Elite Lawyer is pleased to announce that, for the Spring 2022 semester, our scholarship team has selected a student who shares our passion for community. The Elite Lawyer Scholarship Team has selected Ms. Abigail Reeves as our newest award recipient. Abigail’s essay was well organized and professionally written. It also demonstrated her immense desire to help others and make a difference.

About the Elite Lawyer Scholarship 

Each semester, Elite Lawyer offers a $1,000 scholarship to students attending college or university in the United States. We are honored to offer this opportunity to students who are motivated to bring positive change to their community. 

Elite Lawyer understands and appreciates the educational and financial responsibilities associated with pursuing higher education and hopes to ease the financial burden of school through this scholarship. Our scholarship is now open to applicants for the Fall 2022 semester, and we encourage all students who are committed to making an impact to apply. 

About the Spring 2022 Award Winner

Abigail Reeves has always been an avid reader. When she was younger, Abigail spent countless hours browsing novels at her school library. Abigail soon learned that not all children have that same opportunity. What she once thought was the norm for all children, was actually a great privilege. Since this realization, she has sought to bring this privilege of accessible books to children and families in her area who may not be as fortunate. 

A creative writing major at Arizona State University, Abigail’s appreciation for learning and reading inspired her to form a library through the organization, A New Leaf. This mission allows Abigail the opportunity to help her community by providing access to more reading materials for both families of abuse and those living homeless. 

Abigail’s aspirations to serve her community and bring the gift of reading to children in her area is not limited to this sole project. She appreciates the joys and advantages books give to children and adults alike and hopes to help in any way she can.

After graduating, Abigail intends to either enter the workforce or continue her education pursuing a Master of Fine Arts and focusing on creative writing.

Contact Elite Lawyer Today

Elite Lawyer is proud to provide this opportunity to inspirational students like Abigail. With the Elite Lawyer Scholarship, we support community-oriented student leaders.

Elite Lawyer recognizes attorneys across the United States who have demonstrated their dedication to the legal community and their clients. The attorney directory also serves as a rating system, awarding the attorneys who continue to provide outstanding services.

To learn more about this scholarship, please visit https://www.elitelawyer.com/elite-lawyer-scholarship.

To learn more about becoming an Elite Lawyer, visit https://www.elitelawyer.com/. 

Today, it seems like there are limitless ways to utilize the internet to market your business. Google has become a major doorway into consumers finding a business that best suits their needs. However, some of Google’s features continue to be underutilized, including the features available within a Google Listing -- a tool specifically for businesses. Taking full advantage of your firm’s Google Listing can highlight your distinct firm for local clients.

Last month, we discussed how your Elite Lawyer video can provide your firm significant value in regard to search engine optimization. Today, let’s take a closer look at how your video, along with other Elite Lawyer content, can help to enhance your business listing on Google. 

Adding Elite Lawyer Video, Badge, and Other Content to Your Google Listing

As we discussed in last month’s blog, today’s online customers are increasingly drawn to video content. Google is taking advantage of this change and allowing companies to add videos to their business listing. Businesses who add videos to their Google Listing gain a new manner of engagement with their consumers and have the potential to increase overall conversion rates. 

Adding a video that showcases your brand, hard work, and services to a listing can also greatly help a business stand out among its competitors who may have limited or poorly executed content to share. While videos will not necessarily act as direct advertisements to potential clients, clients will be more likely to visit your website or call the direct number listed. 

Images, such as your Elite Lawyer badge, can also have this same beneficial effect on your Google Listing. Your badge, which may be used as an image, can supplement your Google Listing with a new level of trust and credibility. It will also act as a first impression for potential consumers, showcasing your high-quality legal services in the listing. It should be noted that any and all images included in a Google Listing should be high-resolution and professional. 

Contact Elite Lawyer Today

High-quality content acts as an outstanding first impression for potential clients in your area searching for your firm’s services. Your Elite Lawyer badge and video can help consumers make decisions while searching for a firm that is the right fit for them. To learn more about how Elite Lawyer can help you to enhance your Google Listing and other marketing efforts, contact our team today by calling 833-403-5483. 

Sources:

https://searchengineland.com/rise-video-8-tips-boost-sites-seo-227498

http://blog.staylisted.com/7-reasons-to-upload-videos-to-google-my-business

Elite Lawyer is excited to announce that the biannual Elite Lawyer Scholarship winner has been selected for the Fall 2021 semester. Claire Rosenberger, a pre-med student at the University of Arizona, inspired readers with her essay detailing her aspirations for more accessible healthcare throughout Spanish-speaking communities. Ms. Rosenberger was selected out of a large group of qualified student applicants for her appreciation and dedication to her community.

About the Elite Lawyer Scholarship

Since the fall of 2020, Elite Lawyer has been awarding scholarships to community-dedicated students. Elite Lawyer offers this scholarship in an effort to help young students who display a passion for community service and leadership. Elite Lawyer recognizes the financial obstacles today’s college students face and offers eligible students the chance to win a $1,000 scholarship. We are currently accepting applicants for the Spring 2022 scholarship.

The scholarship requires students to respond to the question: “What positive change are you working to bring to your community this year?” The students may opt to submit a 500-word essay or a 2-minute video presentation. Applicants must have a clear passion for making an impact in their community, provide an outstanding level of communication, and demonstrate creativity and thoughtfulness through their submission. 

About the Fall 2021 Winner

The Elite Lawyer Scholarship will assist Claire in her final year of undergraduate studies at the University of Arizona. Soon after graduation, Claire plans to attend medical school. Claire is devoted to her community and plans to continue such service even after completing her studies. 

A member of the Arizona Global Health Project (AZGHP), Claire was on her way back to the United States with several other studies from Puerto Penasco when their trip was halted by a devastating car accident. As she and other bystanders assisted and tended to the women involved in the crash, Claire could not help but notice the immense delay in arrival by emergency medical aid. This experience brought the issue of certain communities’ inaccessibility to healthcare to the forefront of Claire’s attention. 

Ms. Rosenberger has become a passionate advocate for underserved communities. She recently interned at Banner UMC, where she gained personal experience working with members of diverse backgrounds across the Southwest. Claire, who is bilingual, has earned an appreciation and understanding of the effect language barriers have on patient care and the importance of Spanish-speaking healthcare providers.

Contact Elite Lawyer

Elite Lawyer is an award-based, peer-nominated attorney directory that recognizes high-achieving lawyers committed to the legal profession and their communities. Elite Lawyer is proud to support young leaders pursuing higher education and striving to make a difference in their communities. 

To find more information about the scholarship program please visit: https://www.elitelawyer.com/elite-lawyer-scholarship

To find more about how to be nominated an Elite Lawyer, visit: https://www.elitelawyer.com/

The online marketplace continues to grow at an extremely rapid pace. This growth has many advantages for businesses across all industries. However, it also poses intimidating challenges. It is easy for law firms to get lost in the crowd when potential customers are searching for an attorney online. Displaying badges on your site is a powerful method to combat this obstacle and stand out amongst the competition. 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Badges

Search engine optimization has become an essential factor of marketing for any successful business. SEO enhances sites visibility and ranking in online searches related to your business. Law firms are faced with immense competition when attracting traffic to their websites. While a law firm can certainly utilize tools like paid search ads, they cannot commission a search engine like Google to garner higher search rankings. Instead, it is recommended that they take advantage of opportunities like our Elite Lawyer Award Badge to strengthen their search engine visibility and generate increased traffic to their site. 

Achieving a badge is the first step. There are a wide variety of badges that you could feature on your site to improve your visibility, accessibility, and attraction online. Professional accreditations are related to the company’s specific work, allowing a law firm to display its credentials provided by higher associations, like a state bar association. Security badges assure consumers that their payment information will be kept safe. Social media badges allow customers to readily access a law firm’s social media platforms, driving more traffic to pages such as Facebook and Linkedin. If a law firm wants to showcase its established trust and success, award badges may be the best option. 

The awards can be at the local or national level and have the potential to instill confidence in prospective customers. Placement of the badge can play a significant role in its success in helping to attain higher traffic to a site. Many potential customers who visit a law firm’s site online will likely seek out the firm’s contact information. With this in mind, it may be beneficial to place the badge near this information. On the other hand, there is also the option of creating a separate page for these badges to showcase an attorney’s credentials, achievements, and social media. 

Badge Benefits

Trust is one of the most critical factors when a client is choosing an attorney. The Elite Lawyer badge can help achieve a sense of reliability and dependability for a law firm’s overall brand. Additionally, this badge provides a visual reassurance to visitors in contrast to the vast amount of text necessary for a complete law firm site. The badge will often be processed faster by visitors than multiple pages of legal text. An expertly designed Elite Lawyer badge can assist in drawing customer attention and increased clicks on a website. 

Once you receive your Elite Lawyer Award, you can download the badge’s readily available HTML code for your unique Elite Lawyer badge. The customized badge includes your name, the year, and your primary area of practice.

Sources: 

https://www.lawtechnologytoday.org/2017/08/using-website-badges/

https://www.elegantthemes.com/blog/resources/why-a-website-badge-could-increase-your-traffic-and-how-to-create-one

Getting a divorce can be difficult for many reasons. Not only does it signify the end of a relationship that you once treasured, it can also mean the loss of other things that you hold dear, like time with your children and ownership of your property and assets. In a sense, the outcome of a divorce may seem inherently unfair, and it is rarely possible to get everything you want out of the resolution. However, you do deserve to be treated fairly according to the laws that govern your divorce proceedings.

At the Law Office of George J. Skuros, our Chicago divorce attorney strives to ensure fair treatment for his clients. Here, we offer some suggestions that may help you better ensure your own fair treatment as you go through the divorce process. 

Hire an Attorney

Perhaps the best way for you to ensure your fair treatment under the law is to hire an experienced attorney who thoroughly understands the divorce laws in your state. Your attorney can help you understand your rights and the implications of the decisions you make throughout the process. Your attorney can also represent and aid you in divorce settlement negotiations with your spouse, which may protect you from a situation in which they could take advantage of you. If your divorce escalates to litigation, an attorney has the experience to advocate on your behalf in court and defend your interests.

Learn About the Issues at Hand

In many cases, knowledge and information are the keys to a more successful divorce resolution. You should make an effort to research your state’s divorce laws to understand the issues you will need to resolve and the factors that the court takes into consideration for each of them. For example, does your state allow for divorce filings on fault-based grounds, or only no-fault divorces? Does your state follow a community property principle or an equitable distribution principle for the division of marital assets? How does your state calculate spousal support and child support obligations? What factors does your state look for in order to determine a child’s best interests in custody decisions? Knowing the answers to these questions can help you approach your divorce from a more informed perspective.

Prepare Your Financial Documents

The division of marital assets is one aspect of a divorce that can feel especially unfair. Without clear documentation of your property and assets, the process can devolve into a game of “he said, she said,” and you cannot assume that your spouse will simply take your word regarding your property rights, even if you expect your divorce to be amicable. On the other hand, coming prepared to divorce negotiations with full documentation of your assets and income will mean that you have concrete supporting evidence when advocating for your financial interests. This can help you protect your separate, non-marital property, secure your fair share of marital assets, and ensure your fair treatment in maintenance and child support decisions.

Look Into Your Spouse’s Finances

In addition to documentation of your own finances, it is important that you have access to accurate information about your spouse’s financial situation. In an amicable divorce, your spouse may willingly share this information, but it is a good idea to review it meticulously with your attorney to make sure it is accurate and complete. You might also consider working with financial professionals to review your spouse’s finances more thoroughly, especially if you suspect that your spouse has hidden or dissipated assets. If your spouse does not willingly answer your questions and share their financial documents, your attorney can help you formally request them during the discovery phase of the divorce process.

Pursue Temporary Relief

You may find that your spouse’s actions early in the divorce process leave you at an unfair disadvantage in the legal process. Your spouse may cut off your access to marital assets, attempt to take possession of your home or your children, or even engage in acts of harassment against you. In these cases, you may be able to pursue temporary relief during the divorce process. For example, Illinois allows for various forms of relief, including temporary child support and maintenance, injunctions against certain actions, orders of protection, and even orders for interim attorney fees that allow you to participate fairly in litigation or court proceedings.

Understand Your Child Custody Rights

Child custody laws in Illinois and other states have in many ways become more progressive over time, including by giving parents more equal standing in child custody decisions. For example, Illinois law makes no distinction between mothers and fathers in the statutes governing the allocation of parental responsibilities, and it also prohibits courts from considering conduct that does not affect the parent-child relationship when making custody decisions. However, it is important to understand that custody decisions are not made based on whether you “deserve” custody of your child, but based on whether you having custody would be in your child’s best interests. With this in mind, you and your attorney can better frame your arguments in pursuit of your desired outcome.

Consider Alternative Dispute Resolution

While an attorney can help you ensure that you are treated fairly in decisions left to the court, these decisions can still feel unsatisfying or even “unfair” because they are not ultimately in your control. You may be able to achieve results that feel more fair to you by pursuing an alternative dispute resolution method like mediation or uncontested divorce, through which you and your spouse can consider more flexible, personalized solutions and maintain final decision-making authority. That said, even when pursuing these methods, it is a good idea to review your agreements with a lawyer before finalizing them so that you do not overlook something that goes against your interests.

We hope these tips give you some useful food for thought as you prepare for the divorce process. If you need additional help with your Illinois divorce, we are available to provide guidance and representation.

About the Blogger:

George J. Skuros: Elite Lawyer George Skuros is an experienced family law and divorce lawyer and the founding attorney of the Law Office of George J. Skuros in Chicago, Illinois. He and his team are dedicated to helping individuals and families deal with their most complicated legal matters.

Website: https://www.skuroslaw.com/