Today we’d like to introduce you to Blue Spruell
What’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
Communication – It’s the cornerstone of any successful endeavor. As a trial attorney, it’s my job to communicate my client’s claims effectively. As a writer, without effective communication there’s no story, no punchline. As an instructor, I can’t teach unless I can effectively communicate a concept. Every business/career has its own specific language. If you don’t speak the language, you can’t understand or be understood.
Effective communication has become especially problematic these days with the fast pace of technology. When electronic mail was in its infancy, I recall how people praised the possibilities. I wasn’t so sure.
In my own experience, I believe we’re headed down the wrong road. E-mail and texting are a lot like driving: You’re isolated in your vehicle. You can even feel insulated. Real-time dialogue gives way to one-way dictation, not to mention the complete absence of body language, which explains why tone is so often lost in translation with e-mail and text, which often results in miscommunication. Then there’s social media, which most everyone would agree is not communication but instead a bully pulpit for personal opinion and ego.
Real-time communication is not a technological monologue but a two-way street, a dialogue that involves listening, expression and compromise. More and more, I believe business – and personal success – depends on effective, reciprocal, intimate communication.
Who deserves credit and recognition in your story?
I would like to shout out to 3 people who support my 3 separate businesses.
First, Maggie Palmer has been my Office Manager and Legal Assistant for the past 8 years, she’s my right-hand, my devil’s advocate, and my angel. I managed The Outlaw Firm, founded by my mother and mentor extraordinaire, Shelby Outlaw, for 17 years before I took the helm in 2009, so I know just how much work goes into smoothly running a law firm. Maggie is exceptional, and that’s not limited to her support of me, because she has many years’ experience in managing veterinary and rescue clinics as well. She consistently delivers the kind of passion and attention to detail that any client – or patient – could hope to receive, no matter how small or big the problem – or the dog!
Second, Mark Brodbeck is Assistant Instructor and Chief Marketing Officer at my school for Japanese martial arts, Peachtree Aikikai Atlanta. Mark began his training with me in 2005 and has since been awarded his 3rd black belt by the United States Aikido Federation and Hombu Dojo, the original Aikido headquarters in Japan. Mark is in charge of our children’s Aikido program, and his stellar blend of martial, business, and people skills has been instrumental in building our community, our martial arts family. Mark is a successful professional in his own right, having acted as CEO and Executive Director in the non-profit sector for 15 years before assuming his current position as Chief Marketing Officer for KyckGlobal, Inc., a payment solutions platform.
Last but not least, novelist Terry Kay inspired me to pursue my writing career, and though it was a long and winding road from my undergraduate English course with him at Emory University in 1985 until the publication of my debut novel in 2020, I have never forgotten his kind words and attention through the many years, including his reading and kind critique of the first chapters of my then unpublished novel, just before he passed from cancer in 2020. White Dog, I see your paw prints on my writing still – Thank you always for your inspiration!
Tell us more about your work: What sets you apart?
The Outlaw Firm is my law practice in Decatur, Georgia, founded by my mother Shelby Outlaw in 1985, a boutique firm focused on civil litigation and family law. I managed the business and paralegal tasks for 17 years, and assisted in Shelby’s career case of 16 years, which began with the case of Estate of Rebecca Wight Cherry Sims v. Moreton Rolleston, Jr., resulting in a 5.2 million-dollar jury verdict in 1995 against attorney Rolleston for claims of professional negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud relating to his legal representation of his former client Rebecca Sims. That’s just the beginning of the hydra-headed case, but that’s another story my mother is currently writing.
The Outlaw Firm has always been a “family of lawyers practicing family law.” 75% of what we do is divorce and custody related. As you can imagine, most cases begin like the first lines of Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities. There’s a saying that goes something like, “criminal lawyers deal with bad people at their best; civil lawyers deal with good people at their worst.” Or, at least, perhaps catching them in one of the worst, most stressful events, that life has to offer, but it has been my duty and my pleasure to help my clients find a new and better chapter in their lives.
What sets you apart?
I pride myself in helping people out so they can move on, especially where there are children involved. A very wise man once said, “Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a peacemaker the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.” That was Abraham Lincoln, and I firmly subscribe to his advice. I’m also a certified mediator, and even though I usually wear my attorney hat, I truly believe in mediation to resolve disputes. I also believe everyone deserves to know the pros and cons of pursuing legal action, so I offer consultation for 30 minutes free of charge. There may be some out there, but I don’t know any other attorneys who do that. www.outlawfirm.com
Peachtree Aikikai is my school for Japanese martial arts in Atlanta. In 1992, I returned from Japan and co-founded a martial arts school in Buckhead in 1993, affiliated with the United States Aikido Federation and Aikido Headquarters in Japan. I operated that school for 15 years before founding Peachtree. We offer our own brand of Aikido, which includes some influences from Judo and Jujutsu, as well as Iaido, which is the art of the Japanese sword. We have a diverse student body of all ages and from all walks of life. We’re a family. Many of my instructors earned their black belts under my instruction, and some started with me in our children’s program. Our instructors are nationally and internationally certified.
Aikido is often misinterpreted by many. It’s not mixed martial arts. It’s a way of life, accepting that it may take many years to become efficient in any martial art and instead focusing on a path to self-refinement that includes physical and philosophical training. Although I had trained in other martial arts before I lived in Japan, I began my Aikido study in Japan, and Peachtree is a traditional Japanese dojo that embraces the culture and etiquette of Japanese martial arts. If you’re looking to fight cage matches, there are many options out there. If you’re looking instead for a supportive community that trains together to improve physically and personally in a non-competitive, safe and positive way, check us out! www.peachtreeaikikai.com
Out of the Blue Productions is my literary and film production company, but at present I have only one client: Me. That’s not to say I didn’t consider the possibility of representing other creatives in publishing and film production – I have my legal, publishing, and marketing experience to offer, and there’s still time to do it – but I was focused primarily on independent publishing as a way to shortcut the difficulties I encountered over the years in breaking into the industry. So I published my debut novel, Taro, in 2020, and I’m currently shopping the screenplay adaptation. And I’m writing a second novel, also set in Japan which, with a little more hard work, I hope to publish in the near future.
What are you most excited about?
I published my debut novel, TARO, which has won a number of literary awards, including the Dante Rossetti Grand Prize for Young Adult Fiction, and the adapted screenplay, TARO: Legend of Japan, has garnered finalist status in a number of screenwriting competitions and is currently the #1 Animated Feature on The Red List, an industry showcase for award-winning scripts. The book is available from online booksellers. The movie, someday soon?
How did you get to where you are today professionally?
Slow and steady. I believe real success is measured by how hard you’re willing to work to achieve it. Sure, there are “lucky break” stories. But there’s just no substitute for doing something day in and day out until you get it right. It’s how we learn to speak as babies. We don’t just pop out of the womb spouting Shakespeare. We listen, repeat, fumble, and learn, until we can form words, and sentences, and so on. It’s the drip, drip, drip of water that sculpts stone, and it’s the work every day that eventually makes the difference between babytalk and fluency, avocation and vocation, mediocrity and success.
Was it easy? How did you overcome the challenges?
If at first you don’t succeed…. I was a hospital orderly in high school, a cook in college, an editor out of college, then a teacher, then a retail gallery owner, before I finally found my calling – kicking and screaming, so to speak, because it was anything but easy. In 1995, after returning from Japan, my wife and I opened a retail gallery of Japanese arts and crafts in Atlanta’s Virginia-Highland shopping district. In 1996, Atlanta Magazine voted our gallery “Best of Atlanta” shopping, and again in 1997 when we relocated to Perimeter Mall. Unfortunately, the Mall defrauded our business, we were forced to file for bankruptcy relief, and the lawsuit against the Mall was dismissed when its parent corporation filed for its own bankruptcy relief several years later. At the time, I was 40, with a wife and 2 kids, and we had put our life savings into the business. What to do? I had managed my mother’s law firm as a supplemental source of income for the past 10 years. So I decided to go back to school and get a law degree. Looking back on it, I suppose I overcame the challenge by sticking to it, slow and steady, nose to the grindstone, and I’m so glad I did. I love the law, the rule of law, the intellectual challenges and the real-life rewards in championing my clients and helping them solve their problems.
What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way?
Do your best. I am my worst critic. I always second-guess myself. It’s just my personality. But this is the best advice I can give to anyone who asks. No one can fault you, least of all yourself, if you know you’ve given your all and done your best, regardless of the outcome.
What do you want the world to know about your brand and story?
The Outlaw Firm – I aim to champion you.
Peachtree Aikikai – I aim to challenge you.
Out of the Blue Productions – I aim to inspire you.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever, where would you take them?
Favorite sights:
Atlanta History Center www.atlantahistorycenter.com
Fernbank Museum of Natural History www.fernbankmuseum.org
Decatur Square www.visitdecaturgeorgia.com/visit/page/square
Favorite Theatres:
Fox Theatre www.foxtheatre.org
Plaza Theatre www.plazaatlanta.com
Favorite Japanese: Shoya Izakaya www.shoya-izakaya.com
Favorite Ramen: Hajime www.hajime.us
Favorite Italian: A Mano www.amanoatl.com
Favorite Casual Gourmet: Deer and Dove www.deerdove.com
Favorite French: Bistro Niko www.buckheadrestaurants.com/restaurant/bistro-niko
Favorite Vietnamese: Pho Bac www.phobacatlanta.com
Favorite Thai: Little Bangkok www.littlebangkokatlanta.com
Favorite Pub: Brick Store Pub www.brickstorepub.com
Favorite Mexican: Nuevo Laredo www.nuevolaredocantina.com
Favorite Cuban Sandwich: Buena Gente www.buenagenteatl.com
Favorite Peruvian: Las Brasas www.lasbrasasdecatur.com
Favorite Barbecue: Fat Mats www.fatmattsribshack.net
Instagram:
LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/blue-spruell-b286b241
Twitter:
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/PeachtreeAikikaiATL
www.facebook.com/bridgebuilderscreenplay
Yelp:
www.yelp.com/biz/peachtree-aikikai-atlanta-atlanta
YouTube:
www.youtube.com/c/peachtreeaikikaiatl
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEDzzECYQy8
Websites:
www.OutOfTheBlueProductions.llc
www.GreetingsFromShangri-La.com
Suggest a Story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
