just replace #10 with "Call Me".
  3. Ken Dolan of Dolans.com has an article entitled "How to Win the Claim Game" for property claim tips.
  4. Pictures are worth a 1,000 words– take them of the area in question, pot hole, car wreck, broken porch, malfunctioning product, dog biting you, etc.
  5. Devil is in the Details– Do not, I repeat, DO NOT trust what insurance claims adjusters tell you. Insurance adjusters work for the insurance company. DING, DING, DING. That means they are not looking out for your interest but their employer’s interest.
  6. Yesterday, I had a client come in that had been in a rear end collision and he went to visit with the Farm Bureau adjuster for that at fault driver. The Farm Bureau adjuster offered the gentleman a check for $215.00 for ALL CLAIMS arising out of the accident.  My client was savvy enough to realize that his car alone may have more damage than $215.00 much less the Emergency Room visit, several follow up appointments with his family care doctor, and the MRI that he was sent for in regards to his neck pain.
  7. Another time, I had a client hit while exiting a school bus. The Nationwide Adjuster was looking for his parents that night and offered them $700.00 to settle his claim. My client had just gotten back from the ER and referred to an orthopedist for his leg.  I ended up getting them more than $10,000.00.
  8. Why do insurance adjusters do this? If they can get you to take a check for $215.00 now before you realize the true extent of your injuries they just saved their company tens of thousands of dollars. 
  9. Once you sign the adjuster’s form you have just signed your rights away against the at fault party. Read my Can You Read? article. 
  10. Consult Someone that Does this for a Living– don’t ask your friend, mama, daddy, boss man, insurance adjuster for the insurance company, or Joe the Plumber. Ask someone that handles these type of cases. Reference my Do I need a Doctor, Lawyer, or Preacher articles.
           a.    When I needed to remodel my foreclosure home, I called a contractor.
           b.    When my Tahoe breaks down, I call a mechanic.
           c.    When I hurt my arm in a wreck, I consulted a doctor.
           d.    When my tooth hurts, I go to the dentist.

 

The current home I live and work out of is on the West End of Greenville, South Carolina:

The current Greenville County Master-in-Equity, Judge Charles B. Simmons Jr., provides an excellent "Primer for Mortgage Foreclosure Sales" on the Greenville County website. Judge Simmons highlights 14 points that are important if you decide to embark upon this path during the recent economic climate.

As an attorney and real estate investor, I felt confident in the process because I had bought foreclosure sales before from banks but not "on the courthouse steps" so to speak. I made several mistakes and got lucky. I do not trust that luck will get me through again so I share these tips:

  1. Always have title work done/checked on your prospective foreclosure house!– The house I bought was being foreclosed upon the "Smith" family-seriously.
  2. Physically go see the house. Don’t trust internet services or court records. I visited my prospective house but never got inside. I knew I was going to "gut" the inside to my liking but wanted the "bones" to be good. On another home I went to go bid on, I went by the morning of the auction and there was no house on the lot, just a lot. Imagine how high I would have bid for what I thought was a house and a lot.
  3. Factor in more time and/or money if it is inhabited. I paid for the first month’s rent and moved the inhabitants of my foreclosure house out because I had just sold my house. I was on a tight time frame with repairs and knew how slow the eviction process could be if disputed or fought.  "Honey attracts more flies than vinegar." 
  4. Have financing and closing attorney already arranged. You only have a short turn around time to complete the closing on the house after you put your deposit down the day of the sale. Likewise, you can’t move in or make repairs until you have title, ie close.
  5. This is not a "new" thing. Some people make their living off of buying homes in foreclosure sales. You may very well find a great deal but don’t think you will be the only one there.

Anytime there is an opportunity for reward there is a risk. Foreclosure sales are the poster children for inherent risks. Do your homework and you can capitalize.  Have fun and enjoy your new experience.

If you would like for me to forward you the recent article entitled, "Prudent Bidding at a Foreclosure Sale," by Clifford P. Parson and C. Joseph Roof that was published in the January 2009 edition of the South Carolina Lawyer, please email me (trey@trammell-law.com) or post a comment request.

A side note: I do civil personal injury law, not real estate law. Outside of paying lots of money for a "Real Estate" class in law school and visiting the records room of a Georgia courthouse, I have no real estate law experience. 

 

I like to leave Friday’s articles open to more "artistic" interpretations.

I have only been practicing law for three years now. Not enough to call myself an expert at anything but a little more than a rookie.  I never wanted to be a lawyer and only knew one lawyer growing up, Hank Bufkin. I would not describe him as a stereotypical attorney but certainly a professional in every sense of the word.

I have observed some amusing differences in older attorneys (o.a.) vs. younger attorneys (y.a.) outside the obvious age difference. My observations:

  1. Practicing law back in the day was steeped in tradition, formalities, and camaraderie unparalleled to today.
  2. O.A.’s don’t want to mess with social media, aka web 2.0, bullshit. Their education afforded them intelligence with the written and spoken English language so they will write letters and make phone calls.
  3. O.A.’s have given their patience enough practice over the years, you best not push it. I have only sat through several dozen depositions; I could not imagine several hundred. The same with client interviews.
  4. Cynicism grows with age. (I asked for assistance from Bradley Bledsoe and this was his first response.)  After reading one definition in Wikipedia that stated: "a disposition to disbelieve in the sincerity or goodness of human motives and actions" and a tendency "to express this by sneers and sarcasms".  I thought immediately of an O.A.-  Bill Duncan a Travelers Insurance defense attorney, that I work against often.
  5. Y.A.’s exemplify their generational gap in the lack of attention to detail and desire for immediate satisfaction, settlement, or disposition as it relates in law.
  6. Y.A.’s grow more skeptical with the so called "partner track" (Click for WSJ article). I think some of my peers have had their eyes opened by Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme and see some striking similarities. Young buy in, old get return on investment.
  7. Regardless of age, I have noticed that there are going to be those that work and buy into the system. While there are those that don’t buy into or work for the system. 
  8. Y.A.’s like acting like lawyers, while O.A.’s like being lawyers.
  9. Y.A.’s look up Latin phrases. O.A.’s know Latin phrases.
  10. O.A.’s are more inclined to interject light heart ed, comedy, or off handed comments in a legal setting, while Y.A.’s are more inclined to be professional "on set". I attribute this to the  experience variance between the two. O.A.’s know what they are doing in a courtroom, for the most part, and are more confident.

 

 Wrote a song about it. Like to hear it? Here it Goes!

Young attorneys and older attorneys are different. Ahhhhhh Haahhhhhh! Thank you very much!

via videosift.com

Often times doctors play God, attorneys battle at the gates of heaven and hell, and preachers try and enable all to walk the walk.

  1. Preachers : As defined by Wikipedia:

Some believe a preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication of the doctrine rather than the development of the doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined. Preaching is not limited to religious views, but it extends to moral and social world-views as well. Preachers are common throughout most cultures. They can take the form of a Christian minister on a Sunday morning, or an Islamic Imam or Da’ee on a Friday afternoon. The point of preaching is to inform or convince the hearer of a certain world-view or belief. 

  • You should go to a preacher when you question the meaning of life, want to know more about  Christ and/or God, seek a deeper spiritual journey, and/or simply to learn more about faith and religion.
  • You should tithe to the church one tenth of your earnings.
  • Perry Noble Dot Com is an interesting blog of a local preacher.
  • I am a Christian and therefore believe in God.
  • I attend NewSpring in Greenville after having attended in Anderson for several years.

 

 

  1. Lawyers : As defined by Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Lawyers, also called attorneys, act as both advocates and advisors in our society. As advocates, they represent one of the parties in criminal and civil trials by presenting evidence and arguing in court to support their client. As advisors, lawyers counsel their clients about their legal rights and obligations and suggest particular courses of action in business and personal matters. Whether acting as an advocate or an advisor, all attorneys research the intent of laws and judicial decisions and apply the law to the specific circumstances faced by their clients.

 

  • You go to a lawyer when you have been injured by the act of someone or something, when you want to set up and conduct a business, enter into a real estate transaction, get a divorce, settle a dispute, seek Social Security Benefits, and other types of inquires as to your legal rights with any given situation. 
  • Lawyer’s Pay: Some lawyers work by the hour, others by retainer fee, and still others by contingency fee.
  • Contrary to popular belief, lawyers don’t hate doctors. Likewise, lawyers are men and women of faith and religion. (Now if a lawyer practices medical malpractice there is often times no love lost between those attorneys and the doctors they pursue). 
  • If you need a lawyer inquire with your state Bar organization, ie SC BAR, research on the Internet, ie Google, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and/or check your local Yellow Pages or Talking Phone Book.
  • Choose the lawyer and law firm you are most comfortable with.
  • An interesting article entitled "Investigation Confidential" about how to choose an attorney.

 

The beginning of a 3 part series about this trilogy of professionals and how their services can be utilized for you or your family as it pertains to injuries.

  1. Doctors as defined in Wikipedia:

A physician, medical practitioner or medical doctor practices medicine, and is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and injury. This is accomplished through a detailed knowledge of anatomy, physiology, diseases and treatment — the science of medicine — and its applied practice — the art or craft of medicine.

  • You go to the doctor when you are injured in an accident, fall down, get bitten by a dog, come down with a virus, or numerous other physical and mental conditions.
  • Nobody knows your body like you know your body. A doctor sees numerous patients a day so voice your ailments when you are in front of them. Don’t expect them to be mind readers.
  • Doctors want to help you that is why they went to school for over 20 years of their lives. However, they are human and this should always be remembered.
  • Immediately go to an Urgent Care or Emergency Room facility, if you have been injured in an accident and feel your injuries arise to this degree. Do not wait on permission from the at fault’s insurance company. They do not dictate your injuries and recovery.
  • When you see a doctor or go to a medical facility make sure you utilize your health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, Workers’ Compensation benefits, etc. If you have these supplemental payment arrangements: use them.
  • Why will my doctor not see me if I was in a wreck? That’s a great question. Ask them. More likely than not, it comes down to money and they want to get paid and not have to wait, which allows insurance companies to starve you out.
  • A great investigation and quick read is Christi Myers of HOUSTON,TX’s (KTRK) report entitled "Doctors Might Turn You Away After a Wreck".