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@howardcollens
March 2nd, 2010
Probate and Estate Planning Lawyer
Member, Galloway and Collens
Today we’re tweeting with Michigan probate and estate planning lawyer and Detroit Tigers fan @howardcollens
- @howardcollens thank you for joining us today on Twitter. Tell us: who is @howardcollens?
Thanks for having me. Attorney for 15 years. Husband, father of 3, lifelong Detroiter & Detroit Tigers fan.
– - Tell us about your law practice.
Galloway and Collens, PLLC has been a firm for 7 years. We started with 2 lawyers, no clients & have grown every year.
– - What type of clients do you represent?
Mostly individuals. Our practice focuses on estate planning, probate and trust administration, elder law, real estate issues
– - And what would you say is the single most important legal issue affecting those clients?
The impact of the new Michigan Trust Code will be the most significant legal issue on planning and estate administration
– - What do you tell every new client before you start working for them?
Each client’s case is unique. It will unfold in its own individual way. I explore the client’s goals & hopes early on.
– - Tell us about one of the more significant client representations you’ve had.
In a contested probate, I was able to leverage a will, handwritten into the decedent’s patient advocate designation form, …
to carry out the decedent’s intent to benefit my client, her neighbor.
– - A very satisfying result, I’m sure. Why do your clients hire you?
Whether the client is a young family planning for their children, an elder worried about the costs of long term care or …
a family who has just experienced a death, my clients look to exchange uncertainty for certainty, crisis for calm.
– - What’s the most active area of your practice at the current time? Is that typical?
Short sales & loan modifications. Representing investors purchasing property in Metro Detroit. See OutFromUnderMyHouse.com
– - Understandable developments…. How has the economic crisis affected your clients?
I see more economic exploitation of seniors. The probate practice has not been too impacted….
One does not get to wait until better financial times to contest an estate or deal with a guardianship of a loved one.
– - Indeed. What are some common mistakes people make when preparing estate plans?
The most complicated (and expensive) administrations result from the estate plans that people write themselves.
– - There’s a valuable lesson in that…. How do you describe what you do to people you meet at a cocktail party?
People have a personal connection to our practice. Everyone has a will or trust or is planning to put one in place.
– - When did you become active on Twitter? What were your objectives then? Have they changed?
Nov 2008. At 1st, purely social. Now, social and biz. I like that through tweeting you get to tell & learn all at once.
– - Besides Twitter, what other Web 2.0 tools do you use to market your practice?
Facebook, LinkedIn. Looking to use Ustream. Clients from all over the country and the world find us through our websites.
– - What specific impact on referrals and/or client engagements, if any, have you realized from Web 2.0 activities?
Expansion of social networks and staying connected/reconnecting with friends has lead to real business.
– - How much time do you spend each day developing / enhancing your brand?
It varies. I try to balance brand development w getting the work done. In a small firm setting, this is a delicate balance.
– - I’m sure it is. Let’s switch gears: what is the most significant issue currently facing the legal profession?
The larger impacts caused by economic uncertainty both on the clients and on lawyers and their firms.
– - What will the legal landscape look like in 10 years?
I hope our local probate courts will finally have electronic filing and better, more robust remote access to court files.
– - What would you do if you weren’t a lawyer?
I would love to be a baker. There is magic in making a loaf of bread from scratch.
– - Would you believe that you are the fourth twitterviewee to say “baker”? How do you want to be remembered?
Amazing on the baker answer. I idealize it as a let the stress out sort of job. I would hope I would be remembered . . .
As a caring husband, engaged father. As a person who believes in the power of community. As an advocate of planned giving.
– - What do you do when you’re not working?
I coach my son’s soccer team. Enjoy watching a good baseball game. I keep a garden. Canned home-grown pickles last summer.
– - What advice can you pass along to lawyers currently under- or unemployed due to the economic crisis?
Don’t give up. Doing something you are passionate about in the law (or toward whatever you want to accomplish) will work out
– - And our final question for you: What advice do you have for people going to law school today?
Strike a good balance between study and extracurriculars and/or clerking….
The day to day practical application of the law during law school should not be missed/overlooked.
Thanks; that’s useful advice. Enjoyed tweeting with you today, and learning about you and your practice.
Thanks so much for the opportunity to participate in this twitterview.
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