The Koop Law Office LLC

02/02/2026

I will be out of the office beginning Thursday to present a session on music law matters at Fish Fisher’s Songwriter’s Retreat in Gatlinburg.

01/26/2026

Due to the weather, the Koop Law Office will be closed Monday, January 26. Be safe everyone.

01/06/2026

With Troy Hawke – I just got recognized as a top fan! Never stop! Never Change!

01/01/2026

12/31/2025

May your new year be prosperous and filled with love and kindness.

12/24/2025

12/22/2025

By Adam Frank

12/14/2025

When I was first learning to play guitar I watched every other player’s hands and compared them to my own and everybody seemed to have fingers that were designed for playing the instrument better than mine and there was a moment I almost gave up because my hands were clumsy paws when I compared myself to others. And i thought other guitar players could look at my hands and see they were inadequate for proper guitar playing. I thought that.

Then i met Harry Chapin and told him I was trying to be a songwriter and playing guitar and he said “let me see your hands.” I panicked a little but he grabbed my hands and looked at my fingers and smiled and said “calluses.” I never thought about my clumsy paws the same way again. He gave me that gift.

I was driven to write songs so I muscled through the hard patch. The lesson Harry showed me was that the work ethic mattered more than long slender fingers.

Today I’m still a fairly primitive intermediate guitar player but I’ve written hundreds of songs and I’ve performed them on some sacred stages in faraway places with some of my heroes - at thousands of shows in front of thousands of people - and I made many of my closest lifelong friends while i was dragging these clumsy paws around the fretboard and making up songs.

What does this have to do with business or law? Shouldn’t this be posted in my band page or my music page or my personal page?

Not really.

This isn’t about learning to play guitar or writing songs. It’s about not giving up and not comparing yourself to other people.

Do the thing. Do the hard thing. Do the work. Chase it with passion and work and joy - even if you aren’t a natural- even if you don’t perceive yourself as being gifted. If you love it, it will reward you with its own lessons, and friendships, and an indescribable richness in your life.

Sometimes when a client starts their business they suddenly begin comparing themselves to all the other entrepreneurs and they look at their own flaws and they want to give up - and sometimes they have very legitimate reasons to quit. But don’t give up just because you compare yourself to others or because you are worried about what other people might think. Do the work. Get the calluses.

12/14/2025

Creativity defined perfectly.

12/14/2025

The Joshua James at the Renaissance Tiffin tonight. Well worth coming out in the snow.