By David Daggett on 10/29/2007 7:07 AM

     How often do you consider all of the hazards we face in our daily walks of life?  With Halloween coming up this week it is probably a good time to review some of the risks we often face but don’t always think about.  I was doing a little research on accidental injuries and deaths in the United States and was shocked by some of the statistics. For example, according to the National Safety Council’s (NCA) most recent statistics your odds of dying from other than a natural cause is one in twenty-two! 

     According to the statistics, accidental injuries and death are on the rise. There are many reasons including are increasing complicated and crowded society. But, it also seems that maybe we just don’t pay as much attention to the risks we face; or, perhaps even the converse - that is since we don’t pay enough attention we face higher risks.

     Perhaps predictably, injuries and deaths from automobile wrecks occur with the highest frequency. But I was surprised to learn that deaths from poisoning rank second in frequency in North Carolina. Other major risk areas include falls, choking, fires, smoke and suffocation. I wonder how many of us actually think about or prepare for these sorts of risks?

     For example, the NCA research indicates that most Americans worry more about random acts of violence than about any sort of accident even though the odds of an accident are much higher. Further, we are actually more capable of and have more control of managing accidental risks yet most of us don’t actively do so.

     Many causes of accidental injury and death are preventable. Please join us helping our families and friends be aware of the every day risks and dangers we face. We can all work for a safer today, and a better tomorrow. Thank you for your help.

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By David Daggett on 10/22/2007 6:49 AM

     Completion

     Completion - that seems to be a goal in helping people who have been wrongfully injured, hurt at work, or who are disabled. This past week I competed in the Hawaii Ironman World Triathlon Championship. My article on the race and other links are here. The theme for this year’s event was "Kupau," Hawaiian for "Completion."

     The photo above is The Place of Refuge dating back to at least the 1500's. It was a spiritual place, a place for royalty, a place of safety, and a place where Kupau is obtained.

     In ancient Hawaii there was a sort of rite of passage in obtaining Kupau. It included demonstrating the seven traits of knowledge, understanding, wisdom, strength, inspiration, authority, and endurance. To me an interesting part of Kupau is that part of obtaining completion is the understanding that the journey regarding these traits continues. Most of us probably tend to think of completion as being an end, not a journey.

     Learning about Kupau had me reflecting a lot about what we do as a team at Lewis & Daggett. Certainly part of our culture of learning incorporates traits similar to the seven traits of Kupau. They are sort of common traits or areas of study for most major religions and philosophies throughout history. It would take a book or two to cover these subjects!

     Understanding that completion is part of the journey seems strikingly similar to what our clients and we frequently experience. The cases conclude, many times very favorably, and yet many times the injury, loss, or disability continues well beyond completion of the case. This is one reason why the continuing relationships are so important to us.

     I plan to continue to further reflect on the seven traits of Kupau, as well as to further understand that part of completion is understanding that the journey continues. Thanks for joining us.

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By David Daggett on 10/14/2007 8:15 PM

     Inclusiveness

     We have previously discussed our weekly firm meetings, and the learning opportunities they present. Last week we had a guest speaker, Dr. Ben Reese, Vice President for Institutional Equity at Duke University. He was a charming presenter with a welcoming disposition. He helped us, as a team, to further recognize the need to continually work toward continually improving communication and interaction.

(Dr. Benjamin D. Reese, Jr.)

     Part of the Lewis & Daggett strategic plan includes internal growth and development in order to better serve our clients, and also to makes us all better people along the way. We strive to become better individually and collectively.

     Dr. Reese brought up many issues in addition to the obvious that become barriers to communication and acceptance. These included discussing areas that define each of us as individuals, including age, cultural background, gender, geographic residence, race, family, marital status, disability, occupation, religion, etc. He taught us how all of these areas are all very complex and multifaceted.

     At our firm, we work with and tend to represent broad ranges of people with many differences. In fact, many of our clients have been stereotyped. this applies to folks wrongfully injured, hurt at work, and disabled. many times we have to work on behalf of our clients to overcome preconceived perceptions in order to adequately pursue fair legal results.

     We have a deep belief in and strive for inclusiveness on an ongoing basis. So, we have to be conscious of differences both internally and among our clients and continually strive to make This effort aligns with our business goals as well as our long history of helping people.

     We are committed to continually work toward more and better inclusiveness both internally and externally. Certainly we all have room to grow and develop. We hope you will join us in this life long pursuit in learning respect for others.

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By David Daggett on 10/8/2007 1:19 AM

     Momentun Shift

     Last weekend we were at a law school event and got to chatting with a Federal Judge and his wife. The topic quickly shifted to Wake Forest football. The Judge and I are both big Wake Forest fans, and after last year’s stellar season culminating with the Orange Bowl our hopes were high for this year. However, the Deacons got off to a bit of a tough start with a 1 - 2 record.

     Things weren’t looking too good in Wake Forest’s last home game against Maryland. But, it turned out to be a thriller to the last second when our beloved Deacons pulled it out in overtime. Wow - I’m sure glad we stayed ‘til the end!

     This game was really interesting because Wake was way behind 24 - 3 with one minute left in the third quarter, and Maryland was getting ready to score again! But, the Deacons intercepted a pass and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown - the longest in the history of the school. You could immediately feel what the Judge and I dubbed as the "Momentum Shift."

     As we further discussed the "shift" the conversation then turned again. It turned to how the same principle applies in what we do professionally. "Momentum Shift" is exactly we try to do for our clients when they have been wrongfully injured, hurt at work, disabled, or has their land taken.

     The other side is usually bigger and more powerful, so our clients need help on their side. That is where we come in and apply our knowledge, understanding, work, and experience. We try to put the law on their side in order to do what is right, just, and fair. We are proud that our team at Lewis & Daggett takes this obligation so seriously.

     We hope the Wake Forest can use the "Momentum Shift" as the season continues. At the same time, our pledge is to always try to give a momentum shift to those who need our help.

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By David Daggett on 10/1/2007 7:54 AM

     Collective Impact!

     Several of us here at the office were meeting with some clients at the end of a long case. It got us thinking about our previous article on teamwork, and just what does that really mean. I reread the article and parts of it seemed to need further discussion. So I thought I would spend a few moments to discussing what I will call our "Collective Impact."

(Photo from the 2007 L & D Family Cookout)

     Remember, we of course are a law firm, and lawyers have egos. So, working well together may not always seem like the easiest thing to do. It seems more and more rare these days to have a group of folks who can put their own egos aside in order to better achieve a collective result. Don’t get me wrong, we have plenty of egos around here. But, it is admirable that our folks seem to be able to put that aside when needed in order to best serve our clients.

     When speaking of collective impact we refer to a number of different areas including collective work effort, collective intelligence, collective integrity, and collective results. We believe that one of the areas in which we excel is our combining of talents to be better in these areas than any of us could be alone.

     Collective effort encompasses all of the things we do together as a team to make the office work and flow efficiently. This includes case work, client services, and general office workings and responsibilities. It is simply amazing all of the little things that get done around the office by, what I believe, is the best administrative support staff around.

     Collective intelligence is all of us coming together with unique abilities and knowledge and combining them in a way that best solves problems for and ultimately serves our clients. Areas of knowledge would include investigation, clients services, medical information, insurance issues, negotiation, medical accounts management, processing, strategy, litigation, and firm management. Whew, there is a lot to know here!

     Collective integrity is sort of a hallmark of our firm. Mike Lewis "preached" to me from day one that we do what is ethically, legally and morally right to advocate for our clients, and instilled the deep belief in that character and honor in our firm. We are proud of that.

     Collective results refers to our philosophy of comradery in working together to obtain results. This encompasses the combination of all of the above traits in order to make us as good as we can be. Obviously this is something we have to consciously continue to work on daily.

     Lastly, we have a passion for what we do and have fun doing it. We work hard and admittedly have some tough days, but we are always on the same team, work together, and try to do the best we can. We trust this commitment to each other becomes evident in our work and serving our clients.

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