2007 Year End Office News
2007 passed quietly Dec 31st at ALO, a bit of a lull after one of the busiest years ever, both in and out of the office. Let’s start with the law business. In our second full year since two trusted lawyers left with out notice, taking many of ALO’s long time clients with them, the office recorded one of its best years ever. That comes despite the fact those who left were not replaced. Instead, ALO developed a new business plan, utilizing more lawyers who are contractors instead of employees, in such places as Anchorage, Seattle and Minneapolis as needed. Instead of taking most business that comes in the door, ALO is now turning away cases that were often accepted before to keep everyone busy. And the contract employees that we are using do work of exceptional quality, often in areas where our current lawyers lack skill or experience. It is a fact that most lawyers have areas of strength and weakness, and knowing when to get help is essential, especially in a place like Bethel with so many challenging legal cases. It can be hard to justify employing expensive contract lawyers when a large staff is already drawing high salaries but that is no longer a problem. Better lawyers working on better cases seems to be a successful formula. It can be difficult to attract high quality professional people to live in rural Alaska, but technology has made it possible to share file information with distant lawyers almost instantly. ALO converses daily with numerous lawyers who provide expertise on cases from around the country.
It is also apparent that ALO is getting a different mixture of cases, with some civil defense work to go along with personal injury and criminal defense work. Those civil defendants who have hired ALO seem to be the clients with winnable cases, which makes those cases far more appealing. In short, ALO is doing more enjoyable work, and avoiding some of the painful cases that haunted the office in the past.
Our temporary paralegal Rachel Davis moved back to Anchorage in mid-December, extending her very productive stay for one month past her original departure time. She was gone before we celebrated our office Christmas party catered by the Marx Brothers restaurant in Anchorage. After pestering for an invite for many years, office mechanical wizard Grant Fairbanks finally was included, on the condition that he bring the food out from Anchorage. He came through, and arrived on schedule for the first time in ages. A new office helper, this time a law grad from Texas, arrives in January.
No civil cases were settled in December, although several offers were received and rejected. Matt did resolve one felony assault with an outright dismissal.
Out of the office, 2007 was a humdinger. Andy’s racing in the Kuskokwim 300 and the Iditarod got the year off to a very intense start, and the promised video of his finish is bound to make it on to this site before long. That was followed by Dolly and David’s wedding, another wedding in Aniak, the start of our cabin project, yet another wedding in Ireland, a busy August getting the cabin ready for winter, and of course the plane crash. There were lots of smaller events, but that list should give some idea of how things keep moving around here. Just for added entertainment, the family urged Myron to sign up for the Kuskokwim 300. Long cold training runs were common in December. Keep an eye on for race results starting Jan 18th. As of now there are only two entrants in the “elder” division, Myron and Gerry Riley, a former Iditarod champion. Elder is defined here as “old enough to know better”
Finally, a word about our website. Of course this is a new innovation for ALO, designed by former Bethel guy Rich Gannon who now lives in Montana. His web services are top notch, especially when it comes to being prompt. Is there anything worse than a website than never gets updated? This website has been fun, because its informal. At ALO no one takes themselves too seriously. We urge clients who want a somber, always serious lawyer to look elsewhere. We have fun doing our cases, and get serious when needed. This website should portray that. It seems to be working. I have one client’s quote to prove that point. Some legal websites have high sounding quotes from clients, who of course are unnamed. They are likely unnamed because the quotes are made up. Not so here. Molly Sakar of Crooked Creek wrote an email when she hired this office to do a case involving a family member who was injured in an airplane accident. She stated “visited your website as I was checking out lawyers...decided to go with someone local who has history with the local yokels.”
This page would be very long if it included a list of the “local yokels” who have a history with ALO.
November 07
Lots of activity around Angstman Law Office in November. A major trial involving the deaths of three young people in Hooper Bay was the main focus for the month, but the case settled about 10 days before trial was to begin in Bethel. ALO represented the Lower Yukon School District in that case. The school was blamed for providing a canoe which was built in the school shop to the community for anyone to use. Three teenagers took the canoe out at the mouth of a river flowing into the ocean and overturned in the waves. None had life vests. No one really wins in such a case.
A couple of our cases settled. A Dillingham client agreed to a $30,000 settlement for the loss of a finger tip in an accident involving a band saw. A woman from White Mountain accepted $9,500 to resolve a portion of her family’s claim against a hunting guide in her village who she blamed for her loss of employment. This case grew out of another case involving the same two families, which is still pending. In that case, a teenager driving a four wheeler ran over our client, a small child, during a Fourth of July celebration.
Matt resolved a difficult driving while intoxicated and refusal case by securing a reduced charge of reckless driving for a Bethel client.
Outside of the office, early snow made for good dog training, but that all changed with the major thaw at the end of November. Andy and Myron have been training 23 dogs in preparation for all of the local races, which start at the end of December.
A new airplane has been purchased, and arrangements to transport it to Bethel are now being made. It’s a Cessna 172XP float plane, the same as the prior aircraft. Aircraft guru LJ Davis, who shares an aircraft hangar with ALO, was instrumental in finding this new airplane.
Sarah and Ben have purchased a home in Bethel, a funky dwelling on the high bank of the Kuskokwim. Their housewarming is in early December, so watch for photos on this site. Speaking of photos, we have a few for this month. First, a shot of the raised by our neighbor Gary Baldwin. His garden was fairly large, but featured a healthy stand of chickweed. After considerable abuse from other gardeners in the neighborhood, Gary graciously consented to having this photo distributed.
The Baldwin’s daughter Katie, now living in Prague, Czech Republic, has her own website, katrinabaldwin.com which contains her photos from around the world. Check it out –she’s an excellent photographer
Finally, there was the Kenzie Sumpter wedding. It was held in Palmer, with a reception at Settler’s Bay in Wasilla. Bethel weddings and receptions are often colorful, but normally when they move to other areas they are more refined. Not so for Kenzie. Kenzie has been a free spirit for a long time. For instance, when she was about 10 years old, she was a catcher on a co-ed softball team. She took a hard foul ball to a sensitive area and announced rather loudly “It’s a lucky thing I’m not a boy”.
So the gathering of the Hoffman clan for this wedding promised to be entertaining, and it was. Kenzie is known for her singing, and as these , she got into it at the reception. The microphone didn’t have a stand, so she had to improvise. Her singing led to the grand finale, which was the traditional bridal table dance. Congratulations to Kenzie and Jeremiah.
October 07
Myron and Sue are back in Alaska after a few weeks at Long Pond Elk Farm. Fall was wonderful on 
the farm, with great weather and abundant wildlife, along with lots of farm chores. The critter count on the farm, not counting the 30 fenced elk, seems to be increasing. Among the stuff we see are deer, coyote, pheasant, grouse, turkey, duck, giant Canadian goose, trumpeter swan, sandhill crane, heron, bald eagle, hawk, owl, grey squirrel, flying squirrel, fox, skunk, possum, bobcat, mink, fisher and beaver. We have seen sign of black bear and wolf, but no sightings yet. Most of these creatures are more abundant now than they were 50 years ago. We have posted pictures of some of the wildlife, including a couple of magnificent white tails captured by trail cameras strolling around at night. Several elk were harvested in October, and a few have been shipped to Alaska customers.
During the Minnesota stay, Myron and Sue connected up with former Angstman Law Office employee Jane Imholte, who now works as a Public Defender in Minneapolis. Jane misses Alaska and is counting the days until she returns, which will likely be in about 1 1/2 years. She proudly displays two photos of Alaska at her apartment, one of her in a hopeless dog tangle during the Bogus Creek 150, and another of James Nicholas, the long time helper at ALO befriended by Jane when she worked there. Her choice of wall photos explains why she remains one of the favorite employees ever at ALO.
Some legal work was done from Minnesota. A Dillingham car crash resulted in a $50,000 settlement for the injured lady. Also in the Dillingham courts Matt secured a dismissal of several assault counts, including two felonies, for a Togiak man. Matt keeps the office running during the fall, and email keeps the Minnesota branch of ALO informed of the day to day events in Bethel.
The fall out from September’s plane crash is sorting itself out. After careful thought, another airplane is likely to show up in Bethel before too long. Part of the reason for that is the fact that Sarah and Ben seem to have put the accident behind them. They showed up at a Bethel Halloween party dressed as plane crash survivors.
September 07
September news is a bit late, but it was quite a month. Since this is supposed to be a law office website, the legal news should come first, but not this month.
After 3,000 hours and 24 years of flying 758TG, the Cessna 172 XP owned by ALO, Myron crashed on landing with Sarah and Ben on board 44 miles northwest of Bethel September 27th. All three walked away from the crash, Sarah with both bones in her lower right arm broken, to spend a night in a makeshift camp in the brush awaiting rescue. It was a little after 8 pm when the satellite call went out to Sue in Bethel, with about an hour of daylight remaining. No rescue was possible that night. LJ Davis and Mike Reardon made the rescue the next day in two float planes. The night in camp was reasonably tolerable. Sarah couldn't lay down so sat in an airplane seat removed from the wreck. A tent was set up in a marginal spot on the bank. Camping gear and emergency gear made things better than they could have been. A $5 emergency candle in a can was worth way more as the night wore on with no sleep. There were even a few chuckles, as lists were made of people who we would not want to be stuck with in a similar situation. Sarah's broken arm was painful of course, but nary a whimper. Ben was stellar as the most able bodied in camp, (Myron had a back spasm from the crash) Sarah required surgery, and is on the mend.
The accident happened as a result of pilot error. The landing was to take place on a decent sized slough off the Yukon River. It was long, straight and wide enough-(200-300 feet) An unanticipated cross wind as the plane turned final normally would not have been a problem, but this time the plane was blown off line over trees on the bank. With insufficient altitude to assure a safe go around, a sharp turn was made to put the plane back over the water. With little altitude remaining, the plane was leveled and ready to land when the right wing tip caught a small (two to three inch) branch sticking straight out from the bank about 8-10 feet. That swung the plane into the bank. It is not comforting to be moving at 50 mph and to see a river bank directly in front of the windshield of an airplane. The floats absorbed most of the energy, and the plane swung clockwise, with the left wing taking the last hit. There was plenty of good and bad fortune involved. The bull moose with six cows in the meadow near where we spent the night experienced some of the good fortune.
758TG has provided an immense amount of enjoyment to a large number of people. Family, friends, and clients have experienced countless trips into Western Alaska's incredible wilderness. Most understood there was some risk. Most have also made it clear they are ready to go again. This website has existed for a few months and already it is filled with references to the role aviation plays in the day to day business of ALO. That part of life in Alaska would be hard to live without.
The picture to the right shows Bethel resident Pete Kaiser with a large Dolly Varden caught on one of the last trips made to the mountains in 758TG. We had only about 45 minutes to fish at this spot, and Pete had hooked and lost a couple of nice sized fish earlier. It was time to go, and "last cast" was announced. Andy was gathering the gear, and Pete took several last casts, catching this fish on the final one.
Meanwhile, the business continues. A handful of injury cases were settled, including four Anchorage cases that settled for less than $10,000 each. Our recent trial experience there contributed to the decision to accept modest settlements. A woman from Tuntutuliak settled her claim against the local school for $150,000, for injuries suffered in a fall at the school gym. Matt secured a dismissal of a drunk driving charge in Bethel court. The case involved a boating incident on the Kuskokwim river.
Myron and Sue are at Long Pond Elk Farm for a few weeks. and webmaster Rich Gannon arrives there for a visit with his family in mid October. Fall colors are grand, so expect more pictures in the next few days.
August 07
Matt obtained a split decision on a jury trial this month in Dillingham criminal court. He obtained an acquittal for his client in a domestic violence assault, but the client was convicted on a charge of interfering with a report of domestic violence. (How can you interfere with a report of something that didn’t happen?) The client was happy with the result, even if his lawyers weren’t.
In civil cases, a Chefornak woman accepted a $155,000 settlement for knee injuries suffered in a fall on a school district porch. A Dillingham woman agreed to take $15,000 for injuries suffered in a fall on a sidewalk owned by a local business.
Our cabin project in the nearby state park is completed for this year. The crew made the cabin weather tight for the winter and will finish the project next June. The office crew will try out the cabin over the Labor Day weekend.
The Irish wedding trip was a success. Click the link below for pictures from webmaster Rich Gannon, who was one of the celebrants in Doolin, Ireland where the wedding party and guests spent a few days before the wedding touring. Most of the tours started and ended at a local pub. The Irish celebrate weddings in a manner similar to Americans, only longer. Addy and Nate’s reception ended at around 5:00 am, with the last few hours set aside for a sing along, which seems to be common. The Bethel crowd performed well, and managed to get a group picture taken in a pub right after the wedding, gathered around a Delta Discovery newspaper. That has been sent to the local newspaper for their picture page. Neville Purvis, a well known Bethel hillbilly, made a surprise appearance at the wedding. Click the second link to see Neville's toast.
August 07 to Year End 07 Recap