Zachar Law Blog

Why I'm Thankful

As I awoke early Thanksgiving morning to get our turkey in the oven in anticipation of the 30 guests coming over, I made a startling discovery. 

We had no water.

The faucets were running dry.  OMG.  30 guests coming over, and no water.  Think.  Think.

Ok.  Drinking water--no big deal.  I can get bottles at the store.  What else?  OMG.  Toilets.

How can we possibly have 30 guests and no bathroom service?  What can we do?  What is the alternative?  Shift to someone else's house?  Organize shuttle runs to McDonalds?  Other?

I checked our main water valve.  Fine.  I next called the City Water Services Department, and found there was a shutdown in our area, that they were recharging it and we should be back up within the hour. Whew.  Crisis averted. 

Then I began thinking...again....

Here is the thought that came to my mind:  What a great country we live in. 

We wake up each morning and think nothing of the fact that we only need to flip a lever in multiple different locations in our house, and we get clean, safe water.  Never even give it a second thought.  Where does America stand on that issue?  I did some research:

- 345 million without clean water in Africa

- 200 million in Asia and Southeast Asia

- 32 million in Latin America

- United States:  0

I found that each year, 3.2 million people die from a "water-related disease".  That concept is so far off the radar in our country that it is shocking.  Something so simple, that we take for granted each and every minute of our lives.  We don't give it a second thought.  At all.

Ok.  Where am I going with this?  Here is my conclusion:  I love this country.  I love the United States.

We are not perfect.  We have problems--lots of them.  Our government is completely broken.  Congress is spending money faster than it is made (out of thin air, seemingly).  Our President has an agenda to destroy the very democratic and Constitutional fabric of our free country. That is pathetic and sad.  Even more pathetic is the fact that the people in America are completely blind to this, and think our government (President) is doing a good job.

But this Thanksgiving morning, I was thankful. I am thanking that we live in safe cities and safe homes. I am thankful that we have the freedom to be who we are and associate with whom we want.  I am thankful that education is a priority.  I am thankful for our criminal law system and our civil justice system.  We are a nation of laws, and a law abiding society.  And there is sooooo much more.  Thursday morning, I realized how good we really do have it here in the US, despite our problems. 

And all that took was a simple flip of a lever in my home......

People are still not wearing seat belts. Why?

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people age 5 – 34. Adult seat belt use is by far the most effective way to keep yourself safe in an accident. Many people are starting to realize how important seat belts really are. In fact, nearly 85% of adults use seat belts in today’s busy driving world. Yet, 1 in 7 drivers will not use a seat belt the next time they drive.

Why?  

Data has shown time over time just how safe someone is in an accident while wearing a seat belt. It should be a no brainer, but still many don’t listen. Nineteen (19) states still have no primary seat belt law. Horrible considering the horrific stories that come from drivers who do not wear seat belts and are involved in accidents.

There should be stricter guidelines for those who don’t wear seatbelts. They save lives, so there should be no reason why you wouldn’t want to wear one. I hear the excuse “well. I am not going to get in an accident”.  Really?  You know that?  You can predict the behavior and attention of EVERY OTHER DRIVER on the road?  I do not have that much faith.  That is why we have something called “defensive driving.”  The best defense is a good offense:  Wear a seat belt!!

In Arizona, front seat occupants are required to wear seat belts.

In additionally, ALL children under the age of 16 are required to be seatbelted, regardless of position in the vehicle.  It is the responsibility of the driver of the vehicle to make sure that the kids are in seat belts or child safety seats.

Remember, children pick up habits from their parents. Do you really want the habit of not wearing a seat belt being passed down to your children?

Related articles

Seatbelts likely to be mandatory on tour buses

Why training is the most important thing for your teen driver

The Pursuit of Excellence.

This guest post was written by Heidi Kelsch, a Senior Paralegal at Zachar Law Firm.

November 3, 2012 is the 20^th Anniversary of the day Chris Zachar was admitted to practice law in the State of Arizona.  Now, I haven’t been around for all 20 of those years, but I have been fortunate enough to call him Boss for the last 15 years.  After getting his feet wet and learning the ropes at another firm, Chris started his own firm in January, 1996.  His goal was simple:  To provide legal services to his clients with the same level of care and concern he would want an attorney to show him, if he had been injured by the negligence of another.  Chris has endeavored to provide excellent service and caring representation to each and every one of his clients since that time. 

When I started working for him in 1997, his son Tommy had just been born.  Chris was over the moon about his son’s birth – but he was still in the office before anyone else.  He worked through lunch most days, and while he always went home to have dinner with his wife and son, he often returned to the office afterwards or worked from home until late in the night.  While I know Chris to be a highly driven, Type A personality, much of what drives him is his desire to provide the best service to his clients.  He takes every phone call he can when he is in the office.  He returns every call he misses.  He responds to every one of the hundreds of emails he gets every day personally.  Always in the back of his mind is the question:  How can we get better at what we do, how can we do more, better, faster? 

Over the past 15 years, Chris’s life has changed in many ways.  He and his wife added two daughters to their family, and their oldest is now in high school.  Chris has been incredibly active in his children’s lives, often coaching their sports teams, and rarely missing a game or a practice.  If the time he spends with his family robs from his time at work, he sacrifices sleep to make it up.  Most mornings I have multiple emails from him by 4:30 a.m.  He’s in the office, working hard, by 5:30 a.m. He still works through lunch most days, and he still comes back to the office or works from home most evenings.  Chris works just as hard now as he did when he first started. 

I used to think that once he reached a certain level of success, his drive would lessen, and he would work maybe just a little less hard.  (At least, I hoped so!)  But so far, none of his success has changed him.  He remains just as committed to providing the best legal services he can to his clients now as he was when he started his firm.  He still gets fired up about new cases, celebrates the smallest settlements as much as the largest, takes on the battles that need to be fought, advocates for the victims who have nowhere else to turn, and when necessary, he sacrifices his fees in order to provide the best result to his clients. Other attorneys might show signs of wear and exhaustion and burnout after 20 years – but not Chris.  He will be as anxious to get up and go to work tomorrow and the next day as he was today, and yesterday, and the day before.  He will be in before any of his staff, and in the back of his mind, he will be pondering the eternal question: How can we get better at what we do?

Can't ever talk to your Attorney? It's time to look elsewhere!

Can't ever talk to your Attorney? Always re-routed to an Assistant?

It's time to look elsewhere!

FACTS: You are involved in a personal injury claim matter.  You hire an attorney, and maybe get to speak to him/her in an initial meeting. Since then, you never hear from your attorney.  All communications get routed to an office assistant. No matter what you do, the only voice you hear (if you hear one at all) is an assistant’s. 

One word of advice: RUN!

There are many commercials, advertisements and other media resources that many law firms use that claim they help “protect your rights” and help you recover when you have been injured due to another’s negligence.

In a wreck, need a check?

One call, that’s all!

Lower fees—it’s about time!

But what happens when you actually call one of these firms and only speak with a legal assistant, but never an actual attorney. Is this a good sign?  What do you do when you repeatedly ask to speak with your attorney, but are denied. Can you trust the person you are talking to? 

If your attorney is too busy to get on the phone when you call, too busy to return your calls or too busy to ever meet with you, he/she is probably too busy to work your case.  Is that the type of attorney you are looking for, one who is going to leave it to assistants who probably have no more (and maybe less) education than you do?  I thought you called the “law firm” to speak with a professional who is educated in the law?  Is it good enough then that the professionals are too busy for you?

These kinds of concerns are real. These types of situations happen more often than you might think. If you have ever used the services of a big advertising firm, you probably understand this article very well. 

QUESTION:  Can you do anything about it?

ANSWER:  You bet you can.

You always have the right to seek other counsel for your case.  The ethical rules of Arizona prohibit attorneys from “contracting” with you and “locking you in” to their services.   Fee agreements in personal injury cases should specifically state that if you decide to seek representation elsewhere, you have that right. 

The No. 1 biggest client complaint is “lack of communication”.  Most if not all attorneys know this.  So what do they really think of you or your case, and what should you do if they fail or refuse to meet with you, speak with you or return a phone call or email?

Run.  Don’t walk.  Run...