This past weekend, the annual Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) convention was held in San Francisco. Chip Merlin and I were among the over 800 attorney attendees. I’ve never seen so many attorneys at one location. Chip gave a talk on an insurance panel moderated by Amy Bach of United Policyholders. Presenting on the same panel was California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. Pictured below are Chip and the Commissioner.
The keynote speaker at the convention was U.S. Congressman Bruce Braley from Iowa. Congressman Braley is one of only a few trial attorneys sitting in Congress. He is running for the U.S. Senate in 2014. During his speech, the congressman touched on several themes, one of which is the importance of being passionate about what we do. I have frequently heard Chip Merlin espousing the same theme. Indeed, for those of us who represent policyholders for a living, our effectiveness is very much enhanced if we are passionate about what we do. Congressman Braley quoted the following line from The Shawshank Redemption, which happens to be one of my favorite movies:
I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
I think just about everyone can appreciate this. If we make the first choice and get busy living then it ought to carry over to what we do, especially if it is advocacy for policyholders.
It really is that simple.
