Litigation

So yesterday was a milestone in my career: my first "trial" since becoming a lawyer. ("trial" is in quotes because the hearing was limited to damages in a landlord/tenant dispute)

To clarify, I am not a landlord/tenant lawyer -- I mostly represent banks, trustees, hospitals in the context of financings and restructurings. What that really means is that I work with a team of lawyers to get big loans done or go after companies that owe a ton of money to a bank and won't/can't repay. The key phrase in the above paragraph is "team of lawyers." I always work with other attorneys but I am honestly good at what I do considering the level of experience that I have and enjoy it too. Feel free to check out my official bio.

I have been thinking about whether I would like to focus more on litigation in my career over the past couple of months. As a result, I was encouraged to take on a probono case. In June, I did so and did it all by myself (of course, I did ask for advice from other lawyers but it was really my baby). I must say that I felt like the best result would be to settle the claims since it wouldn't force me to get out of my comfort zone if it would end up in a good result for my clients.

Well, the other side didn't cooperate with our demands, so we had a hearing. I have not been so stressed in a LONG time. Monday and Tuesday were downright miserable. I had no appetite, felt nauseated, had a lot of dry heaving, headaches, etc. -- all while trying to prepare. However, when I was finally before the judge, I forgot to be afraid and got through the hearing. It was not perfect and I have a lot of things to improve but I did show that the Plaintiff lied (or "misremembered") and the story my clients told was credible. I thought that the judge made a fair decision and my clients received a fair result. I don't think it would have been possible for that result without a lot of people encouraging me, teaching me the law and giving me moral and spiritual support.

This morning I feel awesome!  I got a good night's rest, ate breakfast, and found out that I lost 3 pounds due to the stress. I also helped a probono client get a good result in a difficult situation. Life is good and God is good.

.....maybe I will be a litigator.

I amended a dress!

I got this lovely dress from Target last summer. It was a spaghetti strap deep-V maxi dress that I usually wore with a cardigan. It's not really my style to wear spaghetti strap clothing without any cover up but I felt like my cardigans ruined the line/effect of the dress. I decided that I would add sleeves and raise the neckline and here are the results! The cloth matches perfectly because the dress was a little long and I cut off about 4 inches from the bottom of the dress and used that for the sleeves and the ruffles. I'm pretty impressed with the results considering my very limited sewing skills. I did manage to break a needle on my sewing machine in the process though- but now I know how to install a new one!

flowers from the garden

I recently bought some floral foam from DollarTree (best store ever) and wanted to try it out. These pictures aren't the greatest, but they are all I have. I so love that we have tons of flowers despite my lack of gardening abilities :)

Happy Friday!!

Design

If I had to choose someone to redesign our home, it would be Candice Olson. She's amazing.

iPhone 4 Review

Quick Review:

The Good:

• It's fun to use and a lot easier to read than my blackberry.
• I had an iPod before but never used it but now I do use the iPod function.
• I really like the camera but haven't figured out how to add more than one picture to an email (slightly annoying).
• I use the camera as a mirror more times than I'm willing to admit
• I love the scanning app which lets you compare prices while shopping
• The predictive text ability is quite impressive
• Love the voice recognition -- I use it to call people and also to search google
• Free case
• Seeing texts on a locked screen.

The BAD:

• Terrible Proximity Sensor: I have seriously considered returning my phone because of this one issue. It is absolutely ridiculous. My face will mute my microphone, put people on hold, call other people, get to an email, and other really random things with such regularitly, I am afraid of using it for business purposes at all. If I had any idea how terrible it would be, I wouldn't have gotten this phone. Oddly enough, Wayne hasn't had much issue with this. There is no fix for this problem as of yet. I have gotten a new phone, upgraded my OS and talked to multiple Apple service representatives. The last call I had with them, they admitted that they have not fixed the problem and are trying to figure out a fix shortly. Of course, to get that truth out of them, I had to go through Apple service's first line of defense who said that I could get a new phone since the OS update didn't fix my problem but she couldnt' guarantee that the proximity sensor issue would be fixed. At which point I was like, wait a brand new phone with the most recent OS and you still can't guarantee that you've fixed the problem? That means you  haven't fixed the problem. She, though supernice, couldn't understand my conclusion. Luckily, I got to talk to a "Senior Advisor" who told me, as I suspected, that a new phone won't make any difference at all and I should save my time and wait for another update. I really really wish that Apple would just post this on their website somewhere so that I wouldn't have to waste 30 minutes of my life trying to extract the answer out of two Apple Advisers.
• Steve Jobs being cranky about the iPhone antennae issue (I didn't have any problems with this)

The So-so:

• Email is easy and intuitive EXCEPT I haven't figured out how to search my gmail inbox. Very annoying
• Apple Service people: The first line of defense employees are supernice but unable to solve any problems. They have a guideline book and they only say what's in that book -- it seems like they are actually unable to think of more creative or helpful responses even if it may be obvious. However, the Senior Advisors are also supernice and usually give you helpful advice, so no complaints from me about Senior Advisors.
• It drops calls but I do get service at home (unlike my Sprint phone)

Conclusion: If you think you have a shiny ear or hold your phone funny (I haven't heard about a fool proof way to do it "right" and even so, after paying $200 bucks for a phone, you should be able to hold it in a way that is natural to you), THEN get an iPhone 4.

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas....

Inside of the invitation
with raised (thermography) printing

    After my wedding, my head was swimming with ideas on how to make a living off of creative expression in addition to practicing law. One of my favorite projects from our wedding was designing our wedding invitations (pictured). I must have designed 4 or 5 "concepts" before we finally settled on this one. After the wedding craziness, I still have the crafting bug but I leaned toward sewing and other similar handmade crafts. In fact, I am about to start to (re)learn how to crochet/knit.

    My dad would sometimes muse about pursuing a side business but I never expected that I would ever really want to have a creative outlet that paid anything. Now, I have tried my hand at a lot of artsy things that I can barely keep track of the opportunities!
   
   Of course, my major limiting factor is time....and a sneaky suspicion that pops up in the back of my mind that I'm not truly the "artsy" type.

    One thing I am determined to do is write a little something about the many many ways to get a ton of bang for your buck without sacrificing style and elegance for important events in life, like weddings =). In fact, I will be featuring a friend's wedding that we recently hosted at our home for less than $1000. It's awesome if I do say so myself =).

The "jacket" was from Michael's

Happy Birthday Wayne!!

Today is my wonderful husband's 28th birthday! I am so blessed to have such a kind, smart and talented man by my side each and every day. I thank God every day for him and pray that he has a great day!!!
Love,
Bindu

(p.s. doesn't he look great in a suit?)

"All Joy and No Fun"

Article at the The New Yorker about parenting.  Wayne and I have had great conversations about parenting with Joe and Sheila, so this is a shout out to them as well  ---- serious issues to consider before having kids.

And just so you don't get too depressed, I was at lunch with a client who is about 50 years old and has two kids under the age of 10. Unsolicited, he told me that it was the best thing he has ever done in life.

Like many things (such as marriage), great results and relationships require hard work and sacrifice. I think parenting is no different.

Mindy has some perceptive commentss on the topic as well on her blog.

Wedding rehearsal for Zheng Yi and Xiao Ping!

 This is getting real.

Keys of Thriving (Not Just Surviving!)

Keys of Thriving (Not Just Surviving!)

The link above provides context and attributes credit where its due, but here's the substance (with some edits by me):

1. “Life is going to get better after…” This is just not true. Life doesn’t get any better [or easier] after you finish your degree or start your job, it only changes. Note: it is particularly important to keep in mind the growing complexity of commitments/responsibilities with family, friends, community, church, workplace, professional societies. … [edit by ABL: In fact, now more than ever before, I find it extremely difficult to balance these commitments and have deep relationships with people]

2.We must feed upon the Word of God. We need to learn how to live between Genesis and Revelation. As Jesus answered the tempter, by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, “It is written, ‘Man doesn’t live only on bread. He also lives on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ “ (Matthew 4:4, NIV). Do not forget as you treat your patients or provide legal advice [translate to your vocation/profession] that although the creation is broken, God created it all good. Furthermore, part of our mission as members of the Kingdom of God is to restore the creation. And one day God will bring full restoration in a new heaven and new earth. [edit by ABL: At church this week, the speaker said that the Bible is "God preaching" -- it's worth it to listen to his sermons regularly]

3. Dwell in the wisdom literature, i.e., Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. Why? Because in school you’ll get a lot of knowledge, but you’ll not engage with wisdom directly. Soak up the poetry, songs. A lot of life is vanity. Don’t take yourself so seriously. It’s important to keep yourself in perspective.

4. Be troubled by the account of the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-30). Why? Because being rich is a mixed blessing. The more you have, the more trouble you have. And having everything doesn’t make you happy. [edit by ABL: Amen]

5. In summary, the two things necessary to thrive in school and after graduation: read/query the Word of God AND have fellowship with the people of God no matter the work load. If you can’t do the two above, then quit school. Don’t become narrow and seek accolades. Before moving for your job, make sure there is a good match with a local congregation. Don’t focus on making money, limit your hours to be involved with community, church, family. Take time to interact with your patients (translate to your vocation/profession). [edit by ABL: when going through the Match process, significant weight was placed on the support system we would receive in different locations]

6. Jesus came to give life and give it abundantly, not just to survive. Without a relationship with the Creator, you don’t know who you are.

Best Books for Undergrads

Stephanie Macek had a recent buzz that led me to the Emerging Scholars blog and I encourage people to check it out. One recent post set forth a set of books recommended to undergrad students -- I've read some but not all of them. In case anyone was looking for some light summer reading, click here for the link. Personally, I would like to read the books in the first category "Spiritual Formation" -- I've read (and reviewed here) The Pursuit of God by Tozer earlier and thought it was pretty amazing.

On an  unrelated note -- I am now 27 years old! For the next ten days or so, I will be the same age as Wayne =). Then he will get OLD ;p.  I am probably one of the most blessed 27 year olds --  a wonderful husband, a loving family, an interesting job and a God who makes the world go round and cares for me. What more could I ask for? Oddly enough, recently when I do ask for more -- God generously provides  (that's another post).

Pediatric Specialists

Interesting op-ed about the need for pediatric specialists at the New York Times.

Wordle & Malachi

66 Clouds A project using Wordle

Here's the book of Malachi:

How will you measure your life?

Great Harvard business blog article by Professor Clay Christensen, click here

His blog/talk deals with some basic questions that people in professional careers often encounter:

First, how can I be sure that I’ll be happy in my career? Second, how can I be sure that my relationships with my spouse and my family become an enduring source of happiness? Third, how can I be sure I’ll stay out of jail?

Quote

Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.
Mother Teresa