What do aggravated IT bands, sore quads, shin splints and black toenails all have in common? I’ve had all of them thanks to my love for running.

I often wonder why I put myself through such torture during my endless training periods before a race and am always reminded of the answer when I finish: I run because I am in control and no one else is dependent on me for a “win.”

I have logged over 800 miles this past year and only 130 of those miles are race miles. I’ve been running for about two-and-a-half years and when I signed up for my first race, the Marine Corps Historic Half marathon, I had no clue that I would love it so much. As a matter of fact, it was supposed to be my only race that year. But I felt such a sense of accomplishment so shortly after the race that I registered for a 5K and another half-marathon that year.

Working as a family law attorney, I am often faced with addressing my clients’ emotional issues as well as their legal issues. While at the office, I have to multitask and can’t focus on one case at a time. I’m also unable to leave my clients’ issues at the office, and I think it’s safe to say I am not the only attorney. I think I would be doing my clients a disservice if I considered my job as an 8-to-5. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, but sometimes it can be mentally exhausting and I need a chance to decompress.

That’s where running comes in. I enjoy it because I have a chance to drift into my own world with my thoughts. There are no distractions of phone calls, text messages, emails or television. I have time to process things and my thoughts seem to become clearer. My mind is consistently spinning and it’s hard to shut it off.

During a run, I have an opportunity to step back, isolate my thoughts and contemplate all sorts of stuff. I’ve come up with some great case strategies, such as how to proceed procedurally or how to present my case at trial. I’ve also made personal decisions, such as where to go for vacation or how to make Mother’s Day special for my mom and sisters.

The only distractions during a run tend to be the occasional biker that says “on your left” or the runner that laps me. (I don’t consider myself competitive but I hate to get lapped.) Running has become my outlet; I know that for at least one hour, four-to-five times a week, I will have some Mahasin time. I’m in the driver’s seat and someone else doesn’t dictate my time. I can go at my own pace wherever I want and think about whatever I want. If I start off a run frustrated or overwhelmed, absent an injury, I usually always finish feeling accomplished a rejuvenated.

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When I was a kid, I ate up mysteries. I collected code and cipher books, had an Apple Jacks decoder, read every Sherlock Holmes story I could find and played both Clue and Master Detective Clue (I was always Professor Plum). As a child, it was exciting to solve the whodunit, to role play mysteries with friends and to live vicariously through the great detectives. Other fictional role models included The Three Investigators (the stories had the coolest titles — “The Mystery of the Screaming Clock”) and, I’m a little embarrassed to say, The Bobbsey Twins.

As my friends know, I’m a science-fiction fanatic. With “Star Trek” off the television airwaves, I’ve had to find enjoyment elsewhere. I’ve come to know and love the British series Doctor Who and recently discovered that one of the writers of Doctor Who also created a modern spin on Sherlock Holmes for the BBC.

I’m a little late to the game — I started last week with season two (it airs Sunday nights on PBS’ Masterpiece Mystery!). I watched the first episode of the season and highly recommend it. (Nerdy sci-fi note: the actor who plays Sherlock in the BBC production is also cast in the next “Star Trek” movie. Reports are that he will play Kirk’s (original timeline) nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh).

It got me thinking about the how our profession is like a mystery story. For personal injury lawyers, many cases are about unfolding mysteries. Sure, there are some garden variety automobile accidents, but almost every case brings something interesting to the table. I’ve found defendants through Facebook, surveyed hours of MTV video footage to identify the events surrounding a crowd crush incident and pored through tens of thousands of pages of documents to identify corporate wrongdoing. Particularly in the beginning, when that new phone call comes in and the facts need to be pieced together to determine if something actionable happened. It’s a thrill.

The thing about mysteries is that they are not usually as sexy in real life. Rarely solved through Holmesian deduction, they require methodical plodding and fact-checking. One of the smartest and most effective lawyers I know was an investigative journalism major — his depositions are a wonder to behold. The key in this line of work is to keep pushing, to keep asking questions and to accumulate as much data as possible. That’s how crimes get solved.

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I just finished putting together my materials for the MSBA Annual Meeting. I will be speaking Thursday morning during the conference about how lawyers can use social media effectively and without getting themselves into trouble. My presentation will be part of a broader session that will also include technology tips and online resource pointers. It will be in the morning, but yes, I have been promised that there will be coffee. (Pastries too, I hear.)

My presentation will focus on how social media can be used effectively by lawyers. From blogging to LinkedIn to Facebook and Twitter, social media can help you find new audiences for your work and can put you in control of your professional reputation. There are a few lawyers who have perfected the art of using these social media platforms for professional purposes.  Check out the Connecticut Employment Law Blog, the Ohio Employer’s Law Blog, and The Employer Handbook.

My materials include, among other things, a list of tips on how lawyers can use social media effectively. I think one of the most important is, “don’t be afraid to show your personality.” Tastefully and professionally, of course, and in moderation.

We spend so many of our waking hours thinking about work and do so much of our communication and networking electronically that it is far too easy for us, the online generation of lawyers, to lose who we are as individuals. We may not think about it, but in divorcing our personal lives from our professional lives so completely, we are losing the things that set us apart and that can help us naturally identify with colleagues, potential clients and referral sources.

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Within minutes of talking to me, it is fairly obvious that I am an animal lover and take great joy in spending time with my two dogs, Dexter and Luca. In fact, it very well might be my favorite thing to do.

So, in honor of my two great loves, I type this post in memory of Phoenix, a pit bull who lost her life in Baltimore, Brandi, who almost lost her life in Frederick County and all companion animals who have fallen victim to human cruelty or recklessness.

I was saddened the second trial involving the cruel act against Phoenix (soaking her with an accelerant and setting on fire) concluded with a “not guilty” verdict. Don’t get me wrong — I was not gunning for the conviction of the accused twins. There was a lot of controversy surrounding the evidence presented at trial and I am not privy to any inside information from either side.

However, my heart is filled with sadness that this dog had to unnecessarily suffer from the extreme pain of the severe burns on her body. My heart is filled with outrage and frustration that she had to give up her life because someone found it amusing to torture an innocent animal.

In January 2010, Roger and Sandra Jenkins almost lost Brandi to a police officer’s gunshot. The chocolate Labrador retriever bounded toward an officer who arrived at her home to serve a warrant on the Jenkins’ son. Without attempting any alternative actions in response to an allegedly threatening dog, the officer shot Brandi despite the fact that she had ceased moving toward the officer. A Frederick County jury awarded the Jenkinses $620,000 in damages.

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“Slime.”

As someone who was born in the ’80s, I think of the gross green dude from Ghostbusters or that nasty gelatinous substance that was regularly dropped on people on Nickelodeon. Wasn’t “slime” sold in single plastic containers in toy vending machines as well?

But I digress: I’m sure many of my contemporaries have fond memories of the green slime from our childhoods, but that is not the slime that has been plastered all over the news lately.

That would be “pink slime.” And guess what? We have all eaten it. Back in 1994, Rick Perry’s “Lean Finely Textured Beef” was developed in the wake of public health concerns over E. coli in beef. A process was developed by the founder of Beef Products Inc. that disinfects the meat using ammonia (YES, you heard that right…AMMONIA). The additive was approved for human consumption by the USDA in 2001.

Since its approval, consumer advocates, scientists, and even internal United States Department of Agriculture staff staff have objected to its addition to ground beef in the U.S. In 2007, the USDA determined the disinfection process was so effective that it would be exempt from “routine testing of meat used in hamburger sold to the general public. More disturbingly, beef in the U.S. can be labeled “100 percent ground beef” even if it contains up to 15 percent pink slime in the U.S. You can only be confident that your ground beef has no pink slime in it if it comes with a USDA Organic label.

OK… what?? I knew those “mystery meat” hamburgers and hot dogs weren’t healthy for me, but not in my wildest imagination could I have known that I was eating something that was treated with the same thing that I use to clean windows. Maybe the father from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” was on to something when he sprayed Windex on everything, but I doubt it.

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Who is it that won in Baltimore County?!

The biggest thing Friday (besides The Hunger Games of course) was the Mega Millions. I don’t know about you, but I had my tickets bought and my exotic vacations plans and my new career running a pro bono legal foundation/fund for animals all planned out.

I saw someone tweeted and offered to pay off all the student loan debt of the UM Law’s Class of 2012 if they won. And I’ll admit that I fell for some of the hoaxes on Twitter and elsewhere with people “claiming” to be the winner.

I’m very excited that one of the winning tickets was purchased in Baltimore County. The New York Post first broke the story about the potential Maryland winner — a McDonald’s employee. The story is that the “winner” entered a Mega Millions pool with her coworkers, but the actual winning ticket was a ticket she purchased individually, outside of the pool. 

The potential winner, Mirlande Wilson, has already spoken out and has stated that she will not be sharing her winnings with her coworkers. Is this a wise move for her to speak out? What will happen in the resulting legal battle if she did win? The Post article notes that a similar situation has happened before in New Jersey and that the winner was ordered to share his winnings with his coworkers.

A common practice for office Mega Millions pools is to make photocopies of group tickets and distribute the copies to all contributors. If Wilson really bought one more ticket for the office on her way home from work it’ll be her word against her coworkers in court.

Many think it is best to remain anonymous after winning. Maryland is one of the few states in which winners can remain anonymous. Jay Hancock wrote last year about how crucial it is to stay anonymous and to lawyer up after winning big.  Also check out the advice of a past Mega Millions winner.

It must be difficult to stay anonymous after winning though. Lottery representatives encourage winners to come forward, and who doesn’t like sharing good news? Here’s a link to a gallery of past winners.

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