Counter Assertion

I always thought about the day when my wife would go into labor, and I would have to put all of the things that I have learned into action. One of which, one that planned out months in advance was the trip to the hospital. You have to take into account the time of day, traffic conditions, road closures and detectors, and the direction of the wind. I would time different routes as I drove to the hospital, where the Lamaze classes were, so I had a good idea of what routes to take and how long each one would be at different times of day. I also studied where all the police like to sit, and avoided those spots. I always thought in my head, that when the day came, we would hop into the car, and drive extremely fast but careful to the hospital, trying not to go through every light, or being chased by the cops, arriving at the hospital just in time, safely and ready for an interesting day ahead. But this is really is not the case. You will need to be on your toes and quick, but there is no need to think about traffic conditions or other possible scenarios, after all, all that should be in your thoughts is the precious and fragile cargo that is in the back of your car.

Still I could not stop wondering what would happen if on m way I would get pulled over, while driving fast to get to the hospital, so I did some looking around. Here is what I found in the net. I found that most officers that pull people over while in labor are very lenient, and will just tell you to slow down. Some of the officers will actually have you follow them to the hospital. There are dozens of stories of the officers actually delivering the baby themselves. For the most part, just be nice to the officer, and when he sees your wife in labor, he will be more than willing to help out any way he can.

Supposing you haven’t grasped gambling house games of luck, do read on.

Most commonly a gambling saloon is a construction that organizes games of chance. Here, guests are invited to game by operating the slot-machines or different pastimes of luck. Betting hall games normally have transparent balances governing them that make sure the gambling hall retains an upper hand against the gamesters.

A large amount of gaming establishment games can get you addicted very swiftly. Let’s meditate on the good old slotmachine, a coin operated machine with three, sometimes more cylinders that orbit once a lever on the side is yanked. The machine normally reimburses in correlation to a succession of pictures displayed on the screen of the instrument. Unfortunately, betting hall games will convey the illusion of being in full control, thereby conning the betting fan - the punter is passed choice, but in reality they cannot realistically level the player’s statistical handicap. That is due to the betting room not paying up the entire wager as expected. This systematic pattern is notoriously seen at work in acclaimed casino games like five card stud poker, dice, roulette or blackjack.

Five card stud is undeniably a highly fashionable casino game. The betting enthusiasts, holding fully concealed hands, place the stakes in a central pot that is finally paid out to the winning punter in possession of the best hand. (Of course, the shameless bluffing hand can win)

Video Poker

Commensurate with poker, blackjack too is an immensely popular casino game. A lavish portion of its approval is grounded in the mix of luck and competence and decision making, as well as a practise titled “counting”. This is a craft by which gaming devotees will significantly change the probabilities of the game to their own gain both by wagering and procedural decisions in correlation to the cards dealt.

“Craps” is another famous gambling hall pastime involving the roll of two dice. Aficionados will make bets on the score of one roll, or on a string of spins on two dice. In contrast to blackjack, there’s absolutely no conceivable sustainable winning system punters can exercise to improve the odds.

Roulette is an insanely popular casino gambling pastime. Here a croupier spins a roulette wheel enclosing a set of thirty seven (applies to French roulette) or, alternatively exactly thirty-eight (applies to American roulette) separately numbered receptacles in which a rolling pellet will eventually come to a stop, which determines the winner and the other chances that will always come with it. Now if a punter bets on a single number which actually is successful, which is to say it’s their lucky day, the promised remuneration will be 35 to one, the original stake proper is paid back. Hence in totality it’s increased by thirty six.

In Florida, DUI or driving under influence of alcohol/drugs or other intoxication substances is a serious offense equivalent to misdemeanor or traffic crime or even felony. A person is said to be under the influence of alcohol if he/she has blood or breath alcohol content of more than 0.08 (grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath). Violators of DWI (driving while intoxicated) laws can be arrested and penalized under the Driving Under the Influence of Alcoholic Beverages, Chemical Substances or Controlled Substances Law s. 316.193, F.S.

A Florida DUI or DWI conviction would mean a permanent criminal record, fine, community service, loss of license, vehicle immobilization, higher insurance rates and may be even imprisonment. Punishments would vary depending upon the number of times the person was convicted under DUI. 2nd, 3rd or 4th convictions attract bigger punishments like permanent disqualification from driving/permanent license revocation, bigger fines and longer jail terms.

Probation can also be given for DUI under Florida State Law s. 316.193 (5)(6), F.S. For a first conviction, the maximum period of probation and incarceration is 1 year. Imprisonment for DUI is mentioned under s. 316.193 (2)(a) 2, 4(b), (6)(j), F.S. For a first conviction, the maximum jail term is 6 months. It is 9 months in case the BAL (blood alcohol levels) crosses 0.20 or if there is a minor in the vehicle. For a second conviction, the maximum term is 9 months. It is 1 year if the BAL (blood alcohol levels) crosses 0.20 or if there is a minor in the vehicle. If the second conviction is within 5 years, there would be a mandatory imprisonment of a minimum of 10 days.

If the third conviction occurs within 10 years, mandatory imprisonment is given for a minimum of 30 days. If the third conviction occurs more than 10 years after the prior conviction, the maximum imprisonment is for 12 months. Fourth or subsequent convictions attract a maximum imprisonment of 5 years or as provided in s.775.084, Florida Statutes.

Florida DUI Attorneys provides detailed information about Florida DUI attorneys, Florida alcohol treatments, Florida DUI and fines, and more. Florida DUI Attorneys is affiliated with Los Angeles County DUI Lawyers.

Every personal injury claim is different and there are no guarantees. Below are rough answers to some questions we hear frequently about personal injury. Further below is a specific FAQ on No-Fault in New York.

Personal Injury FAQ

Q: How much do lawyers charge?

A: For most personal injury claims, there is no fee unless you collect. Most lawyers in New York charge a one-third contingency fee. When the claim is resolved, the lawyer gets reimbursed for expenses out of the award. Next the lawyer takes the one-third fee. For example, if a claim settles for $35,000, and the lawyer has $2000 in expenses, the fee is $11,000 (1/3 of $33,000). The client would get $22,000.

Q: Does the lawyer always pay the expenses up front?

A: Usually, but not always. There are two major situations where we don’t. First, some personal injury claims are not very strong, but we might still be willing to work on a contingency fee basis. In such claims, we will tell the client that they will have to pay the expenses. The other situation is when there is a good offer and the client refuses to accept it against our advice. In these lawsuits we require the client to cover all future expenses.

Q: What are typical expenses in a personal injury lawsuit?

A: In New York personal injury lawsuits, filing fees usually total less than $500. Deposition transcripts also usually total less than $500. The biggest expense is when a lawsuit goes to trial and we have to pay doctors and other experts to testify. We have paid anywhere from $300 to $2500 for a doctor’s testimony, and some doctors charge as much as $5000. Other expenses include process servers, investigations, medical records, and meals.

Q: What is the process?

A: First most lawyers negotiate with the insurance company. If negotiations are unproductive, the lawyer files a lawsuit. For a few months the lawyers exchange paperwork with the insurance company attorneys. Next come depositions, where they question the plaintiff client and the plaintiff lawyer questions theirs. Then the insurance company might have the plaintiff examined by their doctor in what’s known as an IME - Independent Medical Examination. Plaintiff lawyers prefer to call this a Defense Medical Examination. Last is trial. A lawsuit might settle at any point along the way, even while the jury is deliberating.

After a trial the losing side can appeal. Sometimes even the winner can appeal. Cases sometimes settle during the appeal process.

No-Fault FAQ

When you are hurt in an automobile accident in New York State, No-Fault insurance can help with many of your costs. The following frequently asked questions (FAQ) will help you to understand when and how No-Fault pays, what it pays for, and what you have to do.

Q: Am I eligible for No-Fault benefits?

A: You are eligible to receive No-Fault benefits in New York State if:

1. You are injured in an automobile accident;

2. You are a pedestrian struck by a car or motorcycle;

3. You are hurt during the use, operation or maintenance of a motor vehicle unless you are injured in the course of the business of repairing or maintaining a vehicle.

*** Motorcycle drivers and their passengers are not eligible for No-Fault benefits.

Q: What do I do first?

A: Submit your medical expenses and lost wages. Forms for No-Fault and New York State Disability income benefits are provided by the No-Fault carrier (the insurance company that insured the car you were in or struck by at the time of the accident). To begin the process, you have to submit paperwork to that carrier. Failure to file in a timely manner may result in a denial of benefits. We recommend submitting this information as quickly as possible, and we can help with the process.

Q: What information will I need to submit?

A: You will be asked to list all medical providers and facilities that are treating you. The No-Fault carrier will send forms to your doctors. Most will submit their bills directly to the carrier. You should also list your employer(s), and any other related expenses.

Q: What if I go to a new doctor for treatment?

A: Give the new doctor the name and address of the No-Fault carrier so that they too can submit their bills for payment by the carrier. Once your application has been filed, the No-Fault carrier assumes responsibility for the medical bills resulting from the accident.
You must also list your employer on the application for No-Fault benefits so that any lost wages you incur as a result of the accident can be recovered.

Q: What if my child is hurt in an accident?

A: In New York State, if a minor (someone under the age of eighteen) receives medical treatment as a result of an automobile accident, the parent or guardian is legally responsible for those medical bills. Thus, the parent or guardian must forward the minor’s medical bills to the No-Fault insurance carrier, just as they would their own. Again, the No-Fault application must be timely filed, or benefits may be denied.

Q: Besides medical bills, what other costs can I recover through No-Fault?

A: In New York State, you may be reimbursed by the No-Fault carrier for the cost of lost wages, prescriptions, travel expenses for medical treatment, and household help while you are recovering from your injuries - including costs of child care while you visit medical providers. To get reimbursed for these expenses, you must submit them to No-Fault. We recommend submitting expenses immediately.

Albany Lawyer Warren Redlich graduated from Albany Law School in 1994. He also has a Masters degree from Stanford and a BA from Rice. He practices law in Albany, NY, handling personal injury and criminal defense, along with a variety of other litigation.

Getting a divorce is not something anyone looks forward to and it is certainly not something that we plan for when we get married. Unfortunately divorce is a reality for many people in many different situations. If you are getting a divorce or even just considering it then you need to be sure to choose the right divorce lawyer.

You will find many a divorce lawyer in your area but be aware that not all of them are as good as others. You need to have the best divorce lawyer that you can afford when it comes to your divorce. If you don’t you could end up paying much more than you though and I am not talking about the divorce lawyer fees. I am talking settlement or even alimony or palimony. Then there is custody to consider if you have children. So take care with your divorce lawyer choice.

When you are trying to get a divorce your divorce lawyer is going to petition the courts to get your marriage dissolved. This means coming to an agreement in terms of all property and money that you as a couple have had possession of. There are several grounds for divorce and your divorce lawyer will help you to choose the grounds that suit your particular situation the best. You will have the choice of adultery, time apart, unreasonable behavior and sometimes even fraud or irreconcilable differences are the way to go. Bottom line is that you should never make any important decisions concerning your divorce without first talking things over with your divorce lawyer. Your divorce lawyer is the professional who has the experience that will help you through this trying time.

What will your divorce lawyer be doing all of the time they are working for you? Your divorce lawyer will spend most of his or her time working on the distribution of conjugal property. How your property is divided will depend on a couple of things. Some of these things will be how much there is to begin with and how much belonged to whom before the marriage, the length of the marriage and the place in which you live. Every country, even every state has its own rules concerning the distribution of property and only your divorce lawyer will be able to help you make all of the right decisions.

Your divorce lawyer is considered to be your legal representation. This means that this divorce lawyer is the person who will often speak for you in court and out of court. Your divorce lawyer needs to be present at every meeting that you have with your spouse’s lawyer or your spouse. Never talk about the case without your divorce lawyer being present and on hand. You never know what you could say that could jeopardize your divorce case, it is far better to be safe than sorry.

In this first of a series of articles we’re going to discuss a specific type of patent called a business method patent.

If a company develops a new method for conducting an e-commerce business they may be able to prevent other companies from using this method for almost twenty years.

The truth is, since 1998 an increasing number of software and Internet companies have been issued patents for designing new ways of doing business. Examples would be new online ordering processes or a unique Internet advertising method. These kind of patents which are usually the combination of software and business methods are called business method patents or Internet patents.

The reason these patents are important is because a company that develops such a patent can keep other companies from using these business methods for 17 years. And if the owner wants, he can make additional money from the patent by licensing out to other companies. If there is a large enough market, the company may make more money from the licenses than from the patent itself.

A very good example of a business method patent is Amazon.com’s 1-click payment method. This system allows a customer to bypass the traditional address and credit card forms as long as the customer has an account with Amazon. After clicking on the payment button the order automatically goes through. This patent was granted to Amazon.com in September 1999. The patent number is U.S. Pat No. 5,960,411.

Business method patents are actually a part of a larger family of patents called utility patents. These protect inventions, chemical formulas, processes and other discoveries. A business method is technically classified as a process. The reason is because it is not a physical object like a machine or some form of chemical compound.

During most of the last century the patent office issued very few business method patents. The reason for this is that they claimed that a process could not be patented if it was an abstract idea. The same thing was also said about software because software was said to be unpredictable algorithms.

That all changed in 1998. In July of that year a federal court upheld a patent for a method of calculating the net asset value of mutual funds. The court ruled that patent laws were intended to protect any method regardless of what it was, even an idea. As long as it produced a useful, concrete and tangible result. With this ruling the court made idea and software patents a reality again. After this ruling, business method patents increased by 40%. Also, that year, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office created a new classification for business method patents. The classification is stated as “Data processing: financial, business practice, management or cost/price determination.”

Many patents since this time have been issued for online shopping programs, Amazon’s 1-click being the best example. However, because of the gray area of these patents, not having a physical product, an additional layer of review was added to the patent determination process. Technology specialists have been hired specifically to review these type of patent applications.

In the next article in this series we’re going to discuss how to go about applying for a business method patent.

Being without a partner in the universe where you happen upon couples in each and every bar and nightclub can be a sad feeling. I personally know of 3 single friends who go on dates each and every month and each month they are depressed because they are still without a girlfriend. In the capital city of the UK there are an enormous number of stunning working girls, these wonderful escorts are the perfect present to give to yourself if you are not with a lady friend.

Working girls in the amazing city of London are fantastic and dainty and have a high education making them first-rate companions as well as eye-opening lovers. The working girls in London are commonly more costly than anyplace else like Glasgow, the reason for this is the working girls tend to be of a better class.

Escorts have been made famous with the tv show Secret Diary with the pretty Billie Piper. In the television series the escort call girl is made out to be glamorous and very rich and always looking pretty. The show is a top rated tv show in the United Kingdom and many boys have seen it and have now booked an escort. This has helped to fuel the rise in single boys feeling much happier and excited about the choice a single guy has in London. Escorts London are so stunning, use Lucy Bond for the hottest.

If you haven’t taken the time to prepare your estate plan, you’re not alone. According to a survey conducted by FindLaw.com, a whopping 55% of Americans haven’t even taken the time to have a will prepared, and 67% don’t have a living will in case they become incapacitated or terminally ill.

But that’s not all! The Findlaw.com survey also found that even those who did have a will generally did not keep it updated. In fact, nearly 40% said they had not updated their will within the last five years.

It’s not as though people are unaware of the need to plan their estates. Estate planners and many other professionals have preached the need for wills, and other estate planning documents for years. Most recently, the Terri Schiavo case brought the issue of living wills to national prominence. Yet, despite the brief surge in demand for living wills and other estate planning documents during that time, most Americans seem to have lapsed back into complacency about planning for their incapacity or death.

“That, in itself, may be the problem,” says Attorney Alan H. Berman of Hartford, Connecticut. People don’t like talking about death and dying, especially when they’re talking about themselves or their loved ones.” Attorney Berman says that many of his clients put off having a will prepared until the very last minute. “I get a lot of calls just before they have to get on an airplane,” he says. “Then they know they can’t put it off any longer.”

Death and dying are nobody’s favorite topics, to be sure. But, there seems to be more to it than that. The Allianz American Legacies Study, which was sponsored by the Allianz Life Insurance Company, surveyed 2,627 people of all age groups “to identify how they define leaving a legacy and how families are communicating about these sensitive issues today.”

One of the interesting - and, probably, most revealing - facts to come out of the Allianz American Legacies Study was this - seniors and baby boomers both ranked money last on their list of important estate planning issues. Ranked ahead of money was the idea of leaving a legacy which, according to the study, “captures all facets of an individual’s life - including their family traditions and history, sharing stories, values and wishes.”

Attorney Berman agrees with the assessment of the Allianz American Legacies Study. “From my experience,” he says, “people seem to clam up as soon as you start talking about money. They’d rather talk about their family history or certain mementos - prized personal possessions that might not have a lot of monetary value but certainly have a lot of sentimental value.”

Another reason why many people procrastinate when it comes to estate planning is their feeling that they don’t have enough money to bother with an estate plan. However, as Attorney Berman is quick to point out, “estate planning is not just about money. In fact, it’s about taking care of your loved one’s needs in the event you can’t do it on your own. Money is often a means to an end, but the end is often the well-being of loved ones.” That’s the “legacy” that seems to motivate most people when it comes to estate planning.

If we are to learn anything from the Allianz American Legacies Study, it would seem to be that estate planners should direct their efforts toward “legacy” planning rather than “inheritance” planning. Unfortunately, most estate planners spend their time learning about the intracacies of the estate tax laws and the probate laws when they should be learning about assessing a client’s attitudes about family traditions and history, about sharing stories, and about their values and wishes. Not that the estate tax laws aren’t important, because they are. It’s just that they’re not going to motivate many people who just don’t care about such things.

That seems to be in accord with the findings of the Allianz American Legacies Study. In that study, it was found that “[t]he top qualities both generations look for in a legacy advisor are honesty, trustworthiness, compassion, a good listener and a strong and clear communicator.”

So there you have it! If you haven’t taken the time to have your estate planning done, it may be because your focus was on money. Instead, try focusing on your family and all the things that you love and cherish. You might find that you’re suddenly anxious to find a legacy advisor that will make your estate planning experience a very memorable one. You’re family will love you all the more for it.

Just one more thing! According to the Allianz American Legacies Study, it is estimated by Paul Schervish and John J. Havens of the Boston College Center on Wealth and Philanthropy that $41 trillion is set to be willed, passed on, and/or left to others over the next 50 years. So, even though we don’t like to talk about it, it is an integral part of everyone’s estate planning.

Attorney Michael Pancheri is the founder and CEO of the Living Trust Network. You may contact him by email at info@livingtrustnetwork.com.

You may also contact him at the Living Trust Network’s web site. Its URL is http://www.livingtrustnetwork.com

Copyright 2005. The Living Trust Network, LLC.

New York Bankruptcy - Chapter 7

In the United State, Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the most common type of bankruptcy filed. It is the process of liquidation

When an individual files for bankruptcy they are many times allowed to keep certain exempt properties such as real estate mortgages. Other, non-exempt assets are then used for liquidation to pay back creditors. Other types of exemptions that are common include child support, taxes, student loans etc.

One bad aspect of filing for personal bankruptcy is that it will stay on your credit report for ten years. Obviously, this makes applying for new credit less favorable, although there are too many factors involved to say that conclusively.

Businesses can also file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy which means that the business intends to sell all its assets and distribute the proceeds to its creditors, before ceasing operations. This sometimes means that employees will lose their jobs, but sometimes entire sections of the company are sold intact to other companies.

In 2003, there were 1,156,284 filings for Chapter 7 bankruptcy by individuals, and 21,008 filings for businesses. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, bankruptcy cases filed in 2004 fell 2.6 percent.

Filing for bankruptcy can be one of the most important financial decisions one can make. It is always best to have someone who is experienced and knowledgeable in bankruptcy law there to help you through the process. Contact an experienced bankruptcy lawyer today.

To learn more about hiring a qualified bankruptcy lawyer, please visit http://www.newyor kbankruptcyattorney.com This article may be freely reprinted as long as this resource box is included and all links stay in tact as hyperlinks.

Every mediated negotiation oscillates between doubt and certainty. Parties seek certainty even though very often they are besieged by doubts. People entering negotiations experience apprehension, which is another word for fear, though fear expressed at a low level of intensity. The reason they have come to a mediator is because they did not feel able to achieve a negotiated result on their own.

Therefore, a mediated negotiation is already, almost by definition, a negotiation which has either gone wrong or has never begun or which has a doubtful prognosis.

During the course of most people’s lives, they are negotiating at various times for various things and millions of negotiations are accomplished every day without the need for the intervention of an experienced mediator. Thus from the outset we see that a mediated negotiation contains elements of difficulty which have led the parties to be willing to spend money on the expert services of a professional in the particular field.

Generally speaking, a party must experience doubt in order to arrive at a mediated solution. The experience of doubt is uncomfortable. The experience of certainty is much more pleasant. People seek certainty in order to avoid the pain of doubt. A party to a negotiation has usually achieved a measure of certainty with regard to the position that they are taking, and that certainty which is a mental state is fortified and buttressed by all kinds of sorts, considerations, feelings, emotions, attitudes and arguments, all of which are themselves mental states.

However, the nature of a negotiation is that a mutually satisfied outcome can never be reached unless each party is prepared to change position. Such change involves movement from a well-fortified position into a position of doubt.

The process of moving from one position to another is mentally taxing, which is why the presence of a mediator can be of great help and comfort. As soon as the parties have arrived at a different position, they will dig in with all kinds of arguments and considerations, emotional ideas and attitudes, and they will gradually or rapidly achieve a degree of certainty about the new position that they have now assumed.

It may be necessary for the parties to move position many times before they reach the zone of possible agreement. That is why they must oscillate between certainty and doubt again and again, and that is why many people would rather resort to conflict, precisely because it is possible to enter a conflict without ever having to change ones’ mind or experience the kind of mental tension that is involved in changing ones’ mind.

Many organizations including government departments where the procedures for taking decisions are institutionalized and cumbersome, find it easier to leave the decision up to somebody else rather than go through the stress and trouble of taking decisions internally.

Many cases go to trial because one or other or both of the parties are simply unwilling to engage in the difficult task of negotiating a settlement. The task of the mediator, if such parties are willing to enter into mediated negotiation, is to help them overcome the internal barriers to achieving the changes necessary to avoid a third party outcome.

Of course, many times the reason a matter proceeds to trial or other conflict is because one or both of the parties have simply misread the situation in reality.

All negotiations have an internal and an external aspect. The internal aspect is the individual’s own subjective reactions to what is going on. The external reality is what the legal system is designed to deal with; in fact, the legal system is designed to squeeze out of the process all mental or emotional reaction and to delineate only the facts that can be adduced in evidence that are relevant, that is to say, that have a bearing on the legal issue presented to the court. But here as well, the mediator has a vital role to play, in being a sounding board against which the parties can test the reality of their own view of the situation.

Thus we see that parties may have a distorted view of reality, in addition to having inappropriate emotional attitudes to the problem. This is called the difference the real negotiation and the shadow negotiation, and the expert mediator needs to be expert in dealing with these different aspects.

In this way, the task of the mediator is more complex than the task of a court, which has had all the emotional side of it squeezed out by the rules of evidence, so that a dry problem can then be presented for a legal resolution. But such resolutions are often unsatisfactory to both sides, and they are always unsatisfactory to the losing side.

Although mediated negotiation is difficult, and often far more trying on the parties than a trial itself, nonetheless it has the exquisite advantage that it results in a solution arrived at by the parties themselves. Such negotiated resolutions are far more stable. They not only result in finality, but also in a release of emotional burden on both sides. They are thus a healing experience, and to this extent are a far more civilized and sophisticated method of resolving disputes than the legal system, which merely declares a winner and a loser.

Charles B. Parselle is a mediator, arbitrator and attorney. He graduated from Oxford University’s Honor School of Jurisprudence and is a member of the English bar, then was admitted to the California Bar in 1983. A practicing attorney, he is a prolific author and sought-after mediator. To consult him, please contact him through his website: http://www.parsellemediation.com