Get Rice: Ronnie O'Brien Rice, Ph.D., Lawyer

I get a lot of calls about contracts. What is a contract?   A contract by law is (1) an offer, (2) an acceptance, and (3) mutuality. *There is a case about a million-dollar case in Alaska where a contract was formed on a napkin.   Back to our regularly scheduled program, let's break the elements of a contract. The first element is an offer. An offer is when a party offers some type of product or services to another person. The next element is an acceptance in which a party sees an offer and either offers to pay for service and/or product; or provides some service and/or product in exchange. The latter part is what some courts may call a reliance.   The third element of a contract is mutuality . Mutuality is a tricky element of contract law. Because mutuality is if the value comparable, it bargained for, or the value exchange reasonable. Many people don't understand that even though you might have a written contract, if there is some type of the duress, no bar...

What do I mean consistency is the cousin to success ?  There are a lot of people that think you become an overnight success, except the successful. The successful know that what appears to be ‘an overnight success’ took years of working on their craft. To be successful, you have to have a certain high level of consistency. You must stick to your plan, goals, and vision! How many of you guys know someone who is always trying something new and trying something different but never sticks with anything? My point exactly. You either knew or thought of someone in your mind instantly. Now, I don't think it's bad to try something new or to switch it up. However, I think the more times you switch it up and deviate from your original plans, the less likely you are to achieve them. Success can be elusive to some. But, it's really not. Success comes to those who really want it. And consistency is one of the determining factors of achieving success. I wanted to make money to p...

Why you should let people know who you are? Well, first, how are you going to get paid? If people don't know who you are, what you do, and how you make money; there's no way that they can refer you business. I'm not saying throw your success in people face. Just because you are in the top of your class and make a million dollars a year, does not mean everyone wants to hear it. However, if you want to help others to be in the top of their class or make a million dollars, TELL people . If you want to be successful in life you have to let people know what you do for a living, what you're about, and what you represent. I am doing this program 75 Hard developed by Andy Frisella . And the programs require no drinking and working out twice a day, amongst other things. For me to be successful with this program, my group of friends and family need to understand that I'm not drinking alcohol and my time is very limited. So I'm now on day 40 something. But I think th...

I know you think this might sounds like common sense, but a lot of people don’t understand the importance of being honest with their lawyer. Honesty with the right people is important. If you can’t be honest with your lawyer, then who can you be honest with. So why is it important to be honest with your lawyer ? 1.        The lawyer needs to understand where to start 2.        You don’t want anything unexpecting to come out in court I know this sounds simple, but please know that we all have our own faults. A lawyer is to advocate for you even in your worst situation. And the lawyer has probably heard worst. Now, I’m not saying that you need to tell every last detail. But, there are some details that every lawyer needs to know about their client. There are certain aspects that a lawyer must report. For example, if a client is going to cause injury towards themselves or others, the lawyer has to notify authorities. ...

 This is something that I’ve been avoiding for a large part of my life:  Selling . Yes, if you own a business or work for a company, you need to be selling! Why? Because revenue conquers all! And how do you obtain or increase revenue? You increase it with sales. No matter what field you work in, you are doing some form of selling. Yes, you may be a doctor, lawyer, dental hygienist, tire repair person, etc. In all of these fields, there is an element of selling. Selling is the process of getting someone to buy a product or service. Yes, I’m having to break it down like we are in elementary school because a lot of people shy away from this as if it is a bad aura around the subject. I fell in love with selling not because of the money, even though I enjoy it. I love selling because I’m providing something to someone who needs or want it. I tell all of my clients where they are legal clients or business partners, that if it is coming out of my mouth, you can take that to ...

I was asked the other day ‘why am I so motivated about business and law?’ The answer is simple, motivation helped and helps me through my lows in life, my educational degrees, etc. So, what does this have to do with friends ? Real friends will help motivate you in personal, business, etc. When I say motivate, I’m talking about investing in your business, words of encouragements, social media shares, etc. Yes, I’m one of those guys who want to make sure that everyone in my group win! And you should be one of those people as well. Helping others to accomplish their goals is the epitome of friendship. You can have a lot of friends who buy you drinks, take trips with, play golf with, etc. But, how many friends actually invest in your business whether it is a big commitment or buying a $20.00 t-shirt from your friend? I know a lot of times when we think that friendship is just about having fun, but true friendship is about helping each other out during the high and low times of life...

Some of the common unfair wage practices includes, but not limited to misclassified exempt, misclassified as independent contractor, failing to pay minimum wages, tip pooling, not paying for hours worked, etc. Misclassified Exempt Misclassified is when the employer makes an employee a salaried position while forcing them to work overtime. This is a common practice as employer try to find ways to cut cost. Employees are the biggest cost in any company, typically. Misclassified as Independent Contractor Misclassification of independent contractor is basically when an employer supervises the contractor as an employee. One of the major differences is an employee is more supervised by the employer. An independent contractor usually is someone who brings their own materials and make their own hours. The focus of a contractor is to complete the project they were hired to do. Failing to Pay Minimum Wage You’ll be surprised to find out that many employers don’t pay the minimum wage....

Dean Graziosi Show (October 9th 2020), he made raised up a good question. Are you busy or productive? A lot of times in life, I think we can get lost in the minutiae of creating a task list and checking things off of it for personal glorification. But, we need the focus on tasks that move the needle. Now, I'm reading this book by Andy Frisella and he makes a good point of being present during the montage. Sometimes we want to every obstacle and goal we face to be exciting. But, much of success is made during the mundane and boring tasks from day to day. So what is the difference between being busy and productive? Being busy is about checking items off your checklist. Being productive is about focusing on items that move the needle (Graziois, 2020). Now, there are a lot of things that could move the needle. But what needle are you trying to move at this point. I know this sound kind of philosophical, but this is an especially important point. For example, keeping up wi...

What is transparency? I know a lot of you guys are probably wondering what the hell am I talking about? Whether you are trying to grow yourself, your business, in education, your family relationships, or your spiritual walk; you need to have a certain degree of transparency with yourself and those around you. Now transparency for me is not an opportunity for you to ‘dog’ someone. Transparency is about letting yourself and others know around you what you're trying to accomplish and what it's going to take to accomplish it. Often when I talk about how to get to the next level success, I say you got to find out where you are and find out where you trying to go. Transparency affords a lot of people the opportunity to really see themselves for who they are. And I'm talking about those people who have been degraded all their life by family and friends. I am talking about those people who have been put on pedestals and have fallen. No matter where you are in life you, ...

The simple answer to this question is lawyers have experienced a lot of real-life issues with their clients. As a lawyer, I’ve had the pleasure to experience a lot of different issues. Meaning, I know the good and the bad of people’s lives. When I have a close friend ask me for advice about almost any subject, I have some knowledge about it. Now, everyone’s situation is different. There is never a blanket answer or solution to everyone’s solution. So be mindful of the advice. A lawyer friend typically, not always, gives sound advice, whether it’s about relationships or business. What a lot of people don’t know about lawyers is that in order to become one, you not only have to finished years of schooling and pass the state bar exam. You have to be cleared through that state’s ethics board. Meaning, you can’t have any moral turpitudes on your records, e.g., bankruptcy, domestic violence, owed creditors, etc. The purpose of having this review board is to ensure that there are qua...

For a lot of businesses, having a goal is important to its growth. But, how many actually have metrics to make sure they are on target for those goals? The answer is not many. This is not because they don’t want to do it. It is more so because (1) companies don’t understand the importance of having metrics, (2) don’t have the money to set them to have checks and balances to ensure they meet them; (3) don’t have proper repercussions for those who don’t follow them; and (4) don’t have a system to update them.  Yes, this is a lot!   But, if you are in business for yourself, you will quickly realize that you can spend your wheels doing a lot. And some of these things may be important. However, years later, you might find they aren’t all that important. It is tempting to go into the office and just start putting out fires. But, we need to be cautious of doing this because those fires can distract you form the overall purpose. Not having paper towels in the restroom is importan...

The reason why I love math is because there are basic laws.  And if you abide by them, you will get to a solution. You should apply this same principle is life. If you are trying to achieve a goal, it is important to know the formula to get to it. Don’t be one of those people who are arbitrarily shooting at random targets. There is a saying that if you don’t have a target, you will hit it every time. Meaning, if you don’t have any direction, you get there every time because there is no destination. If you apply the simple principles to get to where you are trying to go, you will eventually get there sooner or later. If you want to be a professional basketball player, given you have the right genes, height, speed, muscle, etc.; you’ll become one if you put in the work. You must decide what position you want to play and the work that is required to get there. The percentage of people who are slated to get to the NBA is less than 1%. You need to find out what that 1% did to ge...

According to The Wandering RV , there are over 6 million car crashes a year. So, if you see this statistic, you might wonder what is the purpose of this post? This post is to make you aware that if you were ever to get involved in the car accident, here are some steps to take to ensure safety of you, family, or friends. First, if you been involved in accident make sure everyone is safe. Pull on the side of road to get out of the way of other traffic. Some law enforcement agency might not want you to do this. I have found in my experience this helps make others safe and helps traffic buildup. The next step is to make a phone call to 911. This can depend largely on the severity of the accident. Well, I would say always called 911. Also, immediately take pictures. No matter who you think is at fault. Whether you are at fault or the other person is at fault take pictures! This will help you in the long run, especially when it comes to remembering specific details of the accident. Or ...