Michael Howard Wolf Law Firm

“I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply ALL my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.” This line from Og Mandino’s “The Greatest Salesman of the World” emphasizes that life is but a business arena. You meet people, you gain, you lose, you prosper, and you fail. In order for one to make it big, he must equip himself with the three “BEs”: BE reliable, BE confident and BE brave. Like life, these three BEs are essential in making it in business development. An individual’s triumph depends on how he or she masks their persona with the winner’s advantage all over the pressing competition. In the world of business, you must lay all your cards out on the table and demand them be seen as a fifty-two card royal flush! BE RELIABLE Reliability is the foundation of trust. If you’re an unreliable individual, how can anybody trust you to deliver the goods? Reliability can be found in many ways. For many, the psychology of “popular name sells” still rings true. Sure, the name everybody knows will most likely win out. Starbucks will continue to sell subpar coffee and Walmart will continuously surround your neighborhood with stores. But what people often miss is the low level that these enterprises will stop to sometimes to ensure that their bottom-of-the-barrel clientele never leave. McDonalds will tell you you’re loving it, but your local burger joint will earn your love by selling a superior product. They will tell you everything you need to know about the burger they are saying, and they don’t even need a catch-phrase. Eventually, when posed with the choice of a Dollar Menu product or a local, grass-fed cow, the choice may be obvious. But in the end, you want yourself to be treated as the superior product. And when that happens, you will rely on that company for any of your future needs. BE CONFIDENT Any girl will tell you: “It’s all about confidence.” Confidence is full belief in yourself and your abilities to succeed. Being confident in business development is important. Knowing what to do, how to do it and how it works for one’s advantage is a result of confidence. But you are not born with confidence. It is achieved through positive experience and superior work ethic. This can be anything from studying for your next exam to taking the stage at your first stand-up comedy open mic. Confidence is maintaining a good performance even under pressure. Having the knowledge, we use that to learn and practice. Keep in mind, nobody is perfect. Mistakes will be made, failures will occur. However, your ability to conquer these challenges is where true confidence resides. BE BRAVE No, bravery and confidence are very different. Where confidence is the belief in yourself to conquer action, bravery is knowing your limits. A mythical knight is confident he will slay the dragon, but bravery will allow him to concede before the dragon melts his face. In other words, bravery is the consequence of confidence. Bravery will allow you to promote your business like it is the next Tesla to those selling Acuras. Being brave will allow you to be the best person you can be for your customer. A weak business will tell their customers they don’t know the answers. A brave business will seek these answers out at any cost to ensure customer satisfaction. There may not always be a solution to every problem, but bravery will allow you to believe that there is a solution out there and, who knows, you may possibly find it. These three BEs are not only applicable to the world of business development. Try employing them in your every day life and see how far you they will take you. My personal guess, the sky’s the limit.

Let’s be honest, if you are looking for a lawyer, chances are things aren’t going your way at the moment. However, your problem may worsen if you do not pick the right lawyer. Fear not, choosing a lawyer does not have to be added stress. Here are some tips that should take the stress out of finding the right lawyer to fit you. 1. WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT? Much like choosing anything in life, picking the right lawyer comes down to what you want out of the lawyer experience. Take some time to plot out what it is you are exactly looking for in a lawyer. Think about the cost, the personality (lawyers aren’t all dry), the area of expertise, the experience, age. All of these questions can be answered if you just take the time to think about what it is you are looking for when trying to find a lawyer. This should focus your search for finding a lawyer so you can find exactly what you need faster than you thought. 2. WHERE TO LOOK FOR A LAWYER People believe that the right lawyer is the one with the catchiest slogan, the one right before the line about the “free consultation.” While the slogan may draw you in the consultation is time consuming and you are much more valuable than allowing yourself to speak to a lawyer for hours on the day. Truth is, you want to know what you are getting into when it comes to finding a lawyer. No surprises. Sometimes finding a lawyer is just as easy as asking friends or family if they can refer you to a lawyer. Often times the best solution is finding a lawyer through avenues you trust. If this is not the case for you, there are plenty of online outlets to help you find a lawyer. But be weary of online sources. Sometimes these lawyers are mere slogans and nothing more. 3. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A LAWYER Since you’ve already jotted down what you are looking for in a lawyer, it’s time for you to find that special lawyer. This is where you take ideas and put them into action. Find that lawyer with the area of expertise you need. Find that lawyer with the experience. Find that lawyer that has that great personality you’ll WANT to work with. Most importantly, you want to find someone who works FOR you and WITH you. If you do this, the entire lawyer experience will not seem as bad as you thought. If you take these things into consideration I have no doubt that you will have success in finding a great lawyer.

My tip of the day is simple: Love. Your. Lawyer. What do I mean by that? Lawyers are people. I am a person, just like anybody else you have in your life. Lawyers have feelings and emotions just like anybody else you will ever deal with at any point in your life. And the fact is that everybody loves to be loved. So, you need to understand that your lawyer is your best friend in the situation for which you needed lawyers. You need to get along with your lawyer. You need to communicate with your lawyer, which is a two-way street. You need to respond to your lawyer when he needs information from you. You cannot just drop your legal case on a lawyer’s desk and say, “You need take care of it. Let me know when it’s over.” It does not work that way. The lawyer knows the procedures and the processes, but he/she need your help. You are part of the team representing you. So, treat your lawyer with respect, trust what he’s doing. You are always entitled to explanations of what he is doing and why he is doing it and, if you disagree with what he is doing, you discuss it in a mature and understandable way. If you follow these tips, you will find that your legal case will be much less stressful when you are getting along with your lawyer.

There’s an old joke: “Why are divorces so expensive? Because they are worth it.” But humor can only offer so little comfort to the reality of life after divorce. Sure, you are bound to somebody through the mere fact that you woke up next to a body for an elongated duration of time. But the truth is that life after divorce may be the first time you experience independence for the first time in quite a while, which is scary to a very many people. Here are 5 things to keep in mind to put your mind at ease when it comes to life after divorce

During an off-the-cuff interview with Ridin Durty Radio I was asked two very important questions: 1️⃣ Have you ever had a client where you said, “I don’t care who you are or what situation you’re in, I will never ever represent you again.”? 2️⃣ How important to you, as an attorney, is it to know 100% that you’re representing a client who is telling the truth? The fact is that most lawyers wouldn’t dare to answer these questions honestly in a public setting with thousands of listeners, but I had no problem doing it!

So, you have a situation where somebody owes you some amount of money. Let’s assume that the amount of money that this individual owes you is not more than $5,000. Now, you are pacing back and forth, eventually formulating the idea that you are going to sue this individual in order to collect what is owed to you. You say to yourself, “Crap! I need a good lawyer to sue this guy for everything he’s worth!” When you go to speak with the lawyer that you find, the lawyer tells you that his fees for handling this case are going to be TWICE as much as the amount for which you are suing the individual. WHAT?! So, that sounds like a really silly idea, even if you genuinely believe that you can get your attorney fees back in the proceeding, which is usually not the reality. Now the question becomes: what does one do when one is owed some amount of money that is less than $5,000, when lawyers are charging too much, and you’re completely on your own? Well, in Florida, in our court system, the lowest rung of civil court is called Small Claims Court. Small Claims Court has its own set of rules and these particular rules are designed to have these disputes over smaller amounts of money determined in a fast and efficient way. Let me give you some pointers on starting a Small Claims Court case and what to expect throughout the process of Small Claims Court. You can file a Small Claims Court case by filing something called a Statement of Claim. You can find all the necessary documents on your Clerk of Court’s website, and you can also obtain all of the instructions and filing fees on your Clerk of Court’s website. Specifically, in South Florida, there are several branch courts in Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County. Typically, you can use any of these branch courts, probably choosing the one that is most convenient for you, to file your Small Claims Court case and to have it heard at that particular location. When you file your Statement of Claim for your Small Claims Court case, you must serve the Defendant (the person you are suing) with that paperwork so that they receive something called a Notice of Pretrial Conference. A Pretrial Conference is the first proceeding in a Small Claims Court case. You go to court, finding yourself amongst hundreds of people in the courtroom because there are hundreds of Small Claims Court cases every day. The Judge will then call your case, you will walk up and, if the Defendant is present, the Judge will say, “Here are a bunch of our County Court Mediators, so go in a room with them and see if you can settle the case.” Very often, you will find that these Small Claims Court cases get settled during the mediation, which results in minimal cost for your time, minimal cost for your stress, and, as part of whatever mediated settlement you agree to, you can get your cost of filing the action reimbursed. Now, let’s talk about Small Claims Court if you are a corporation. In Florida, corporations cannot represent themselves, but they certainly CAN in Small Claims Court. So, even if it is a corporate debt that is owed to you and you want to address it in Small Claims Court, you are allowed to represent your corporation in this limited fashion. Whether you’re a corporation or an individual, do not be afraid to pursue your rights and do not be afraid to go after money, because taking a matter to Small Claims Court is not a particularly difficult process. The system is designed to streamline Small Claims Court cases and to get you potentially satisfactory results in a short amount of time that is much less expensive.

Imagine this: you discover yourself with some piece of paper in your hand that has a substantial dollar amount and date. What can it be? This is, of course, the universally feared speeding ticket. You then examine it thoroughly, coming to the realization that there are virtually only three options for you. You are free to pay the fine, which can make a dent in your bank account, raise your insurance premiums, and put points on your license, or you can appear in court to plead “not guilty”, or you can elect to attend traffic school. Based on how much over the speed limit you were actually going, it could be in your best interest to meet with a traffic ticket specialist or a lawyer. Traffic Ticket Specialists are those who would help you save the ridiculous amounts of money that you would spend on legal fees and help you handle the matter on your own. Going to court can seem extremely discouraging without a lawyer or if you’re not somebody who is used to the nitty-gritty of speeding tickets. But the great part is that any average citizen only has to research traffic laws that pertain to them and just ensure that they’re well-prepared with all the required material and information that could help them mitigate the citation. It is essential to note that, if you opt for the court appearance, usually, the officer who issued the ticket will be present as a witness. Now, if your plan is to plead guilty to speeding, chances are that it’ll be difficult to convey a good defense. Simply put, pleading guilty to speeding is basically admitting your guilt. However, the worst thing that can possibly happen is that you’ll have to pay the fine (unless, of course, you decide to go completely crazy in court and attack the judge … in which case, the penalty will be much worse). The actual fun part comes during your court appearance when you have the opportunity to explain your reasons for speeding. For example, you can tell the judge that you had to increase your speed because you felt it was necessary to get ahead of all the horrible drivers around. You can also tell the judge that you had to increase your speed because there was a dinosaur chasing you … or you were on copious amount of cocaine … or you had to take a huge shit … or simply that you were trying to race the person next to you. Now, realistically, your defense has a slim chance of actually working (especially if you use those reasons), but it’s imperative that you take every opportunity available. When you bring the issue of your speeding ticket to court, this means that you are completely ready to kick the speeding ticket’s butt. Make sure you bring all your pictures and notes that have to do with the matter (leave those selfies at home). Be prepared to act as your own witness and spill the beans about every single thing that happened when you got the speeding ticket. Additionally, it can go a long way if you express how much time and effort you have invested into your defense. Please note that the information I’m giving you is only intended as INFORMATION (not legal advice). This means that, just because I’m giving you this information, it does not mean that your speeding ticket will get dismissed. You could still be left with paying the fine … But you’ll feel really cool because you got to be your own lawyer for a day.

Today, I want to talk to you a little about resolving your disputes as opposed to litigating your disputes. What truly makes a good lawyer is knowing how to be a great negotiator, a great resolver, and knowing how to change people over to his or her way of thinking. I have plenty of clients who come in, wanting a lawyer who is going to go right into the court, do a plethora of powerful gestures, and use every big and nasty legal term in the dictionary. These clients feel like they want their lawyer to completely subdue the opposition. Now, that is all well and good, and certainly wonderful to watch on television, but, in reality, when you are faced with a lawsuit, a criminal case, or any other legal matter, the first thing you always want to explore is a potential resolution. This will limit your downside, which is what you want to do, especially in business. The way to do this is not to have some impartial third-party, like a judge or a six-person jury, determine the fate of your case when you always have the ability to resolve it yourself in a way that you feel comfortable with. One of the favorite sayings of our team here at Michael Howard Wolf Law Firm is, “A good settlement is worth more than a bad lawsuit, and a bad settlement is worth more than a good lawsuit.” The reasons for this are because litigation causes stress, costs a lot of money, and it takes a great amount of your time. So, what you want to do is you always want to try to resolve your issues in the most inexpensive way, in the fastest way, and in a manner that is the least stressful for you. I can assure you that going to court is always stressful. The bottom line is, when you go to talk to a lawyer to discuss your case, you should always talk about the possible ways that you are willing to resolve the case without too much time, expense, and stress.

Gaming Law in Florida can encompass both regulated and unregulated gaming facilities. Regulated facilities include pari-mutuels (horse racing, Jai alai, and, until recently, dog racing). Pari-mutuel facilities in Miami-Dade County and Broward County can operate slot machines and card rooms, under the support of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (FDBPR). The Indians’ facilities are not regulated but are constrained by a “compact” between the state of Florida and the tribes. All Indian facilities are locally owned by the Indians under Federal Law, and, as such, are not subject to state laws, other than those they choose to follow. Under federal law, the Indians can offer gaming otherwise legal in the state. For example, state law allows pari-mutuels to operate slot machines. Likewise, charitable bingo is authorized by the Florida Statute, though it is lawful for the Indians to offer bingo. Unregulated gaming facilities are sometimes described as “grey-area gaming”, meaning that these unregulated facilities operate in a grey area as for the legality of their operations. The law has worked to the point, now that it has been made clear by the Florida Legislative, what type of “amusements” are permissible. Prior to 2013, Florida had an “arcade amusement” law, which had been enacted in 1984 to allow for amusement centers like Chuck E Cheese and Dave and Busters (CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE!). These facilities operate games where a player can collect points on a ticket, which can be exchanged for merchandise. Prior to 2013, the requirement was that the machines had to be subject to an application of skill. Redemption was limited to 75 cents on any game played, and redemption had to be with merchandise, not cash. The “grey area” term reflected the various interpretations by law enforcement officials and the courts. The language was definitely open to interpretation. Because the properties, vending companies, and gaming software manufacturers had great imaginations, new forms of “grey area” gaming cropped up. The most noteworthy form was the sweepstakes concept. This business operated as an internet café, terminology typically used for a place of business where people can purchase internet time along with refreshments. However, the new internet café concept was one where a person could purchase internet time and receive sweepstakes entries based on the amount of his or her internet time purchase. The sweepstakes entries could then be opened by playing slot-like games. The fact that somebody could determine the result of sweepstakes entries, whereas use of the slot-like games was the trick which was used to claim that the activity fell within the purview of Florida Games Promotion Statute, which allowed sweepstakes in connection with sale of consumer products and services. As usual, however, the concept was expanded to the point where these internet cafes were considered mini casinos. In 2013, an organization called Allied Veterans owned at least 60 sweepstakes rooms across the state. The organization, its officers, and its attorney were charged with crimes ranging from possession of illegal game machines to operating a gambling house to conspiracy to violate Florida Gambling Crimes Chapter. Because of these allegations, the Florida Legislative overhauled Florida’s amusement games laws by outlawing sweepstakes and moving the arcade amusement laws out of the Gambling Crimes Chapter. They created the Florida Family Amusement Law, which defines amusement devices, provides the rules for redemption, and classifies different types of machines, which may be used lawfully. Despite this new legislation in 2015, Sweepstakes, arcades, and other forms of grey area gambling have remained.