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The United States military is rife with history, tradition and ceremony.  Veterans Day is a day to celebrate the honor of all prior service members who devoted a part of their lives to our country, some sacrificing it all for our freedom.  

Although America’s first war requiring an assembly of military members was the American Revolutionary War from 1775 – 1783, it was not until a year after the end of WWI that Armistice Day was proclaimed by President Wilson because a year prior on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month fighting ceased when an armistice between Allied forces and Germany went into effect.   It was thought the annual anniversaries would be celebrated with parades, public meetings and a brief closure of businesses at 11:00 on November 11^th each year.

On June 4, 1924, the United States Congress passed a resolution including these words:

“Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date (November 11, 1918) should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations; …”  Twenty-seven states had already made Armistice Day a recognized holiday, which was formalized by the Act of 1938.

Since Armistice Day only honored service members from WWI, recognition of veterans serving in WWII and Korea became an interest. Thus, in 1954, Congress amended the Act of 1938 to change the word Armistice to Veterans to honor American Veterans of all wars.  

Lawyers with Purpose and Lawyers for Wartime Veterans thank you for your service and sacrifice to our great nation.

Victoria L. Collier, CELA, Elder Care Attorney, Co-Founder of Lawyers for Wartime Veterans and Lawyers with Purpose, Veteran, author of 47 Secret Veterans Benefits for Seniors and most recent book, Paying for Long Term Care: Financial Help for Wartime Veterans: The VA Aid & Attendance Benefit.  

What is the greatest success you’ve had since joining LWP?

Doing the workshops has been very helpful to us.  The workshops are easy to fill and have been well received.

What is your favorite LWP tool?

The greatest tool is that the tools work together – the Vision Clarifier and Med Qual Worksheet are wonderful tools!

How has being a part of LWP impacted your team and your practice?

Joining LWP has created positive energy and a renewed enthusiasm for the practice of law here at our office.

LWP has been a life saver for our practice.  We were burned out and stressed out after doing litigation for several years.  We have been trying to get into Elder law and Estate Planning.  LWP has given us the systems, support and knowledge we needed to speed up the conversion process.

No.  While the veteran is alive, the claim is the veteran’s.  In cases where the Veteran is over 65 and healthy, but the Veteran’s Spouse is ill, the best that the couple can qualify for is the base pension amount. 

When determining which level of benefit that would be awarded, whether improved pension, housebound, or aid and attendance, the VA will look at the health of the Veteran alone.  The health of the Spouse does not matter.  Assuming a Veteran over 65, the Veteran meets the VA’s initial definition of disabled.  This places the Veteran at the base pension level.  Unless the Veteran has more medical issues, there is no eligibility for housebound or aid and attendance.  Again while the Veteran is alive, the health of the Spouse does not matter at this point. 

But once the initial level is determined and eligibility is established based on the health of the Veteran, the fact that the Spouse resides in an assisted living is relevant for the income eligibility test.  Currently a Veteran and Spouse can receive $1,380 / month in Veteran’s Benefits at the base pension level.  If the Veteran and Spouse’s combined income exceeds this amount, they do not qualify unless their medical expenses outweigh their income. 

It is at this point that the Spouse’s assisted living expenses become relevant because the expenses are used in making the income eligibility determination.  In order for those expenses to be an approved medical expense, the spouse needs to be examined by a doctor and a form 21-2680 must be filled out and turned in along with the application. While the form 21-2680 is entitled “Examination For Housebound Status Or Permanent Need For Regular Aid And Attendance” and is primarily used to establish housebound or aid and attendance if filled out for the veteran, it is used to help verify the spouse’s assisted living costs as a valid medical expense, not turn in a housebound or assisted living claim for the spouse.  Once the medical expense is established, the assisted living costs can then be offset from the Veteran and Spouse’s joint income in order to try to meet the income eligibility test.

Victoria L. Collier, CELA, Elder Care Attorney, Co-Founder of Lawyers for Wartime Veterans and Lawyers with Purpose, Veteran, author of 47 Secret Veterans Benefits for Seniors and most recent book, Paying for Long Term Care: Financial Help for Wartime Veterans: The VA Aid & Attendance Benefit.  

Sitting in the airport restaurant next to the gate for my flight home, I was physically exhausted after two weeks of travel, but mentally I was pumped!  While I was excited to go home to my family, my mind was spinning as I was forced to sit still for some time while waiting for boarding to begin.   

Grabbing a notebook from my bag, I began reflecting and “dumping down” all my takeaways.  I wanted to be sure to capture all the things I knew I needed to work on to “knock it out of the ball park” for the final two months of 2014. 

Below are my top five takeaways after spending a week of legal technical support training, marketing, coaching and team training with our members.  The members and their teams always inspire me so much with their focus and commitment to put their heads down and work hard with their teams to reach the goals they declare on their Money Plans. 

• Two and a half days on Medicaid planning, asset protection, Veteran’s benefits, marketing your practice and every question asked along the way in Practice With Purpose.  Every moment was about the best approach to serving clients in the most effective way, while members added to their growth and understanding of estate & elder law planning.  Case studies were analyzed that probably mirror those sitting on attorney desks awaiting each attorney’s return. 

• The arrival of the members and their teams on Wednesday for our highest attended Tri-Annual Retreat ever.  Attorneys and their teams started to trickle into the hotel and everyone hugged each other.  There were a few handshakes but most were hugs.  The LWP membership is a national group of attorneys and team members who hug when we see each other.  We know each other and grow together.  This warms my heart.

• The breakout sessions.  An entire track each day was dedicated to either (1) technical legal; (2) marketing; or, (3) team development.  Just look at the titles of the sessions:
  • Key Features to the Trust Drafting Software You Need to Know
  • Busting Financial Planner Myths
  • You’ve Defined Roles, Now What?
  • Business Succession Planning
  • Community Presentations & Relations
  • What’s Happening in the Conference Room – The Signing & Funding Meetings
  • Post Death Trust Administration
  • How to Generate Facility Revenue: Getting & Staying in the Door with Nursing Homes
  • Communication Skills 

• Firm Retreats.  We kicked off the firm retreats with each firm sharing a win since the last retreat in Orlando.  The shares were all HUGE in my personal opinion.  A common theme was that they all had more than one thing to share – but since we were limited to one – it was hard to decide which one to share with their mic in hand.  So much building and growing toward the practice of their dreams had happened.

• The Why Coaching Day.  Breakthroughs from The Why Coaching Day were kicked off by Dave with a high level overview of every single conversation we’ve had in the Why program since Day 1, January 29, 2013, just 21 months ago. Going through the activity of “Where were you ten years ago?” to putting down “How you can be now to assure a future and present you love!”  My favorite share came from a team member who said that she’s doubted herself as a “leader” in the firm but now has 100% confidence that she IS and WILL be a leader in the firm – all said with tears in her eyes (and mine too).

It felt as though the focus in the room was completely on point. After being on implementation calls this past week with so many of our members, I know one thing for certain … there is a level of focus and determination among our members I’ve not seen before.  Drive, determination and commitment to “hitting it out of the ball park” for the future was defined for members both personally and professionally. 

I can’t wait for the February 2015 shares in Charlotte. 

Roslyn Drotar – Lawyers With Purpose, Coaching, Consulting & Implementation, Marketing & Social Strategist.

Join our Marketing Roundtable Member Webinar on Friday, November 7th at 12:00 EST.  Roslyn Drotar & Nicole Wipp will be discussing:  

12 Shades of Law Firm Marketing: Master Your Calendar and Dominate Your Market in 2015 With a Comprehensive Marketing Calendar.

• Setting your clear marketing vision.
• Ideas and strategies to master your marketing calendar (make it easy)!
• How to dominate your market in 2015.
• Rounding out your calendar with both retail and wholesale marketing.
• Getting your team on board.

For more information and dial up information, contact Roslyn Drotar at rdrotar@lawyerswithpurpose.com.  

Two of the most common terms we hear used in economics are price and cost. They seem almost interchangeable, but that is not the case. So what exactly is the difference between price and cost?

Cost vs. Price vs. Worth vs. Value is always such a tricky conversation for attorneys to navigate with confidence and ease. Most times when we receive calls from interested attorneys they classically dance around the question of “What does it cost?” Sadly this is well after they asked for a detailed explanation of the worth and value. And why this is so sad is because they were unable to be present during the conversation of worth and value because the daunting price question was looming. No irony why the same entrepreneurs are typically the ones that struggle with inconsistent leads and unpredictable mood quoting of fees in their practices.

So, where am I going with this?

Over the last year you have contacted LWP to hear more what value our membership levels provide and what the pricing structure is. Well, if you’ve ever been seriously interested, now is the time to put pen to paper and weigh the Cost vs Price vs Worth vs Value because effective Monday, October 27^th, our Pricing, Services & Membership models are changing. And I think you will be pleased.

If you have been considering joining the Lawyers with Purpose community please contact me at mhall@lawyerswithpurpose.com to schedule a 15 minute demo to see the upcoming Pricing, Services, & Membership changes and how the changes may impact you!

NOW may be the best time for you to take the leap of faith and join the LWP Community…waiting could possibly cost you.

In your corner,

Molly L. Hall, Co-Founder, Lawyers with Purpose, LLC, and author of Don’t Be a Yes Chick: How to Stop Babysitting Your Boss, Transform Your Job and Work with a Dream Team Without Losing Your Sanity or Your Spirit in the Process.

At LWP we are committed to innovation and continuous improvement. In an effort to augment our services and the value of our membership levels, LWP is excited to announce it has an additional membership level. All membership offerings were specifically designed to serve solo, small and medium sized firms based on their customized needs. Changes are applicable to all NEW memberships beginning on Monday, October 27^th.

If you have been considering joining the Lawyers with Purpose community please contact me at mhall@lawyerswithpurpose.com to schedule a 15 minute demo to see the upcoming pricing, services, & membership changes and how the changes may impact you!

NOW may be the best time for you to take the leap of faith and join the LWP Community…waiting could possibly cost you.

In your corner,

Molly L. Hall, Co-Founder, Lawyers With Purpose

You’re kidding!

The question was raised again this week in CC&I calls about what a time template should look like as far as weekly meetings are concerned.

What we see working for members is a quick twice daily “catch-up” conversation that we commonly refer to as a “Got-A-Minute.”  This isn’t meant to be a sit-down meeting, but almost a quick team huddle, similar to what you’d see on a football field.  Encouraging each team member to keep a legal pad specifically for noting issues or questions to be raised in the “Got-A-Minutes” and creating an office environment where interruptions happen only in extreme emergency, will dramatically improve office productivity.  

Keep in mind that each and every interruption effectively costs the firm 22 minutes of time.

So!  If your office has twice daily 15-20 minute GAMs incorporated into its time template, and they are being religiously observed, how many meetings does a firm need and how can a firm “take care of business” in the most time-efficient way?

Ideally, you would have two additional internal meetings on the weekly time template – a one-hour weekly team meeting, and a one-hour weekly marketing/RMS meeting. 

Everyone attends the weekly team meeting.  And each and every team member reports at the meeting.  This means that roles and responsibilities need to be clearly defined, with clear expectations of which team member is tracking and will report on which aspect of the firm’s business.  For a detailed sample agenda of a weekly team meeting, and the reports that should be covered, please see the recently revised “Sample Weekly Team Meeting Agenda, Tips & Techniques” which can be located on the LWP website by logging into the members section and using the search word “team.” 

Once again, this may mean breaking some old habits, or creating some new ones.  Team members need to hold each other accountable for weekly reporting.  If someone is unavoidably absent, have the meeting anyway.  By observing the suggested “rules” and timeframe, the meeting should run no longer than an hour.

The weekly marketing/RMS meeting should be attended by the attorney(s) and any team member involved in marketing or administering the RMS process.  The “Weekly Marketing Meeting Agenda,” can be found on the LWP website by logging into the members section, and using the search word “marketing,” gives a general outline of what should be covered during this weekly meeting.

Any special project, team training or firm development project would also need to be scheduled, but these should not necessarily be considered “meetings.” Depending upon your firm time template, you may have already reserved time each week to focus on a firm-development related project.

If your reports are not informing your practice and your team is not actively involved in reaching a revenue goal each month, we can help you review how your weekly team meetings should be driving your practice.

If you have questions about your weekly meetings, or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to write me at ncatale@lawyerswithpurpose.com.

Announcing NEW Pricing, Services, & Membership Changes—Effective Monday, October 27^th

At LWP we are committed to innovation and continuous improvement. In an effort to augment our services and the value of our membership levels, LWP is excited to announce changes to our membership levels. All membership offerings were specifically designed to serve solo, small and medium sized firms based on their customized needs. Changes are applicable to all NEW memberships beginning Monday October 27^th. 

If you have been considering joining the Lawyers with Purpose community, please contact mhall@lawyerswithpurpose.com to schedule a 15 minute demo to see the upcoming Pricing, Services, & membership structures prior to October 27th! 

Existing LWP member? Great NEWS, you’re grandfathered in!