Early on Halloween, 2013, I received an email from a lawyer in Florida who is a family friend and had contacted me the previous week. He wrote:
From: Snipes, Shane
To: Gagne, David
Cc: Rawnsley, Marlia
Subject: Re: Case..
Sent: October 31, 2013 11:26 AMJust a follow up to make sure you guys hooked up. David, thank you for reaching out again and hope Mrs. Rawnsley can get this taken care of for you. Marlia, Thank you for helping him with this heart wrenching case..
With Great Respect,
Shane
I actually hadn’t heard anything from Mrs. Rawnsley last week, but about a half hour after receiving that email, I received the following message:
From: Rawnsley, Marla
To: Gagne, David; Snipes, Shane
Cc: Carpenter, Diane
Subject: RE: Case..
Sent: October 31, 2013 11:58 AMThanks Shane;
Hi David,
I had a chance to briefly discuss the case with Shane and I look forward to the opportunity to discuss it with you. Please feel free to call me at (386)xxx-xxxx at your convenience, or if you would rather, e-mail me and we can arrange a mutually convenient time. I am sorry for your loss, and look forward to the opportunity to speak with you and assist you in your case in whatever way I can.
Sincerely,
Marla
I called Marla at 7:32 in the morning, on my way to work on November 4, 2013. I was told that she was out of the office for the morning. The woman who answered the phone told me she would email Marla and let her know I had called.
I called Marla at 7:33 in the morning, on my way to work on November 5, 2013. I was told that she was out of the office for the morning, and the woman who answered the phone asked if I’d like to leave her a voice mail. I said I did and left a message with my name and phone number. I referenced the emails from Shane Snipes and — as I always do — I spelled my name twice and repeated my phone number three times.
I called Marla at 7:24 in the morning, on my way to work on November 6, 2013. I was told that she would be in the office shortly and was transferred to her assistant, Diane, who took my name and number and said Marla would call me soon.
At 7:45 AM my phone rang and it was Marla. We spoke for forty-seven minutes and she was incredibly nice. I gave her the medium-length version of mom’s story and described the problems I’ve had with different lawyers for the last 450 days. I gave her access to this website and we agreed to talk again on Wednesday, November 13, 2013 at 8:00 AM.