A Quick Look Back at 2013.

"If you aren't grateful for what you have, what makes you think the universe will give you more?"

I don't remember where I first read this quote, but its something that I have been thinking about a lot this last month.   I've decided that this year, instead of just writing out a list of resolutions, I'm going to list the things that I am grateful for in 2013, and that I'd like more of in 2014. 

I may share my 2014 goals for the Attig Law Firm with you in a future post, but for now, here are 3 things that I am grateful for this year:

1) I am grateful for the Veterans and surviving spouses that we helped this year.  

Here are 3 cases that stick out in my mind in 2013:

We helped the widow of a Vietnam Veteran secure  past-due DIC payments and DIC monthly annuity this year: as a result, she can pay her monthly bills and will keep food on the table and the heat on this winter.  

We helped a Vietnam combat veteran who suffered from primary lateral sclerosis - a rare progression of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) - win a very long battle with the VA over service-connection.  

We helped a surviving spouse win Part 1 of her 34 year battle with the VA over her husband's exposure to Agent Orange.

There are so many more that we helped this year: each "success" shows me that the work we do changes lives. That is what I have always wanted to do with my law degree.  

This becomes increasingly important in 2014: as our brothers and sisters in arms trickle back home from Afghanistan, they will need a law firm that is committed to showing them a smarter way to navigate the VA Claims Process.

2) I am grateful for a team of employees and supporting vendors that have adopted, and support, our Vision. 

11 months ago, I was a sole practitioner, working with a small but select group of Veteran clients.  

Even as I worked in my small practice, I had a vision of using the technology available to us in the modern world to help change the way Veterans experience the VA claims process.

One of the things that inspired me to take action on my Vision was the birth of my son in November 2012.  At some point in my son's life, he will have a vision for his own future. I want him to be able to look to his "Dada" and say: if he can do it, I can do it, too.

But its one thing to have a Vision, and quite another thing to fulfill it.  Anyone can do the first.  It takes a team to do the second.

I have been fortunate enough to have a team that is committed to converting my  systems and processes as a "sole practitioner" into  functioning work-flows for a much larger firm.  

Some of our team members are Vendors - like Brendan Chard at the Modern Firm.  His team built this new and cutting-edge website that has done wonders to enable us to  interact more cleanly with Veterans around the country.  

Some of our team members are employees - like Amy.  

She came to us in October with a good bit of technical skill in different fields and a strong desire to help people change their lives.  In just 60 days, she has taken my unique case review process and built it into a larger system that fully integrates with our case management and client management systems.  

It is on these systems that we will build the rest of the Firm in 2014: for example, in the first quarter of 2014, we will  build out my proprietary claim development process into a functioning tool that will help to change the way Veterans experience the VA Claims Process.

We have plans to add  a VA Lawyer to our staff in each quarter in 2014.  

3) I am grateful for the relationships with individuals inside the VA that have a commitment to helping Veterans.

These folks are not as rare as we think.  There are a lot of good people at the VA that want to help (Read about one of those folks -  Dallas VA Medical Center Jeff Milligan - by following that link.)

Unfortunately, Veterans as a community spend far too much time complaining about the big problems at the VA instead of working with the individuals that want to help us.  

I don't ask Veterans to give up their criticisms of the VA - the VA has earned every criticism that is made of them.  What I ask is that we don't let "griping" get in the way of accomplishing our mission.

When it comes to helping Veterans, bitching and moaning about the VA's shortcomings is a luxury we can no longer afford.  

In 2014, the Attig Law Firm hopes to identify, engage, and recognize those employees in the VA that want to help us fulfill our Vision - not because it benefits the Attig Law Firm, but because it changes the lives of our Veteran brothers and sisters.

Specifically, we want to get to know the people inside the VA that can help us dramatically improve 2 systems for all Veterans: the system through which Veterans get copies of their C-Files, and the system through which Veterans develop the facts and evidence of their claims for service connection.

What about you?

What are you grateful for in 2013?  Tell me about it in the comments section, below.