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When you are striving to reach a goal, do you get there by the intensity you bring to it or by consistency in following the steps you have sketched out? I think it’s a combination of the two. You can employ both to pursue your goals and dreams.

Intensity can move you forward like a big push someone gives you when are on a swing. It’s focus and energy. It may allow you to complete a time sensitive project, move a long term project forward a few steps, or get over a hump that had you stopped in place. It…
Continue Reading Intensity v. consistency

We all take inspiration from different people, actions, inaction, etc. Sometimes it comes out of nowhere and sometimes from surprising places. When it does you need to be ready to notice and process what it means to you. 

For instance, I find inspiration for various blog posts I’ve written from many different sources, many unexpected. The sources include a random comment on a podcast, something one of my children says, and once, from a comment made by an announcer about a snowboarder who had won a gold medal in the Olympics. You never know when it will hit you or…
Continue Reading What inspires you?

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A $74,000 order issued by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors illustrates the potential consequences for contractors of restitution orders, as well as a possible shift toward more aggressive restitution orders in the future.


The contract required the contractor to get all required permits and inspections. However, despite the contractor’s assurances, during the project the contractor either failed to get the permits and inspections or failed to get them on time. At one point, the contractor reached out to a local building official and asked whether doing certain work without a permit would be punished only by a “slap on the…
Continue Reading Arizona contractors can be liable to pay financial restitution to homeowners

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Lang & Klain is ranked among Arizona’s top 10 law firms in both

Construction Litigation (#4)

and

Commercial Litigation (#5)

in the 2022 edition of

Ranking Arizona

.

Generally considered to be Arizona’s largest business opinion poll, Ranking Arizona is a service of AzBigMedia, publishers of

AzBusiness, AZRE

and other business-related magazines.

The survey is open to the public and offers choices from among more than 20,000 companies and firms in over 200 industries and market sectors.
Continue Reading Ranking Arizona: Top 10 law firm in Construction Litigation, Commercial Litigation

Networking is about knowing more people. Connecting is about knowing people more. The distinction is obvious. You know a lot of people professionally and personally, but you actually are connected to only a fraction of those you know.

When you are at a business, social or charitable event, you likely run into many people you know. With many of these people, you will know them “socially” or “professionally”, which is a way of saying you know them, who they are, but are not deeply connected with them and have no investment in their successes or failures.

I think a good…
Continue Reading The differences between networking and connecting

  Proper estate planning can prove critical for the long-term happiness, security, and stability of your surviving loved ones. However, the legal documents and structures commonly associated with an estate plan are not the only documents that would assist if an emergency event occurs. Even the most scrupulously prepared Wills, Trusts, and Powers of Attorney […]
Continue Reading Creating and Maintaining an Emergency File

We all have a pitch to make and the need to do so comes up all of the time. Many times you are making a pitch unconsciously because it can be second nature for some. Think about how good your pitch could be if you actually thought about what you want to say in a given situation.

A pitch is about conveying information to one or more people to obtain a desired result. It can be to a potential client or customer, a potential investor, or a new potential connection.

It is hard work to come up with a pitch. In…
Continue Reading Do you have a good pitch?

I recently came across a good quote I hadn’t read in quite a long time and it spoke to something I agree with, which is the importance of being a lifetime learner. I was cleaning out some old emails and the quote was in an email from a friend. The quote brought to mind a truth: continuous learning and training makes for a better and more interesting life and work place.

The quote is “Everyone is born a genius, but the process of living de-geniuses them.”  It is by Buckminster Fuller, who has been described as an American architect, systems theorist,…
Continue Reading What have you learned today?

scott-graham-5fNmWej4tAA-unsplash zoom meeting Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash
Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash

As I often mention during the meeting when clients sign their estate plan documents, that an estate plan is “not designed to be set in stone forever.” For the most part, estate plans and their respective documents are designed to evolve as the individual’s life changes. Without the ability to amend or revise the documents, and as the years pass by, an estate plan becomes outdated and practically useless.

Oftentimes an outdated estate plan causes logistical problems for those individuals in areas of responsibility as they attempt to unravel what should occur. Unfortunately, it also leads to the estate ending…
Continue Reading The importance of updating your estate plan

I’m not asking what about your return on investment. I’m asking what about your ripple of impact. How does who you are and what you do impact others and your community? If you don’t think this matters you are being shortsighted and missing the market.

Your impact on others reflects on you. Do you serve as a formal or informal mentor? Do you treat people kindly? Do you volunteer in your community? These activities matter. They help you, those around you, and your community. Mentoring younger or less experienced people at your company will make your people and company better.
Continue Reading What is your ROI?

andreas-klassen-gZB-i-dA6ns-unsplash LLC corporation Photo by Andreas Klassen on Unsplash
Photo by Andreas Klassen on Unsplash

If you’ve chosen to organize your business as a limited liability company in Arizona, there are a number of steps you must take to launch your new enterprise. The Articles of Incorporation is one of the first – and most important – legal documents you must prepare and file with the Arizona Corporation Commission for approval.

All states require new corporations to file Articles of Incorporation with the appropriate state authority. Although the requirements vary from state to state, Articles of Incorporation for a limited liability company generally serve the same purpose in all jurisdictions:

  • Create

…
Continue Reading Articles of Incorporation: Starting your new Limited Liability Company

Discipline helps you get done what you plan and need to each day. This is part of doing what you say you’re going to do. This provides stability because it allows others to know how you act or respond in various situations.

This could be my clients knowing I try to return or respond to calls and emails within 24 hours at the outside, or that when they are communicating with me I’m focused on them and whatever they are dealing with. They are not my only clients, but I can make them feel like they are by exercising discipline…
Continue Reading Discipline creates stability

ian-schneider-TamMbr4okv4-unsplash (1) passion choices Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash
Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

I saw this somewhere in the last few weeks and it rang true to me. The choices we make define us, always. Some may be smaller and some larger, but together they show who you are. Sometimes the choices that seem smaller show more than you think because they are choices you make on a daily basis.

How long do you take to return phone calls or emails? If you’re like me, you receive a large number of calls and emails. It’s easy to tell yourself you will get to them when you get to them. But in my case…
Continue Reading We are our choices. Every. Single. Day.