Benjamin K. Sanchez

2012 is Here and I am Excited!

It's the first workday of 2012: Tuesday, January 3rd. Although I was not very excited about the new year on New Year's Eve, I have had a few days to reflect. As much as 2011 was not a good year in some respects, I have come to terms that it was not all bad. Additionally, I am more excited about the prospects of 2012.

2011 saw me win my only two jury trials. The first victory was in May in a real estate fraud case tried in Harris County District Court. I represented four siblings in their 50s and 60s whose parents had died forty years prior and left the home to the siblings. Fast forward 35 years and the property was stolen through fraudulent real estate records, developed, and sold. The jury punished a mother and son team to the tune of $200,000 for a $10,000 piece of property. It's unlikely my clients will actually see any money, and they didn't want the hassle of getting the property back, but the victory was sweet for all nonetheless.

My second jury trial victory cam in October in a debt collection violation lawsuit in which my firm and my former clients were sued by a debtor for alleged violations of state and federal debt collection laws. The debtor had allegedly settled the debt with the previous owner of the debt, who sold the debt anyway and failed to tell us of the settlement. The jury found in our favor on a bona fide error defense due to our lack of knowledge about the settlement. That case was in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.

2011 was a year of real change for me. In addition to getting used to being a true solo practitioner again, I moved out of my former home, which was wrongfully foreclosed upon (I soon will file litigation regarding that), and into my father/stepmother's home for a few months and then into my own apartment in November, thereby living on my own for the first time ever (at the age of 42)! I am settling into the single, bachelor lifestyle while still maintaining focus on my practice.

I reconnected with my father while living with him, and I am still enjoying our connection because my office is within his company's offices. After ending my marriage of 18 years and my post-marriage relationship of 2 years, I am reconnecting with my family and friends and look forward to more of the same in 2012.

I conclude by setting forth some of my goals for 2012:

1. Read one book a week for a total of 52 in 2012.
2. Travel more, especially to visit family and friends.
3. Pay off all business debt of my firm (all the overhead debt incurred before the great carnage of September 2010).
4. Stay single as long as possible while enjoying dating.
5. Focus on creating and achieving realist business goals.
6. Publish another law review article.
7. Obtain a book deal.
8. Become either a part-time teacher at a local law school or a part-time municipal judge.
9. Be happy and productive!

What To Do?

It appears from this blog that I am not paying attention to my blogging, but appearances are deceiving!  The truth is, I have fallen into the trap that many teenagers have fallen into (although I'm not a teenager)!  I have so many different sites that I pay attention to each site as best as I can without being able to fully focus on one.  I have a YouTube site, MySpace site, Facebook site, another blog site using our iMac at home, two Stickam sites (one personal and one for business), LinkedIn site, attorney fees blog, and who knows what else.  How am I supposed to cope with all of these sites?  How can anyone truly be on top of all of their sites if they have a professional career?

Well, it can be done if you have help or if you devote all of your free time to these endeavors, but I don't use help and don't want to be a slave to the Internet.  I'll have to figure out where to put my efforts, but I'm thinking of having a personal multimedia website (which may be created with the iMac at home), a business multimedia website (which may be created with PCs and my laptop), and then keep my YouTube and LinkedIn sites, while getting rid of the social networking sites.  But who knows?  I may keep everything but put primary focus on just a couple of sites while updating the others when I feel like it.  This blog may disappear in favor of My Law Affair (With Love).  I'll let you know!    

I've been a bad, bad boy!

I can’t believe it’s been almost six months since my last post!  (Actually, I can believe it…sad, but true!)  I have so many things going on that it’s sometimes hard to concentrate on the effort required of blogging on a regular basis.  I have thought about what I want next year to look like for me, and being consistent in what I choose to do is one of them, whether it be blogging, eating healthy, exercising, spending less money, keeping up with finances, developing and marketing my law firm, being more thoughtful of my wife and family, or just getting good, regular sleep (as I write this at 11:43 p.m. Christmas night, )!  I actually enjoy writing for my blogs and making videos for my YouTube site, so I want to put more effort into those things, as well as continue to be active in my leadership roles.  I will continue to explore ways of creating and communicating, in addition to my regular practice of law!

I hope that all of you have had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends and that you will greet the New Year with a greater resolve to accomplish the goals you set for yourselves.  With that in mind, take a look at my video below for some inspiration!  Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano Feliz Edad!

Tags: health, New+Year, blog, blogging, YouTube, inspiration, exercising, money, family, friends, Christmas, consistency

Welcome to "It's My Life!"

Today is a big day!  Not only have I started this blog, but I have set new goals for myself!  For my physical well-being, I have vowed to stop drinking sodas and eating chocolate.  I also will begin to use my fitness club membership to exercise in order to lose weight and gain muscle.  For my mental well-being, I will do my best to not overburden myself and learn to say "no" every now and then!  For my emotional well-being, I will learn to relax and rest on a regular basis.  For my spiritual well-being, I will give more focus to my relationship with God and focus on those things that give me joy.  I encourage you to join me on my journey!