Attorney
When choosing an attorney to represent you oftentimes you’ll have a consultation in order to meet and discuss the details of your case. This is a great opportunity to ask questions to see if you and your potential attorney are a good fit for each other. In order to make sure you’re getting the most out of your consultation, it’s important to come prepared with the right questions to ask.
Here are three important questions to start off with.
If you’ve never been represented by or retained an attorney, you may not be entirely familiar with the different types of billing or fee structures associated with your case. Knowing the different types of fee structures will help you have a better understanding of the costs of your legal representation, and may even help you in negotiating with potential attorneys.
Starting a career in law can be an exciting yet daunting time for recent graduates. Juggling new responsibilities, time constraints, and new learning curves can be a bit of a shock for many new attorneys. Rest assured, every experienced attorney has been where you are.
Here are 3 tips to keep in mind as you’re starting your career in law.
Get a Mentor
A good mentor can be an invaluable resource as you begin to build your career in law. Some larger firms may have a mentor program in place to help new hires, but it can also be tremendously helpful to seek out a mentor that is independent of your particular firm. Finding a mentor outside your work environment can allow you to ask questions and navigate potential office or courtroom politics issues without it affecting your work relationships.
Find a Specialty and Practice Self Learning
Finding a niche or specialty within the practice of law not only makes you more valuable to your firm and clients, it also helps develop a deeper personal passion for your work. As a new attorney, oftentimes the best way to expose yourself to a broad range of specialities of law is through self learning. Seek out trade magazines and law review articles that can help you expand your knowledge of different types and specialties of law.
Don’t Forget to Take Care of Yourself
Hours for lawyers (particularly new lawyers) are notoriously long. While working hard and paying dues is an important part of developing and advancing your career in law, it’s important that you find ways to succeed without jeopardizing your mental or physical health. Habits and structure in your routine will be crucial to ensuring you continue to have time for your family, loved ones, exercise, hobbies, and downtime.
It is widely known that texting while driving and other distracted driving behaviors can have disastrous consequences. People can suffer injuries, lives get turned upside down, and tragically, loved ones are lost forever. It’s no surprise that Arizona and other states have enacted cell phone driving laws to discourage cell phone use on the roadways. Notwithstanding these national efforts, distracted driving deaths are still on the rise.
According to the National Highway Safety Administration, an estimated 3,142 people were killed as a result of distracted driving crashes in 2019. That number is a 9.9% increase over 2018 distracted driving estimates- resulting in an additional 284 fatalities, year-over-year.
A quick glance at the news often reveals tragic distracted-driving related headlines like these:
Sadly, each of these, and other similar incidents, are undoubtedly avoidable. Given that Arizona is home to one of the most dangerous highways in the United States—currently fourth—it is important to take steps to protect yourself, your loved ones, and other drivers from the dangers associated with distracted-driving.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?
NEVER TEXT AND DRIVE- NEVER USE YOUR HANDS
Several studies have shown that using a cell phone while driving is dangerous, and safety advocates across the country call for a complete ban on cell phone use while driving. Completely banning cell phones isn’t realistic given that people use cell phones for GPS, digital assistants, music players, phone calls, and more. Still, cell phone technology available to us today affords plenty of options for safer driving.
USE DRIVING MODE
Both Apple and Android phones have software that helps a driver’s eyes off their phone and on the road. Both options allow users to access phone calls, ask questions, and have text messages read aloud.
Apple: Do Not Disturb While Driving:
Android: Google Assistant Driving Mode:
USE A HANDS-FREE DEVICE
A recent study by AAA found the association of cell phone conversation alone and car crashes to be statistically insignificant. The real problem is when phones are in a driver’s hands. The study found:
While in a perfect world every driver’s entire focus would be on the road. The use of hands-free devices is endorsed by many in the driving safety community. Ian Reagan, an Insurance Institute Highway Safety senior research scientist, notes in an Insurance Institute of Highway Safety report on distracted driving, that it is possible to reduce distraction with the right tools, like voice command. Small, inexpensive tools like cell phone vent holders can also be useful to help reduce visual-manual cell phone use, which can help reduce distracted driving crashes and injuries.
At Torgenson Law we encourage all drivers to avoid distraction and keep their eyes on the road. But, if you or a loved one falls victim to a distracted-driver related crash, contact us today to discuss how we can help you on your road to recovery.
When responsible people hire an Uber after a night out, they shouldn’t have to worry about getting home safe. Uber, Lyft, and other on-demand ride share companies provide convenience and save lives by providing an alternative to drinking and driving. Fatal alcohol-related car accidents dropped between 10% and 11.4% after the introduction of ride-hailing services; DUIs went down as much as 9.2% in some cities.
While the intention is always to keep riders safe, Uber and other ride-share companies are often the ones putting passengers in danger. In 2016, Uber settled a class action lawsuit alleging it mislead passengers with claims of “industry leading background checks” on all drivers. Uber settled the suit for $28.5 million dollars acknowledging the deficiencies. While Uber has improved their screening process, their “background checks” still don’t require fingerprints— something that is standard for many other types of employment. Dangerous drivers simply falsify their application information and convicted felons begin putting riders at-risk.
More troubling is that riders and law enforcement consistently report high rates of crime committed by Uber drivers—ranging from theft, assault, sex-assault, to murder. In 2019, Uber had over 3,045 sex assaults reported. Several being reported locally in Arizona.
While these facts and figures are alarming, there are things you can do to proactively keep yourself safe.
Protect yourself
If something happens:
Studying for the bar exam is a daunting task. If you’ve already chosen a bar prep course and have had a chance to glance over the suggested study schedule, you might be asking yourself how you’ll ever find the time to cram this much studying into just a few months (or weeks!). The truth is there’s no shortcut to effectively studying for the bar exam. However, there are a few tips and tricks you can use to make your life/study balance a bit more manageable.
Put your family and friends on notice
Make sure to update your family and friends on your plans to take the bar exam and explain that you might not be as accessible while you’re studying. Being upfront about your time schedule can save hurt feelings when you have to cancel plans or aren’t as responsive to calls or texts as usual.
This is not to say that you should completely isolate yourself entirely while studying, but you can expect to have to sit out on a few social gatherings or family functions in order to prioritize your studying.
Delete or ‘pause’ social media and other time consuming apps
Social media can be a big time waster and an even bigger drain on productivity. Not only does it take away time from studying, but it can also leave you feeling drained and distracted afterwards. Consider taking a break from social media apps in the weeks leading up to your exam. If you can’t completely cut the cord on social media, try limiting your time spent on these apps to specific periods throughout the day.
Create a personalized study plan
Most bar prep courses will provide you with a suggested study schedule for your exam. Everyone’s schedules, learning styles, and study habits are different, so It’s important to use that template as an outline to develop and tailor a study schedule that works for you.
If you’re a visual learner, try prioritizing video lectures in your study regimen. If you know you learn better by reviewing lecture notes or written outlines, then spend some extra time organizing and utilizing those materials. The important thing is to try different techniques and schedules early on so that you can identify what works best for you.
Be mindful of ‘burn out’
One major pitfall you want to avoid while studying for the bar exam is burn out. Studying for such a broad exam in such a short period of time is certainly an extreme undertaking, but it doesn’t have to consume your entire life. It’s important that you find pockets in your schedule for social activities, hobbies, health and wellness, and other things that bring you joy and fulfillment.
Your mental well-being is a huge factor in your overall success, so be sure to take steps to manage and protect it.
