Wellness Spa

TOWSON WELCOMES A NEW AND UNIQUE SPA EXPERIENCE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD By Tracee Fruman

Are you stressed out? Recovering from surgery? Need a little break from life? I have the perfect remedy for whatever ails you, and it is right off the circle in the heart of Towson. Touch-Free Wellness Spa, the first spa of its kind in this area, is the brainchild of Michael Dent, a Baltimore native with a background in alternative wellness. Dent, who previously owned a children’s yoga company, spent some time living on the West Coast, where he observed the popularity of a unique type of spa experience and technology. Dent aspired to bring the concept home to Baltimore. “I wanted to create a culture where people can come in, and it’s just very relaxing and vibrant and elegant and has a West Coast vibe.” Touch-Free Wellness Spa delivers on Dent’s vision. The spa currently offers eight different technologies—Cryo Therapy, Infrared Sauna Pods, Hydro Massage Chairs, Anti-Gravity Robotic Massage Chairs, Lymphatic Compression Massage, Vibroacoustic Lounge Bed, the NanoVi, and a Body Transformation program--each of which offers a different benefit to users. If it sounds too good to be true, it’s not! Recently, I was lucky enough to join Rachel Ruocco and Amber Gaines when they visited the spa to sample the amenities. To say we felt transported is an understatement. I tried the Anti-Gravity Robotic Massage Chair, which can only be described as a massage chair on steroids. Air compression massage, heat, reflexology, zero gravity recline, and endless customization options made my experience the most delightful 20 minutes of my day. Both Rachel and Amber tried the Lymphatic Compression Massage, which detoxifies, restores the body’s natural balance, soothes muscle aches, and enhances a person’s overall well-being. They gave it two thumbs up! Dent felt that introducing the concept of a touch-free spa during a global pandemic was well-timed because customers can practice self-care by utilizing wellness technologies without being in contact with a wellness professional. “This is not your typical spa. I think that when people are in here, they don’t feel like they are in Towson or Baltimore. It really is an escape from the workday. From the colors in the rooms, to the type of music we play, and the water fountains on the walls. We’ve tried to create a setting where you almost feel like you are getting a spa treatment at a resort because of the environment that we have built here,” said Dent. Touch-Free Wellness Spa offers several different types and levels of membership, all of which are described on its website (www.touchfreespa.com). One option is a company or office membership, where you pick several treatments per month, and anyone in the office can use them. In addition, the spa can tailor a membership package to a company or firm to meet its needs and even offers spa parties that can accommodate up to 14 people. “We are offering something more valuable than just taking a walk around the block. People feel rejuvenated after getting a treatment here,” said Dent. See for yourself: The spa is offering BCBA

members a special 25% off discount for services booked using the code “BCBA”.

COPING WITH THE UNPROFESSIONAL ATTORNEY By Raymond A. Hein

As some of you reading this know, I recently left my position as Deputy Bar Counsel after spending the previous 28 years working for the Attorney Grievance Commission. Having spent that many years reviewing complaints of attorney misconduct and observing the various ways in which attorneys react and respond to such complaints, I am convinced that one of the great challenges of practicing law is suppressing the emotional urge to lash out at those who unjustly attack your personal character in some manner. This can be especially difficult when another attorney is the one launching the attack. How you respond to the unprofessional behavior of other attorneys is often a test of your own professionalism. Attorneys, like everyone else, will encounter difficult, unpleasant people in their professional lives. These may include clients, co-workers, and, occasionally, fellow members of the bar representing an opposing litigant or party to a transaction. To some extent, you may be able to withdraw from representing an unreasonably demanding client and to limit interactions with an annoying co-worker. Attorneys, however, cannot control the attorneys they must deal with on the opposite side of a legal matter. Contentious communications and ad hominem attacks from opposing counsel undoubtedly increase the stress level of handling a client matter. As individuals, we can adopt techniques to help manage stress generally from a wellness perspective, but the emotional toll of dealing with consistently unprofessional conduct by another attorney can test the restraint of even the most even-tempered attorney in a specific case. The Preamble to the Maryland Attorneys’ Rules of Professional Conduct is found in Maryland Rule 19300.1. As stated in paragraph (7) of Rule 19-300.1, “[m]any of an attorney’s professional responsibilities are prescribed in the Maryland Attorneys’ Rules of Professional Conduct,” but an attorney should also be “guided by personal conscience and the approbation of professional peers.” Some attorneys, whether lacking in conscience, unconcerned with approbation, or just plain disagreeable, too often view the adversarial nature of legal representation as justification to convert disputes over substantive legal issues into personal battles with opposing counsel. When confronted with such an attorney on the other side of a matter, it is important to recognize that you cannot change or control that attorney’s behavior, but you do have control over how you react to it. The Ideals of Professionalism adopted by the Court of Appeals in Appendix 19-B of the Maryland Rules provide that an attorney should “understand that an excess of zeal may undermine a client’s cause … and that an attorney can advocate zealously a client’s cause in a manner that remains fair and civil.” While the temptation to respond in kind to personal attacks and false accusations may be strong, the Ideals of Professionalism dictate restraint, noting that “courtesy does not reflect weakness; rather, it promotes effective advocacy by ensuring that parties have the opportunity to participate in the process without personal attacks or intimidation.” Furthermore, “hostility between clients should not be a ground for an attorney to show hostility or disrespect to a party, an opposing attorney, or the court.” On a personal level, as I reflect on my career with the Office of Bar Counsel, my colleagues and I occasionally have been the subjects of personal character attacks and spurious accusations by respondent attorneys or counsel representing a respondent. Depending on the context in which presented, I generally chose to ignore such attacks and accusations when possible. Sometimes they had to be addressed in response to a written or oral assertion made to a tribunal. When doing so, I found the best approach was to offer a dispassionate, factbased rebuttal. This is not to say one must turn the other cheek in response to the invective of an opposing counsel. But a calm, rational and objective reply will serve your client’s interests far better than stooping to the level of the unprofessional attorney. It also will enhance your credibility and reputation with judges before whom you appear regularly and within the far broader segment of the bar that appreciates professionalism.