Smiley Law - February 2019

February 2019

365 Canal Street, Suite 1680, New Orleans, LA 70130 • 504-894-9653 • www.SmileyFirm.com

MEET SAM FURMAN

OUR NEWEST ATTORNEY

This month, our firm would like to introduce one of our newest additions to the team: attorney Sam Furman! A graduate from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, Sam was inducted into The Order of Barristers, a national honorary organization, for excellence in oral advocacy. We were thrilled when he joined our team last year, and we are excited to give him this opportunity to share his story!

about helping people, but the people who need your help need it today . As someone who never wanted to be stuck in a cubicle shuffling paper, this felt like a natural fit. After passing the bar in 2016, I was lucky enough to be given a position at a large personal injury firm. While being accepted into and being able to learn from such a large institution was a great opportunity, the experience was a bit too impersonal for me. When people are injured, they have a lot of questions — most of us never

Thanks, team!

The story of how I came to call the Smiley Law Firm home has as much to do with falling in love with a town as it does with any legal accolades. Growing up in Daytona Beach, Florida, I came to New Orleans in 2008 after being accepted to Tulane University. While I was expecting life to be different here in The Big Easy, I never thought it would be so, well, delicious. I’ll admit it: Florida is not known for its cooking. Coming from the chain- restaurant dominated streets of Daytona to New Orleans was a revelation. I never knew food could taste so good! Exploring everything from well- known local favorites to the innumerable hidden gems found within this town, I knew I’d found the place I wanted to call home. As for my career after graduating Tulane, well, that was still up in the air. For a long time, I had this vague idea that I wanted to become a lawyer. I didn’t have any relatives who were attorneys, but I always found the law and politics to be interesting and knew I was good at verbal debate. More than anything, I wanted to help people. Going through my undergraduate years, I wasn’t convinced that becoming a lawyer was the best way for me to do that. It didn’t help that one of my professors referred to legal studies as “the dark arts.” After getting my bachelor’s degree, I spent some time working for a rental car company. While I can say this experience did teach me a thing or two about customer service, the main benefit was that it made me realize I wanted to go to law school. I took the LSAT and was accepted to Loyola University. I could continue to live and learn in this wonderful town.

put much thought into what we’re meant to do after the unthinkable happens. I wanted to be there for the people I was representing and do all I could to make this difficult and confusing time a little easier. I just couldn’t do that at a large, high-volume firm. That’s when I found the Smiley Law Firm. Their focus on building real relationships with the people they represent was exactly what I was looking for. The flexibility that comes with being a boutique firm lets us help people more directly. Just recently, we wrapped up a case where we helped a woman whose apartment flooded multiple times, and she had received no assistance from her landlord. It was the kind of case most large firms wouldn’t even look at, but we took it on to help this woman, and it made a world of difference to her. When I’m not at the firm, you can find me around the dog-friendly parks that make up the Crescent City, walking my goldendoodle “Tchoup.” And of course, I’m always searching out the next great spot for authentic New Orleans cuisine. I really recommend checking out Coquette on Magazine and Washington. All in all, I’m happy to have found a firm that shares my ideals of the responsibility lawyers have to help people in need. That I found such a place in a city I love is the icing on the cake.

–Sam Furman

While studying law, I began to gravitate toward the personal injury (PI) field. Unlike a lot of civil-practice areas, PI is always in motion. Not only is it

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3 TIPS TO PREVENT RAISING A PICKY EATER

When you’re trying to feed your child, keep them healthy, and prevent them from becoming one of those weird adults with the stunted palate of a 2-year-old, it may feel like you’re faced with an uphill climb. Research shows that fussy eating may be as linked to genetics as it is to upbringing, not to mention the tangle of other psychosocial factors that can fuel a child’s inscrutable food preferences.

That said, there are ways to help your child foster a healthy relationship with food and encourage them to be adventurous eaters.

their nutrients, but it causes more problems than it’s worth. It just reinforces your child’s perception that the green beans are the “bad” food they have to choke down before getting to the good stuff. 3. Make a variety of dishes. The more monotonous your nightly menu is, the fewer new foods your child will be exposed to, and the harder it will become to introduce healthy newcomers to the table. If your kids like green beans, great, but don’t start serving green beans with every meal just because you know those are the only veggies they’ll eat. Keep it varied and fun, and your kid’s palate will follow. You shouldn’t force your kid to eat food they don’t want to eat, but you shouldn’t cater too closely to their fussy habits either. Present them with a wide variety of the healthy options you want them to eat, and let them discover the joys of taste and texture as they grow.

1. Keep your expectations in check. When a child first encounters a new food, they’re going to give it the side-eye. That’s natural. In fact, according to a 2003 study, it may take as many as 12 “exposures” to a new food for it to become familiar, much less something they want to eat. If you put too much pressure on them to eat every last bit of the new food, that particular food won’t fare well in their memories and you’ll have to fight those negative associations from then on. Instead, talk about the new food as you’re preparing it, involve your child in the preparation, and have them check it out on their own terms. Normalizing those Brussels sprouts is half the battle. 2. Avoid turning vegetables into chores. You might think that offering your child a reward in return for finishing their green beans is a good way to make sure your child gets

A REAL DISPLAY OF LOVE VALENTINE’S DAY ISN’T JUST ABOUT THE CHOCOLATES

With the winter holidays now seeming like a fleeting memory and the spoils of spring still lingering out of touch, it’s the season of love — or at least, it better be if you want to keep your partner happy. Yet as we get older and further away from the playgrounds of our youth, times change, accidents happen, and heart-shaped valentines don’t quite carry the same spark as they used to. This is especially true if your loved one is spending their special day of affection recovering from an injury. The truth is that chocolates aren’t going to do them a lot of good. Perhaps the greatest and most adult way to express your love to those you care about who have been injured this season is to refer them to your friends at Smiley Law Firm. No matter who’s at fault, being in an accident of any capacity is scary, but being injured by another party’s negligence can bring an onset of emotions that are not easily settled. Confusion, fear, anxiety, and mental pain — your muscles and joints aren’t the only things that bear the brunt of injury when you find yourself in need after an incident. Your cries for justice do not have to go unheard.

There can be no better expression of compassion than offering someone peace of mind, and that’s just what we aim to do here. We promise to work tirelessly to seek justice in your case and see to it that you are afforded the proper financial and mental compensation to account for your costly medical treatments and therapies. Nobody should be alone on Valentine’s Day, and no one should have to feel alone in a legal battle. The heart can heal, but the body may take a little work.

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DYSARTHRIA IN CAR ACCIDENT VICTIMS Knowing the Signs Can Stop Them in Their Tracks

The worst effects of a car accident can linger after the impact is over. Long after the initial hospital visit, repairs, citations, or criminal charges, a condition called dysarthria can sneak up on you. Stemming from a brain injury that may have gone undiagnosed, you might not even realize that you’re showing symptoms of the affliction. The injury mainly manifests in speech patterns, causing the affected individual to have difficulty articulating their words. It all comes down to an innate spell of muscle weakness — thus affecting the proper functions of muscles in our throats and faces. By better understanding the symptoms, you will be able to get the disorder diagnosed and treated as early as possible. Intuitively, the best way for early detection is to pay close attention to the speech of a loved one who was recently involved in an accident. One of the main factors is slow speech. If the person in question is taking longer than usual to form sentences, drawing out their words, or otherwise speaking at a slightly different pace than those around them, that could be a sign. Another symptom is slurred speech. Does the person sound like they have been drinking even though they haven’t? This could be directly correlated to the onset of dysarthria. On the same thread, being frequently misunderstood by others could be a way to self-diagnose the issue. If those around you tend to have trouble comprehending your words for long periods of time, it may be time to see a physician.

During your visit, it’s important to let a doctor know right away that you’ve been involved in a car accident and are worried about a possible injury to your nervous system or brain. If a physician has a better idea of what is happening and you or a loved one is able to fully explain your symptoms, you’ll be that much closer to getting the treatment you need. In the event that you’ve been diagnosed with dysarthria, contact your trusted attorneys at Smiley Law Firm. We promise to fight tirelessly to bring your case to light and will do our best to get you compensation for your pain and all the emotional turmoil it brings.

VALENTINE’S DAY COOKIE CARDS

TAKE A BREAK

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour • 3/4 cup sugar • 1/4 teaspoon salt • 2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

• 2 large egg yolks • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract • Royal icing, sprinkles, and edible markers, for decorating

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375 F. 2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour with sugar and salt. Add butter and combine using a mixer at low speed, until butter breaks down into small, crumbly pieces. Increase mixing speed to medium and mix until butter and flour clump. 3. Add egg yolks and vanilla extract to bowl, return mixer to low, and mix until dough congeals. 4. Carefully roll dough into a sheet 1/16-inch thick and cut into 4x6-inch cards. 5. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, bake cookie cards for 6 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. 6. Let cookies cool completely, decorate, and distribute.

Inspired by Food & Wine magazine

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365 Canal Street, Suite 1680 New Orleans, LA 70130 Phone: 504-894-9653 Fax: 866-761-8934 www.SmileyFirm.com OPEN: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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Meet Sam Furman

How to Raise Adventurous Eaters Show Your Loved Ones How Much They Matter Understanding the Symptoms of Dysarthria Valentine’s Day Cookie Cards

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3 Myths About Our Favorite Furry Meteorologist

WHAT DO YOU REALLY KNOW ABOUT GROUNDHOG DAY? 3 MYTHS ABOUT OUR FAVORITE FURRY METEOROLOGIST

Despite the fact that most, if not all, meteorologists place little value on a furry marmot’s ability to predict an early spring, the annual tradition of Groundhog Day is still one that millions of people love to celebrate. Because it is based more on folkloric legend than scientific evidence, Groundhog Day is associated with shams and spoofs of varying degrees. There are many myths regarding the tradition as well as the famous Punxsutawney Phil himself. Myth 1: The predictions are accurate. Many event-goers put a lot of faith in Punxsutawney Phil’s predictions. Unfortunately, he is more likely to be wrong than right. According to studies based on Phil’s predictions and the weather patterns that follow, it seems Phil’s predictions receive an accuracy rate of only 39 percent. Myth 2: Groundhog Day is harmless. Much like humans, most groundhogs don’t like being suddenly jostled out of their sleep. Their frustration often leads to them biting their handlers. For this reason, the handlers usually wear heavy gloves to protect themselves. However, that isn’t always enough of a precaution

to ensure everyone’s safety. In 2009, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was bitten through his glove, and subsequent Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped his groundhog in 2014. Myth 3: Phil is the only famous rodent. While Phil is probably the most well-known ground-dwelling meteorologist, he is not the only groundhog with weather predicting abilities. For example, General Beauregard Lee is the weather predictor for the city of Lilburn, Georgia. Staten Island Chuck takes care of the New York territory, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has three groundhogs of its own, which is probably due to its rich Pennsylvania Dutch history. Canada has even started a Groundhog Day tradition with Shubenacadie Sam in Nova Scotia and Balzac Billy in Alberta. Even though Groundhog Day is a holiday based on many myths, it still provides a great time for event-goers all across the world. You might not be able to fully trust Phil’s predictions, but the superstition and mystique associated with this unique and festive day make it one you shouldn’t skip out on.

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