The Making Law Easy Show Episode 24 - Long Term Care Issues For The Elderly
Posted on February 6, 2008
Filed Under Pittsburgh Elder Law, Pittsburgh Estate Planning, Podcasts | Leave a Comment
Come listen to a 1-2-3 Law Group elder law attorney discuss the most common issues that face the elderly who do not plan for their long term care needs. Do you have elderly parents? Are you concerned about the risks they might be facing? What about your long term care risks? This is a topic which impacts just about everyone. Recorded live at February 7th, 2008 at 1:30PM.
If you are interested in listening in live call in at 724-444-7444 and enter the show ID number 64441.
New Bankruptcy Guideline Figures
Posted on February 1, 2008
Filed Under Pittsburgh Bankruptcy, Pittsburgh Legal Matters | Leave a Comment
The United States Department of Justice has released new Median Income Figures. This is the sixth time since the adoption of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) that the figures have been adjusted.
2 Persons - $50,628
3 Persons - $63,491
4 Persons - $76,182
2 Persons - $49,226
3 Persons - $61,733
4 persons - $74,072
Two Upcoming Bankruptcy Podcasts on The Making Law Easy Show
Posted on January 30, 2008
Filed Under Pittsburgh Bankruptcy, Podcasts | Leave a Comment
On February 1st, come tune into two shows which can answer your questions on bankruptcy filings if you are an individual and not a business entity. To access these shows beginning at 1PM, you simply call 724-444-7444 and dial 64441 when prompted for a show ID. If you can’t listen to them live, you can always visit our website at any time after 2Pm on Friday and listen to the shows on your schedule.
At 1PM in Episode 22 of the Making Law Easy Show, we will cover the ins and outs of a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filing. If you have fallen behind in your debt payments and can’t catch up or maybe you can not make your mortgage payments, then a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filing might make sense for you. A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filing acts to wipe clean many of your debt obligations. However, there are requirements you must meet before you can qualify to file in Chapter 7. Listen to an experienced bankruptcy attorney who works with 1-2-3 Law Group explain the rules for Chapter 7 to decide if it makes sense for you to consider.
Immediately following this show (at 1:45 PM), we will cover the ins and outs of a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Filing in Episode 23 of The Making Law Easy Show. If you make too much income or have too many assets to qualify for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filing, then a payment plan under Bankruptcy Chapter 13 might make sense for you to buy some time to get your financial house in order. Listen to an experienced bankruptcy attorney who works with the 1-2-3 Law Group describe the ins and outs of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy filings.
1-2-3 Law Group at MakingLawEasy.com
New Legal Podcast Layout (But The Price Is And Will Always Remain Free)
Posted on January 30, 2008
Filed Under Pittsburgh Legal Matters | Leave a Comment
We are constantly challenging ourselves to improve how we communicate with our clients and the general public. After studying our website traffic patterns we decided to make our podcast library more visible and easier to access. One of our goals is to continue developing the largest library of legal podcasts anywhere.
- We enlisted the support of a national podcast expert and made accessing our podcasts easier. You can now listen to any podcast right from the podcast description without having to look up episodes or following instructions. Just click on the triangle next to the podcast description and the podcast starts. Look at our Legal Resources page for examples.
- We also visibly linked the podcasts we have recorded to the top of each of our practice area pages. Click here for an example.
- Finally, when we announce a new podcast show, we will include call in instructions on the announcement we send out. So if you are registered with 1-2-3 Law Group or have clicked on the RSS Feeds button, you can be updated on an upcoming show and decide if you want to listen in live or maybe ask questions. Registering is a great idea of you want to know of our shows so you don’t have to continue to visit our website to see if we have information on a legal topic.
These improvements should make it easier to get free legal tips across a wide range of areas of law. Please help us to spread the word and let us know what you think of our improvements or to suggest improvements maybe we have not thought of.
Free Legal Podcasts
Posted on January 24, 2008
Filed Under Pittsburgh Legal Matters | Leave a Comment
Shows broken down by practice area:
Bankruptcy and Creditor Podcasts
Elder Law Podcasts Employment Law Podcasts
Cumulative list of all recorded shows:
EPISODE 3 - Why Should You Hire A Real Estate Attorney - Learn how an attorney can assist you when buying or selling a home.
EPISODE 4 - Six Common Questions in Elder Law - Listen to common elder law questions from an elder law attorney.
EPISODE 5 - DeMystifying The Registry of Wills - Special Guest Deputy Register of Wills Marty Mardigan talks about the estate planning process from the state’s perspective.
EPISODE 6 - Where There’s A Will There’s A Way - Get estate planning tips from an estate planning attorney.
EPISODE 7 - Know Your Credit Report - Special Guest national credit expert and radio personality Jean Yevick talks about credit reports. Why they are important, how to fix bad credit and many other helpful issues.
EPISODE 8 - What to do When Your Workers Compensation Claim is Denied. Get helpful advice from an experienced workers compensation attorney.
EPISODE 9 -The Three D’s of Corporate Formation. Listen to a 1-2-3 Law Group corporate attorney discuss how Death, Disability and Dissatisfaction for each shareholder are all issues which should be addressed when you form a corporate entity. Recorded live on Dec. 20th, 2007.
EPISODE 10 - Tips On The Child Custody Legal Process. Hear a 1-2-3 Law Group partner Karl Schieneman discuss’s information related to child custody cases. This is information anyone approaching a child custody case should know. Taped live on Thursday, December 20th, 2007.
EPISODE 11 - Understanding Employment Discrimination. Listen to a 1-2-3 Law Group attorney provide helpful information on employment discrimination - myths and tips for deciding if you have a case. Recorded on Monday Dec. 17th, 2007.
EPISODE 12 - Fighting Traffic Tickets. Listen to a 1-2-3 Law Group Attorney provide helpful information on fighting traffic tickets so you can continue your driving privileges and reduce your insurance costs. Recorded live on Monday Dec. 24th, 2007.
EPISODE 13 - Pre-New Years DUI Essentials. Hear a 1-2-3 Law Group DUI attorney describe how while it’s better never to drink and drive, what to do if you do get pulled over for a DUI. This show offers a good overview of the process and offers tips for defending a DUI charge. Recorded live on December 24, 2007 at 11AM.
EPISODE 14 - Federal Criminal Law. Hear from a 1-2-3 Law Group criminal attorney about differences between the federal and state court system. What the process is if you are arrested. What some of the options are for defending your case. What the time frames are. Why hiring an experienced attorney early on is critical. Recorded live on Dec. 26th, 2007 at 10:00AM.
EPISODE 15 -Lemon Law Tips If Your New Car Is A Dud -Hear a lemon law attorney from 1-2-3 Law Group discuss your rights when your car is not functioning correctly. Recorded Live on January 2nd, 2008 at 10AM.
EPISODE 16 - Start Ups Accounting & Tax Planning - Hear an experienced start up business accountant Buzz Rose talk on issues a small start up business should be thinking about when it comes to taxes and accounting. There is nothing worse for a start up without customers than to be fussing around with accounting and tax issues when generating revenue is what is most important to you. Get this important step right at the beginning so you can focus on making money. Recorded Live on January 16th, 2008 at 3PM.
EPISODE 17 - Making Sense of Real Estate Reassessments - Listen to an experienced 1-2-3 Law Group real estate attorney with 34 years of experience and a state certified real estate appraiser with 31 years of real estate experience talk about the reassessment mess. What should you do? What do notices you might be receiving mean? Why is this happening? Recorded Live on January 10th, 2008 at 4PM.
EPISODE 19 - Scary Facts On Identity Theft - Listen to Certified Identity Theft Consultant Chuck Herring talks about what the risks are of identity theft and how you can protect yourself. This is the first in a 2 part series. We will cover the law side of identity theft on an upcoming episode. Recorded live on January 24th at 11AM.
EPISODE 20 - Insuring Your Corporate Risks - Listen to What are some of the risks which insurance coverage can protect you against? Listen to independent insurance broker Rod Boutillette talk about minimizing legal risks through insurance. Policies described and applied to a business owner include comprehensive general liability, balloon policies, disability, life, workers compensation, commercial auto insurance, and identity theft. Recorded live on Friday Jan. 25th at 10AM.
EPISODE 21 - Identity Theft The Legal Issues - Listen to national identity theft legal expert attorney David Ries talk about the legal risks both corporation and individuals face with identity theft. Attorney Ries gives an update on the law and an assessment of the risks both corporations and individuals face. Recorded live on Jan. 28th, 2008 at 4PM. .
Episode 22 - The Ins And Outs of Chapter 7 - Listen to an experienced 1-2-3 Law bankruptcy attorney talk about the ins and outs of a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filing. If you are an individual and not a company, and have fallen behind in your debt payments and can’t catch up or maybe you can not make your mortgage payments, then a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filing might make sense for you. A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filing acts to wipe clean many of your debt obligations. However, there are requirements you must meet before you can qualify to file in Chapter 7. Listen to this show to help decide if a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filing makes sense for you to consider. Recorded live on Feb. 1, 2008 at 1PM. .
Episode 23 - The Ins and Outs of a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Filing. Listen to a 1-2-3 Law Group attorney who is experienced in bankruptcy filings discuss the ins and outs of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Filings. If you are an individual instead of a company, and make too much income or have too many assets to qualify for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filing, then a payment plan under Bankruptcy Chapter 13 might make sense for you to buy some time to get your financial house in order. Listen to this show to find out more about filing bankruptcy. Recorded Live on Feb. 1st, 2008 at 1:45PM. .
Episode 24 - Long Term Care Issues For The Elderly. Come listen to a 1-2-3 Law Group elder law attorney discuss the most common issues that face the elderly who do not plan for their long term care needs. Do you have elderly parents? Are you concerned about the risks they might be facing? What about your long term care risks? This is a topic which impacts just about everyone. Recorded live at February 7th, 2008 at 1:30PM.
Episode 25 - Key Tips When Preparing For Divorce. Listen to a 1-2-3 Law Group family lawyer provide some helpful tips based on his experience in representing clients in divorce in Western Pennsylvania. What items should you gather? What the process is like? How to minimize cost? What battles are you facing? Recorded Live on Monday, Feb. 11th at 4:40PM.
Episode 27 - Picking The Right Guardian. Listen to a 1-2-3 Law Group attorney discuss the sensitive issue of how to pick the right guardian for your children. Listen in to hear from a 1-2-3 Law Group attorney about risks and criteria you might want to consider when picking a guardian in your will. Recorded Live on Wednesday, Feb. 20th at 2:45PM.
Episode 28 - Picking The Right Executor. Listen in to hear from a 1-2-3 Law Group attorney about risks and criteria you might want to consider when picking an executor in your will. Recorded Live on Wednesday, Feb. 20th at 3:00PM.
Episode 29 - When Should You Incorporate? Listen to a 1-2-3 Law Group corporate attorney talk about when it makes sense to incorporate and when it might not make sense. Learn about protecting your personal assets from liability. What the process of incorporating entails. This show will be useful for sole proprietors or partners who are wondering if they should incorporate and for start up businesses. Recorded Live on Tuesday, Feb. 26th, 2008 at 10AM.
Episode 30 - Using Reverse Mortgages to Find Cash: With long term care costs increasing and an estimated 70% of the elderly requiring some form of long term care, some might be curious how they are going to pay for this. Listen to an experienced reverse mortgage expert, Michael Pellas, discuss what getting a reverse mortgage entails. Learn if a reverse mortgage is right for your situation. This show will provide additional information for the elderly , their friends or family who are looking for extra cash. www.makinglaweasy.com. 1-2-3 Law Group, Pittsburgh’s first virtual law firm.Recorded Live on Thursday, Feb. 28th, 2008 at 10AM. .
Episode 31 - Foreclosure and Short Sales - Cleaning Up Your Current Mess. Listen to a 1-2-3 Law Group attorney describe the foreclosure process for losing your home and strategies for making a bad situation possibly better with short sales. Listen how short sales can reduce the pain of a foreclosure with more privacy and less long term risks. Recorded live on June 26, 2008. .
Episode 32 - Trusts for Estate Planning- Listen to a 123 Group estate planning lawyer and a financial planner give their perspectives on when creating a Trust makes sense. How do you create a Trust? When does a Trust make sense? What are the downsides of Trusts? What costs are associated with Trusts? These and other topics related to Trusts will be covered. Recorded live on June 22, 2008. .
Episode 33 - Getting A Trademark. Listen to 123 Law Group trademark attorney discuss why trademarks are important, how to get a trademark, and how effective trademarks can be for a business to establish more value and protect their intellectual property. Recorded on July 23, 2008.
Episode 35: Arrested, What Happens Next. Listen to a 1-2-3 Law Group Criminal Defense attorney discuss what happens to you from arrest to trial under the criminal procedures in Allegheny County. Learn what to expect, when cases get plead out, and other ins and outs of the judicial system.. Recorded live on July 29, 2008.
Episode 36 - Custody Issues and Solutions. Hear a 1-2-3 Law Group family law attorney talk about common issues in custody fights. Learn what judges consider good reasons for making a custody change and what are bad reasons. Recorded live on August 28, 2008.
Episode 37: Sheriff Sales and Bankruptcy. Today there seem to be more and more people falling behind on mortgage payments. Foreclosures and sheriff sales are the next steps facing many people. Listen to a 1-2-3 Law Group Attorney examine the foreclosure process. What is a Sheriff’s sale? What is the process? Is there anything you can do about it? Recorded live on August 29, 2008.
Episode 38: Juvenile Crime. Perhaps the most requested show we have done from parents. Listen to a 1-2-3 Law Group attorney discuss what happens to juveniles when they get in trouble. We will cover DUI’s, drug possession, statutory rape, cooperating with the police, the impact of a criminal record, expungement and other issues. Recorded live on September 2, 2008.
More shows will be added soon.
Reaction To Friday’s Post Gazette Article on 1-2-3 Law Group
Posted on January 22, 2008
Filed Under Pittsburgh Legal Matters | Leave a Comment
I wanted to thank everyone who has been so kind on their feedback thus far. If you haven’t read Local Law Firm Goes ‘Virtual’ then click on the title. I have been covered by the press over a few dozen times over the ten years and you never know how the article is going to turn out until it is written. I think that Joyce Gannon did a very good job with the article. In particular, she reached out to some of the top experts in the country to provide her readers with more than what we were telling her. Her end product was a very even handed assessment of what we are trying to offer and its prospects for success. Lastly, we were very pleased to get covered like this because it is challenging as a start up business to get noticed.
I also wanted to offer a few comments on the other experts quoted because of course we had no control over what the experts who were contacted for quotes would say about our concept. The beauty of a blog is we can write what we want to and set the record straight.
Richard Granat was the first expert quoted. I have known Richard Granat for about 8 months and he is very knowledgeable. I have sat in on meetings with him on the ABA elawyering task force. I was thrilled the Post Gazette identified him as an expert because he is. However, his expertise and the guts of his virtual model is in form processing. Getting inexpensive, uncontested divorces filed or creating estate planning documents. This is document processing and not a full service law firm model. Under the virtual model he is most familar with, matters must be simple to fit into a process. That is why he observed that a virtual law firm works best with uncomplex business problems or matters which do not require numerous court appearances. At 1-2-3 Law Group, we have added my expertise in legal staffing with technology such as case management software. We approach legal solutions like a law firm as opposed to a form factory. While this is a new way to attack legal problems and the ”jury is still out”, we believe it is structured in a way to handle virtually any type of legal problem.
The other expert quoted is Larry Bodine who is another person I know and respect. I was one of the creators of The Best of Legal Technology conference presented by the Allegheny County Bar Association in April of 2005. I asked Larry to speak at the conference and was able to take him to a Pirate game the night before. As a result, I know and respect Larry as one of the top legal marketers in the country. He has the pulse of the legal community nationally. We completely agree with Larry Bodine’s assessment that “virtual law firms are well-suited to clients who ‘want specialists without paying mega-firm prices.’”
The other point I wanted to make is our Podcast library is something we are proud of and hoped it would get into the article. Every week we add 1 - 3 podcasts on an area of law. This is a free and easy way to access legal information. I know of no other firm attempting to create this type of information library. Hopefully you get a chance to listen to a Making Law Easy Show and let us know what you think.
Other than that clarification on Richard Granat’s point, we agree with the article as written. If you have comments or reactions to the article, please feel free to post them here.
Entrepreneurial Thursdays Explores Virtual Businesses
Posted on January 18, 2008
Filed Under Pittsburgh Events | Leave a Comment
Come to the Sassy Marie’s and listen to Jessica Lee sing jazz and rhythm and blues as well as interview the following virtual entrepreneurs and local serial entrepreneurs on running and starting virtual businesses:
Karl Schieneman, Esq./MBA 1-2-3 Law Group. www.makinglaweasy.com
Dave Nelson, CEO Talkshoe. www.talkshoe.com
Donna Herrle, Owner Drawing Conclusions and coordinator of Touchpointe a networking group for home based businesses. www.drawingconclusions.com
Debra Dinnocenzo, a national expert on virtual business and haw written numerous books and consulted with companies on how to structure virtual teams. www.virtualworkswell.com
Come to meet us, ask your legal problems and learn more about how to start and operate virtual businesses.
The cost is $5 at the door.
Sassy Marie’s is located in Pittsburgh’s historic North Side (formerly the legendary James Street Tavern) at the corner of James Street and Foreland Street. 422 Foreland Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15212.
The Making Law Easy Show Episode 21: Identity Theft The Legal Issues
Posted on January 18, 2008
Filed Under Pittsburgh Consumer Law, Pittsburgh Legal Matters | Leave a Comment
Listen to 1-2-3 Law Group interview attorney David Ries, a national expert on privacy law who will talk on issues associated with privacy law. Hear about the law. Learn your rights. This is a second part in a two part show on identity theft. Recorded Live on Monday, January 28th at 4PM.
The Making Law Easy Show Episode 19: Scary Facts On Identity Theft
Posted on January 18, 2008
Filed Under Pittsburgh Consumer Law, Podcasts | Leave a Comment
Come listen to Certified Identity Theft Consultant Chuck Herring talk about what the risks are with becoming a victim of identity theft and how you can protect yourself. This is the first in a 2 part series. To be broadcast live on January 24th, at 11AM.
We will cover the legal side of identity theft on Monday, January 28th at 4PM where we will talk about your legal rights.
The Making Law Easy Show Episode 20: Insuring Your Corporate Risks
Posted on January 18, 2008
Filed Under Pittsburgh Corporate, Podcasts | Leave a Comment
What are some of the risks which insurance coverage can protect you against? Listen to Rod Boutillette, an insurance broker and consultant talk about minimizing legal risks through insurance. Recorded live on Friday January 25th at 10AM.