Check out this spotlight on Michele Taylor, GSJones criminal defense attorney. Join her in signing up for the July 7th  Yukon Do It! Marathon. Interviewer Ginger Johnson, runs the marathon organization, Run Amok Racing, Inc. and is on our staff.

RUNNER SPOTLIGHT

Michele Taylor! Can I tell you how inspiring this lady is to me? She has taken her life and told it who’s boss! You need someone to tell you to stop complaining and get off your butt and do the work? This is your woman.

When did you begin running and why?

I started running in College…mostly for the health and stress relief benefits and then when I moved to NOLA it was a great way to get to know the city. Running the Neutral Ground or the levee in New Orleans was a favorite of mine.

At what age did you run your first half or full marathon?

37 – it was the Rock and Roll ½ Marathon in 2009.

What is the toughest run or race you’ve participated in?

I wish I could remember the name of it…it was on Vashon Island, a 5K, but it was super hilly and the weather was awful…we had snow in April that race day! I will say my pace was awesome because the faster I went the warmer I stayed.

What’s the most important lesson running has taught you?

Patience – it isn’t about how far or how fast you go because in running you can get as many gains from slow and steady as from crushing it.

What is your favorite route in the area?

I love running along the waterfronts so either here in Port Orchard or along Ruston in Tacoma

What race day traditions do you have?

On the way to the race I always stop at Starbucks for a Triple Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte and, since getting my Peloton, I always wear Peloton gear to race in.

What’s your life like outside of running?

Busy…my son graduates from High School in June and I have three dogs that keep me busy and smiling. I also regularly participate in challenge groups for the Peloton Power Zone pack and am just starting a running challenge that runs through July (3 runs a week – one long endurance run, an Intervals run and alternating Tempo/hill run). I enjoy reading, fashion and hunting down great shoes. All this and work too – am I crazy??

What’s your best race day advice to a new runner?

Race day isn’t the time to try something new, stick to the tried and true!

Any parting comments?

Running is amazing – the runner’s high is a real thing, but it is also important to cross train. I have been amazed at how mixing up my running with cycling and strength training has actually made my running better.

Choosing the business structure that is right for you is not simply a matter of knowing the law. It is also a matter of knowing yourself. A good tax and business attorney can help you determine the best business structure based on taxation and liability. They must, however, know a lot about you and your vision for your business. Before you set up a consultation here are some questions to ask yourself.

1. What is my vision for my business? Do I want to conquer the world or be a great local business? How about outside funding so that I can grow quickly? Or am I content with slow steady growth using my own funds and reinvesting profits?
2. How much administration am I comfortable with? Do I need to plan for co-owners, or hiring several employees quickly? Finally, how much paperwork can I tolerate?
3. Crucially, how comfortable am I with risking my personal assets? Some business structures leave your personal assets open to lawsuits against the business or open to process to satisfy business debts.

Let our business law team help you choose the business structure for you

As with many things in life, your choice of a business structure may be the result of trade-offs. As an example, some business structures that protect your personal property involve complexity and more paperwork. If you understand your own dream well and add to that your personal quirks we can advise you more effectively.

Our business law team offer diverse and extensive experience. Norman Short with 25 years experience in tax and business law also obtained an advanced legal degree in taxation. Kim Hammit focuses on small businesses and for more than 20 years Chalmers Johnson has helped both business owners and employees with employment law issues. For business owners, he can help establish personnel policies and investigate personnel situations and resolve them.

Let us help you make your dream a success by your own standards. Set up a consultation today at either our Port Orchard or Bainbridge Island office.

Recently the Kitsap County Bar Association awarded GSJones Law Group with the Humanitarian Award for community service. The award recognizes more than 400 hours of volunteer labor to support our community in 2018.  In introducing the award, Bar Association Trustee Ron Richmond, a former GSJones Law Group attorney, said, “GSJones Law Group is where I learned what law was all about. Where I learned that justice is not justice unless it is accessible. And where I personally watched tonight’s recipients dedicate countless hours to the advancement of better communities, a better legal system, and a better tomorrow through volunteerism.”

The partners and most of the staff, pictured above, were on hand at the annual celebration. The volunteer work has been ongoing for many years through Kitsap Legal Services, Northwest Justice Project and the Rotary Club of South Kitsap. We are so honored by this recognition from the legal community filled with attorneys who also have impressive community service records. And Ron’s words warmed our hearts. We are very proud of our “graduate.”

Managing Partner David Jones holds plaque at Kitsap Bar Association annual celebration.

Legal Services

Partner John Groseclose and legal assistant Cassie Close both serve on the board of Kitsap Legal Services. In addition, John serves as president. Sara Humphries received the Humanitarian Award in 2014, partially in honor of her work with KLS where she continues to volunteer. At the time she served on the board. At KLS attorneys, paralegals and other volunteers provide information, advice and representation for Kitsap residents who cannot afford attorneys.

Attorney Larry Lofgren volunteers regularly at the Spanish language family law clinic. In addition to her work for KLS, Cassie serves as a CASA volunteer representing the interests of children in Juvenile Court and submitting reports to the court.

The Weekly Tenant Clinic, started by, among others, John Groseclose, meets every Friday morning from 8:30 to 10:30 in room 250 at the Kitsap County Superior Court. It is a walk-in clinic, no appointment necessary. Bring any paperwork, including leases and payment information.

For help with other non-criminal legal issues make an appointment through the Northwest Justice Project by calling 800-621-4636. In addition, check out the excellent legal guides and forms.

Rotary Club of South Kitsap

Managing Partner David Jones is currently the president of the Rotary board and has been an active volunteer for many years. Port Orchard and other residents of South Kitsap know all the good work that the Rotary Club of South Kitsap does for the community, including scholarships, help for struggling families and community betterment. Larry Lofgren is also active in the Bainbridge Island Rotary Club.

Humanitarian Award Speech

On behalf of the bar association Ron Richmond said:

We take the unusual step tonight of presenting this award not to an individual, but to a group. To a team. To a collective that adopts as one of their core tenets that they take action to help solve social problems and … they may do it to excess.

This group, a firm of attorneys and their assistants, is a close-knit team that takes a lead role in volunteerism from community assistance to legal aid. They host regular volunteer clinics at their office. And then, they follow up with those who come to clinics, as well as facilitate CLEs to help others volunteer.

Two of them serve on the board of Kitsap Legal Services, one as its president; one of them is the President of a local Rotary club and leads the coordination of their events. In addition, they regularly contract with the Northwest Justice Project to provide legal services at vastly discounted rates.

$75,000 in donated time

Many of you know my enjoyment of auditing numbers. I talked with one of the Group earlier this week to get some official numbers about their service, and their conservative estimate, between attorneys and staff, is close to 400 hours of volunteer work and leadership in 2018. At least four hundred hours, and this is an understated number.

When we look at the hourly value of the time in our profession, for attorneys and staff, my math says that this volunteer investment into the community has a value of over $75,000.00 worth of time that they have donated.

For those of you who may not yet have guessed our recipient this year, the final clue is that about a decade ago, they took in a disabled attorney brand new to the profession. They made every accommodation needed to allow that disabled person to thrive and grow in a law practice – that attorney was me.

GSJones Law Group is where I learned what law was all about. Where I learned that justice is not justice unless it is accessible. And where I personally watched tonight’s recipients dedicate countless hours to the advancement of better communities, a better legal system, and a better tomorrow through volunteerism.

Many of our neighbors were hit hard by a tornado yesterday. We are just north of you on Bethel next to the Post Office. You face all kinds of headaches in this holiday season. Some of them may be legal and we are here to help. We are happy to meet with you at no charge for your initial consultation.

Among our eight attorneys are people with experience dealing with insurance companies, landlords and tenants, contracts and contractors, estates, taxes and almost any other legal problem the tornado may have brought you.

When you call 360-876-9221 to set up an appointment, just tell the receptionist that you want the free consultation for tornado survivors.