Richard Law

My father, Richard Law, has died, but we celebrate his life!  Those of us who recently gathered at the hospital for many days and then the funeral home represent a ‘blended family’ of lineal descendants, adopted children, and step-family.  It has been amazing to experience the common expression of love and care from each one for each other.

My father gave each of us the treasure of unconditional love.  When Dad smiled at you, you knew that he loved you just the way that you were, and he never thought about how to “fix” you.  There were many times during Dad’s chemotherapy-induced illness that I marveled at his great and caring attitude.  I would often say to myself, “Rick, try to be more like Dad!”

My dad taught me how to live as a caring—and thus successful—person. He lived out many of the rules of success that have come to be my life standards.  Richard Law lived and died loving others and being loved right back.  That is a successful life!

Seven Rules for Life:

1. Dad Law made sure that I learned this one: the Golden Rule, here quoted from The Message Bible—  “Jesus said, ‘Here is a simple rule of behavior. Think about what you want from other people, then, grab the initiative and do that for them!  All of the Law and the Prophets hang on that.’”
2. Dad Law taught me, “Don’t do anything that you would not like to see on the front page of the Chicago Tribune.”
3. Dad Law showed me that “Integrity is doing what you promised to do, even when the circumstances have changed and you really don’t want to do it anymore.”
4. Ignore whatever comes before the ‘but’ in a sentence.  It does not matter how many words precede the ‘but”;  what someone really believes and will act upon follows the ‘but’.
5. Hire people who have demonstrated a success-pattern—e.g., when they got their first job at McDonald’s, did they rise to “Fry Chief”?  How people behaved in the past is an imperfect but helpful guide to how they will act in the future.  I cannot train people to have either initiative or integrity; they either have it or they don’t.  (My dear friend Jessica Bannister is a living example of this rule.  She is a model of initiative and integrity!)
6. Give winners a mission-goal, then get out of their way.  Nonetheless, you cannot expect what you don’t inspect!  (I also learned this one from my capable brother-in-law, Inno Okoye.)
7. You get the behavior that you reward.  When you experience negative behavior with your spouse, kids, and/or employees, check to see if you are actually the cause.  Many times, our leadership flaws create rewards that lead others to act badly to get our attention.

Good-bye Dad!  I pledge to live and love more like you!

Diana Law

Law Elder Law is very proud to announce that our very own Diana Law has just become the youngest member of the Leading Lawyers Network here in Illinois!  The Leading Lawyers Network is a prestigious group to be a part of because the only way to become a member is to be nominated by your peers.  Even once you are nominated you aren’t actually accepted until you have been reviewed by a number of your peers.

“Leading Lawyers Network surveys lawyers, asking them which of their peers, indeed their competitors, they would recommend to a family member or friend if they could not take a case within their area of law or geographic region.”  (from the Leading Lawyers Website)

In fact, the Leading Lawyers Network takes only 5% or less of all the attorneys in Illinois.  We are proud to have TWO of our Law Elder Law attorneys be a part of this group, as Diana’s dad Rick Law is also a member of the Leading Lawyers Network.

Of course, it’s no surprise to us that Diana was nominated.  In addition to being involved in the Kane County Bar Association and giving her time in many other service organizations, Diana is known for her focused and caring service to her clients.

As for Diana, she’s pleased with the membership in part because she hopes it will be beneficial in dealing with the practical aspects of her job, which is namely ensuring that the elderly of our community receive the advice and protection they need.  Many clients come in feeling overwhelmed and scared, not even having known they needed an elder law attorney until the last minute.  Diana hopes she will be able to reach more seniors and their families this way.

When asked what Diana likes most about elder law, she answered “I enjoy providing more than just legal services. In fact some days I feel more like a social worker. We get and give lots of hugs! I like that I can develop close relationships with my clients during a crisis time of life; I’m helping them when I know they need it most.”

Congratulations Diana!

To read the full article from Leading Lawyers Network click here: Leading Lawyers Article

Will Rogers once said, “We can’t all be heroes. Some of us get to stand on the curb and clap as they go by.”

I am proud to say that our client Richard Reimer is an American hero.  He served his country in the United States Navy between 1943 and 1946 in the Pacific Theater during World War II.  One of the great blessings of our elder law practice is assisting our wartime veterans with VA long term care benefits.  Richard and his wife Virginia live at Alden of Waterford.  They are provided live-in care by a beloved caregiver named Jean.

Despite age-related obstacles, Richard (“Dick” to his longtime friends) joined 79 other veterans and 70 volunteers for the April 15, 2009 Chicago to Washington, D.C. Honor Flight.  Honor Flight’s noble objective is “bringing Chicago veterans to DC – with honor.”  Their goal is to get our surviving World War II veterans to Washington so they can experience “their memorial.”

Dick told me that he knows that this memorial belongs to the people. He got involved early, and he personally wrote twenty checks over the years to help fund the project.  He showed me his donor certificate.

As a member of the April Honor Flight, Dick was thrilled to hear again the music of the Andrews Sisters as presented by the Legacy Girls.  What a day he had! It was 23 hours from start to stop.  He got to the assembly area at 2:00 a.m. and did not stop until he got back home at 12:01 a.m. the next morning. Although it was a gray, rain-filled day, Dick visited the World War II memorial and the Illinois pillar.  Each state has a pillar with veterans’ names available via a computer monitor built into the pillar.

Richard Reimer at the WWII Memorial in Washington D.C.

Dick was accompanied by his proud daughter, Susan Reimer, R.N.  Susan served the Honor Flight as a volunteer nurse and had to pay her own way.

Susan Reimer with her father Richard

One of the great things about the day was the veteran group was meeted, feted, and greeted at both ends of the flight by bands, cheering crowds, and lots of love.  When I asked Dick to describe what he felt was the most important thing about the Honor Flight, he responded with this: “I am just grateful that after 60 years someone cared.  You know, the first group of guys that got home [from the war]—they they got cheers and bands, but the rest of us… just came home. After the war, I left Hawaii on a liner to go to Treasure Island in California.  Then I took a train from California to Chicago.  From there I went to Great Lakes Naval Station.  At Great Lakes I got discharged.  They gave me the cash they owed me and some car fare and I went home to Elgin.  That was it.”

So after 60+ years, Honor Flight of Chicago is providing a way for our World War II veterans who “just came home” to be treated to the welcome that they truly deserve.

The Honor Flight needs both funds and volunteers to help more veterans to have their chance to see the World War II Memorial.  Our own Rick Niksic, who serves as the education and outreach director for Law ElderLaw, will serve as a volunteer on the Wednesday, July 15, 2009 flight.

For more information about how you can help the Honor Flight program, see www.honorflightchicago.org or e-mail Mary Pettinato at mpettinato@introncorp.com.

P.S.  It costs about $48,000 per flight to cover the entire cost for 80 veterans from Chicago to Washington, D.C.

Shawn Hunt before and after

Almost three years ago, when I first met Shawn Hunt, I had to look him in the eyes and tell him that his pre-employment handwriting analysis revealed that he had early diabetes symptoms.

Now, I am proud to introduce you to a healthy Shawn who successfully serves Law ElderLaw, LLP as both an intake paralegal and our super-creative graphics designer.   During the time that he has been with us, he has dedicated himself to the oh-so-difficult change to a healthier lifestyle.

This is how Shawn told me his story:

“Three years ago, our company insurance agent at Law ElderLaw told me that I had been denied health coverage. I was devastated!  My health issues were due to a genetic predisposition and my weight.  I tipped the scale at nearly 400 pounds, and it was taking a serious toll on my health.  I would get random bouts of numbness in my hands and feet and sometimes climbing stairs felt more like I was mounting an expedition to the Mount Everest’s summit.  I knew that change had to happen, as my life was in jeopardy.

I started my transformation changes at 397 pounds with a size 48 pants.  The first week of dieting was pretty tough, as cravings and temptations seemed to abound—but I ended week one with a 16 pound loss. Wow!  ‘This isn’t too hard,’ I thought—but soon my weight loss crept to a halt.  Then I knew that diet alone would not be enough and that I would have to add exercise and weight training.

Once I started lifting weights and running, I started to gain more energy every day. Cutting out pop and replacing it with water also helped greatly.  My meal plans were drastically overhauled.  I vowed that I wouldn’t put another dollar through a drive-through window for a long while.

My body started to change and fat slowly gave way to muscle.  I started to drop pant sizes quickly.  I put myself on a strict diet consisting of six small meals a day roughly the size of my palm.  Maintaining the routine and schedule of eating like this wasn’t all that easy, but I seemed to be able to manage it.  I cut out most fried foods, all junk food, pop, and red meat.  I replaced these things with fish and chicken, vegetables, fresh juice, oatmeal, vitamins, and many other healthy choices.  I grew to love them over time.

I have lost 115 pounds of scaled weight and gained a large amount of muscle.  I have gone from a 48” to a 38” waist.  My health has been greatly improved, and my overall sense of well being has been restored.  I really can’t put into words the feeling of accomplishment that I feel right now.  This has been one of my greatest challenges and also one of my greatest victories.  Don’t get me wrong, I know that  I’m not done—but now I look forward to the rest of the journey!”

Shawn is not doing anything magical. He is following the time-tested path of healthy eating and consistent exercise.  All of us at Law ElderLaw are happy to see him looking good!  He even went tent-camping in the woods last weekend and came back peppy.  Congratulations, Shawn!