Soar to Success December 15, 2019

SOAR TO SUCCESS / Core Business Strategies we watch them shake their heads despondently at the ruin that our legal system has become. “How can they get away with this?” is a common refrain. ê,W VXFNVë ZH VD\ êEXW WKH V\VWHP XVXDOO\ protects shakedowns.” Most civil cases settle because the defendant just wants to get on with their business, and we neither blame them nor judge them. Every business litigator and most business owners know that frivolous lawsuits are, unfortunately, part of the cost of doing business in America. %XW TXLWH RIWHQ RXU FOLHQWV DVN XV WR ĆJKW EDFN and let us do what we do: defend them and aggressively go after the shakedown artists. They stand on principle. They let us take the ĆJKW WR WKH HQHP\ 7KRVH FDVHV WKRVH FOLHQWV they energize us as lawyers, and they help our profession self-regulate. We were shocked to receive the blatant shakedown letter mentioned above, directed to PH DQG P\ ĆUP QRW WR RQH RI P\ FOLHQWV 0RVW OHWWHUV IURP SODLQWLIIVè ODZ\HUV DUH OD\HUHG ZLWK accurate, compelling facts and punctuated with citations to state and federal statutes and UHJXODWLRQV 1RW WKLV RQH å QRW D VLQJOH PDWHULDO IDFW VWDWHG DFFXUDWHO\ QRW D VLQJOH ODZ FLWHG DW all, accurately or otherwise. 0\ SURIHVVLRQ LV VXOOLHG E\ GLVKRQRUDEOH DWWHPSWV WR SUH\ RQ EXVLQHVVHV IRU UDQVRP A warning to business owners and bad lawyers: To the businesses and business owners out there who have received letters like this, know WKDW \RX DUH QRW DORQH WKDW HYHQ ODZ ĆUPV DUH targets for shakedowns, and that the laws do provide remedies and recourse to address KHDY\ KDQGHG WDFWLFV OLNH WKRVH , GHVFULEHG those remedies at the end of my response letter, as follows: , ZRXOGHQFRXUDJH \RX WR UHVHDUFK \RXU SOHDGLQJ requirements, theelementsof theclaims and the 6DPH $FWRU 'RFWULQH , DOVR XUJH \RX WR EHFRPH YHU\ IDPLOLDU ZLWK &LYLO 5XOH 2KLRèV )ULYRORXV Lawsuit Statute at R.C. 2323.51, and Rule 3.1 of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct. We will absolutely seek recovery of 100% of RXU DWWRUQH\Vè IHHV IURP \RX DQG \RXU ĆUP LQ responding to these ridiculous allegations, this meritless case and your shameless ransom demands. And to my fellow lawyers: we need to hold RXUVHOYHV WR D KLJKHU VWDQGDUG ,I \RX ZRQèW WKH EXVLQHVV FRPPXQLW\ GRHV ĆJKW EDFN WKHUH DUH WKRVH DPRQJ XV ZKR ZLOO DOZD\V KHOS WKHP ĆJKW EDFN DQG \RXèUH KXUWLQJ RXU SURIHVVLRQ ZKHQ you extort settlements by threatening to be êLQFUHGLEO\ LQYDVLYHë :HèUH EHWWHU WKDQ WKLV [1] All credit must go to the Grateful Dead for penning the lyrics in their classic “Shakedown Street” that are the title of this article. This article is meant to be utilized as a general guideline for dealing with frivolous demand letters. Nothing in this article is intended to create an attorney-client relationship or to provide legal advice on which you should rely without talking WR \RXU RZQ UHWDLQHG DWWRUQH\ ĆUVW ,I \RX KDYH questions about your particular legal situation, you should contact a legal professional.