Bill Powers Sweet as Honey

Overcoming Fears, Starting New Hobbies

Have you ever experienced an involuntary reaction to a spider or a snake to such extent that it was embarrassing?

Did an unnaturally high-pitched scream evoke from the well-spring of your soul?
Did you dance around, high step or set a land-speed-record securing egress?

Afterward, did you look around and pray,

“Lord, I hope no one saw that mess?”

Have you made yourself uncomfortable, just to get over that fear?

Full Disclosure: I’m the guy who had to sit down on the winding steps of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, close my eyes and focus on taking deep breaths, in order to compose myself.

Full Disclosure: While climbing the incredibly precarious stairway, I became convinced the Eiffel Tower would collapse at any minute.

The pre-climb briefing and associated factoids about the air within the Tower structure having more mass than the iron composing the Tower was not a jewel of helpful information.

Like some other middle-aged men, or perhaps better said, men, I generally don’t like recognizing personal weaknesses. I also don’t like living with them; so, I try to face fears.

Perhaps due to the incredible amount of media coverage received in the 1970’s regarding Killer Bees, bees have been something I have always avoided.

It probably also did not help that our next-door-neighbor had a hive. We had a pool. I got stung a lot.

Don’t like swimming in the ocean? Me neither. Thanks, Spielberg and Ocearch.

In contrast, my wife Sammie exhibits a Zen-like peace around bees. It can be comforting to sit next to a hive, listen to the quiet buzz, watch the fascinating life of 20,000 perfectly synchronized workers and smell the honey.

After slowly gaining the courage to approach a hive in the garden at Bald Head Island, I became fascinated with the social order of bees.

Generations of Sammie’s family had hives. Grandma McGee always had comb on a plate on the kitchen table.

I wanted that.

I took an Agg Extension Service class and soon thereafter we got a couple hives for the back yard. We live within the city limits of Charlotte.

It’s legal. I no longer have nightmares of millions of bees chasing me. I also like what they produce, to wit: Honey.

Wine vs Honey

The practice of law is a difficult profession.

There are times when I scratch my head and think, “Really? Do you have a passion for this nonsense? After twenty years, do you have another twenty in you?”

Any honest courtroom attorney will admit doubts on whether one can forever weather storm after storm after storm inside the Well of the Bar.

We worry about fairness, as opposed to what is convenient, expedient or politically popular. We also occasionally represent people who have unreasonable expectations or who may have indeed bent, if not broken a law.

Again, it’s a tough way to make a living.

The best quote I’ve seen in quite some time captures the daily lives of attorneys. Wish I had thought of it (I did add the word “help” throughout) because attorneys do not operate in a vacuum professionally:

We help smooth out difficulties; We help relieve stress; We help correct mistakes; We take up other men’s burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state – Unknown Lawyer

After witnessing and living through some pretty horrific, real-life courtroom tragedies, I have recognized the importance of professionals being professional. My grandfather Conroy used to say, “It’s Nice To Be Nice.”

Our law firm often represents difficult, if not unpopular legal causes for DWI in NC, felony charges, and even sex offenses. Sometimes speaking up serves as an annoyance to others, even if spoken in a soft, gentle and polite tone.

In our form of governance and courts, an “adversarial system,” at times things get, well, adversarial. Frankly, it can be difficult to find a balance between kindness and advocacy.

I try to extend a kind word or perhaps a smile or some form of encouragement to fellow attorneys on a daily basis. One would be remiss in failing to note prosecutors and judges are first, above all, attorneys and Officers of the Court.

The best attorneys could easily take up and zealously represent the opposite cause, even if they personally disagreed with the cause itself. I would have no problem being a prosecutor or a judge.

As such, I refer to friend and adversary alike as “attorneys” or “those who take up another’s cause.” My work with the North Carolina Advocates of Justice has taught me the importance of compassion, helping one another and the value in honestly sharing earnest praise.

In my small part, I want to be encouraging, to be nice and to help others enjoy both life and the practice of law. To that end, I have for years sent small gifts to people. Often goofy, almost always intended to cause a laugh, in the past, I have the opportunity to share:

Lapel Pins
Hula Girls
Coconut Pirate Heads
Alligator Heads
Bottles of Wine
Cufflinks

Wine was always the most popular, until we started sending honey.

Despite being a social media and techie guy, I still appreciate analog niceties in an digital world

People always seem to like the effort(s). Nothing prepared me for how much people appreciate the gift of honey.

North Carolina Honey evokes passionate feelings from Pine State people. It seems everyone had a Papa Wesley or Great-Aunt Bertha whom kept hives.

I think it has something to do something with the pastoral, unassuming nature of Carolinians. We appreciate the simple things. They are often the best things.

We like what is, as opposed to what seems to be.

Our two little hives in the back yard proved immensely popular with friends and family. Soon enough demand exceeded supply.

Powers Law Firm PA has extra space and is apparently perfectly situated for exceptionally tasty honey production.

Thanks to our Master Apiarist John Caudle, the amount of honey obtained from the 30+ “Supers” provides the opportunity to share a lot of honey.

That’s why we now send honey instead of wine.

The Picture Looks Just Like You

Well, that’s good, because it is me

The label from the honey came from an advertisement design idea we came up with few years back.

Bottles of honey were sent to lawyers across North Carolina to acknowledge the achievement of being named to SuperLawyers North Carolina Magazine and congratulate them for the honor.

For the last few years, I have been blessed by the kind thoughts of peers in the profession.

Beginning in 2007, SuperLawyers advised I had been selected and offered the opportunity to advertise in the annual publication.

For the first few years I did the pretty standard thing:

Decent Picture Looking “Lawyer-ey”
Basic Contact Information about Firm and Practice
Thank Peers

If you are going to advertise, at minimum it should be interesting.

The best marketers are creative, memorable, thought provoking, positive and edifying to others.

Our messaging has invited lawyers to:

Have a Passion for the Practice
Have Fun
Have Passions Other Than Law
Have Friends Other Than Lawyers
Thank Staff and Paralegals

Frankly, our SuperLawyer print materials have been a bit provocative. . .at least for normally staid and occasionally stodgy attorneys.

I’m the guy whom took a picture with a Red Snapper.

While I take the practice seriously, I think it’s important for lawyers not to take themselves seriously. I don’t always take my own advice; but, it’s worth the effort to try daily.

The Bill Powers Sweet as Honey, Honey was intentionally tongue-in-cheek, ironic and part of theming entitled “Lighten Up.”

What we do is so incredibly hard; it helps to be a bit goofy. . .I try not to take myself too seriously. Making a point with a bit of humor, when appropriate, is most satisfying.

In an homage to generations past, namely the “greatest generation” (my grandparents) and the “boomers” (my parents), I thought it would be fun to completely dress the theme in simple, good natured silliness.

You would not believe how tough it is to explain to millennial Photoshop types the concept of sepia prints, hand-painted colorization of prints and rouged cheeks.

So here is where the idea for the label came from:

There you have it.

That’s why the label of #legalBees and @BillPowersNC is the way it is.

By dumb luck, we stumbled upon something that is both fun and resonates with people.

There are several favorite parts of the spread, some are more noticeable than others:

The pin on the lapel is the “Order of Service” awarded by the North Carolina Advocates for Justice.
The grease-paint mustache and eyebrows were a nightmare under hot lights
The quote is: “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.”
If you still don’t understand: I’d Horse With You If I Had a Horse

Legal Information and Disclosures

Why a Blog Post?

First and foremost, Powers Law Firm PA at any one time has 30+ beehives on or adjacent to the physical structure of the firm. We get questions.

The firm does not give honey as an enticement to hire the firm or in exchange for any referrals.

While there are certain costs associated with producing honey (I have help. . .a LOT of help), we get a percentage of our honey for free. The value of honey is de minimis.

No I Haven’t Given Up The Practice of Law

We have a guy, a Master Apiarist, whom does the heavy lifting.

If you want to learn more about Beekeeping, Honey and how to start the hobby yourself, give me a ring or shoot an email. You may also follow happenings on @BillPowersNC and #legalBEES