Today on my way back from handling Spotsylvania reckless driving tickets, I stopped by the McDonald’s drive-through for a quick bite to eat.

I ordered a Big Mac. The drive-through guy did a great job of promoting a $1 drink, so I took one of those too. I grabbed my ordered and headed to my office.

When I opened the bag, I saw a Quarter Pounder box. I opened it thinking, “maybe they ran out of Big Mac boxes.” Nope. It was definitely a Quarter Pounder.

By that time, I was already back at the office well into returning client phone calls. Of course I wasn’t going back to McDonald’s to complain. I was too busy, and besides, I like Quarter Pounders just fine.

Why am I writing about this? Good question.

I didn’t order a Quarter Pounder.

Yep, I should’ve checked the bag when the window attendant handed it to me. But I was in a hurry, so I didn’t. However, the McDonald’s employee should’ve checked too. His entire job is to give the right food to the right car. That’s it. Based on his error, my entire experience wasn’t what I wanted.

This experience got me thinking: am I providing the experience my clients order?

I sure hope so. My goal each and every day is to exceed the expectations my clients and potential clients have. That starts with the little things like returning calls promptly (almost always within one business day) and responding to emails even after hours. Then of course it carries into the courtroom with zealous advocacy to get the best result possible.

The law isn’t like McDonald’s. You can’t just pay for the exact thing you want to happen in court (I wish!), but you certainly should expect your attorney to provide top notch service without ugly surprises.

And here’s the final tidbit I took away from this: McDonald’s doesn’t know they screwed up.

I didn’t go back and tell them they messed up my order, so they have no idea my experience wasn’t perfect. If I ever do wrong by a client or fail to meet any expectations, I hope they tell me. I can only improve with the help of honest feedback.

And now I’d really like a Big Mac.

Photo by rob_rob2001

Originally published at AndrewFlusche.com. © 2012 Andrew Flusche. Ordered a Big Mac, but got a Quarter Pounder

What does it mean to be a traffic and criminal defense lawyer?

My job is to defend you tooth and nail. You are my one and only responsibility. I have to fight as hard as I can to get your case dismissed. PERIOD!

Even if the prosecutor does his job and the ticketing officer does his job, if I can still get your case dismissed, that’s what I do.

The prosecutor and the police have a duty to enforce the laws of the Commonwealth. Their role is to make sure government works. And the prosecutor is supposed to do it ethically and fairly.

The judge has to preside over the case and make sure justice is served.

They have broad duties to all citizens.

My duty is only to you and my other clients. That’s it.

I’m certainly bound by ethics rules that apply to all attorneys. For example, I can’t lie to the court. But if I can get your case dismissed within those ethical lines, that’s my job.

Yes, even if you did what you’re accused of. We’ll still fight to get the case dismissed.

If that’s not possible, I’ll do my best to get the charge reduced to something lesser or to at least minimize the punishment.

You deserve better than an attorney who blindly accepts the standard plea agreement.

You deserve a true defense.

Originally published at AndrewFlusche.com. © 2011 Andrew Flusche. Defending You Tooth and Nail

Last updated – 3/20/11

Virginia’s laws on reckless driving are already complicated. There are fourteen different varieties of this misdemeanor traffic offense. If the General Assembly has it’s way, the laws will continue to grow.

Several bills are pending in the 2011 Virginia General Assembly to alter reckless driving laws. These are just few that caught my attention. I will try to update the status of each bill below as the legislative session continues.

HB 1993 makes it reckless driving to run a stop sign, yield sign, or traffic light AND unintentionally caused serious bodily injury or death.

This bill makes some sense, but it seems repetitive to me. We already have a catch-all rule for reckless driving (46.2-852), which could easily be charged and proven in an instance that the new bill contemplates.

I inadvertently looked at the original version of this bill when I first published this post. I realized that the House Courts of Justice Committee significantly changed the bill to simply make any red light violation reckless driving. That’s a HUGE change in the law.

HB 1993 status:
Passed by the House – 2/5/11
Assigned to the Senate Courts of Justice, Criminal subcommittee – 2/11/11
Passed by indefinitely – 2/16/11

HB 2485 expands the list of places where a driver can be convicted of reckless driving (from 46.2-864) to include any public area open to vehicular traffic. No surprises here, and the bill actually makes a little sense.

HB 2485 status:
Reported from Courts of Justice committee – 2/4/11
Passed by the House – 2/8/11
Assigned to the Senate Courts of Justice, Criminal subcommittee – 2/11/11
Reported from Courts of Justice committee with amendments – 2/16/11
Approved by Governor – 3/18/11

HB 2043 corrects a mistake in the current reckless driving law. 46.2-859 makes it reckless driving to fail to stop for a stopped school bus; however, the statute is missing an “at.” The bill just fixes that critical grammatical error.

HB 2043 status:
Passed by the House – 2/4/11
Referred to the Senate Courts of Justice committee – 2/11/11
Senate constitutional reading dispensed – 2/15/11
Passed Senate with substitute with amendment – 2/16/11
Placed on House calendar – 2/17/11
Signed by Speaker of House and President of Senate – 2/24/11

At least two proposed bills seem to be a reaction to last year’s increased speed limit of 70 mph (only in some places – watch the signs).

HB 2350 simply removes the 80 mph rule for reckless driving. If that bill passed, reckless would only be speeds 20 or more above the posted speed limit. That means 81 in a 70 would just be simple speeding. In a 70 zone, 90 would be reckless driving.

HB 2350 status:
Tabled by the Courts of Justice, Criminal subcommittee – 2/2/11
Left in Courts of Justice – 2/8/11

HB 2322 is a bit more complicated. It changes the 80 mph rule to 90. But the bill also raises the prepayable speeding fine for any speeds over 80 mph to $50 per mile over 80.

If 2322 passes and you get stopped for going 86 in a 70, it would just be a speeding offense. But the fine would be $6/mile up to 80, then $50/mile to 86. Thus, it would be $60 + $300 = $360. At 89 mph, the fine would be $510.

HB 2322 status:
Tabled by the Courts of Justice subcommittee – 2/2/11
Left in Courts of Justice – 2/8/11

Photo by Vipal

Originally published at AndrewFlusche.com. © 2011 Andrew Flusche. Reckless Driving Changes Currently Pending

I was recently interviewed by the Wisconsin Law Journal regarding virtual office services. The journalist, Jane Pribek, produced a great article on the topic.

Virtual services make a lot of sense to me. My law firm operates using the best technology, service, or product for a given need. I don’t pick the most expensive option or the one that is custom-made for attorneys. I pick the option that works well and keeps overhead as low as possible.

In a lot of cases, virtual services are the best choice.

Originally published at AndrewFlusche.com. © 2009 Andrew Flusche. Law Journal Interviews Andrew

I saw the above sign in Firehouse Subs a few weeks ago. Such a simple message, but crucial for any business.

As your lawyer, I strive to do my absolute best every day. All the fancy business cards in the world cannot make up for poor service.

You deserve better. After thinking about whether or not to start my own business, I decided to do so. I want to help you.

The single most important part of my law practice is YOU. Without great clients who value my work, I’m nothing.

Marketing really doesn’t matter. Operations matters.

If I’m ever operating below what you need or expect, please tell me. I want to earn your recommendation based on top notch legal work and dedicated client service.

Originally published at AndrewFlusche.com. © 2009 Andrew Flusche. Operating in the Best Way Possible

A couple weeks ago, I received an interview request from a Wall Street Journal reporter. She found me on a list of attorneys that use Twitter (I’m aflusche).

Yesterday, I was included in a Wall Street Journal article called Twitter Goes Mainstream. It’s a great article that talks about Twitter being used outside the early-adopter crowd of techies. Here is the portion that mentions me:

Other users are flocking to Twitter as an easy self-publishing and promotional tool. People are using it to build up their professional reputation by sharing updates about their work in a less time-intensive way than starting a blog. Andrew Flusche, an attorney in Fredericksburg, Va., recently used Twitter to promote a webinar he was holding on trademark registration. The session got 15 attendees, compared with seven for a subsequent seminar he didn’t promote on the service.

Mr. Flusche, 26, has also found the service handy for referring cases to experts in other areas, as well as keeping up with professional contacts he doesn’t see often. “You get interesting glimpses of them,” he says. “It’s a different way to network with people and get to know them.”

I didn’t receive this interview by doing anything spectacular. I just responded promptly to the reporter’s request. She was on a deadline, and I had the time to call her back.

Help yourself by helping a reporter.

Originally published at AndrewFlusche.com. © 2008 Andrew Flusche. Andrew in the Wall Street Journal

How easily can you talk to your lawyer on the phone? Does an assistant screen your call first? Does he promptly return your voicemails?

I’m sadly disgusted by the way many of my colleagues handle their phones. Actually, failure to return client messages is a prime source of bar complaints against attorneys.

I even have difficulty talking to fellow attorneys on the phone. As I write this, I have messages pending with at least three other attorneys, who haven’t called me back in over two days.

One of my work philosophies is to always be accessible. I answer my own phone; you don’t have to battle your way through a line of call screeners. I return your messages within one business day.

You deserve an attorney who makes you a priority. And you shouldn’t have to wait days to talk to your attorney on the phone. I’m the lawyer you can call.

Photo by shoehorn99

Originally published at AndrewFlusche.com. © 2008 Andrew Flusche. Can You Call Your Lawyer?

I hosted a free law class for entrepreneurs a few weeks ago. The seminar itself went really well.

Now the ABA Journal, a national lawyer magazine, has written a story about the class. It’s in the context of lawyers offering free classes to the community to market their services.

I’m definitely excited to have such great coverage of anything I do. And I strongly believe in giving valuable information to the community. Free educational classes are a win-win for everyone involved. The attendees get to learn about a legal topic, and the lawyer gets to meet lots of new potential clients.

Originally published at AndrewFlusche.com. © 2008 Andrew Flusche. National Lawyer Magazine Writes About Andrew

About a year ago, I wrote about the Google Docs end user license. Basically, I concluded that Google Docs isn’t very safe for confidential information that you want to safeguard.

Now there has been a huge flareup over the Google Chrome terms of service. I was interviewed by a reporter about how the license truly affects users like you. He wrote a comprehensive article that is now online.

If you would like to know more about Google’s Terms of Service, I highly suggest reading the article. Here is what I added to the article:

Andrew Flusche, a Fredericksburg, Virginia, lawyer who focuses on copyright and other issues, questioned how internal Google policy would guarantee protection of the end-users.

“Google’s internal policy can change any time; it’s their policy,” Flusche said. “The only protection users have is what the EULA [end user license agreement] says.”

The user agreement could allow Google to “publish a full-color book of Picasa photos as a promotional product,” he added.

Google is correct when it says many Web sites have similar copyright provisions, he added. “But that doesn’t mean anything,” Flusche said. “The terms are still unfavorable to users; that’s the dynamic of a huge corporation and millions of end-users.”

Photo by manfrys

Originally published at AndrewFlusche.com. © 2008 Andrew Flusche. Andrew Weighs In On Google Terms of Service

I’m a lawyer. But it’s still difficult to explain how I can help specific people. That’s the purpose of an elevator speech, and mine needs some work. Thanks to this great article from FreelanceSwitch, I’m going to refine it right now.

I’m a business lawyer

I actually do more than that, but business is my focus. And most of the people I meet at networking events are business people. Thus, starting off with business law gets their attention with something that they need.

But a good elevator pitch must do more than that. As Freelance Switch explains:

The goal of your elevator speech should be to start a conversation, and get permission to continue it.

So I should continue with a specific problem most business owners face: liability. Can the business be sued? Can creditors come after the business owners? I can answer those questions. More importantly, I can help protect the business and its owners.

I solve business problems

Fundamentally, this is what a business lawyer does. We solve legal problems for business owners. Do you have outstanding accounts to collect? I can pursue those people for you. Do you need assistance negotiating and drafting contracts? Give me a call. I’m your guy for business law.

Do you have a business problem?

One good way to encourage conversation is to ask the other person a question. So asking something if the person has a business problem is a good method for me to see if there’s a need I can fill.

I still need to refine this into a true elevator pitch. But that’s a continual process.

Photo by Piero Sierra

Originally published at AndrewFlusche.com. © 2008 Andrew Flusche. Business Lawyer – My Elevator Pitch