The Will to Prepare
I recently had the opportunity to hear Larry Echo Hawk speak. Mr. Echo Hawk is a former Idaho Attorney General and served as the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs under the Obama administration from 2009 to 2012. Mr. Echo Hawk shared an experience he had while playing football for Brigham Young University. Mr. Echo Hawk’s defensive coach was LaVell Edwards who recently passed away . Coach Edwards taught Mr. Echo Hawk the following idea: It is not the will to win that matters, rather the will to prepare. It was obvious …
Establishing Justice in Both Fertile and Infertile Soil
The Preamble to The Constitution of the United States reads as follows: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. The first step taken by the Framers in seeking a more perfect Union was to “ establish Justice .” Justice with a capital J. As noted by Andrew R. Sh…
Stalking Protections in Idaho
Being on the receiving end of unwanted intimidation, surveillance, or communication can affect every moment of the victim’s life. But how does the everyday understanding of stalking differ from federal and state legal definitions? How is stalking combated in rural communities? What protections exist for stalking victims? Federal Stalking Definition Given the federal government’s constitutional authority, 8 U.S.C. § 2261A focuses on interstate acts that have “the intent to kill, injure, harass, intimidate, or place under surveillance with in…
How Having a Child in the NICU Has Made Me a Better Attorney
Earlier this year, my brand new baby girl spent the first 28 days of her life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) after being born 7 weeks premature. Rural Idaho has several excellent hospitals with NICU facilities. My daughter is doing great now, thankfully, but this experience taught me a lot about what matters most and how to care for people. Some of those lessons apply directly to the practice of law. Lesson 1: Helping those most vulnerable means listening to what they are telling you. Premature babies are constantly sending out sig…
3 Ideas to Make the Most of Drive Time
As an attorney practicing in predominantly rural areas, I drive a lot. It is not uncommon to spend 6 hours behind the wheel on a day when I have court or in-person appointments in a secluded county. For someone who already feels like my schedule is packed, taking that much time to drive somewhere can be frustrating. Out of that sentiment, I have developed several ideas to make the most of those days. Photo from Peter Black on Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0. Pre-Travel Checklist Developing a list of what needs to be brought makes for less prep-time and l…
