I have mentioned before waiting on lawyers to get back to me and my general struggle against the concept of beach time. I am, by nature, not a patient person. I like things to get done and I get frustrated that the world does not run on my schedule. Some of this I got from my father. I will never forget the time he tried to send me to Staples at 7:00 AM and I told him I couldn’t do it. He got so angry thinking I was backtalking him in the office, but when he asked why and I told them because they open at 10:00 he laughed with everyone else.
Yesterday I was frustrated and fed up with these lawyers. I wanted things done. Getting the business re-incorporated is the last hurdle to the bright future. It is the move that will allow other moves to happen. It will let the process begin of turning fortunes around, and it depends on people that are not myself.
But yesterday I heard back from the lawyer I originally contacted all while being ignored by a new firm. At times I have questioned how lawyers make money not accepting any of this business coming their way. Here I am just looking to give them money but it is near impossible to get them to talk to me. I once walked out of a tire place because no one was there to serve me. I left a note saying something to the effect of, “I was trying to give you money.” One of my business adages is when someone wants to give you money, take it.
We like to work with people that share our values and apparently very few lawyers value communication and punctuality. Anyway I finally heard back from the original lawyer after attempting to contact a different firm and being ignored by them as well. I responded to the original lawyer and that afternoon his assistant sent me an e-mail for the letter of engagement. However in her email she asked for my mother’s email so she could sign the document. In the original consultation I informed the attorney that my mother did not have an e-mail, but that I had a power of attorney. I e-mailed him the 38 page power of attorney pdf along with the signature page confirming this would let me sign this letter. This sent me into an absolute rage.
After feeling unwanted, ignored, ghosted, and neglected I was finally getting to the part where things would happen, and what happened? They seemed to forget a key point that was made in the consultation phone call. It set me off, and here is where the web of anger comes into place.
I was infuriated, but what could I do. I wanted to write a 1 star Google review but they might get back to me again after I informed them that we discussed this already and I didn’t want to anger them. At the end of the day I need this done and upsetting the person farthest along in the process felt unwise. I did the only thing I could think of. I called the other law firm again. I was a little short with the receptionist when she asked who I wanted to speak with and I said, “Whoever is available.” I then asked for the lawyer that did the closings for the company, and got an answering machine. I left a message in case the original lawyer went back to ignoring me after the snark I put in my reply.
However they got back to me with the engagement letter and a bill. I got that done and now that I am officially a client maybe things will speed up or I will learn a lesson from this episode. I realized afterwards that my anger did me no good. I was angry at a situation I had no control over and my efforts to take control only made me feel more trapped. I was struggling against the web of anger. There is no control. The only thing to do is to not be in the web. That’s why the best response to anger is often to walk away. If there is nothing you can do about a situation. Leave. It isn’t going to resolve the issue, but neither is struggling against forces beyond your control.
It doesn’t sound like I have much gratitude today, but I am grateful for this realization, and hopefully the next time a situation makes me feel isolated and powerless I have the strength of will to walk away instead of struggling for control in a situation where none is to be had.
David Huzzard Writes 