Malloy Law Offices, LLC - January 2021

Malloy Law Offices, LLC - January 2021

Malloy Monthly

MALLOY LAW OFFICES, LLC

Alexandria 5680 King Centre Dr. #600 Alexandria, VA 22315 (703) 337-3328 Bethesda 7910 Woodmont Ave. #1250 Bethesda, MD 20814 (202) 999-3898

Clinton 9135 Piscataway Rd. #215 Clinton, MD 20735 (301) 889-9950 Baltimore 400 E Pratt St., 8th Flr. Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 498-6085

January 2021

Adapting toThrive OUR OFFICE STAYS FLEXIBLE IN TRYING TIMES

Adaptation doesn’t always come easy, but when faced with a year like 2020, what choice do you have? As I look forward to 2021, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Malloy Law Offices, LLC hadn’t stayed open-minded and flexible during the last 12 months. We’re not in the business of predicting the future, but I know if we keep that attitude going forward, we’re certain to find the silver lining in even the darkest of clouds. Certainly, our office culture changed. With schools shutting down, we found ways to accommodate our team, whether that meant having kids doing school work here at the office or a more flexible schedule for the parents in our office. Then, when it became apparent that we couldn’t have clients come to us as often as before, we had to adapt. As much as we miss face-to-face meetings with clients in our offices, conferencing over the phone or via Zoom worked just fine. In fact, I think that for many clients, it was more convenient. Best of all, we were still doing the job right while also keeping people safe. On the other hand, doing business online isn’t for everyone — and we heard from a number of our clients that they didn’t want to fill out forms online or receive documents via email. I understand that completely, and our team came up with several solutions, like sending out packets using the Postal Service. The documents arrive at your house, you fill them out, and send them right back to us. It adds a few days to the process, but we were able to factor that time into our scheduling. However you want us to handle your case, don’t hesitate to ask to do your business by regular mail or electronically!

Adaptation meant adjusting to the changes in the judicial system as well. As courts shut down or limited their hours and the cases they were hearing, we found ourselves doing things online that we had never done before. Again, there’s a lot to be said for doing depositions and hearings in person. But when those moved online, we had no choice but to accommodate. To our surprise, we found the new way of doing things more efficient in many ways than it had been before — with a serious reduction in travel and per-diem expenses. It’s yet another silver lining to otherwise dark times. Moving into 2021, I suspect that even as we return to “normal,” many of the changes made in 2020 are here to stay. I don’t mean mask-wearing or avoiding public spaces, of course — with vaccines rolling out and more on the way, we just need to

keep being safe until the vaccines can do their work. No, I’m talking about things like online depositions, or the “business by post” practice I mentioned earlier. As a society we've faced strong behavioral changes, and some of those alterations are for the best. I can’t wait to start meeting more clients in person again, but if someone would prefer to conference by phone, what’s wrong with that? But the most important practice to continue will be adaptability itself. I can’t think of a better business practice to adopt. Having an open mind while working with clients and our team members to find new ways to succeed was a winning recipe in 2020. Here’s to doing the same thing in 2021.

—Seann P. Malloy

(202) 933-7277 • 1

Medical Malpractice • Premises Liability • Motor Vehicle Accidents • Wrongful Death

INGREDIENTS OF OUR SUCCESS The practice of law really is a team effort — or, in our case, a multiteam effort! Malloy Law Offices, LLC is broken down into different groups of people, each working hard on a part of your case. These teams are the separate ingredients in our winning recipe, and we wanted to start 2021 by showing you how it all works. When you bring a case to us, odds are good you’re going to first talk with our Intake Coordinators . Many of the people our coordinators talk to every day are in pain, scared, confused, or frustrated, and they understand where those emotions come from. They’ll get your contact information and the basic facts of your case. After that, the intake team will make sure you end up in the right hands for the kind of case you have. Our Case Managers are masters of organization. Their job is to keep track of all the moving parts that make up a personal injury case: court dates, case files, client information, communications with insurance companies, opposing counsel, the court, and more. Their knowledge of case information is

Is Deep Focus the Secret to Success? How to Find Your Flow in 2021

Have you ever started working on an important project and looked up at the clock after what felt like minutes only to find that hours had passed? If you have, you’ve probably experienced “flow state,” aka the Holy Grail of concentration and achievement. WHAT IS A FLOW STATE? Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes a flow state as a "focus that, once it becomes intense, leads to a sense of ecstasy, a sense of clarity: you know exactly what you want to do from one moment to the other; you get immediate feedback.” That sounds complex, but you can also think of flow as being “in the zone.” And it might be the key to achieving your New Year's goals. That’s because a flow state almost always coincides with tackling a difficult task, and when you’re in a flow state, even the most challenging things feel relatively easy. WHY ARE HIGH ACHIEVERS OBSESSED WITH FLOW? Flow state doesn’t only happen for people with desk jobs. You can get it while running, playing chess, dancing, or climbing a mountain, and it’s considered the Holy Grail because it has a host of benefits. According to the meditation app Headspace, those perks include heightened focus (goodbye, distractions!), a sense of clarity, feelings of happiness and pleasure, and the impression that all obstacles ahead of you have disappeared. That makes accomplishing your goals feel like less of a struggle. It's no wonder high-achieving hobbyists, workers, and creatives crave the feeling! HOW CAN YOU GET IN A FLOW? Usually, a flow state isn’t planned — it just happens. In a BBC article, author Steven Kotler describes flow as “a happy accident.” But he also notes that we can make ourselves “more accident-prone.” To set yourself up for a flow state, find a quiet place to work and choose an activity that’s difficult but meaningful for you. Ideally, it should be something you’ve already put work into perfecting. If you’ve never tried painting before, you probably won’t find flow on your first attempt, but an experienced painter could achieve it while mastering a new technique. Some people claim that being in a flow state is a form of meditation and that learning how to meditate can help you reach it. To that end, apps like Headspace and Evenflow (for iPhones only) are great places to start! Before you know it, you’ll be finding the flow like a pro.

encyclopedic and almost spooky — some of them can recall settlement details about cases from years ago off the top of their heads, down to the dollar amount.

Scan to read this month's featured blog post!

Take a Break

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Medical Malpractice • Premises Liability •

Just this past October, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to what can only be described as one the world’s goodest boys — a dog named Foxtrot, known also to his Instagram followers (of which there are nearly 7,000) as humanitarian_pup. While Foxtrot wasn’t responsible for improvements to auction theory (like Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson, who won the Nobel Prize for economics) or for a standout career in writing poetry (like Louise Glück, who won the Nobel Prize for literature), this incredible canine shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the World Food Programme (WFP) for their work in combating world hunger. As the organization’s official mascot, Foxtrot shared in the win with the thousands of other WFP workers worldwide. Foxtrot lives in Bangladesh (one of the most densely populated countries in the world) at a WFP outpost that works to supply one of the world’s largest refugee camps. According to an NPR article that spotlighted Foxtrot and the efforts made by his WFP humans, they worked not only to get food to refugees but also to flatten hillsides to make room for shelters for Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar. WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME WINS NOBEL PRIZE WITH CANINE HELP Man's Best Friend:

Everybody knows there are attorneys at a law firm, and they and our paralegals make up a Legal Team that is truly in a league of its own. It’s a lot of work, and while some of it does involve going to court in front of a judge, it isn’t always that glamorous. Our Legal Team isn’t scared of late nights, early mornings, or mile-high filings — because they know at the end of it all, justice waits for our deserving clients. Our Marketing Team believes that injured people shouldn’t have to struggle to find good attorneys. They also spread word of our successes and make sure we’re following all regulations for legal advertising. They do this via digital and real-world marketing, social media, and other forms of communication — including the newsletter you’re reading right now! Last but certainly not least is our Operations Team , because you can’t have a law office without an actual office! They handle all the details of running a business, from managing the office space to communicating with accountants. Needless to say, they have their fingers in a lot of pots at once, and they do a great job of it. We’re grateful and proud of each of our teams. Without them, we’d be lost — but with them, we have a recipe for success in our cases and an awesome environment to work in. Thank you to all of them! MALLOY LAW’S TEAMS, BROKEN DOWN

Slow Cooker Chicken Casserole

Inspired by GoodHousekeeping.com

Foxtrot himself became part of the effort to combat world hunger during a WFP beach cleanup in his home country. Workers found him as a 4-week-old pup, and after failing to locate his owners, took him in as one of their own. For the past two years, Foxtrot has helped however he can to further the WFP’s efforts to end hunger in Bangladesh. This usually includes accompanying his humans while they work, wearing an adorable custom-made WFP cape, and taking to Instagram to raise awareness about how anyone can join in the WFP’s mission.

Ingredients • 8 chicken thighs or drumsticks, lightly salted • 1 tbsp olive oil • 1 tbsp all-purpose flour • 1 onion, finely sliced • 2 celery sticks, thickly sliced • 2 carrots, thickly sliced • 1 leek, thickly sliced • 1 lb potatoes, peeled and cut in large chunks • 2 garlic cloves, sliced • 14 oz chicken stock • 1 sprig rosemary • Finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

Directions 1. In a large frying pan, heat oil and fry salted chicken on high until brown. 2. Transfer chicken to the slow cooker. Add flour and stir. 3. In the frying pan on

high heat, fry the onion, celery, carrots, leeks, and potatoes until lightly browned. Add garlic and fry for 30 seconds.

4. Transfer vegetables to the slow cooker and add the stock, rosemary, and lemon zest. 5. Cook on high for 2.5–3 hours or until chicken is tender. 6. Check seasoning and add lemon juice to taste. Top with parsley before serving.

After learning that he and his humans had won the Nobel Peace Prize, Foxtrot didn’t waste the

opportunity to share his excitement with his followers. “Woweee,” the pup said. “I … think it would be even more amazing if we didn’t need any peace prizes because peace was the status quo in our world.”

If Foxtrot and his humans keep up the good work that won them the Nobel Peace Prize, it seems like that status quo could be within reach.

(202) 933-7277 • 3

• Motor Vehicle Accidents • Wrongful Death

MALLOY LAW OFFICES, LLC

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7910 Woodmont Ave. #1250 Bethesda, MD 20814 (202) 933-7277 • www.malloy-law.com

InsideThis Issue

1

We’re Adapting to Thrive

2

How to Find Your Flow in 2021

2

Do You Know Our Teams?

3

Man's Best Friend

3

Slow Cooker Chicken Casserole

4

What if We Can’t Help You?

Published by Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com

‘We Can’t Help— but We’ll Find Someone Who Can!’

people who claim to do everything, in our experience, that rarely works out. We’d rather be like Hawkeye from "M.A.S.H.": “I do one thing, I do it well, and I move on to the next thing!” In our case, we’ve chosen to focus on personal injury cases, such as car accidents, medical malpractice, and more. It takes a lot of work to stay competent in those kinds of law, and we put in that work every day. However, it doesn't mean that we're able to handle every single person's case that we receive in a daily basis. Some of those people are our clients with multifaceted legal issues that involve personal injury as well as other areas of practice. Other times, those people are just looking for help, calling a law office they’ve heard they can trust. No matter who’s doing the asking, our response is the same: We'll find someone who can help them. As an established law firm in our region, Malloy Law has many

contacts in the legal industry. We’ve been around long enough to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. We’ll refer the person to someone who can help — say, someone who practices the kind of law they need — but just as important, we’ll refer them to someone we trust . And that’s why we want you to call us, even if you think we can’t help. When you ask us for a referral, it demonstrates trust, and we’d never jeopardize that trust. You can be sure that the person we tell you to talk to is the same person we’d go to if we had the same problem ourselves. Ultimately, attorneys are problem-solvers. If you bring us a problem, we’re going to solve it. But if that problem isn’t a personal injury case, that doesn’t mean we can’t help. We can always help — especially if that means leading you to find a great attorney who will take care of your legal needs.

Malloy Law Offices, LLC believes we’re here to help our clients — period. But what happens when someone comes to us needing assistance with something we can’t fix? Some people would say that’s just a situation where you have to turn that person away. We disagree completely. You have to understand that the “field” of law is vast — in fact, it’s more like a valley or plain, rather than just one field. Attorneys all have to specialize, and while you’ll find some

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Medical Malpractice • Premises Liability • Motor Vehicle Accidents • Wrongful Death