Terra Extraneus

Rod Heggy and Terry Hull have written more than 160 articles for Terra Extraneus since this blog went online on Dec. 23, 2005. Here are Heggy’s and Hull’s picks of their favorites from among the articles each of them has written.

Rod Heggy’s Top Ten

Terry Hull’s Top Ten

ROD’S TEN FAVORITE ARTICLES (updated Jul. 16, 2008)

(1) “Modern Insurance Co. Fairy Tale: First, Kill the Lawyers!” (Jan. 1, 2006)
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” Dick the Butcher, King Henry VI. Of course, Dick the Butcher meant it literally, murdering all the lawyers, because he was installing a new king. However, dismantling the ability to successfully sue insurance companies and other corporate giants has been the political and legal goal of these financial behemoths for the last thirty years…

(2) “A Breech in the Levee: Oklahoma Uninsured Motorists” (Mar. 18, 2006)
Oklahoma motorists often wonder why they have to pay so much in automobile insurance premiums. Beyond the avarice of insurance carriers, one legitimate reason is that Oklahoma allows, indeed encourages uninsured motorists. Anyone who has been in a serious automobile accident, especially if the at-fault driver was uninsured, knows this trauma very well…

(3) “Homeowners Coverage – A Shrinking Parasol” (Jul. 8, 2006)
In 1998, our story begins, when the homeowners, the Duensings, felt their kitchen floor get warm. Upon investigation, they theorized they had a leak from their hot water tank plumbing. They promptly shut in their hot water tank and called a leak detection company and their homeowners insurance company agent. The insurance company, State Farm, arrived on the scene…

(4) “The Variable Annuity Protocols” (Mar. 17, 2007)
It happened again. An 85 year old man came to see me. He had been sold a variable annuity when he was 79 that carried substantial surrender charges and only a death benefit for security. The person that sold it to him was not a registered representative, but some sort of insurance agent with only a series 6 licensure, and little understanding of risk. His life savings…

(5) “Investigating Jurors: A Primer” (Nov. 14, 2007)
After my recent experience with finding a felon on a federal court civil jury, I encountered a local judge who related a similar story. In his case, in state court, the jury was seated and voir dire was progressing when an employee in the court clerk’s office noted that the name of a juror seemed familiar. The court clerk looked up the name and discovered that the juror was a felon…

(6) “Who Is Protecting Senior Citizens From the Financial Planning ‘Experts?’” (May 19, 2007)
Massachusetts is cracking down on brokers and other financial advisors who falsely claim to have special expertise in advising senior citizens on their investments. The new regulations, which take effect June 1, will require that such claims of special credentials must be approved by the Secretary of State. You can learn more about the Massachusetts regulations…

(7) “DOJ and US Courts Are Not on Speaking Terms?: Felons as Jurors” (Sep. 22, 2007)
The number of incarcerated persons in 2006 was 2,245,189 according to a department of the DOJ, found here. At the end of 2005, there were 4,900,000 persons on parole or probation. Of the offenders on probation, half were felons. 94% of parolees had been sentenced to more than a year in prison. Anyway you look at it, that is at least 3 or 4 out of every 100 persons…

(8) “Buying a Business – Franchise Risks” (Jun. 28, 2008)
For many years, every kid I knew that did not go to college was somehow located and drafted by some pyramid or outside sales company. They were each eager to make their initial presentations to family, friends, and friends of their parents. Thus, I sat through many presentations on vitamins, cleansers, vacuums, and other life essentials…

(9) “Automobile Repair Contracts: A Warning” (Feb. 26, 2006)
One of the many consequences of the tort reform movement has been the practical elimination of the civil rights of the average consumer. The clock has literally been turned back to the era of frontier justice. While it may seem a small consequence, one of these has been in the area of the extended automobile warranty or repair insurance contract…

(10) “FINRA Enforcement Actions: Would you Rather Fight than Switch?” (Oct. 28, 2007)
Karen Donovan at Registered Rep reported the recent study issued by a Washington, DC, law firm that concluded that fines and sanctions were less when the enforcement issues were litigated than when imposed by settling with FINRA (“Financial Industry Regulatory Authority”). FINRA, according to Donovan, rebutted the study by merely sloughing…

TERRY’S TEN FAVORITE ARTICLES (updated Jul. 16, 2008)

(1) “Who’s in the Middle Class, How Much Do They Make — and How Much is Left Over?” (Nov. 17, 2006)
Are you a member of the middle class? Am I? An intelligent discussion of the travails of the middle class is not possible unless we define the term. Yet there is no consensus among economists or the general public regarding who makes up America’s middle class. American Demographics magazine reported…

(2) “Absolutely the Single Most Important Rule of Law Marketing” (May 12, 2007)
What are the tools of successful law practice marketing? A sleek website. An informative blog. Cultivating referrals. Lots of networking and community involvement. Outstanding client relations. All of these are important factors. However, I challenge any marketing guru to identify a more important rule of law marketing than this one: Follow through with the prospective clients who…

(3) “For God’s Sake, Let’s Leave American-Born Children Out of Immigration Debate” (Jun. 16, 2006)
1975. Morelos, Zacatecas. Miguel and Maria and their 2-year-old, Angelina, live in Morelos, a village in Zacatecas, Mexico. Famous for its silver mines, Zacatecas was once one of the richest states of Mexico, but today more than half the population lives in poverty. Many jobs have moved from Mexico to China in recent years, and there are few opportunities in Zacatecas…

(4) “The Kennedy Assassination: A Lot Can Happen in 43 Years” (Nov. 22, 2006)
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on this date, Nov. 22, in 1963. I was a fifth-grader in Omaha, Neb., 10 years old, when Kennedy was shot down in the streets of Dallas. The event made a lasting impression on me, as it did most members of my generation. It has popularly been observed that we who were alive then can remember exactly where we were and…

(5) “But I Know What I Like” (Jan. 27, 2006)
A French man was fined $262,700 this week for attacking a urinal with a hammer. Must be some urinal! You bet it is. A porcelain fixture manufactured by J. L. Mott Ironworks of New York in 1917. The urinal, now on display in a Paris art museum, has an estimated value of around $4 million…

(6) “The Most Important Document Ever Written By Man” (July 4, 2006)
Second only to the inspired words of the Holy Bible, the Declaration of Independence is the most important document ever written. It has just 1338 words and was originally contained on a single large sheet of parchment. Today we celebrate the 230th anniversary of one of the most important days in human history. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776…

(7) “What Do You Think: Big Splash or Lots of Ripples?” (Oct. 18, 2007)
I had this thought this morning: “Effective marketing is not so much about the big splash as it is about countless continual small ripples.” Knowing that there are no new thoughts, I Googled “marketing + big splash + ripples” to see what others have said…

(8) “Allstate Wins Battle Against ‘Smoking Gun’ Docs” (Oct. 16, 2007)
Allstate won the battle in a Kentucky civil case last week, but the war continues. In several suits across the country, plaintiffs accuse Allstate of bad faith in how it handles claims, pointing to the now-famous “McKinsey documents” as proof. However, in the Bluegrass State last week, a jury unanimously denied a $1.4 billion claim against Allstate. The case has some good lessons for…

(9) “MOVIE REVIEW: Great Debaters Make Great Leaders” (Dec. 26, 2007)
One thing that distinguishes a “great” film from a “good” one for me is the discussion it prompts on the drive home, and whether I’m still thinking about the film the next day. Was it merely entertaining, or did I learn anything from it? Did it make me think? I saw Denzel Washington’s “The Great Debaters” last night…

(10) “Bar Association Slams Bush for Disregard for Law” (Jul. 25, 2006)
The American Bar Association issued a report yesterday criticizing President Bush for attaching bill-signing statements to more than 750 laws during his presidency. Presidents attach such statements to bills when they sign them into law to declare that the president questions the law on constitutional or national security grounds. Bill-signing statements are nothing new, but…