A Less Shiny Year in Review

‘Tis the season for law firms far and wide to shout from the rooftops that they have had the most successful, most productive, most award-winning year ever. And next year is set to be even more amazing. After all, isn’t that what you want out of the law firm and attorney you want to work with? For them to be the best firm ever? And only have good things happen?

We could write that blog post. We could include all the lawyer awards and designations that we consistently receive each year, talk about how business is booming, talk about all the seminars and publications we’ve completed, etc. etc.

The problem is, it totally misrepresents what it’s like to run a law firm based on elder law, special needs planning, and estate planning matters. And in a way, it does a disservice to our clients who do not feel like all is calm, all is bright.

In the interest of New Year’s resolutions for honesty and transparency, let’s talk about the things that were not wonderfully amazing in our legal practice this year.

Let’s jump right into the muck. This year we dealt with a lot of elder abuse cases. More than should exist. We worked to remove bad actors as powers of attorney, and we helped obtain adult-at-risk injunctions, and we even helped prevent elders from being kidnapped (it happens more than you think). We were successful at those things in terms of “winning the case”, yes. Would we call that an overall success? Turns out, there’s no way to undo someone being neglected or emotionally abused after the abuse has already taken place. Even if you can prove money was stolen, often there’s no way to get it back. The idea of turning back the clock would be the most successful outcome, and it’s simply not possible. You win the case, and you’re still disappointed.

We also spent a lot of time arguing over things we shouldn’t have had to argue about in the first place. It’s one thing to know how all the Medicaid laws work and what should happen when an application is submitted. It’s an entirely different thing when the application is then ignored, when paperwork is “lost,” when correspondence goes unanswered and eventually a perfectly acceptable Medicaid application is rejected for no valid reason. We’d venture most Medicaid attorneys will confirm, that is just how this year has been. Now, have we eventually obtained the correct outcomes? Yes. Have we even sometimes gotten our fees paid by the state for the unnecessary delays? Also, yes. But the stress on our clients having to wait for months just to confirm that their nursing home bill will be paid? Not wonderful. The time it takes for us to argue about things that should never be at issue? Not amazing.

The other thing is, working in this area of the law is so often just … difficult. Some problems don’t have a legal answer. You draft an estate plan for a client, you develop an attorney/client relationship where you hear all their hopes and dreams for their families and loved ones, and then they pass away out of nowhere, and you are charged with helping their families move forward. Some of these clients are your own family or friends or colleagues. Some clients, again sometimes your family and friends, come to see you because they have just been diagnosed with terrible things like dementia or cancer or whatever you can dream up. And you can’t unload that knowledge on anyone else due to ethical rules. Some clients are caregivers and no matter what they do, they cannot find the quality caregiving assistance they need to get a break from a very demanding and very thankless role. Many of your clients would rather be anywhere in the world than an attorney’s office. Attorneys by nature like to control things, and there are so, so many things we cannot control.  

Now, here’s the flip side of all of this. We really like the work we do. Really. It is hard in so many ways, but we enjoy our clients very much. We love the challenge of finding a solution for a seemingly un-solvable problem. Like everyone else in the world, we like winning when possible. And, we are honored when we are chosen to help guide clients through the most difficult situations in their lives, even if the outcomes are not always what we would like them to be.

We do experience some unqualified successes, not only in the office and in court, but also in our volunteer roles that we take very seriously. And not all of our cases are full of strife and stress. And sometimes, we get rewarded for the work we do. In fact, for all her commitments to community, mentoring, and encouraging other women, this year Atty. Wessels was awarded the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Notorious Servant Award by the Wisconsin Civil Justice Education Foundation. (Carol does not brag about herself often, so now you know who is writing this blog post. It’s hardly a lawyer blog post if someone isn’t bragging about something.)

In conclusion, it has been a year of decided triumphs and decided difficulties in our little law office. For many of our clients, the holiday season and the promise of a new year does not necessarily equate with happiness and new beginnings. However, we remain optimistic and serious about continuing to grow as excellent advocates and counselors for our current and future clients in the upcoming year and beyond.

Therefore, without any adverbs or adjectives whatsoever, we will simply say: “It’s been a year.”

See you in the New Year.