April 2018 Volume 23, Number 6
From the Executive GEORGIA BAR Director: Website and Directory Enhancements to Benefit Bar Members and the Public
Financial Institutions: JOURNAL Protecting Elderly Clients From Financial Exploitation
Bending the Arc: Georgia Lawyers in the Pursuit of Social Justice
Writing Matters: What e-Filing May Mean to Your Writing
2018 ANNUAL MEETING Amelia Island, Fla. | June 7-10 GEORGIA LAWYERS HELPING LAWYERS
Georgia Lawyers Helping Lawyers (LHL) is a new confidential peer-to-peer program that will provide u colleagues who are suffering from stress, depression, addiction or other personal issues in their lives, with a fellow Bar member to be there, listen and help.
The program is seeking not only peer volunteers who have experienced particular mental health or substance use u issues, but also those who have experience helping others or just have an interest in extending a helping hand.
For more information, visit: www.GeorgiaLHL.org ADMINISTERED BY:
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HEADQUARTERS COASTAL GEORGIA OFFICE SOUTH GEORGIA OFFICE 104 Marietta St. NW, Suite 100 18 E. Bay St. 244 E. Second St. (31794) Atlanta, GA 30303 Savannah, GA 31401-1225 P.O. Box 1390 800-334-6865 | 404-527-8700 877-239-9910 | 912-239-9910 Tifton, GA 31793-1390 Fax 404-527-8717 Fax 912-239-9970 800-330-0446 | 229-387-0446 www.gabar.org Fax 229-382-7435
EDITORIAL OFFICERS OF THE QUICK DIAL MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION BOARD STATE BAR OF GEORGIA ATTORNEY DISCIPLINE The Georgia Bar Journal welcomes the submission of EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PRESIDENT 800-334-6865 ext. 720 unsolicited legal manuscripts on topics of interest Bridgette E. Eckerson Brian D. “Buck” Rogers 404-527-8720 to the State Bar of Georgia or written by members of the State Bar of Georgia. Submissions should be MEMBERS PRESIDENT-ELECT CONSUMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 10 to 12 pages, double-spaced (including endnotes) Donald P. Boyle Jr. Kenneth B. “Ken” Hodges III 404-527-8759 and on letter-size paper. Citations should conform J. Kyle Brooks TREASURER CONFERENCE ROOM RESERVATIONS to A UNIFORM SYSTEM OF CITATION (19th ed. Rickie Lee Brown Jr. Darrell L. Sutton 404-419-0155 2010). Please address unsolicited articles to: Bridgette Jacqueline F. Bunn Eckerson, State Bar of Georgia, Communications John Clay Bush SECRETARY FEE ARBITRATION Department, 104 Marietta St. NW, Suite 100, Atlanta, Timothy J. Colletti Dawn M. Jones 404-527-8750 GA 30303. Authors will be notified of the Editorial Jacob E. Daly IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT CLE TRANSCRIPTS Board’s decision regarding publication. Jake Evans Patrick T. O’Connor 404-527-8710 Lynn Gavin The Georgia Bar Journal welcomes the submission Chad Henderson YLD PRESIDENT DIVERSITY PROGRAM of news about local and voluntary bar association Michelle J. Hirsch Nicole C. Leet 404-527-8754 happenings, Bar members, law firms and topics of interest to attorneys in Georgia. Please send news Eric Hooper YLD PRESIDENT-ELECT ETHICS HELPLINE releases and other information to: Sarah I. Coole, Amber L. Nickell Rizza P. O’Connor 800-682-9806 Director of Communications, 104 Marietta St. NW, Kevin Patrick 404-527-8741 Kristin M.S. Poland YLD IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30303; 404-527-8791; Pamela Y. White-Colbert Jennifer C. Mock GEORGIA BAR FOUNDATION/IOLTA [email protected]. Mark W. Wortham 404-588-2240 DISABILITIES COMMUNICATIONS GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL If you have a disability which requires printed COMMITTEE 404-527-8791 EDITORS EMERITUS materials in alternate formats, please call 404-526- CO-CHAIR GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 8627 for assistance. Timothy J. Colletti (2015-17) Peter C. Canfield 404-526-8608 Bridgette E. Eckerson (2012-15) PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT Robert R. Stubbs (2010-12) CO-CHAIR ICLE Donald P. Boyle Jr. (2007-10) Sonjui L. Kumar 678-529-6688 The Georgia Bar Journal (ISSN-1085-1437) is published Marcus D. Liner (2004-07) LAWYER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM six times per year (February, April, June, August, Rebecca Ann Hoelting (2002-04) October, December) with a special issue in November COMMUNICATIONS 800-327-9631 Marisa Anne Pagnattaro (2001-02) by the State Bar of Georgia, 104 Marietta St. NW, DEPARTMENT D. Scott Murray (2000-01) LAW PRACTICE MANAGEMENT Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30303. Copyright State Bar of William Wall Sapp (1999-00) DIRECTOR 404-527-8773 Georgia 2018. One copy of each issue is furnished to Theodore H. Davis Jr. (1997-99) Sarah I. Coole LAW-RELATED EDUCATION members as part of their State Bar dues. Subscriptions: $36 to non-members. Single copies: $6. Periodicals L. Brett Lockwood (1995-97) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR 404-527-8785 postage paid in Atlanta, Ga., and additional mailing Stephanie B. Manis (1993-95) Jennifer R. Mason William L. Bost Jr. (1991-93) MEMBERSHIP offices. Advertising rate card will be furnished upon Charles R. Adams III (1989-91) COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR 404-527-8777 request. Publishing of an advertisement does not L. Dale Owens (1987-89) Stephanie J. Wilson MEETINGS INFORMATION imply endorsement of any product or service offered. Donna G. Barwick (1986-87) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT 404-527-8790 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to same address. James C. Gaulden Jr. (1985-86) M. Lane Sosebee Jerry B. Blackstock (1984-85) PRO BONO RESOURCE CENTER Steven M. Collins (1982-84) 404-527-8763 Walter M. Grant (1979-82) PROFESSIONALISM Stephen E. Raville (1977-79) 404-225-5040 SECTIONS 404-527-8774 The opinions expressed in the Georgia Bar TRANSITION INTO LAW PRACTICE Journal are those of the authors. The views 404-527-8704 expressed herein are not necessarily those of the UNLICENSED PRACTICE OF LAW State Bar of Georgia, its Board of Governors or 404-527-8743 its Executive Committee. YOUNG LAWYERS DIVISION 404-527-8778
2 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL April 2018 | Volume 23 | Number 6
GBJ | The Features
26 Bending the Arc: Georgia Lawyers in the Pursuit of Social Justice DERRICK ALEXANDER POPE
34 Record Attendance at the 27th Annual Georgia Bar Media & Judiciary Conference STEPHANIE J. WILSON
40 Fellows Answer the Call to Protect Georgia’s Children C. LEN HORTON
42 2017 Georgia Corporation and Business Organization Case Law Developments MICHAEL P. CAREY
50 Honor Roll of Contributors: 2017 “And Justice for All” State Bar Campaign for Georgia Legal Services
Program GETTYIMAGES.COM/FOTOJOG
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS: PROTECTING ELDERLY The CLIENTS FROM FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION / 18 Legal Linda Shashinka
2018 APRIL 3 72
GETTYIMAGES.COM/MICHAIL_PETROV-96
GBJ | In Every Issue 62 Office of the General Counsel 74 Member Benefits It’s Your Disciplinary System— Fastcase 6 vs. Fastcase 7: 5 Editor’s Letter Own It! Advanced Search 6 From the President Paula Frederick Sheila Baldwin 10 From the YLD President 70 Law Practice Management 76 Writing Matters 14 From the Executive Director Managing Your Practice Writing Matters: What e-Filing with Technology May Mean to Your Writing 45 Know Your Bar Natalie R. Kelly Karen J. Sneddon and David Hricik 56 Bench & Bar 64 Attorney Discipline 72 Pro Bono 79 Professionalism Page 68 Legal Tech Tips Yes, Transactional Lawyers Justice Robert Benham Awards 82 In Memoriam Can Do Pro Bono Work for Community Service 84 Book Review Rachel Epps Spears Karlise Y. Grier and Nneka Harris-Daniel 87 CLE Calendar 73 Pro Bono Star Story 88 Notices Creighton Frommer 91 Classified Resources 92 Advertisers Index
4 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL EDITOR’S LETTER
The April Issue
In all my years as a member of the Once you’ve read about the contribu- Editorial Board of the Georgia Bar Journal, tions of attorneys from the past, please read
April 2018 Volume 23, Number 6 never have I been more excited to publish about the contributions of present-day at- From the Executive GEORGIA BAR Director: Website and Directory Enhancements to Benefit Bar Members and the Public an article than I am this month. You sim- torneys. The 19th Annual Justice Robert Financial Institutions: JOURNAL Protecting Elderly Clients From Financial Exploitation
Bending the Arc: Georgia ply must read our feature article “Bending Benham Awards for Community Service, Lawyers in the Pursuit of Social Justice
Writing Matters: What e-Filing May the Arc: Georgia Lawyers in the Pursuit of sponsored by the Chief Justice’s Commis- Mean to Your Writing Social Justice.” Attorney Derrick Alexander sion on Professionalism and the State Bar of Pope has highlighted the critical roles that Georgia, were presented to several honor- four Georgia lawyers have played in the ees on Feb. 27. And in “Yes, Transactional course of the American Civil Rights Move- Lawyers Can Do Pro Bono Work,” Rachel 2018 ment. Beginning with the Confederate Epps Spears tells of the variety of pro bono ANNUAL MEETING period, and taking the reader through the projects available through the Pro Bono Amelia Island, Fla. | June 7-10
next 150 years to modern times, Pope tells Partnership of Atlanta. 418GBJ_Cover.indd 1 3/30/2018 2:49:55 PM the stories of four men: Amos T. Akerman, This month’s legal article, “Financial In- ON THE COVER PHOTO PROVIDED BY Noah Parden, Griffin B. Bell and Donald stitutions: Protecting Elderly Clients from OMNI AMELIA ISLAND L. Hollowell. Through their stories, Pope Financial Exploitation” by Linda Shashinka, shows us how Georgia lawyers contributed provides many resources for individuals to “the first revolution in history conducted and financial institutions who suspect that on advice of counsel.” an elderly person may be the victim of fi- Akerman, as a former colonel in the nancial exploitation, which is a rising con- VISIT Confederate Army, seems an unlikely advo- cern for many. Unfortunately, this is a more gabar.org cate for the right to vote for all men, white frequent occurrence, but Shashinka sets out and black. He was instrumental in drafting options to protect this vulnerable popula- VIEW ONLINE Georgia’s 1868 Constitution. Parden, the tion. For practical advice, you can turn to www.gabar.org/ orphaned son of a former slave and a white the monthly Law Practice Management ar- newsandpublications/ man, put himself through law school work- ticle for advice on how to use technology to georgiabarjournal/ ing as a barber. He ultimately argued before manage your law office, or to the Writing the U.S. Supreme Court in an attempt to Matters column for advice on legal writing FOLLOW save the life of a man wrongfully accused for documents that are e-filed. Twitter @StateBarofGA of raping a white woman. Bell, well-known In closing, I would like to remember @GeorgiaYLD to many Atlanta lawyers, worked for years, Michelle Hirsch, one of our Editorial Board @iclega as both a lawyer and a judge, to desegre- members who passed away in February. She Facebook /statebarofgeorgia gate schools. Hollowell litigated many civil had worked in private practice, and was /GeorgiaYLD rights cases, and was “cool and masterful” in most recently an assistant attorney general. /iclega achieving the admission of the first students In person, she was absolutely delightful and Youtube of color to the University of Georgia. These always smiling. Michelle consistently con- /StateBarofGeorgia men had many other accomplishments, and tributed to the Editorial Board for many Flickr l /statebarofgeorgia Pope’s article is quite a compelling read. years. We miss her very much. /yld Instagram @statebarofga
BRIDGETTE E. ECKERSON Editor-in-Chief, Georgia Bar Journal LinkedIn [email protected] /state-bar-of-georgia
2018 APRIL 5 GBJ | From the President
Start Succession Planning by Naming a Designated Attorney
Bar Rule 4-228 (a) defines an “absent ture, you become an absent attorney. The attorney” as “a member of the State notice reads as follows: Bar of Georgia (or a foreign or domes- tic lawyer authorized to practice law in NOTICE OF DESIGNATED ATTORNEY Georgia) who shall have disappeared, I hereby nominate the following State Bar of BRIAN D. “BUCK” died, become disbarred, disciplined or Georgia member(s) to assist with coordinat- ROGERS incarcerated, or become so impaired as ing the return of client files and property in to be unable to properly represent his the event I become an “absent attorney” as or her clients or as to pose a substantial defined under Rule 4-228 (a) of the Georgia President threat of harm to his or her clients or the Rules of Professional Conduct. I have dis- State Bar of Georgia public as to justify appointment of a Re- cussed this with the person(s) named below, [email protected] ceiver hereunder by the Supreme Court and they are willing to be considered to serve of Georgia.” in this capacity. In an effort to avoid what could hap- pen to your law practice (and your cli- We are encouraging all lawyers to ents) if you were to suddenly become an participate in this voluntary program. absent attorney, the State Bar of Georgia All you have to do is speak with another is implementing a voluntary program in lawyer and obtain his or her willingness which you can select a fellow Bar member to work with the State Bar to return your to help return your files and other prop- files and other property to your clients in erty to your clients in such a situation. the event you become an absent attorney Beginning with the 2018-19 dues through death, disability or otherwise. notice you will receive in May, we have The Designated Attorney Program is added an area for you to designate an at- a simple step toward developing a suc- torney to coordinate the return of client cession plan for your law practice. With files in the event that, sometime in the fu- the legal profession populated by a larger
6 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL percentage of “retirement age” members, OFFICERS’ BLOCK it can also be a critical step. I appreciate the work of the Senior For this issue of the Georgia Bar Journal, we asked our State Bar Lawyers Committee, chaired by Bill of Georgia officers, “Who was your favorite law professor and why?” Gentry, on this initiative. As Gentry ex- plains the rationale behind the program, “The Designated Attorney Program is being done for this reason: Too many lawyers suddenly exit the practice of BRIAN D. “BUCK” ROGERS law without any plan for handling their President cases when that time comes. Whether it’s by death, disability like a stroke or David Partlett was my torts professor as a 1L. He heart attack, or otherwise, the lawyer’s taught by a rigorous Socratic method and when I was clients face uncertainty and perhaps even well prepared, I wore a bright red shirt in hopes of being called upon. He taught the exception rather an adverse result if the lawyer has failed “ ” than the rule, which explains some of my creative to plan for this event. This is happening understanding of torts today. more and more as Baby Boomer lawyers reach their 60s and 70s.” Roy S. Ginsburg, writing for the At- KENNETH B. “KEN” HODGES III torney at Work blog, noted, “In 1980, President-Elect only a quarter of the legal profession was Picking between Ron Ellington, Ron Carlson and Tom older than 55. Today, well over a third of Eaton is impossible for academic classes. Clinical lawyers are. That means that more than a professors at the PD’s office, however, inspired my third of those practicing today will likely passion to be in the courtroom. I was actually in not be practicing by 2030. Many of them court almost daily my third year. For that reason Al are today’s firm leaders and key rainmak- Pearson and Russell Gabriel get the nod. ers. To quote Yogi Berra, ‘The future ain’t what it used to be.’”1 DARRELL L. SUTTON In another Attorney at Work blog Treasurer post, Ida O. Abbott explains why most lawyers avoid planning for retirement. I went to law school at Mercer, which employs only stellar law professors. That makes choosing a favorite “The legal profession has traditionally law professor like choosing a favorite child: an honored lawyers with long careers,” she impossible venture because they are all great! writes. “It is common for lawyers to practice well beyond the customary re- tirement age of mid-60s. If you love your practice and continue to thrive profes- sionally, you may see no reason to envi- DAWN M. JONES sion anything else. Secretary But many lawyers avoid the subject of I was fortunate to have several favorite professors at retirement out of fear. Retirement signi- Georgia State University College of Law who guided, fies the end of the professional road you motivated and empowered me in law school. Prof. have spent a lifetime creating. It portends Bernadette Hartfield stands out among many because the loss of vital facets of your life: profes- she encouraged community activism and local bar sional identity, status, the firm communi- engagement (including introducing me to GABWA) as well as academic excellence. ty, a sense of purpose, client relationships that have been nurtured over many years, PATRICK T. O’CONNOR stimulating intellectual challenges, a place Immediate Past President to go every day.”2 “So what are law firms doing about Prof. (later UGA Law Dean) Ron Ellington looked this?” Ginsburg asks. “Not much, accord- the part, acted the part and made me think like a ing to a 2015 Altman Weil survey. Only lawyer. He was my personal Prof. Kingsfield. (For the millennials, please refer to “The Paper Chase.”) 31 percent of the surveyed firms have for- mal succession plans in place.”3
2018 APRIL 7 The Designated Attorney Program designated attorney in the event of has been implemented in a number of your death, disability, impairment or other states, which have seen substantial incapacity. success in the timely transition of client The State Bar of Georgia staff is also files to other lawyers. Reciprocal agree- glad to assist designated attorney vol- ments between lawyers to help return unteers. People willing to serve in this client files and property in such events capacity are not expected or required to are strongly encouraged. handle any cases, but merely to assist in “The Designated Attorney Program is returning client files and property. a simple and voluntary first step toward Additionally, the Senior Lawyers remedying this problem,” Gentry adds. Committee’s mandate is to “render ad- join “It’s easy to simply reach out to a friend vice to the staff, Executive Committee or colleague, perhaps at a Bar function, and Board of Governors with respect and mutually agree to be considered in to 1) aiding lawyers in preparing their us helping the other lawyer’s office return practices for succession upon retirement, client files and property if and when a death, impairment or otherwise; 2) as- lawyer dies, becomes disabled or other- sisting the Office of the General Counsel wise leaves the practice of law.” in the disposition of practices of lawyers Neighboring South Carolina is one of who leave their practice without a suc- the states where the designated attorney cession plan; 3) assisting lawyers who are system has been successfully implement- cognitively impaired but still practicing; ed. The South Carolina Bar (which uses and 4) creating educational programs the term “Successor Attorney”) offers a about cognitive impairment, financial facebook.com/ list of suggestions for lawyers taking ad- planning and law practice succession.” statebarofgeorgia vantage of this opportunity, including: Finally, if you have questions or need GeorgiaYLD l Familiarize your designated attorney assistance, please contact Natalie Kelly, with your office systems and keep him director of the Law Practice Management or her apprised of office changes. Program of the State Bar, at 404-527-8770. @StateBarofGA As Bill Gentry concludes, “Making @Georgia/YLD l Introduce your designated attorney these plans will not only reassure cli- to your office staff. Make certain ents, it should also reassure the lawyer your staff knows where you keep and the lawyer’s family and staff to have the written agreement and how to flickr.com/ made these plans. Remember that the statebarofgeorgia contact your designated attorney if designated lawyer will be working with yld an emergency occurs before or after the State Bar and so will have counsel office hours. If you practice without and direction from the Bar. The Desig- regular staff, make sure your des- nated Attorney Program addresses the youtube.com/ ignated attorney knows whom to first prong of the Senior Lawyers Com- statebarofgeorgia contact (the landlord, for example) to mittee mandate—to aid lawyers in pre- yld gain access to your office. paring their practices for succession.” l l Inform your spouse or closest living relative and the personal representa- @statebarofga tive of your estate of the existence of Endnotes @georgiayld this agreement and how to contact 1. Roy S. Ginsburg, “How to Be Successful your designated attorney. at Succession Planning,” Attorney at Work, March 30, 2016. l Forward the name, address and 2. Ida O. Abbott, “Prepare Yourself for a linkedin.com/ phone number of your designated state-bar-of-georgia Happy Retirement,” Attorney at Work, attorney to your professional liabil- Jan. 30, 2018. ity insurance carrier each year. This 3. Ginsburg. will enable the professional liabil- www.gabar.org ity insurance carrier to locate your
8 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL JOIN THE A BENEFIT RECEPTION SOUTHERN CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS HONORING FOR sally Q. yaTes
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Online registration available at www.schr.org/event/jtr_2018 GBJ | From the YLD President
Selfish Service
It sounds like an oxymoron—selfish invaluable experience that young lawyers service? Service seems, by its very defini- also do not traditionally get in their own tion and fundamental nature, to be un- practice. selfish. And universally, the end result of Service can provide training and experi- service is indeed an unselfish result, one ence in different areas of the law. Rather that benefits others. The motivations be- than taking a CLE to learn about a new hind such service, however, may be very area of law, young lawyers can gain ex- selfish indeed. And that is not a bad thing! perience by volunteering their time and In fact, I would encourage you to be self- service. This can be considered a form of ish when serving. You are more likely to cross-training that can benefit their own continue in that service, and make a big- practice. It can serve to fulfill an interest ger impact, by being selfish. that a young lawyer had in law school and It may be Machiavellian, but from my was not able to make their sole or specific perspective, the end justifies the means. practice area. Or it may provide an oppor- NICOLE C. LEET While there may be different motivating tunity to test the waters and see what is out factors, if the end result is service, no one there for someone considering a change. should question the motivation itself. The practical experience obtained by pro YLD President bono service can provide direct benefits State Bar of Georgia and be used strategically by young lawyers [email protected] Service as a Skill Builder for these, and many other, reasons. As a young lawyer, a lot of motivation Service as a whole can provide op- behind doing service is selfish. Service, portunities to learn and hone other skills, especially as pro bono service, can be a such as leadership, networking, public way to gain experience in new areas of speaking or other soft skills. A young the law or gain experience period. lawyer can choose to serve in a specific It is well-recognized that in the practice capacity that may allow them to interact of law, there may be limited opportunities with potential clients or referral sources for younger lawyers to obtain hands-on and build their network as well as net- experience in the early years of their prac- working skills. Many service opportuni- tice. Taking on a pro bono opportunity ties allow volunteers to take leadership can provide experience that young law- roles and obtain hands-on experience in a yers may not otherwise get—such as argu- variety of leadership capacities. Exploring ing before a judge, taking a deposition or service opportunities with an eye toward conducting a bench trial. Pro bono service building your own skill set is a good way also provides an opportunity for direct to gain experience to benefit your own client contact and interaction, which is personal growth and development.
10 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Service as a Benefit OFFICERS’ BLOCK Service also makes you feel good. Is that In this issue of the Georgia Bar Journal, we asked our YLD officers, a selfish motive? Maybe. But it is a mo- “Who was your favorite law professor and why?” tivating reward system. People gravitate toward things that make them feel good. If service is one of those things and has such a beneficial result, then people will NICOLE C. LEET | YLD President continue to do service, creating a benefit Prof. Belle Stoddard made fairly dry and complicated for both themselves and the public. One legal topics engaging and interesting. Her sense of humor could really look at service as being of mu- was amazing and much needed in the often stressful tual benefit. There are multiple research atmosphere of law school. I will always appreciate the studies showing the social, physical and opportunity of having her as my professor and mentor. psychological benefits to be gained from service. Service can benefit others as well RIZZA O’CONNOR | YLD President-Elect as oneself. Sarah Gerwig-Moore is an incredible teacher that shows There are opportunities to serve and her students the importance of public service. I admire solve problems—ranging from specific her for making such a difference across the state legal problems with pro bono service to through her appellate work, dedication to justice and societal or environmental problems such through her efforts in revitalizing downtown Macon. as homelessness, hunger or the better- ment of our planet. Volunteering can WILLIAM T. “WILL” DAVIS | YLD Treasurer help solve problems which can create a Debbie Bell taught family law and led the Guardian ad sense of purpose and accomplishment. Litem clinic at Ole Miss, and not only did she guide me Michael Arndt, with Hawkins Parnell toward a career which I currently love, but she was always Thackston & Young LLP, is a young law- approachable and inviting regarding anything else I may have needed while in law school. yer who took the YLD Pro Bono Chal- lenge this year and pledged 50 hours of pro BERT HUMMEL | YLD Secretary bono service. He noted that the experience of advising people pro bono on consumer My favorite was Reynold Kosek. Although the curriculum issues was a “lovely tonic to the less pleas- for his class was Sales and the UCC, Prof. Kosek ant parts of workday civil litigation.” Mi- reminded us daily to never use pronouns, never guess or assume anything, and always speak with confidence chael further described his experience: and be prepared to back up everything you say.
Much ink has been spilled about JENNIFER C. MOCK | YLD Immediate Past President happiness and, other than singing in the car (for which no study is needed My favorite law professor was Prof. Dan Coenen. Learn- ing to argue against yourself has been one of the to establish how it boosts happiness), “ ” most important skills that I utilize on a regular basis an indisputable driver of happiness is in my career. feeling needed. Our legal system is necessary for our society, but that does not mean that SHAMIRACLE J. RANKIN | YLD Newsletter Co-Editor every person and every task within the Prof. Robert Brussack! We benefited from his unique system are necessary. . . not every task teaching style, which made civil procedure easy to learn is imbued with the necessity of the sys- and apply. If you saw him around campus with his camera, tem as a whole, and it is easy to get lost. he would graciously capture your Georgia law experience To lose sight of the system. To lose the and post the photographs on his civil procedure website! sense that you are contributing to some big and great thing. HEATHER RIGGS | YLD Newsletter Co-Editor Working on the Pro Bono Chal- I especially appreciated immigration law professor lenge is a useful antidote to this feel- Joe Rosen, who was so tremendously challenging and ing. My assignment was with Legal encouraging. I interned with Prof. Rosen my third year, Aid’s Consumer Clinic. Once a month, and even worked with him after law school. Because of his Legal Aid hosts a Consumer Clinic at mentorship, I took the leap to open my own solo practice. the Gwinnett County Judicial Center. The clinic provides free, limited rep-
2018 APRIL 11 The 2018
LOCAL & VOLUNTARY resentation of people with consumer debt issues or that need help navigat- ing the legal system (either bringing or BAR ACTIVITIES defending a case). In the times that I have volunteered with the clinic, I have consulted with folks about contracts, HOA agreements and landlord-tenant issues. Sometimes, I draft letters on their behalf; other times, I create a list of documents that they should compile before an upcoming hearing. Still other times, I have to explain that there is no AWARDS legal remedy for a particular problem. You are the expert, explaining the con- tours of the system and guiding people through it. The consultations will not make the Deadline to enter: news, and the details of the disputes do not lend themselves to heroic cinematic Friday, May 4 re-creation. These are ordinary folks with familiar problems: the contractor did not do what he said he would; the creditor did not abide by the terms of the contract; the HOA did not hold up their end of the bargain. On a foldable Award of Merit chair, you sit across from a person with a problem and brainstorm formal and informal ways of solving it. This is not Law Day Award terribly sexy, but feeding your soul often isn’t. The Pro Bono Challenge, like pro bono work generally, is an invitation to serve as a goodwill ambassador for the Best New Entry Award profession. You table your usual obli- gations and volunteer for a few hours. You help people whom you’ve just met Newsletter Award without any expectation of payment. The clients get access to the system that we are all shaping in some small way by Website Award our actions. They need your help, and it is great honor to do what you can.
Author and civil rights leader Howard Thomas R. Burnside Jr. Thurman said, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, Excellence in Bar and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Leadership Award Please, feel free to be selfish and pursue service for the new opportunities it can provide and the “feel good” effect it can The President’s Cup generate. The end result is a direct benefit to those you serve, and that is something we can all appreciate. l
12 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL
LB_Awards_Apr18.indd 1 3/22/2018 9:01:41 AM “And Justice for All” State Bar Campaign for the Georgia Legal Services Program® (GLSP)
Give to GLSP on Line D of Your Bar Dues Notice and Support Justice for All!
Ms. Frances Brown is 50 years old and has suffered from mental illness and homelessness most of her adult life. She was treated at a local hospital for her mental disabilities, and the hospital staff applied to the Medicaid Waiver Program for Ms. Brown, but the application was declined. An attorney from the Georgia Legal Services Program, who has a satellite office at the hospital, was contacted by the hospital staff concerning the declined application. The GLSP attorney filed an appeal and successfully negotiated with the state department to provide Ms. Brown with community services equivalent to the Medicaid Waiver Program. The GLSP attorney and the hospital arranged to place Ms. Brown in a local group living environment among others with similar disabilities. Ms. Brown has an apartment, home health aid, and other community services she needs. The important medical-legal partnership between GLSP and the local hospital saved Ms. Brown’s life.
Make your gift or pledge today on Line D! Thank you for your generosity and support!
2018 “And Justice for All” State Bar Campaign for the Georgia Legal Services Program®
The Georgia Legal Services Program (GLSP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm. Gifts to GLSP are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. The client story is used with permission. The name and photo does not necessarily represent the actual client.
Ten (10) GLSP offices outside metro Atlanta serve 154 of Georgia’s 159 counties. Your gift makes a difference! GBJ | From the Executive Director
Website and Directory Enhancements to Benefit Bar Members and the Public
Later this month, we will be launch- listing, et cetera. On the new site, once you ing the new and improved State Bar are logged in, hovering over “My Account” website, featuring a modernized, mobile- will produce a fly-out menu that provides a friendly and more appealing design, along quick view of the most important informa- with some additional and easier-to-use tion that lawyers frequently need to check. features, most notably an enhanced mem- With the State Bar having recently as- ber directory—providing a more useful ex- sumed the administrative management perience for Bar members and the public. duties of the Institute of Continuing Le- On the home page of www.gabar.org, gal Education, it makes sense that ICLE’s you will notice a better use of vertical website (currently at www.iclega.org) will space. In the current layout, you see the now be incorporated into the Bar’s new entire home page on the screen and are website. ICLE courses and CLE informa- not able scroll down. This design change tion will be presented under one menu will be helpful to the increasing number with direct action-based options. ICLE JEFF DAVIS of people browsing from their phones courses can be viewed with user-selected and tablets rather than desktop comput- preferences so you can quickly find the ers. People have grown accustomed to course by area of practice, CLE hours Executive Director scrolling down for additional content as offered, location, type of seminar (live, State Bar of Georgia opposed to having to zoom in to click on webcast, institute, etc.) and date. [email protected] a link. We can now eliminate that step, Going to the website to look up Bar and it gives us more space to promote Bar Rules and Regulations will be a far more programs and events on the home page. user-friendly experience. Whereas now The new site also features responsive you can see only one rule at a time, the design, which means you can go from new display will show multiple rules at a your desktop to your tablet to your mo- time and allow you to consecutively print bile device, and the website will look and as many different rules as you need. function the same way on all. Regardless The Transition Into Law Practice of the screen size, the website will resize Program will introduce its Mentoring itself depending on which device you are Meals and Mentoring Wellness initiative using. The display shifts easily from hori- with the new website launch. Mentor- zontal to vertical. ing Meals and Mentoring Wellness are There are some time- and hassle- added informal opportunities for new saving features on the new site as well. lawyers and more experienced attorneys Currently, when you log in, you have to to connect around areas of interest out- go to one place to check on paying dues, side the law, with the goal of building another place to see how many CLE hours relationships and enhancing the profes- are needed, another place for membership sion. Mentors will be able to create events
14 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL to invite beginning lawyers to join them live. Simply log in at www.gabar.org and for a group meal through the website. choose “Edit Personal Preferences.” From In focus groups of Bar members and there, under the “CloudLawyers Directory staff, we heard multiple times that mem- Preferences” heading, you may choose to bers need one place to go to see all of the make your listing visible to all, visible only member benefits the Bar offers. We lis- to other attorneys or opt out completely. tened. Quick links to insurance offerings, (This can also be done at any point once hotel discounts, Fastcase, Lawyers Living the new site goes live.) Well, the Law Practice Management li- All Bar members will receive a basic brary and many more benefits will all be CloudLawyers listing at no charge, which found in one place on the new website. includes all of their information that is Instead of choosing from a drop-down currently shown in the Bar’s “classic” menu, the new website will present ac- membership directory, plus up to three tion-based choices—featuring the most practice areas. popular uses of the website by Bar mem- For a nominal fee of $95 per year, bers and members of the public. members will be able to add a plethora of In the online membership directory, additional practice information to their we’ve made the search smarter by utiliz- CloudLawyers listing to showcase the ing additional fields in our membership depth and breadth of their practice, in- database. For example, currently if some- cluding a biography, awards, influential one searches for “Buck” Rogers instead of cases, payment options, articles and links Brian D. Rogers, their search will come to websites and social media. up empty. But on the new site, when you Whether a member chooses the basic type in a name, the system will check it CloudLawyers option or the enhanced against first names, middle names, infor- mal names, married names and names you were formerly known by. The new State Bar’s Online Membership Directory Choices member directory will also offer the law- yer’s vCard with the same information that is on the website, which users can TYPE COST INFORMATION download and save as a new contact. DISPLAYED/FUNCTIONS We will also be rolling out a new fea- “Classic” Online No cost. Name, Company, Address, City, State, ture to aid the public in finding a lawyer. Membership Directory Zip, Phone, Fax, Email, Admit Date, CloudLawyers is the service provider for *Required per State Bar Law School, Membership Status and Public Disciplinary History. our new enhanced directory, which will Rules enable potential clients to find, connect and even book an appointment with a Bar “Basic” CloudLawyers No cost. Everything in the “Classic” listing, member directly through the website. Membership Listing plus up to three practice areas. We will keep the “classic” version of the *Optional directory with the essential information (current membership status, official ad- “Enhanced” $95 per year. Everything in the “Basic” listing, dress and public disciplinary history), be- CloudLawyers plus unlimited number of prac- cause that’s what our members and courts Membership Listing tice areas; ability to post articles, depend on, and we need to maintain a *Optional press releases and links to exter- complete listing of our members. For judg- nal websites and social media; online scheduler; ability to share es, retired lawyers or any other members your profile on your website or who so choose, there will be a 30-day peri- social media; plus much more. od to opt out of the CloudLawyers portion of the directory completely before it goes
2018 APRIL 15 gians—have a legal need every year. Creating an online space to help lawyers share their breadth of experience will help consumers tap into that wealth of knowledge in a simple and transparent way. Additionally, 71 percent of people looking for a lawyer think it is important to have a local attorney. The CloudLaw- yers search results are ordered by best match and geographic proximity to the potential client, so the site will list the closest lawyers first. Once a consumer finds an attorney, it will be easy for them to contact that attorney. The new enhanced directory has a prominent contact form and book an appointment button. CloudLawyers allows lawyers to have their telephone and email easily listed on their profile, but lawyers may also hide these options if they prefer. Each lawyer may add as much or as little information as they like, including awards, cases, mediation, employment history, affiliations, news articles, press releases, blogs, photos and links to ex- ternal websites and social media sites. As with all content, links and posts, please be mindful that all content must comply with the Rules of Professional Conduct. If you have questions about any content, A design comp of the newly redesigned www.gabar.org, launching you can call the Office of the General at the end of April. Counsel’s Ethics Helpline at 404-527- 8741 or 800-682-9806. Another option lawyers will have is CloudLawyers option, your informa- ence, CloudLawyers will provide one listing a range of legal fees or fixed fee tion will never be shared or sold to a through the enhanced directory profile. packages to assuage one of the main wor- third party. Some 40 percent of small law firms don’t ries of potential clients: the cost of hiring There are more than 200 practice areas have websites, which are expensive if a lawyer. to choose from, so lawyers can customize you have to hire a professional to cre- Modernizing our website and creat- their profile to better describe their prac- ate one and time-consuming if you try ing this enhanced member directory, tice. As new practice areas are formed to develop a site and keep it updated on enabling our members to have a stronger within the law, such as the recently add- your own. Only 35 percent of law firm and more fruitful online presence, are ed craft beer law, drone law and extreme website designs have been updated in other examples of the State Bar adapt- sports law, CloudLawyers will add them the last three years. The CloudLawyers ing to changing times to better serve the to the site. Lawyers can also request that profile, while not a website or a website public, the legal profession and the justice new practice areas be added by emailing template, is simple to set up and edit, system. Should you have any questions the site’s help desk. providing a searchable online presence. regarding the new website, please contact For our members whose law prac- According to CloudLawyers, 25 per- Director of Communications Sarah Coole tices currently have no online pres- cent of adults—nearly 2 million Geor- at [email protected]. l
16 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Who needs lawyers? We do. Nicolas — Gainesville, Georgia Veteran with Restored Respect.
GBJ | The Legal
Financial Institutions: Protecting Elderly Clients From Financial Exploitation
Without the active participation and vigilance of financial institutions, much elder abuse could remain hidden and toxic to those who are most vulnerable and most in need of support. BY LINDA SHASHINKA
Reports of predators targeting elderly individuals are increasing. But it may be news to many that cases of the elderly hav- ing their finances stolen or exploited, often by those near or dear to them, is the fastest growing category of elder abuse.1 Although the definition varies by state, “financial exploitation” is generally found to occur when someone who holds a posi- tion of trust or confidence takes or misuses, without consent and for personal gain, the assets of someone known to be a vulner- able adult, such as an elderly individual, through deception, coercion or intimida- tion.2 Therefore, a key component is that a predator knows that a victim is vulnerable. In fact, in a substantial number of elder fi- nancial exploitation incidents, the perpe- trator is a family member, often an adult
GETTYIMAGES.COM/FOTOJOG child or even a spouse.
2018 APRIL 19 There have been high profile elder is the predator, then it may fall to others abuse cases, such as those involving outside a victim’s immediate circle to dis- Mickey Rooney or Brooke Astor. In the cern the situation and to take protective case of the late actor Mickey Rooney, and/or corrective action. his stepson and stepson’s wife eventu- To exploit the finances of an elderly in- ally paid millions to settle an elder abuse dividual, an abuser must first gain access lawsuit brought against them on Mickey to the assets, which may be secured in a Rooney’s behalf.3 With regard to the late financial institution. If a victim’s finances philanthropist Brooke Astor, after ex- are in an institution, then the abuser must tensive litigation, her son and an Astor find a way around institutional controls family attorney were found guilty and to prevent theft, embezzlement, fraud or sentenced to prison for swindling Mrs. such other form of criminal activity to- Astor after she had been stricken with ward investors or account holders. The Alzheimer’s disease.4 However, there are more sophisticated the safeguard tech- myriad incidents that never make the niques a financial institution enacts, the news and remain hidden and secret. The more underhanded an abuser’s strategies victims are not public figures. The abus- must become. ers are not prosecuted. The crimes are Financial institutions rely on safe- never revealed. guards to protect themselves and their It is likely that some elderly victims clients. Customers must present appro- are unaware that they are being targeted. priate identification to gain access to as- Even when elderly victims are aware sets, such as matching signatures, photo of the theft of their assets, perhaps the identifications, court documentation and crimes remain unreported due to the vic- the like. What if the documentation is in tims’ physical or mental frailties, the vic- order, but a financial institution’s account tims’ stunned awareness of the betrayal holder is being forced or tricked into re- by those they trusted, the victims’ fear linquishing assets? Then, arguably, it may of their loved ones facing legal conse- fall upon the financial institution to iden- quences, or the victims’ concern for their tify the possible victimization and to take own abandonment, or greater abuse by protective steps for the client. their tormentors, were the truth known.5 If a victim is physically, emotionally or mentally unable or unwilling to report FINRA a crime, then it is left to others to iden- The Financial Industry Regulatory Au- tify the incident and take steps to prevent thority (FINRA) is a not-for-profit or- further exploitation and abuse. If a fam- ganization authorized by Congress to ily member or someone close to a victim protect American investors by ensuring the fairness and honesty of the broker dealer industry.6 Although not a govern- ment agency, FINRA writes and enforces rules to oversee the activities of brokerage firms and, therefore, protect investors. Financial institutions rely on safeguards Every firm and broker who sells securities to the public in the United States, if not to protect themselves and their clients. regulated by a self-regulatory organiza- tion other than FINRA (for example, the Customers must present appropriate Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board identification to gain access to assets, (the MSRB)7), is required to be licensed and registered by FINRA. Thus, actions such as matching signatures, photo by FINRA are significant. FINRA issued, and on March 30, 2017, identifications, court documentation the Securities and Exchange Commis- and the like. sion (SEC) approved, FINRA Regulatory Notice 17-11, entitled Financial Exploita- tion of Seniors.8 Regulatory Notice 17-11
20 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL provides for the adoption of new FINRA it may rely upon a safe harbor provided to utilize as best practices.24 In the Rec- Manual Rule 2165, Financial Exploitation in FINRA Manual Rule 2165. This safe ommendations and Report, the CFPB of Specified Adults, which permits FINRA harbor provides that the institution may, observed that the elderly are targets due members “to place temporary holds on in its discretion, place a temporary hold to their assets, regular income that they disbursements of funds or securities from on any disbursement of funds or secu- may be receiving and their particular vul- the accounts of specified customers where rities from the account for a period of nerabilities. Therefore, to assist financial there is a reasonable belief of financial ex- time generally not to exceed 15 days.17 institutions with their efforts to prevent ploitation of these customers.”9 Further, During the hold period, the institution is abusive behavior, the CFPB developed Regulatory Notice 17-11 amended FINRA to conduct an internal review and notify six broad recommendations for financial Rule 4512, Customer Account Information, the trusted contact (unless the trusted institutions. Financial institutions may so that members are required to “make contact is unavailable or thought to be further develop protocols, policies and reasonable efforts to obtain the name of connected in some way to the possible procedures appropriate for their sizes and and contact information for a trusted con- exploitation).18 risk appetites. The recommendations are tact person for the customer’s account.”10 Although FINRA and its measures are as follows: Both FINRA Manual Rule 2165 and protections for those customers with in- FINRA Manual Rule 4512 amendments vestment accounts, there are also protec- 1. “Develop, implement, and main- became effective on Feb. 5, 2018.11 tions afforded to the elderly who do not tain internal protocols and pro- To look deeper into what this will have investment accounts but do have ac- cedures for protecting account mean for the financial protection of the counts at banks or credit unions. holders from elder financial 25 Protocols should in- elderly, when a member “reasonably be- exploitation.” clude training requirements, and the lieves that financial exploitation has oc- procedures should address reporting, curred, is occurring, has been attempted Consumer Financial Protection compliance with the Electronic Fund or will be attempted” from the account Bureau Transfer Act (EFTA),26 information- of a customer who is a “specified adult,” The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform sharing and collaboration with key FINRA Manual Rule 2165 permits a and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd- stakeholders. temporary hold on the disbursement of Frank Act) created the Consumer Finan- funds or securities from the customer’s cial Protection Bureau (CFPB) with its pas- 2. “Train management and staff to account.12 A “specified adult” is a person sage in 2010.19 Title X of the Act specifies prevent, detect and respond to 27 age 65 and older, or a person at least 18 that the CFPB is to “regulate the offering elder financial exploitation.” years old whom a member reasonably and provision of consumer financial prod- Members should hold training with believes has a mental or physical impair- ucts or services under the Federal consum- regard to warning signs on a regular ment that renders the individual unable er financial laws.”20 Its scope of coverage is and frequent basis. to protect his or her own interests.13 The over banks, savings associations and credit 21 3. “Detect elder financial exploi- reasonable belief standard is to be based unions. The CFPB serves to protect cli- tation by harnessing technol- 28 on observations that are made in the ents of these institutions. ogy.” Members should use tech- course of a business relationship with On March 1, 2016, the CFPB issued nology for detection and predictive the individual.14 guidance to assist financial institutions analytics to review patterns and In addition, FINRA’s Regulatory Notice with addressing, preventing and respond- risk factors associated with elder 17-11 amended Rule 4512 to require mem- ing to elder financial exploitation. Advi- financial exploitation. bers to make reasonable efforts to obtain sory for Financial Institutions on Preventing the identification and contact information and Responding to Elder Financial Exploita- 4. Report all cases of suspected elder of a “trusted contact” to be connected with tion (the Advisory) provides recommen- financial exploitation to relevant 15 federal, state and local authori- each account of specified adults. A mem- dations for banks and credit unions to aid 29 ties. Members should interact with ber must collect this information when the in identifying, preventing and responding authorities and report suspected customer opens the account or when the quickly to incidents of financial exploita- exploitation. customer updates his account informa- tion of the elderly.22 The Advisory recog- 5. “Protect older account holders tion. Although a customer may decline to nizes that financial institutions are vital 30 identify a contact person, if one is named, in detecting the financial abuse of elderly from financial exploitation.” then the member must advise the custom- account holders.23 Members should follow existing er that it will notify the trusted contact in In addition to the Advisory, the CFPB regulations and protective measures, the event it reasonably believes financial simultaneously published its Recommenda- and should institute new practices exploitation is occurring.16 tions and Report for Financial Institutions on which protect older account holders. When a financial institution has a Preventing and Responding to Elder Finan- 6. “Collaborate with other stake- 31 reasonable belief that the account of a cial Exploitation (the Recommendations holders.” Members should col- specified adult is at risk of exploitation, and Report) for banks and credit unions laborate with regional, state and
2018 APRIL 21 local agencies, and organizations to a civil, criminal or regulatory investiga- be made during a direct deposit of social that are already working to prevent, tion, or to a subpoena or summons;38 to security payments, direct deposit of pay detect and respond to elder financial protect against actual or potential fraud, or from an account as when a consumer exploitation. unauthorized transactions, claims or other makes an automatic bill payment.46 Clearly, the efforts of FINRA and the liability;39 when permitted in accordance In the event of a fraudulent financial CFPB are directed toward providing with other provisions of law;40 and/or with transaction, such as would occur when a protections to clients of the banks, credit the consumer’s consent.41 consumer has not authorized anyone to unions and broker-dealers. Financial insti- In addition, the Guidance also refer- make a transaction, an account holder may tutions also assist elderly clients by alerting enced an advisory published by the Depart- limit losses (up to $50) if the financial insti- authorities to potential abusive situations. ment of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes tution is alerted to the illegal activity within Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which two business days after discovery.47 If a no- described potential signs of elder finan- tification occurs more than two business Interagency Guidance cial abuse. FinCEN’s Advisory to Financial days following a discovery of theft, a con- In September 2013, eight financial regula- Institutions on Filing Suspicious Activity Re- sumer might be liable for some portion of tory agencies issued joint guidance on re- ports Regarding Elder Financial Exploitation the stolen funds.48 After 60 days, if not no- porting financial abuse of older adults. The contained multiple examples of “red flags” tified by the consumer, a bank is no longer resulting Interagency Guidance on Privacy which could serve to alert customer-facing responsible for any amount of an account- Laws and Reporting Financial Abuse of Older employees of financial institutions that holder’s loss.49 Therefore, although Regula- Adults (the Guidance)32 was issued expressly elderly clients may be victims of financial tion E provides some measure of assistance to clarify the applicability of privacy pro- exploitation.42 The indications, includ- after a financial theft, elderly clients must visions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act ing erratic or unusual banking patterns be observant in order to recover funds. of 1999 (GLBA)33 with regard to report- or questionable interactions between the Yet, federal agencies and authorities ing the suspected financial exploitation of elderly and their caregivers, may be suf- are not the only authorities recognizing older adults. The Guidance acknowledged ficient for employees to initiate Suspi- the importance of financial institutions that financial service providers might be in cious Activity Reports (SARs).43 Because in protecting their elderly clients. States a position to observe the signs of possible an SAR requires detailed information and have also implemented laws, affecting fi- financial exploitation of the elderly, and the documentation in support, once filed with nancial institutions, which are intended Guidance encouraged financial service pro- FinCEN, an SAR can provide necessary law to safeguard the assets of the elderly. viders to share their observations with the enforcement assistance.44 appropriate local, state or federal agencies.34 But, in addition to the protections Title V, Subtitle A of the GLBA governs afforded by the laws and regulations re- States’ Activities the treatment by financial institutions of quiring or permitting financial institu- Most states have enacted financial exploi- consumers’ nonpublic personal informa- tions to take action when they suspect tation laws, with various definitions and tion. It was recognized that GLBA provides exploitation of the elderly, other protec- penalties, and many states include these that, before disclosing nonpublic personal tions which do not specifically focus on or statutes among their adult protective information about consumers to nonaf- identify elderly clients may still provide services laws. In some states, however, filiated third parties, a financial institution needed assistance to this group. the prohibited financial exploitation spe- must first provide a consumer with a no- cifically protects those who are “older” or tice describing the disclosure and must also “elderly,” or who fall in a specific age cat- provide the consumer with an opportunity Regulation E egory, such as “60 or older.” In most states, to opt out of the disclosure.35 The Guidance, Questionable financial transactions indi- financial exploitation is a criminal offense. however, observed that there are GLBA cating elder financial abuse could include Georgia includes its prohibition of el- exceptions which permit financial institu- unusual withdrawals from ATMs, online der financial exploitation in Title 30 of tions’ non-compliance with certain GLBA purchases made with a bankcard or other the Official Code of Georgia. Under Title requirements, and recognized that report- such activities conducted away from a fi- 30, Chapter 5, Protection of Disabled ing suspected financial abuse of the elderly nancial institution and the watchful eyes Adults and Elder Persons, Georgia defines could fall under an exception.36 Specifically, of client-facing employees.45 In such cases, “exploitation” as: the exceptions to GLBA’s notice and opt- although not specifically protecting el- out requirements, which would permit derly clients, the Electronic Fund Trans- the illegal or improper use of a disabled sharing consumers’ information when el- fer Act, or “Regulation E,” may provide adult or elder person or that person’s derly financial abuse is suspected, include limited help to elderly consumers who resources through undue influence, when a financial institution discloses non- seek to recover losses due to unauthorized coercion, harassment, duress, decep- public personal information to comply ATM withdrawals, point-of-sale terminal tion, false representation, false pre- with laws and requirements that require transactions in stores and preauthorized tense, or other similar means for one’s reporting of suspected abuse;37 to respond transfers to an account such as would own or another’s profit or advantage.50
22 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL In Georgia, as is the case with most other states, the knowing exploitation of the elderly is a criminal offense, punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment. Moreover, anyone who is found to have interfered with an exploitation investigation “shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.”
Further, “disabled adult” is defined to should a person who performs services at practices, working with law enforcement include anyone 18 years of age or older a financial institution have a reasonable agencies and through active involvement who is mentally or physically incapaci- cause to believe that a disabled adult or in educational outreach programs, finan- tated, has Alzheimer’s disease, or has elder person is in need of protective ser- cial institutions have proven that they can dementia and is not receiving treatment vices, the financial institution must take be allies to their elder clients. Without or care in a long-term care facility.51 “El- certain notification steps.57 Several states the active participation and vigilance of der person” is defined as anyone who is in addition to Georgia, including Califor- financial institutions, much elder abuse at least 65 years old and is likewise not nia,58 Colorado,59 Maryland60 and Rhode could remain hidden and toxic to those receiving treatment or care in a long- Island,61 identify the elderly as protected who are most vulnerable and most in term care facility.52 Therefore, although individuals and also require employees of need of support. l Georgia has determined that protection financial institutions to report a reason- from “exploitation” of an elderly person able belief of elder abuse. begins when that person is at least age 65, Although regulations, laws and stat- Linda Shashinka provides a person younger than age 65 may receive utes provide the framework for prevent- compliance support for protection should they have incapacities ing elder exploitation, it is the financial institutional retirement plan or specific vulnerabilities.53 institutions themselves that create the services at SunTrust Bank, and is near to completion of In Georgia, as is the case with most protections and training which complete an LL.M. in Elder Law from Stetson other states, the knowing exploitation the picture. University College of Law. of the elderly is a criminal offense, pun- ishable by a fine and/or imprisonment.54 Moreover, anyone who is found to have Individual Financial Institutions Endnotes interfered with an exploitation investiga- As discussed previously in this article, a 1. Elder Financial Exploitation, National Adult tion “shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of financial institution files an SAR with Protective Services Association, http:// a high and aggravated nature.”55 FinCEN when it is aware of or has reason www.napsa-now.org/policy-advocacy/ In addition, all states and the District of to suspect that its client may be the victim exploitation (last visited March 22, 2018). Elder Justice Financial Exploitation Columbia have mandated reporter statutes of actual or attempted financial exploita- 2. Statutes, The United States Department requiring notification to authorities when tion. In addition to this, as members of of Justice, https://www.justice.gov/ there is a reasonable suspicion of abusive their communities, and in coordination elderjustice/prosecutors/statutes (last or neglectful behavior or targeting of pro- with mandates and on their own initia- visited March 22, 2018). 56 tected individuals. The statutes vary as to tives, financial institutions are engaged 3. See generally Fire Insurance Exchange those considered protected and those who in developing measures to protect their v. Aber, et al., 2015 WL 6503851 (Cal. are required to report injury or suspected elderly clients from fraudulent and abu- Super. Feb. 9, 2015). injury to a protected individual. Georgia sive exploitation. With actions ranging 4. Russ Buettner, Appeals Exhausted, Astor provides for mandated reporting under from developing educational materials for Case Ends as Son is Sent to Jail, The New Title 30, Chapter 5, where it requires that, their employees, creating policies and best York Times (June 21, 2013), available at
2018 APRIL 23 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/22/ consumerfinance.gov/f/201603_cfpb_ 44. See FinCen, FIN-2007-G003, Department nyregion/astors-son-his-appeals- recommendations-and-report-for- of the Treasury, Suspicious Activity Report exhausted-goes-to-prison.html. financial-institutions-on-preventing- Supporting Documentation (June 13, 2007), 5. Elder Justice Initiative, The United States and-responding-to-elder-financial- available at https://www.fincen.gov/ Department of Justice, https://www. exploitation.pdf. sites/default/files/shared/Supporting_ justice.gov/elderjustice/research-related- 25. Id. at 13, § 3.1. Documentation_Guidance.pdf. literature (last visited March 22, 2018). 26. 15 U.S.C. §§ 1693 – 1693r. (2017). 45. Financial Exploitation: Warning Signs, 6. Finra, https://www.finra.org (last 27. See source cited at note 24, supra, 14-20, Council on Elder Abuse, available at visited March 22, 2018). § 3.2. http://www.councilonelderabuse.org/ 7. See Senior Investor Protection, Municipal 28. See source cited at note 24, supra, 20-23, education.php?PageTitle=Financial%20 Securities Rulemaking Board (March § 3.3. Abuse&SPID=14&PCID=4#.WfC51_ 2017), http://www.msrb.org/msrb1/ 29. See source cited at note 24, supra, 23-39, KWwqQ. pdfs/MSRB-Brief-Senior-Investor- § 3.4. 46. 15 U.S.C. §§ 1693 – 1693r (2017). Note: Protection.pdf (the MSRB acknowledges 30. See source cited at note 24, supra, 39-54, Regulation E does not cover securities that protection of senior investors is an § 3.5. trading activities through broker-dealers, important issue for the MSRB because 31. See source cited at note 24, supra, 55-58, some wire transfers or check-related the average age of municipal securities § 3.6. fraud. investors is 61, a significant portion of 32. Interagency Guidance of Privacy Laws 47. 15 U.S.C. § 1693g (2017). outstanding municipal securities are and Reporting Financial Abuse of Older 48. Id. held by investors with an average age Adults, Federal Reserve Bank of San 49. Id. of 85, and senior investors may be at Francisco (September 24, 2013), 50. O.C.G.A. § 30-5-3(8) (2015). a higher risk for diminished capacity available at https://www.fdic.gov/ 51. O.C.G.A. § 30-5-3(5) (2015). and, therefore, be targeted for financial news/news/press/2013/interagency- 52. O.C.G.A. § 30-5-3(6) (2015). exploitation). guidance-on-privacy-laws-and- 53. It should be noted in this discussion that 8. FINRA Regulatory Notice 17-11, Financial reporting-financial-abuse-of-older- O.C.G.A. § 30-5-3(8) includes in the Exploitation of Seniors (Feb. 5, 2018), adults.pdf?source=govdelivery. The definition of “exploitation” those actions available at http://www.FINRA.org/ issuing agencies were the Board of against disabled and elderly individuals sites/default/files/notice_doc_file_ref/ Governors of the Federal Reserve who are not residents. O.C.G.A. § 31-8- Regulatory-Notice-17-11.pdf. System; the Commodity Futures Trading 81(4) defines “resident” as “any person 9. Id. Commission; the Consumer Financial receiving treatment or care in a long- 10. Id., FINRA Manual Rule 4512 (2018). Protection Bureau; the Federal Deposit term care facility.” Georgia specifically 11. FINRA Manual Rules 2165 and 4512 Insurance Corporation; the Federal addresses exploitation of those receiving (2018). Trade Commission; the National Credit treatment or care in long-term care 12. FINRA Manual Rule 2165(b) (2018). Union Administration; the Office of the facilities in Title 31, Chapter 8, Care 13. FINRA Manual Rule 2165(a)(1) (2018). Comptroller of the Currency; and the and Protection of Indigent and Elderly 14. FINRA Manual Rule 2165.03 (2018). Securities and Exchange Commission. Patients, Article 4, Reporting Abuse of 15. FINRA Manual Rule 4512(a)(1)(F) 33. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, Pub. Exploitation of Residents in Long-Term (2018). L. No. 106-102, 113 Stat. 1338. Care Facilities. O.C.G.A. §§ 31-8-80 16. FINRA Manual Rule 4512.06 (2018). 34. See source cited at note 32, supra, 1. – 31-8-88 (“Long-term Carm Facility 17. FINRA Manual Rule 2165(b) (2018). 35. 15 U.S.C. § 6802 (2011). Resident Abuse Reporting Act”). 18. FINRA Manual Rule 2165(b)(1)(C) 36. 15 U.S.C. § 6802(e) (2011); see source 54. O.C.G.A. § 16-5-102(a) (2013). (2018). cited at note 32, supra, 3. 55. O.C.G.A. § 16-5-102(c) (2013). 19. 12 U.S.C. §§ 5301 – 5641 (2018). 37. 15 U.S.C. § 6802(e)(8) (2011). 56. Stetson University College of Law, 20. 12 U.S.C. § 5491(a) (2010). 38. Id. The Center for Excellence in Elder 21. 12 U.S.C. § 5515 (2017). 39. 15 U.S.C. § 6802(e)(3)(B) (2011). Law, Elder Consumer Protection 22. Advisory for Financial Institutions on 40. 15 U.S.C. § 6802(e)(5) (2011). Program, available at http://www. Preventing and Responding to Elder 41. 15 U.S.C. § 6802(e)(2) (2011). stetson.edu/law/academics/elder/ecpp/ Financial Exploitation, Consumer 42. See source cited at note 32, supra, at 2, media/Mandatory%20Reporting%20 Financial Protection Bureau, (March n.7; Advisory to Financial Institutions on Statutes%20for%20Elder%20Abuse%20 1, 2016), available at http://files. Filing Suspicious Activity Reports Regarding 2016.pdf. consumerfinance.gov/f/201603_cfpb_ Elder Financial Exploitation, FIN- 57. O.C.G.A. § 30-5-4 (2015). advisory-for-financial-institutions-on- 2011-A003, United States Department 58. Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.27 (West preventing-and-responding-to-elder- of the Treasury, Financial Crimes 1986). financial-exploitation.pdf. Enforcement Network (Feb. 22, 2011), 59. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-6.5-102(2) (West 23. Id. available at https://www.fincen.gov/ 2017). 24. Recommendations and Report for Financial resources/advisories/fincen-advisory- 60. Md. Code. Ann., Fin. Inst. § 1-306(a)(3) Institutions on Preventing and Responding fin-2011-a003. (West 2014). to Elder Financial Exploitation, Consumer 43. See Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) 31 U.S.C. 61. R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. § 42-66-4.1 (West Financial Protection Bureau (March § 5311 – 5332 (2001); see also 31 C.F.R. 2007). 1, 2016), available at https://files. § 1020.320 (2018).
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2018 APRIL 25 GBJ | Feature
Bending the Arc: Georgia Lawyers in the Pursuit of Social Justice
Few know that lawyers and judges played a heroic and vital role in the success of the American Civil Rights Movement. In fact, legal and judicial efforts securing human and civil rights extend beyond that period and span the entirety of our nation’s existence. Not surprisingly, Georgia lawyers have been front and center in those efforts. This article highlights a few hidden legal figures whose professional contributions deserve recognition. BY DERRICK ALEXANDER POPE
One was a former colonel in the Confederate Army who would become Look at the facts of the a forceful advocate for equality in pri- vate practice and as attorney general of world. You see a continual the United States. Another would be among the first of his racial kinfolk to ap- pear before the U.S. Supreme Court in a and progressive triumph of case that would lay the foundation for a number of constitutional safeguards. right. I do not pretend Still, two others would distinguish them- selves as defenders of the most sacred ele- to understand the moral ments of our nation’s founding principles: one as a judge on the federal bench, and the other in courtrooms throughout universe; the arc is a long the state. Each of these lawyers—and many more one. And from what I see like them—should be household names. Their valiant contributions to the better- I am sure it bends towards ment of society ought to be as common to the everyday citizen as they are within segments of the legal community. Despite justice. Things refuse to be being at the forefront of the historical ef- forts to make ours a more perfect union, mismanaged long. the historical record too often omits the roles that lawyers and judges have played Theodore Parker, Ten Sermons of Religion, in that pursuit. 84-85 (Crosby, Nichols, and Company 1853). Nowhere is this truer than in the grand cause of securing, protecting and advancing human and civil rights. Whether as advo- Author’s note: Throughout this article, African-American citizens are referred to by the now-antiquated cates or jurists, as counselors or interme- terms “colored” and “Negro.” They are used here to reflect the historical periods when these terms were common. diaries, lawyers were indispensable to the
26 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL “Partiality and injustice breed discontent. Let us then be instructed by bitter experience. Let us abandon all absolute dogmas and unseasonable sentiments. Let us recognize truth even when in variance with our prepossessions.”
WWW.WIKIWAND.COM/EN/AMOS_T._AKERMAN —Amos T. Akerman Amos T. Akerman, 1821-1880
American Civil Rights movement, provid- After the war, Akerman joined the Re- There is no reason why a colored voter ing a contribution of such magnitude that publican Party and was “among the most should not seek the welfare of the coun- one scholar dubbed it “the first revolution influential leaders in the work” of the try to which he has so many ties. The in history conducted on advice of counsel.”1 convention that crafted Georgia’s 1868 ends to be sought by good white men and Indeed, “lawyers have bent that arc of Constitution.6 Rivals accused him of sup- good black men, in the act of voting, are pre- the universe towards justice,”2 and Geor- porting the opposition candidate in that cisely the same. Both want good laws and gia practitioners have time and again year’s bitter presidential contest, and he a good administration of them.11 stood at the epicenter of the legal strides would write a letter to the New York Times such an undertaking requires. A roll call to dispose of the rumors.7 Akerman also Akerman rounded out his thoughts on of such luminaries and the transformative used the occasion as a forum to advocate the matter by concluding that “the most impact of their professional contributions for equal political and civil rights. important view is this; that the aboli- to society could fill the pages of this Jour- In his letter, the tempo of his argument tion of all political distinctions founded nal. Let the profile of four monumental began with a sober assessment of the con- on color will remove, effectually and for- figures, however, serve as an introduction federate government and the Civil War. ever, all danger of a conflict of races.”12 to the role Georgia lawyers have played in “In 1861, we embarked in a bold political This sentiment would carry over into his bending that arc. adventure, which was soon followed by a time in private practice where the liti- voluntary resort of arms . . . with a chance gation of the reconstruction period had of victory . . . and the risk of defeat.”8 With begun to shift “from the enforcement of Amos T. Akerman “the fortunes of war compelling surren- technicalities toward the administration Amos Tappan Akerman was born Feb. der,” he described how the spirit of resent- of justice on broader principles of equity 23, 1821, in Portsmouth, N.H., moving to ment and revenge—“improper at all times and a sense of right.”13 The most note- Savannah in 1846 as a tutor in the home [and] peculiarly unbecoming now”—per- worthy example of this shift involved of Sen. John McPherson.3 He would study meated the contentious aftermath of the a lawsuit tailor-made for Akerman and law in the senator’s library and was ad- war.9 Akerman laid out the cause and con- the Supreme Court of Georgia to outfit mitted to the Georgia Bar in 1850.4 He sequence of that spirit in the starkest of themselves in the “courage to break away made his living as both an attorney and terms, saying, “[w]e gave up the Confed- from old forms and precedents.”14 a farmer, at one point owning 11 slaves. erate Government. We gave up slavery.”10 White v. Clements presented an issue Although he opposed secession as the Recognizing that a new government of first impression, namely “the right of outbreak of Civil War neared, Akerman would soon be formed, Akerman made a persons of color to hold office in this served in the Confederate Army, attain- compelling case for extending the right to State.”15 Richard W. White was elected ing the rank of colonel.5 vote to the newly emancipated: clerk of the Superior Court of Chatham
2018 APRIL 27 County in April 1868. His opponent, Noah Parden William Clements, challenged the out- He was holding his mother’s hand when GEORGIA BAR come, claiming that he was eligible she died. Neighbors were unsure of what to hold the seat “because he was not to do with the six year old, so they sent JOURNAL a person of color, and did not have in him to an orphanage with only a few toys, his veins any African or negro blood.”16 some clothes and a Bible his mother had The lower court agreed and held given him for Christmas.22 This was a that a person of color was ineligible to rather inauspicious beginning for some- hold office.17 one who would become a principal figure Akerman, who by then had earned the in one of the most important cases in the distinction of being “the best Republican history of the U.S. Supreme Court. lawyer in the state,” took up the appeal.18 Noah Walter Parden was born in Floyd Both he and Justice Henry Kent McCay, County, Ga., around 1865; his mother, who authored the opinion, were influen- a former slave, his father, a white man tial in the state constitutional convention, he never knew. At 19, he would move which no doubt prompted the salient to Chattanooga, Tenn., where he was a viewpoint that: student at Howard High School, support- ing himself as a barber.23 At graduation, The people of Georgia, without dis- he spoke on the topic of “The Duty of a Get tinction of color, came together at Citizen.”24 He went on to attend Central Atlanta in December, 1867, by their Tennessee College of Law, finishing at Published delegates, to form for themselves a the top of his class in 1893.25 Constitution and frame a govern- By age 41, Parden had become one of Earn CLE ment, men of both colors sat as del- the most successful black lawyers in Chat- egates . . . and yet it is now contended tanooga. He was a “law-school-trained Credit that the rights guaranteed by that attorney,” which made his grasp of the Constitution, stand as to the two col- Constitution, statutes and precedent “far ors, on a different footing, that as to superior to many of his colleagues.”26 The Editorial Board of the white man, they are securities, but His skills in the courtroom led to several the Georgia Bar Journal as to the negro, they are grants . . . victories against insurance companies 19 is in regular need of The whole thing is absurd. who made it a practice to deny claims to scholarly legal articles black policyholders. Parden would im- to print in the Journal. Overturning the ruling of the trial press upon the all-white juries that if big court, Judge McCay held, “the funda- companies would take advantage of black Earn CLE credit, see your mental law—the Constitution of the customers, pretty soon they would begin name in print and help State—guarantees to men of color the to cheat their white ones.27 His training, the legal community by right to be chosen to an office, and I put his courtroom acumen and his standing submitting an article my judgment upon that ground.”20 in the community were the combined today! Akerman would later serve as attor- factors that led to Parden taking the lead ney general of the United States, earn- in a case that resulted in a landmark U.S. ing the distinction of being the first to Supreme Court decision. head the newly created Justice Depart- In 1906, Ed Johnson was arrested, ment and establishing its first investi- tried, convicted, lynched and buried all gative unit, which was the precursor to within a dizzying span of 55 days from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.21 when he was falsely accused of raping a His tenure was marked by his zealous white woman.28 From the time of his ar- Submit articles to prosecution of the Ku Klux Klan and rest on through his trial, Johnson would Sarah I. Coole Director of Communications its violent reprisals against Negro suf- be threatened with vigilantism. At one [email protected] | 404-527-8791 frage, marking him as the first in federal point, a mob stormed the jail demanding 104 Marietta St. NW, Suite 100 29 Atlanta 30303 civil rights litigators. After leaving the that he be turned over to them. In one Justice Department, Akerman lived the of the more bizarre aspects of the trial, a remainder of his life in Cartersville until juror was permitted to direct the defen- his death in 1880. dant to put on an article of clothing the
28 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL “We are at a time when many . . . have abandoned the respect for the rule of law. Nothing less than our civilized society is at stake.”
PHOTO PROVIDED BY TIMOTHY L. MICKEL PHOTO PROVIDED —Noah Parden Noah Parden, 1865-1944
victim said her assailant wore and was al- egregious, the U.S. Supreme Court is- Noah Parden, who would also spend lowed to conduct a direct examination of sued a contempt citation for its order—a time as an assistant state prosecutor, died the victim while on the witness stand.30 first—and it set Oct. 15, 1906, as the date Feb. 23, 1944. All told, Johnson’s trial was a confluence for its show cause hearing based on the of reversible errors and overt bias from citation—the first time the high Court sat the prosecutor, judge and sheriff. at a trial level.33 Griffin B. Bell Although he rejected multiple entreat- Parden did not have a direct role in “Figure out a way to follow the law. There ies to be a part of the trial team, Parden United States v. Shipp, but his work on are no excuses.”42 That was his mantra. and his law partner, Georgia-born Styles the Johnson appeal would impact many Whether in the practice of law, in the ad- Hutchinson, agreed to handle Johnson’s others. As he stood before Harlan in a ministration of justice as a federal judge appeal. The lawyers dutifully filed their Supreme Court conference room just or enforcing it as attorney general, Griffin writ of error before the Supreme Court outside the Old Senate Chamber in the Bell saw no room for excuses. of Tennessee, which summarily up- U.S. Capitol, Parden—one generation re- Griffin Boyette Bell was born in Sum- held Johnson’s conviction.31 Parden and moved from slavery—raised issues that, ter County on Oct. 31, 1918.43 He attend- Hutchinson filed a petition in the U.S. at the time, were not applicable to state ed Georgia Southwestern College, now District Court in Knoxville under the proceedings. However, his efforts laid the Georgia Southwestern State University, Habeas Corpus Act of 1907 as a means of foundation for the repudiation of lynch for one year before being drafted into the redressing constitutional violations. After mob influence on the administration of army. While stationed in Fort Lee, Va., an eight-hour hearing, their petition was justice;34 the guarantee of effective assis- he would meet and marry Mary Powell.44 denied, but the judge did issue a stay of tance of counsel;35 the right to an open In the Army he attained the rank of ma- execution, giving Parden the time to ap- and public trial, including the right to jor, serving in the Quartermasters Corps peal to the U.S. Supreme Court.32 have relatives, friends and counsel pres- and the Transportation Corps.45 After his Parden traveled to Washington, D.C., ent, irrespective of the charge;36 the pro- discharge, he would attend Mercer Law presenting his case to Justice John Mar- tections afforded against self-incrimina- School on the GI Bill, graduating with shall Harlan, the Court’s designee to tion;37 extending effective counsel rights honors in 1948.46 hear emergency appeals from the Sixth to appeal;38 the right to the presence of Bell had a part-time job examining Circuit. The U.S. Supreme Court would counsel during a witness identification land titles that carried him throughout go on to issue the stay of execution and line-up;39 the invalidation of systemati- the rural South. Seeing the segregated agree to hear the case. However, a mob cally excluding black people from jury ser- conditions of colored schools, he un- lynched Johnson under the auspices of vice;40 and outlawing capital punishment derstood that “this won’t last. This can’t the sheriff. The sheriff’s actions were so in rape cases.41 last. It’s not fair . . . and it must reflect
2018 APRIL 29 “I have often said that if we did not have the equal protection clause in the Constitution, we would have to make up one. The country could not hold together without the equal protection clause.”
— Griffin B. Bell JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION OF THE ATLANTA PHOTO COURTESY Griffin B. Bell, 1918-2009 in the teaching.”47 He would venture to tion, Bell would decide 140 school de- by a stint in the Army, where he met and Atlanta in 1953 joining King & Spalding segregation cases, most notably United married Louise Thornton while stationed after practicing in Savannah and Rome, States v. Hinds County, which involved at Fort Benning before going off to com- becoming its managing partner in 1958.48 the simultaneous desegregation of 33 bat. After his service, he returned to Lane, One year later, this son of the Old South county school districts.53 Bell would al- graduating magna cum laude in 1938. It was took his first steps toward being a father ways take special pride in “working on all in college and in the Army where he first to its new frontier. those school cases and getting the schools encountered racial prejudice. Georgia—like other southern states— renovated and going through . . . the civil Traveling through the South to play was confronted with the reality of deseg- rights revolution.”54 football games against other Negro schools regating its public schools in the wake of He would leave the Court in 1976 brought Hollowell into contact with a “so- the Brown v. Board of Education decision.49 when the tedium of presiding over an ciety whose primary passion seemed to be Gov. Ernest Vandiver, who had cam- onslaught of drug cases set in, but he the isolation of the races and the demean- paigned against integrated schools, ap- was called back into public service when ing of all Negro citizens in every imagin- pointed Bell as his chief of staff, charging President Jimmy Carter tapped him to be able way.”57 Worse, the barrage of racial him with the responsibility of organiz- attorney general.55 Bell would remain in indignities he experienced in the Army— ing an effort to guide the course of de- that position until 1979 returning to pri- serving in the segregated Tenth Calvary segregation.50 Bell established the Sibley vate practice. Bell died Jan. 5, 2009. Regiment; being relegated to eat in the Commission, which would be credited kitchen, instead of the mess with other of- as instrumental in keeping schools from ficers; and being ushered out of the base’s closing and preventing the violence prev- Donald Lee Hollowell movie theater because he was Negro—had alent in other states.51 The Christmas holidays of 1917 brought demoralized his spirit. He yearned for a Bell would go on to become a federal more than just presents into the Wichita, “calm and financially stable future,” and he judge, appointed to the U.S. Court of Ap- Kan., home of Ocenia and Harrison Hol- thought that as a dentist he could “operate peals for the Fifth Circuit by President lowell. On Dec. 19, it also brought their comfortably within a segregated system.”58 John F. Kennedy in October 1961. He third child, Donald.56 Hollowell attended Upon his return to Lane College, his presided over a number of monumen- Lane College in Jackson, Tenn., where he vocational aspiration changed, however, tal cases, including one that invalidated excelled both academically and as a three- when, as a delegate to the 1946 convo- Georgia’s county unit system.52 In addi- sport athlete. His studies were interrupted cation of the Negro Youth Conference,
30 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL “Hate consumes. One has to use that energy constructively in an effort to change those diabolical aspects of life which impinge upon him and others of his race. That’s what I chose to do.”
COURTESY OF AUBURN AVENUE RESEARCH LIBRARY, ATLANTA-FULTON PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM RESEARCH LIBRARY, ATLANTA-FULTON OF AUBURN AVENUE COURTESY — Donald Lee Hollowell Donald Lee Hollowell, 1917-2004
he heard the inspiring words of Paul University).66 His representation in civil vanced as far as we have. . . . Not only Robeson. The law, he reasoned, was his rights cases reached its apex, however, in did he have the courage, but he also calling and he went on to earn his law 1961 in another case involving admission had a brilliant legal mind. He . . . out- degree from Loyola University in Chi- to higher education, once again involving argued . . . these so-called great con- cago in 1951.59 the state’s flagship institution. stitutional lawyers who had erected Hollowell would establish his law prac- Hollowell served as lead counsel in the this barrier of segregation throughout tice in Atlanta in 1952. Vernon Jordan, lawsuit seeking to gain the admission of the South. They had the reputation, who became his law clerk, thought that the first students of color to the Univer- but Hollowell had the goods.70 “there was no better teacher and mentor. sity of Georgia.67 Over the course of five He was, quite simply, one of the most gift- days of hearings, the “cool and masterful In 1966, Hollowell would be appointed ed trial lawyers in all of Georgia.”60 He was way” Hollowell handled the case left a regional director of the Equal Employ- “perfectly suited to the difficult task” of powerful impression on all those pres- ment Opportunity Commission by Presi- handling “the most troubling moral and ent.68 It also resulted in an order from dent Lyndon Johnson, a post he would social issues” of the day and the need for Judge William Augustus Bootle outlaw- hold for nearly 20 years. He returned to his “keen intellect and quiet determina- ing the school’s discriminatory admission private practice and succumbed to heart tion” was frequent and varied.61 Hollow- policies, finding that “the two plaintiffs failure on Dec. 27, 2004. ell came to the aid of those facing capital are fully qualified and would already have Amos T. Akerman, Noah Parden, punishment.62 He would represent college been admitted had it not been for their Griffin B. Bell and Donald Lee Hollowell students involved in the sit-in protests.63 race and color.”69 After several months of provide a glimpse into the good works He associated with C.B. King in Albany protracted appeals, the matter concluded lawyers have furnished to the nation. to defend the legal rights of protestors in with the registration of Hamilton Holmes Yet, there is a rather glaring concern. that city.64 He would serve as lead counsel and Charlayne Hunter. This article—and the male legal figures in the effort to obtain the admission of Perhaps the words of Julian Bond, one it features—shows that while the legal the first black student to the University who benefited from his legal acumen best profession can take great pride in its of Georgia School of Law.65 He conduct- capture his impact: involvement in advancing civil rights, ed the legal challenge to the admissions sadly, it too long sanctioned an exclu- policies of Georgia State College of Busi- If it had not been for Don Hollowell, sionary bias within its ranks. Although ness Administration (now Georgia State black Georgians wouldn’t have ad- racial inequities dominate much of our
2018 APRIL 31 com/news/news-desk/a-celebration-of- appointed Judge on the United States civic and social past, gender discrimi- black-lawyers-past-and-present/amp. District Court for the Northern District nation has been no less of a concern. 3. David B. Parker, Amos T. Akerman of Georgia, serving until his death in Women were not permitted to practice (1821–1880), New Georgia Encyclopedia, 1886. law in Georgia until 1916, and it would July 29, 2013, www.georgiaencyclopedia. 20. White, at 245. be more than a quarter century later org/articles/history-archaeology/amos- 21. Parker, supra note 3. when women of color would be admit- t-akerman-1821-1880 (last visited March 22. Mark Curriden & Leroy Phillips, Jr., ted to the profession. 16, 2018). Contempt of Court: The Turn-of- Happily, there have been monumental 4. Id. the-Century Lynching That Launched strides in remedying that misfortune, as 5. Id. a Hundred Years of Federalism 131 the careers of Leah Ward Sears, Dorothy 6. C. Mildred Thompson, Reconstruction (Anchor Books 1999). Toth Beasley, Linda Klein, Teresa Wynn in Georgia: Economic, Social, Political 23. Id. (1865–1872) 175 (The Beehive Press 24. Frank M. Smith, Tennessee School Roseborough, Romae Turner Powell, M. 1972). Report 1890: Annual Report of Yvette Miller and Carol Hunstein—just to 7. Parker, supra note 3. the State Superintendent of Public name a few—attest. As Judge Beasley re- 8. Able Letter from the Honorable Amos Instruction for the Scholastic Year minds us, “[t]he law needs to speak to life T. Akerman, The New York Times, ending June 30, 1890. and if it excludes large groups of people September 12, 1868, http://query. 25. Curriden & Phillips, supra note 22, at 131. then the law is skewed.”71 nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res 26. Id. at 133. Not many lawyers during When we enter a room, history both =9B01E0DA1330EE34BC4A52DFBF668 this time had formal education. Many precedes and follows, setting the table 383679FDE. lawyers – black and white – “read” or before us and sitting in the seats along- 9. Id. “studied” law as an apprentice to a judge side us. The business we conduct there is 10. Id. or an established lawyer. See J. Clay both limited and broadened by the omni- 11. “The strongest objection to colored Smith, Jr., Emancipation: The Making voters is their ignorance. But those who of the Black Lawyer 1844 – 1944 33 present force of our individual and col- most urge this objection have shown (Univ. of Penn. Press 1993); Donald lective past. As a profession, our history no disposition to remove it by a system Fleming & Bernard Bailyn, Law in is filled with numerous instances where of education, or to take the ballot from American History 573 (Little, Brown the lawyering endeavor has been the ignorant whites. Thereupon, I am and Co. 1971). main ingredient in a recipe for civic bet- obliged to doubt their sincerity.” Id. 27. Curriden & Phillips, supra note 22, at 131. terment, the sine qua non in the pursuit of 12. Id. 28. Nevada Taylor was attacked and raped social justice. In these latest of days, every 13. Henry R. Goetchius, Report of the near the Forest Hill Cemetery in headline screams the breaking news that a Georgia Bar Association 103 (1897). Chattanooga on January 23, 1906 and refresher of sorts is needed about the sig- Debt relief, contracts secured by Johnson was arrested two days later. nificance of maintaining a fidelity to the confederate currency, and issues relating Two weeks after the incident, Johnson’s rule of law. True to our history, lawyers to emancipation characterized post- trial began, and a verdict of guilt was reconstruction litigation. entered on February 9. His execution will, I am sure, continue to bend the arc 14. Id. was set for March 13, but was later of human activity toward its most natu- 15. White v. Clements, 39 Ga. 232, 242 extended to March 23. Johnson’s appeal ral and ineluctable destination: liberty and (1869). to the Tennessee Supreme Court and the justice for all. l 16. Id. at 234. United States District Court in Knoxville 17. Id. at 235. took place on March 3 and March 10 18. Thomson, supra note 6, at 336. respectively. The United States Supreme Derrick Alexander Pope is 19. White, at 251, 253. Justice Henry Kent Court agreed to issue a stay of execution president and managing McCay set forth his views on the origin on March 18, but Johnson was taken director of The Arc of Justice of rights and used the word “absurd” from jail by mob and lynched the next Institute and co-chair of or “absurdity” eight times to describe day, fifty-five days after the incident for the State Bar of Georgia the argument set forth by Clements. which he had been falsely accused. Committee to Promote Inclusion in “Very much of the argument advanced 29. Curriden & Phillips, supra note 22, at the Profession. He can be reached at at the hearing was based upon what, 41-44. [email protected]. as I believe, is an utterly mistaken 30. Id. at 108. Still another juror was able to conception of the source from which declare in open court, “If I could get to rights in this country are derived.” Id. at him, I’d tear his heart out right now.” Id. Endnotes 245. Like Akerman, McCay also opposed at 109. 1. Harry Kalven, Jr., The Negro and the secession but served in the Confederate 31. Id. at 149. 1st Amendment 124 (The University of Army during the Civil War, attaining 32. Id. at 168. The judge found there was Chicago Press 1966). the rank of Captain. Admitted to the “great haste in this trial, and that the 2. Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., A Celebration of Georgia Bar in 1842, he served as an trial was had under a kind of species of Black Lawyers, Past, and Present, The New Associate Justice of the Georgia Supreme apprehension on the part of the counsel, Yorker, June 7, 2017, www.newyorker. Court from 1868 to 1875. He was later and that counsel were to an extent
32 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL terrorized on account of the fear of the 50. Daniels, supra note 48. This to me is unthinkable, and I hope mob.” The judge thought that the trial 51. Id. In 1959, a federal district judge ruled you will do all that you can to obtain could have been a sham, that the jury that Atlanta’s segregated schools were clemency.” See generally Cobb v. The was biased, that the lawyers had been unconstitutional. Judge Frank Hooper State, 218 Ga. 10, 126 S.E.2d 231 (1962). intimidated, and that the defendant had gave state authorities one year to create 63. Daniels, supra note 48; Hollowell & been denied his right to appeal, but that a desegregation plan. Against this Lehfeldt, supra note 56, at 130, 144. the matter was beyond his control as the backdrop, Bell established the Sibley 64. Hollowell & Lehfeldt, supra note 56, Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights did Commission, named after its Chairman, at 130, 144. See also Constance Baker not extend to state court proceedings. Horace Sibley. Bell envisioned public Motley, Equal Justice Under Law: An His only power, he reasoned, was to hearings throughout the state in each Autobiography by Constance Baker issue a stay to permit an appeal to the of its congressional districts to give Motley 147 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux United States Supreme Court. the public an opportunity to express 1998). 33. In United States v. Shipp, 214 U.S. 386, its views within the framework of a 65. Ward v. Regents of University System 423 (1909), the Court made its views methodology towards desegregation, all of Georgia, 191 F. Supp. 491 (N.D. Ga. on the respect for the rule of law calculated to avoid massive resistance. 1957). The effort proved unsuccessful abundantly clear. “[I]f the life of anyone 52. Gray v. Sanders, 203 F. Supp. 158 and Horace Ward, who would later in the custody of the law is at the mercy (1962). Judge Bell offers an excellent become a federal judge, would earn of a mob, the administration of justice historical treatment of the county unit his law degree from Northwestern becomes a mockery. . . . And when its system. Id. at 161-164. University in Illinois. mandate, issued for his protection, was 53. 423 F.2d 1264 (5th Cir. 1969). 66. Hunt v. Arnold, 172 F. Supp. 847 (1959). defied, punishment of those guilty of 54. See Totenberg interview, supra note 67. Holmes v. Danner, 191 F. Supp. 385 such attempt must be awarded.” 47. However, he thought busing as a (M.D. Ga. 1960). 34. Moore v. Dempsey, 261 U.S. 86 (1923). remedial component of those cases 68. Hollowell & Lehfeldt, supra note 56, at 6. 35. Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932). to be “one of the most foolish things 69. Holmes, 191 F. Supp. at 410. 36. In re Oliver, 333 U.S. 257 (1948). ever started in this country. It put the 70. Hollowell & Lehfeldt, supra note 56, 37. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1963). burden on the people. . . somebody at 139 (quoting Julian Bond) (emphasis 38. Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 higher up, to settle out a case, to supplied). (1967). carry out a court order had sacrificed 71. Dorothy Toth Beasley, Remarks at 39. United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218 them. And they get up at 5 o’clock in Women in the Profession: 100 Years of (1967). the morning to ride bus two hours Georgia Women Lawyers (August 24, 40. Carter v. Jury Commission of Green each day. How can you get educated 2016). County, 396 U.S. 320 (1970). like that? And in almost every case it 41. Furman v. Georgia, 40 U.S. 238 (1972). was a black being bused. All you had 42. Interview by Susan Hoffman with to do was make the neighborhood Earn up to 6 Griffin Bell (July 25, 2006), available at schools better. . . moving the children http://www.gpb.org/conversations/ around by buses was like treating them CLE credits griffin-bell. as inanimate objects.” See Hoffman 43. E.R. Lanier, Griffin Bell (1918 – 2009), interview, supra note 42. for authoring legal New Georgia Encyclopedia, October 19, 55. See source cited supra note 43. 2016, http://www.georgiaencyclopedia. 56. Louise Hollowell & Martin C. articles and having org/articles/government-politics/ Lehfeldt, The Sacred Call: A Tribute them published. griffin-bell-1918-2009. to Donald L. Hollowell, Civil Rights 44. Id. Champion 27 (Four-G Publishers 1997). Submit articles to: 45. Id. 57. Id. at 43. Georgia Bar Journal 46. See Hoffman interview, supra note 42. 58. Id. at 83. 104 Marietta St. NW 47. Interview by Nina Totenberg with 59. Id. at 41. Suite 100 Griffin Bell (August 10, 2008), https:// 60. Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. with Annette Atlanta, GA 30303 www.npr.org/templates/transcript/ Gordon-Reed, Vernon Can Read! A transcript.php?storyId=99174869 (last Memoir 126 (Public Affairs 2001). visited March 16, 2018). 61. Id. at 130. 48. Maurice C. Daniels, Ed.D., with 62. Id. at 131-135. One of the more notable assistance from Michelle D. Black, FSP death penalty cases Hollowell handled Unsung Foot Soldiers, Judge Griffin B. Bell involved a 15-year-old black male (1918-2009), Unsung Foot Soldiers: The sentenced to death. The case drew Foot Soldiers Project for Civil Rights national attention including the interest Studies at the University of Georgia, of former first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, http://footsoldier.uga.edu/foot-soldiers/ who, upon learning of the case, Contact [email protected] bell.html. telegrammed Governor Vandiver, saying Learn more at 49. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, that she was, “shocked to learn that a www. gabar.org 347 U.S. 483 (1954). 15-year-old boy was sentenced to die.
2018 APRIL 33 GBJ | Feature
Record Attendance at the 27th Annual Georgia Bar Media & Judiciary Conference
From current First Amendment U.S. Supreme Court cases to a gubernatorial forum, this year’s Bar Media & Judiciary Conference was a success. BY STEPHANIE J. WILSON
On Friday, Feb. 23, record numbers of judges, attorneys and journalists attend- ing the 27th annual Georgia Bar Media & Judiciary Conference necessitated not one but two overflow rooms at the State Bar of Georgia in Atlanta. This yearly confer- ence, organized by Jones Day Partner Pe- ter C. Canfield, examines recent or recur- ring events and their impact on the First Amendment. It always seems impossible to top the quality of the previous year’s conference, and yet somehow it happens every time.
New Conceptions of the First Amendment: What’s in the Oven at the U.S. Supreme Court?
Moderator
l Sean J. Young, Legal Director, American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms greets an audience member prior to her
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE J. WILSON keynote address.
34 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Panelists l Prof. Sonja West, Otis Brumby Dis- tinguished Professor of First Amend- ment Law, University of Georgia School of Law l Paul Smith, Vice President, Litiga- tion & Strategy, The Campaign Legal Center ACLU of Georgia Legal Director Sean Young led Paul Smith, who has argued more than 20 cases before the U.S. Su- preme Court, and Prof. Sonja West in a conversation about First Amendment cases on the Court’s docket this term and trends that are appearing in the Court’s decisions regarding what exactly is consid-
ered free speech. West said, “The Roberts PHOTO BY STEPHANIE J. WILSON Court has been a very free-speech-pro- (Left to right) Prof. Sonja West and Paul Smith discuss recent and current cases before the tective court—I will say, unless you are a U.S. Supreme Court during “New Conceptions of the First Amendment: What’s in the Oven at the U.S. Supreme Court? government employee, a prisoner or a stu- ” dent, but otherwise, critics and supporters really universally agree that the Court has that should be applied to content-based Panelists been recognizing more First Amendment restrictions on speech. Another area protections in a broader range of areas l Tony Maddox, Executive Vice Presi- Smith discussed where the shift seems ev- than what we have seen before.” dent and Managing Director, CNN ident is campaign finance. The five more West mentioned two recent First International conservative justices seem to be throwing Amendment decisions handed down by l Atlanta Journal- out campaign finance regulations on the Kevin Riley, Editor, the Court. The first case was Sorrell v. IMS Constitution grounds that “money is speech.” Health, Inc., in which the Court held in 2011 The current cases the panel discussed l Kevin Sack, Senior Writer, The New that a Vermont statute that restricted the included ones where the First Amend- York Times sale, disclosure and use of records that re- ment intersected with voting, civic par- l vealed the prescribing practices of individ- Dr. Teresa Jo Styles, Adjunct Pro- ticipation or the public marketplace, such ual doctors violated the First Amendment. fessor of English and Journalism, as Gill v. Whitford, the Wisconsin ger- The second case was Expressions Hair Design Morehouse College rymandering case that Smith himself ar- v. Schneiderman. The Court held that price The First Amendment states: Congress shall gued before the U.S. Supreme Court. The controls, when used to prohibit the commu- make no law respecting an establishment Court has also agreed to hear Benisek v. nication of prices of goods with regards to of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise Lamone, a second partisan gerrymander- a surcharge, was a regulation of speech and thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, ing case out of Maryland, which suggests required an analysis of the First Amend- or of the press; or the right of the people that redistricting will feature even more ment’s protections for freedom of speech. peaceably to assemble, and to petition the prominently during the court’s current Smith added, “What we’re really talk- Government for a redress of grievances. term. Discussion was followed by a Q&A ing about here is how the First Amend- “Let’s start with the knowledge that the session with the audience. ment has grown into a broader range of First Amendment presents tremendous controversies than it would have in the challenges. . . . It is a fact of life and we past.” He also stated that sentiment on the Cultural Challenges to the in the media know why. Technology has Court has shifted to the very conservative First Amendment: The Next afforded all those who are citizen journal- justices now staunchly supporting free Generation, Hate Speech and ists—those who blog, those who are on speech as opposed to the liberal justices. Fake News Twitter, Facebook—technology has given One example Smith mentioned was the us all an opportunity to speak their truth, Court’s 2015 decision in Reed v. Town of and at the same time feel the American tra- Moderator Gilbert in which the Court clarified when dition of press freedom protects them,” Dr. municipalities can impose content-based l Ron Thomas, Director, Journalism Teresa Styles began. The migration to citi- restrictions on signage. The case also clar- and Sports Program, Adjunct Profes- zen journalism has changed the journalistic ified the level of constitutional scrutiny sor of English, Morehouse College standards with which news is reported.
2018 APRIL 35 Styles provided some historical back- isn’t just an American phenomenon but Panelists ground on the evolution of the freedom has extended abroad as well. “I’ve always l Hon. Amy Totenberg, U.S. District of the press beginning with Henry VIII believed that relationships between the Court Judge, U.S. District Court for and prior restraint, to Thomas Jeffer- press and government do need a touch the Northern District of Georgia son and Benjamin Franklin in colonial of Tabasco®. It shouldn’t be too cozy, and l America. “From Henry VIII to Trump, it is false to think that these tensions be- Edward D. Buckley III, Managing who accuses the media of fake news, tween the press and the presidential ad- Partner, Buckley Beal, LLP press freedom is always in question. ministrations are a new thing—certainly l Johnita P. Due, Vice President and Fake news gets more traffic than real the way in which this one is being por- Assistant General Counsel, CNN news. Those who develop what some trayed is a new thing, and the dialogue is l Karen Lehto, Director of Human consider ‘fake’ are protected, not only new—but it’s important by way of context Resources, Hoshizaki America, Inc. because of historical press freedoms, to understand that this has always been a l Mike Petchenik, North Fulton but also because the courts have—over relationship with some edge. County Bureau Chief, WSB-TV time—shown an individual’s right to “The sustained use of ‘fake news,’ the defend him or herself against a charge assertion that the press is the enemy of the l Ellen Fitzsimmons, Executive Vice to become more flexible and fair.” The people, what we’re seeing is a concerted, President and General Counsel, Sun- increase in fake news demands solutions. sustained attempt to denigrate the Trust Banks, Inc. “Let me be clear,” Styles said, “fake news legitimacy of legitimate journalism . . . . What The following scenario is mostly imaginary. is our enemy.” we’re seeing here is a weaponizing of the Any similarity to real names or locations is purely coincidental. The individuals portray- ing the characters in the presentation are friends and neighbors who agreed to do this out of support for the Georgia First Amend- ment Foundation. They have not perpetrated nor have they been victims of harassment as described in the hypothetical. Retired U.S. Navy fighter pilot Jim “Biggles” Bigglesworth bought a small Georgia-based design aircraft firm and created Biggles Aviation. He began work on a solar-powered aircraft out of Lizard Lick International Airport. The ultimate goal: solar powered freight aircraft. Big- glesworth became the first person to fly solo around the world in an aircraft pow- ered by the sun. Orders began pouring in, increasing Biggles’ already considerable wealth and international stature. Things Amid newsroom fears of being labeled language to denigrate and under- are great . . . there’s only one problem. fake news and The “failing” New York mine one of the fundamental principles One of the women who worked on Times by President Donald Trump, Times of the First Amendment, which is a the design team asked for an appoint- reporter Kevin Sack shared very encour- free press.” ment with the Biggles Aviation HR aging statistics regarding the surge in sub- Thomas shared his hope that the director. The employee wanted advice scription rates, namely a 42 percent in- effect of all of this is that more young from HR on how to deal with some “per- crease over the fourth quarter of 2016 and people will start following the news and sonnel stuff.” She didn’t want to use the a doubling of the Times’ stock price since will see journalism as an exciting ca- corporate integrity whistleblower line election day. Sack also said, “The assault reer to pursue. A Q&A session with the because she worried about confidenti- on real news has bolstered and enhanced audience followed. ality. The employee’s name was Susie- our previously shaky status with large Anne McSweeney. numbers of consumers while degrading Susie-Anne claimed that Biggles had it with others—regardless of the truth of Sex, Lies and Hotel Receipts repeatedly touched her inappropriately the matter.” during meetings, rubbing her knee un- Tony Maddox, managing director Interlocutor derneath the table. She had privately of CNN International, assured the au- l Richard T. Griffiths, President, Geor- asked him to stop, but she claimed the dience that the toxic term “fake news” gia First Amendment Foundation unwanted attention continued.
36 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Susie-Anne then went on a business to prove they had met for a nightcap; Thank you to the sponsors of trip to Huntsville, Ala. She said that Big- however, a bartender we interviewed the 27th annual Georgia Bar gles showed up at her hotel room push- told us she saw a very drunk pair drink- Media & Judiciary Conference ing his way inside telling her that if she ing wine and that Bigglesworth ap- wanted to get ahead he needed for her peared to be forcing himself upon what to make him happy. If he was happy, she appeared to be a very uncomfortable would get to run the entire wing panel McSweeney. Biggles’ close friend Con- CNN design group. She then broke down in gressman Talmadge Lowe said he’s a ACLU of Georgia tears telling HR that, fearing she would “kind and considerable man” and calls American Constitution Society, lose her career, she slept with Biggles. this a “cynical campaign to discredit Georgia Chapter Susie-Anne claimed that he continued to Biggles,” and another friend, Donald suggest more encounters but she said no. Truman, called McSweeney, “a money- Atlanta Journal-Constitution Without warning, she was taken off grubbing slut who attempted to seduce Atlanta Press Club leadership of the cutting-edge wing panel her boss, only blaming him because she Bryan Cave LLP design group and reassigned to the engine couldn’t do her job.” Ed Buckley, how- development group. Same pay, lateral ever, called both of those claims “hog Council of State Court Judges move, but not where she wanted to be. wash” and “fake news.” Stockholders Council of Superior Court Judges As Richard Griffiths unfolded the sce- are now putting pressure on Biggles to Daily Report nario for the panel, the level of knowl- resign and seek treatment at a sex ad- edge and expertise of the panelists was diction facility. Georgia First Amendment Foundation very apparent to the audience. One of the Georgia News Lab most impressive performances was from Petchenik’s impressive efforts earned Greenberg Traurig LLP WSB-TV’s Mike Petchenik, who wrote him a well-deserved round of applause an original news story while the panel from the audience. Jones Day was at work. Having no prior knowledge The session can be viewed in its en- Judicial Council of Georgia/ Administrative Office of the Courts of the details of the scenario, Petchenik tirety on the State Bar of Georgia’s extemporaneously penned these words: YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/ Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP RXVNATQ_61s. Poston Communications LLC Things are not so sunny for solar- powered aircraft inventor and inter- State Bar of Georgia nationally renowned businessman Jim Meet the Mayor: Bigglesworth. He’s facing complaints Keisha Lance Bottoms Bottoms strongly believes that trans- about slimy behavior in Lizard Lick parency enables good government, and and beyond. In a lawsuit we obtained, Introduced by Christopher Walker, that the best cure for a lack of transpar- a 29-year-old subordinate engineer Associate, Greenberg Traurig, LLP ency is sunshine, particularly with respect claims Bigglesworth made inappropri- On Jan. 2, 2018, Keisha Lance Bottoms to the city’s contracting and procurement ate advances toward her and forced her was sworn in as the 60th mayor of Atlanta. process. During her campaign, Bottoms to sleep with him in exchange for up- During Bottoms’ inaugural address, she an- announced her commitment to intro- ward movement at his company, Big- nounced the priorities of her first 100 days duce a sweeping ethics and transparency gles Aviation. In an exclusive interview, in office. Included among those priorities reform package which will set the frame- Susie-Anne McSweeney’s attorney Ed were criminal justice reform, education work for a complete overhaul of how the Buckley told WFRG-TV when she re- and transparency. Less than two months city collects and shares data and informa- buffed his advances, he reassigned her into her administration, Bottoms has al- tion with the media and the public. to another division of the company tell- ready taken measurable action to address Bottoms ended her time at the confer- ing her, “I expect our employees to be the first two. She signed into a law a city ence by taking questions from the audience. all in.” Buckley asked for other poten- ordinance eliminating cash bonds to secure tial victims to come out. In a statement, release from city of Atlanta detention cen- Biggles Aviation spokeswoman told us ters following an arrest for violations of city Political Rewind Returns: WFRG-TV that the Navy veteran and ordinances. Also, on Tuesday, Feb. 20, she What’s Hot and What’s Not church volunteer had no comment, but signed an ordinance transferring the deeds in Georgia pointed to the company’s values and re- of 31 properties to Atlanta Public Schools. spect for women in the workplace. In Bottoms’ address to the audience members Hosts court documents we obtained, Biggles- of the Bar Media & Judiciary Conference worth maintained the relationship was was about her plans to tackle the third pri- l Bill Nigut, Senior Executive Pro- consensual, claiming he had the receipt ority: transparency. ducer, Georgia Public Broadcasting
2018 APRIL 37 Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s package of gun reform measures, which includes a blanket ban on the purchase of weapons by anyone under the age of 21; school shootings and arming teachers; HB 961, a bill to eliminate the CEO-form of government in DeKalb County; HB 605, the Hidden Predator Act of 2018, which seeks to hold entities ac- countable who conceal the sexual assault of children and extends the statute of limita- tions for victims; HB 673, a bill to require the use of hands-free phone technology for drivers in Georgia; and HB 887, which pro- poses imposing taxes on streaming services to help raise money for state-subsidized in- ternet expansion in rural Georgia. To hear the full broadcast, visit http:// gpbnews.org/post/political-rewind- PHOTO BY STEPHANIE J. WILSON (Left to right) WSB-TV’s Mike Petchenik and CNN’s Johnita Due share a laugh during one of state-bar-georgia or subscribe to the “Po- the many humorous moments of “Sex, Lies and Hotel Receipts.” litical Rewind” podcast.
Reflections on Georgia’s Judicial System and Supreme Court: The Road Traveled and Ahead
Moderator
l Ed Bean, Senior Vice President, Poston Communications
Panelists
l Hon. Harold Melton, Presiding Jus- tice, Supreme Court of Georgia l Hon. Leah Ward Sears, Partner, Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP l George W. “Buddy” Darden III, Senior Counsel, Pope McGlamry l Robert S. Highsmith Jr., Partner, Holland & Knight LLP PHOTO BY STEPHANIE J. WILSON
(Left to right) Bill Nigut discusses current events at the state Capitol with panelists Loretta Justice Harold Melton began by discuss- Lepore, Dr. Michael Thurmond and state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver during a live broadcast of ing the change of the makeup of the GPB’s “Political Rewind.” Supreme Court of Georgia from seven justices to nine, and what impact that expansion has had on the decisions the l Jim Galloway, Columnist and Blog- l Dr. Michael Thurmond, Chief Court is handing down. “You don’t nec- ger, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Executive Officer, DeKalb County essarily speed up the process, but you For the third year in a row, Bill Nigut, definitely get a more careful and critical Guests Jim Galloway and their radio show guests eye,” Melton said. “We stay busy. The ra- l Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver thrilled the conference audience with fast- tionale for the additional justices . . . you (D-Decatur), Georgia House of paced discussion of political news items and do have two additional judges to write Representatives current legislation under the Gold Dome opinions, but you especially have two l Loretta Lepore, Founder and Princi- during a live broadcast of GPB’s “Political other judges to divide up the administra- pal, Lepore Associates Rewind.” Some of the topics covered were tive roles that exist out there.” Regard-
38 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL ing the administrative tasks of the Court, former Supreme Court of Georgia Jus- tice Leah Ward Sears added, “I don’t think most lawyers really understand how bogged down justices get with all of the administrative. It is quite heavy.” Ed Bean then shifted the discussion to Gov. Deal’s legacy as far as judicial appointments are concerned. Robert Highsmith began by saying, “I think Gov. Deal has done an absolutely fan- tastic job in populating our courts with outstanding judges. I think perhaps there is no better testament to that than we now have two sitting justices to our Supreme Court” who are on a list for federal judicial appointments. For- mer U.S. Congressman Buddy Darden agreed with Highsmith saying, “I think PHOTO BY STEPHANIE J. WILSON one of the bright spots of the Deal (Left to right) Gubernatorial candidates Brian Kemp, Hunter Hill, Stacey Evans and Stacey administration has been his appoint- Abrams face off during “Ask Georgia’s Next Governor: A Candidates Forum.” ments. . . . One of his strongest legacies will be his contributions to the bench of the state of Georgia.” Justice Sears dis- l Rose Scott, Host, “Closer Look with Question three dealt with the city sented sharing, “The people appointed Rose Scott,” WABE, 90.1 FM of Atlanta’s elimination of cash bonds are qualified—no question about it—but for low-level offenses. The candidates I have been pretty vocal about the lack Candidates were asked if this would be a good move of diversity among all of the appoint- statewide or if the decision should be ments. The vast majority are white l Former Rep. Stacey Abrams left to local governments. men.” Sears pointed out that although (D-Atlanta), Georgia House of Question four had the candidates an- approximately 70 percent of Georgia’s Representatives swering how they would improve mental judges are white males, the population l Former Rep. Stacey Evans health treatment in Georgia. is far more diverse. When citizens go (D-Smyrna), Georgia House of The final question from the modera- to court, they can’t find someone that Representatives tors: Is it time for Georgia to revise mental looks like them, and that creates dis- l Former Sen. Hunter Hill (R-Atlanta), and/or developmental disability assess- trust in the system. Georgia Senate ment as it concerns the death penalty? Prior to taking questions from the au- l The audience posed questions regard- dience, the panel also discussed the Judi- Brian Kemp, Georgia Secretary of State ing plans for reform as related to political cial Nominating Commission, the impact Greg Bluestein and Rose Scott served or partisan gerrymandering; measures of the lack of diversity in applicants on the as moderators to a panel of four guber- the candidates would take as governor to nomination process and the commission’s natorial candidates. Prior to questions, protect the security of our elections from consideration of judicial philosophy. each candidate had four minutes to make outside sources; and what the candidates opening statements introducing them- would do to improve upon criminal selves and their platforms. justice reform. Ask Georgia’s Next Governor: The first question asked of the candidates The entire candidates forum may be A Candidates Forum was if, as governor, would they support leg- viewed on the State Bar of Georgia’s You- islation like SB 375, which allows adoption Tube channel by visiting https://youtu. Organizer agencies to refuse to place children with be/z2W_yFLLtl4. l l Ken Foskett, Senior Editor/Investi- same-sex couples based on their religious gations, Atlanta Journal-Constitution beliefs? The bill also prohibits the Georgia Department of Human Services from tak- Stephanie J. Wilson Moderators ing “adverse action” against such agencies. Question two involved raising the Communications Coordinator l Greg Bluestein, Political Reporter, State Bar of Georgia age to purchase firearms and banning Atlanta Journal-Constitution [email protected] assault weapons.
2018 APRIL 39 GBJ | Feature
Fellows Answer the Call to Protect Georgia’s Children
The Fellows Program of the Georgia Bar Foundation returned to the grant-making world in 2017, awarding seven deserving organizations with funds totaling $60,400. BY C. LEN HORTON
2017 was a special year in legal grant amination of how these funds were used making in Georgia. The Fellows Program last year shows what is possible. of the Georgia Bar Foundation returned The LilyPad Sane Center in Albany, to the grant-making world, answering run by Mary Martinez, provides help and questions about its intentions and its abil- assistance to victims of sexual assault and ity to be part of the ongoing effort to help their families in 19 southwest Georgia solve law-related problems of communi- counties. More specifically, it provides a ties throughout the state. 24-hour crisis line for families who do not Before you meet the seven recipients know where to turn. Providing 24/7 fo- of the 2017 Fellows grants, I’d like to take rensic and medical examinations with ev- a moment to answer the following ques- idence collection, LilyPad is laser focused tions: Who are fellows and why do law- on ending sexual assault and protecting yers become fellows? children and the family. Evidence collec- If a lawyer is a leader in the legal com- tion often requires interviews with child munity or the community in general, then victims, and LilyPad does that using its he or she may well be invited to become a highly trained experts. A total of $10,000 fellow of the Georgia Bar Foundation. Be- in fellows funds was used to update the ing a fellow of the Georgia Bar Foundation center’s interview recording equipment is public acknowledgement that a lawyer’s and to obtain a UV light source that as- accomplishments among his or her legal sists the trained nurse in spotlighting peers and in his or her community are bruises and contusions caused by vio- now recognized throughout Georgia. lence. Foundation Trustees Ken Hodges As important as the recognition is, and Hon. Robert W. Chasteen Jr. led a being a fellow also means joining with site visit to this much appreciated and peers in helping to solve many of Geor- well known community organization. gia’s most challenging law-related prob- SafePath Children’s Advocacy Center lems. A community-focused grant-mak- in Marietta, managed by Jinger Rogers, is ing effort, the Fellows Program provides an organization devoted to ending child financial support to programs that are abuse in Cobb County. It provides a neu- making a big difference in local commu- tral, child-friendly environment that fo- nities all over Georgia. The major source cuses first on the needs of the child and of funds for fellows grants is the annual second on supporting government agen-
$250 contribution for five years. An ex- cies. It also provides trained professional GETTYIMAGES.COM/GAZOMETR
40 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL staff to deal with child abuse cases. Offer- many support services she provides. Just talking about the problems our ing a comprehensive approach to stop- The Sexual Assault Center of Northwest country is facing can sometimes identify ping violence against children, SafePath Georgia serves Bartow, Floyd, Chat- a financial need that foundation fellows provides assistance in stopping inter- tooga, Gordon and Polk counties. A tour can help meet. Like citizens everywhere, net crimes against children, particularly of the facilities was arranged by Brinson Georgians are talking, wondering how child sex trafficking. A total of $10,000 and Frank Beacham, board member of government can be better when few in fellows funds was awarded to Safe- the Sexual Assault Center. people understand what government Path to provide a two-day staff training Families in need were also a concern really is. The consensus of those con- program for its entire multi-disciplinary of The Mediation Center of Savannah. versations is that there probably has team to enhance the necessary skills to Jill Cheeks, executive director, works to never been a greater need for citizens testify professionally in the courtroom. help pro se litigants through the Fam- to understand government and how it Trustee Hon. G. Conley Ingram led a site ily Law Resource Center with divorce, works. In response to that need, former visit of this organization that has become name change, child support and other U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day so important to Cobb County. legal matters. The focus of the center is O’Connor created iCivics in 2009. iCiv- Continuing the fellows focus on chil- avoiding litigation through mediation ics uses video games to teach middle and dren, a $10,000 grant was presented to the and other conflict resolution methods. high school students how democracy Southwestern Judicial Circuit Family Vi- The grant funds are targeting organiza- works. In essence, Justice O’Connor was olence Council in Americus as it was ex- tion essentials such as computers, desks arguing for putting civics back into our panding the breadth of its services to vic- and chairs, and supporting an additional schools. Many people, including Brinson tims of domestic violence and embracing temporary part time staff member. Pat- and Chasteen, have supported that same a new name: The Southwest Georgia rick T. “Pat” O’Connor, immediate past argument in Georgia for years. So when Victim’s Assistance Alliance. Covering president of the State Bar of Georgia and Hon. Dorothy T. Beasley asked if the six rural counties including Lee, Macon, an extraordinary supporter of the Fel- Georgia Bar Foundation would be will- Schley, Sumter, Stewart and Webster, this lows Program, is someone who appreci- ing to provide the iCivics Committee of organization, managed by Alicia Page, ates the work of the center. The $10,000 the State Bar of Georgia with a $2,000 asked for funds to support two law school grant for the Family Law Resource Cen- grant, the Foundation was interested. students providing 10 hours of legal re- ter program inside The Mediation Cen- The committee wanted to bring in an search and one day in person for each of ter of Savannah along with the fellows expert teacher to the annual conference 12 weeks. The ability to offer legal assis- grants already mentioned shows that of the Georgia Council for Social Stud- tance as part of helping victims of family the Board of Trustees of the Georgia ies to educate them about iCivics and its violence is essential to combating family Bar Foundation was focusing on families importance to our country. The request violence. A reception and tour of this or- and the prevention of violence all over was approved. ganization for foundation staff was led by the state. In total, seven fellows grants total- Hon. R. Rucker Smith. Fellows money was also awarded to ing $60,400 were awarded in 2017—not Northwest Georgia was on the mind the Judicial Program of the State YMCA a bad year’s work for our 1,204 fellows. of the Board of Trustees and the fellows of Georgia, a program the Georgia Bar If you are not currently a fellow of the of the Georgia Bar Foundation thanks Foundation has assisted a number of Georgia Bar Foundation and receive an in large part to the encouragement of times. A grant of $8,400 was awarded invitation to become one, I hope you will Robert M. Brinson. At his suggestion, to provide general support to the pro- consider it. You will be one of a group the Sexual Assault Center of North- gram, which acquaints 9th-12th graders of movers and shakers leading our state west Georgia in Rome applied for and with the appellate level of Georgia’s ju- forward. For our current fellows, I hope ultimately received a $10,000 grant to dicial system. An intellectual challenge you will step forward again. Your state provide legal assistance to sexual as- to advanced students, this program and your country have seldom needed sault victims. Specifically, it pays for teaches participants how to prepare you more. l two attorneys, who have agreed to work legal arguments. Managed by Dr. Ran- at reduced rates, to obtain temporary dall Trammell, this program has been Every Georgia lawyer in this story is a fellow protective orders and represent victims supported by the Georgia Bar Founda- of the Georgia Bar Foundation. in divorce proceedings and legal cus- tion since 1986. It is not unusual for tody disputes. Since divorce and custody students going through this program problems are often not covered by legal to become attorneys and judges. S. Les- C. Len Horton services providers because they require ter Tate, past president of the State Bar Executive Director so much time and are quite costly, this of Georgia and former trustee of the Georgia Bar Foundation grant is particularly useful to victims. Georgia Bar Foundation, presented the [email protected] The grant enables Executive Director award to Dr. Trammell on behalf of Kim Davis to add legal assistance to the the foundation.
2018 APRIL 41 GBJ | Feature
This article catalogs decisions handed 2017 Georgia down in 2017 by Georgia state and federal courts addressing questions of Georgia Corporation and corporate and business organization law. It includes both decisions with significant Business Organization precedential value and others dealing with more mundane questions of law as Case Law Developments to which there is little settled authority in Georgia. Even those cases in which the courts applied well-settled principles serve This article presents an overview from a survey of Georgia corporate and as a useful indication of trends in corpo- business organization case law developments in 2017. The full version rate and business organization disputes. of the survey, contains a more in-depth discussion and analysis of The year 2017 saw two notable deci- each case (https://www.bryancave.com/en/thought-leadership/now- sions in the area of shareholder deriva- available-survey-of-2017-georgia-corporate-and-business-1.html). tive and class actions, one granting a This article is not intended as legal advice for any specific person or corporation’s motion to dismiss a de- circumstance, but rather a general treatment of the topics discussed. The rivative suit based on the results of a views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author only special litigation committee investiga- and not Bryan Cave LLP. tion, the other upholding the denial of BY MICHAEL P. CAREY class certification on the grounds that GETTYIMAGES.COM/MICROSTOCKHUB
42 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL the proposed class representative could a shareholder demand letter, SunTrust he knew about the company’s tax debts not adequately represent the class. In formed a “demand review committee” to was sufficient to create a triable issue of addition, the Georgia appellate courts investigate the shareholder’s allegations. fact. Finally, in Lynchar, Inc. v. Colonial addressed matters of first impression re- The committee submitted a comprehen- Oil Industries, Inc., 341 Ga. App. 489, 801 garding the duties of managing members sive report of its investigation, in which S.E.2d 576 (2017), the Court of Appeals of insolvent limited liability companies, it determined that no actionable conduct of Georgia held that a guaranty was un- as well as whether business entities can had occurred and that it would not be in enforceable against two shareholders of a bring claims based on injuries typically the best interest of SunTrust to pursue corporation who executed the guaranty, thought to be personal in nature, such claims based on the shareholder’s alle- because it did not correctly identify the as intentional infliction of emotional dis- gations. SunTrust thereafter moved to name of the corporation that was the tress. There were also a number of deci- dismiss a lawsuit brought by the share- principal debtor. sions interpreting the 2013 amendments holder based on the allegations that to the Civil Practice Act’s provisions for formed the basis for the demand. Under Limited Liability Company service of process on a corporation. O.C.G.A. § 14-2-744, a court’s consider- Developments The decisions are organized first by ation of a motion to dismiss is limited The year 2017 saw a number of notable entity type—those specific to business to evaluating the independence of the decisions involving LLC issues. In Geor- corporations, limited liability companies committee and the reasonableness of its gia Commercial Stores, Inc. v. Forsman, 342 and partnerships. The remaining sections investigation. The court found that the Ga. App. 542, 803 S.E.2d 805 (2017), the of the survey deal with (1) transactional members of SunTrust’s demand review Court of Appeals of Georgia held that issues potentially applicable to all forms of committee were sufficiently indepen- managing members of an insolvent LLC business organizations, and (2) litigation dent and that the committee conducted owe common law fiduciary duties to the issues that are common to all business a thorough, good faith investigation, and LLC’s creditors, similar to those owed by forms, including secondary liability, ju- therefore granted the motion to dismiss. directors of an insolvent Georgia corpo- risdiction and venue, evidence questions The plaintiff has appealed the decision to ration. As a result, an LLC’s creditors may and insurance issues. the Eleventh Circuit. bring a common law breach of fiduciary Other decisions involving director and duty action against the managing mem- officer liability issues in 2017 include HCC bers for their failure to conserve and Review of Decisions Insurance Holdings, Inc. v. Flowers, 237 F. manage the LLC’s assets for the benefit of Supp. 3d 1341 (N.D. Ga. 2017), in which creditors. Georgia courts have long rec- Duties and Liabilities of Corporate the Northern District addressed a breach ognized such a duty in the corporate con- Directors, Officers and Employees of fiduciary duty claim based on an offi- text, but it was an open question whether The Northern District of Georgia dis- cer’s plans to start a competing company managing members of insolvent LLCs missed a shareholder derivative ac- while still employed by the corporation. were under a similar duty not to engage tion involving directors and officers of The court granted summary judgment in preferential transactions. The Court of SunTrust, granting SunTrust’s motion in favor of the defendant, holding that Appeals held that it was only logical that to dismiss the lawsuit based on a de- while the officer may have made pre- LLC managing members be treated the termination by a special committee of liminary plans to form a new business, same as corporate directors, because they its board that the claims lacked merit there was no evidence that he acted upon occupy a similar role within the business and should not be pursued. The deci- those plans while he was employed by the entity. While this ruling creates parity be- sion, in a case styled LR Trust on behalf plaintiff. In In re Alpha Protective Services, tween Georgia corporate and LLC law on of SunTrust Banks, Inc. v. Rogers, 270 F. 570 B.R. 888 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. 2017), the this point, it simultaneously creates a sig- Supp. 3d 1364 (N.D. Ga. 2017), is one Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District nificant distinction between Georgia and of the most extensive opinions to date of Georgia held that the fact that a direc- Delaware LLC law. Delaware law allows addressing the dismissal of shareholder tor advanced money to a corporation breach of fiduciary duty claims by credi- derivative actions under O.C.G.A. § 14- to help it make payroll did not establish tors of an insolvent corporation, but not 2-744, and it serves as a useful guide to as a matter of law that the director had an insolvent LLC. the sorts of issues that are (and are not) “reasonable cause” to believe that the Two decisions addressed the enforce- litigated when a corporation moves to company was insolvent, and found that ability of LLC operating agreements. In dismiss under the statute. In response to the director’s testimony denying that Practice Benefits, LLC v. Entera Holdings,
2018 APRIL 43 LLC, 340 Ga. App. 378, 797 S.E.2d 250 the new claims all were based on conduct (5). In McCoy v. Bovee, 300 Ga. 759, 796 (2017), the Court of Appeals held that an occurring after the first suit had ended. S.E.2d 679 (2017), the Supreme Court LLC may be sued for breach of its own of Georgia addressed a dispute between operating agreement regardless of wheth- Nonprofit Corporations a homeowners’ association and its presi- er the LLC signed the agreement. The One of the more interesting Court of dent. The Court affirmed a trial court’s panel held that O.C.G.A. § 14-11-101(18) Appeals of Georgia decisions from 2017 injunction removing the officer on the unambiguously binds an LLC to its own involved electric-membership corpora- grounds that he had frustrated the work operating agreement whether or not the tions. In Walker v. Oglethorpe Power Cor- of a receiver that the court had previously LLC executes it. In Souza v. Berberian, 342 poration, 341 Ga. App. 647, 802 S.E.2d appointed to manage the association’s af- Ga. App. 161, 802 S.E.2d 401 (2017), the 643 (2017), the Court of Appeals af- fairs. The Court’s review was limited to Court of Appeals held that an email dis- firmed the dismissal of two class action whether there was any evidence to sup- cussing proposed terms of an LLC operat- lawsuits brought by retail customers of port the trial court’s decision, meaning ing agreement did not create an enforce- various EMCs, who by virtue of being that it did not review whether the re- able operating agreement because it was customers are members of the EMCs moval was authorized under the Non- too indefinite as to the material terms of that serve them, alleging that the EMCs profit Corporations Code. the relationship, including the percentage violated statutory and contractual duties of equity that one of the founding parties to their members by failing to distribute Stock Ownership and Transactional would receive. revenues in excess of operating expenses Cases In McCabe v. Rainey, 343 Ga. App. (known as “patronage capital”) to their In EMM Credit, LLC v. Remington, 343 480, 806 S.E.2d 867 (2017), the Court of members in a timely fashion. The court Ga. App. 710, 808 S.E.2d 96 (2017), the Appeals reversed a trial court’s grant of addressed questions of standing as well Court of Appeals of Georgia held that a summary judgment in favor of an LLC’s as whether the EMC Act, O.C.G.A. jury was authorized to find that the de- managing member, holding that the § 46-3-170 et seq., imposes any duty on fendant in a fraudulent transfer action other member raised a genuine factual EMCs to return patronage capital to was the “true owner” of a corporation, question as to whether the managing members at any particular time. As to meaning that he owned all of its stock. member sold the LLC’s assets fraudu- the standing question, the court found The defendant presented evidence that lently and without proper authorization. that the EMC Act did not provide for a stock certificates had been issued to Although the governing documents con- private right of action by EMC members other people, and there was no evidence tained broad exculpatory language and to enforce its requirements. The court that the defendant himself ever received gave the defendant significant powers in also noted that the plaintiffs had never stock certificates. The corporation was selling assets, the court found that a jury been members of several of the EMCs unable to produce a complete and reli- could conclude from the evidence that who were defendants, and that this lack able stock ledger, however, and claimed the defendant intentionally breached of privity deprived the plaintiffs of any instead that its records had been lost or those documents and used his powers claims against those EMCs. Turning stolen. Given the absence of such evi- to benefit himself and family members. to the merits, the court held that even dence, the Court of Appeals held that In Richardson v. Coverall North America, if a private right of action existed, the a reasonable jury could view the defen- Inc., 2017 WL 6059208 (N.D. Ga. Dec. 7, EMC Act did not create any express or dant’s claims with suspicion, and that it 2017), the Northern District of Georgia implied duty to return patronage capital did not need to be presented with direct held that an LLC’s owner who signed on any particular schedule. Instead, the evidence that the defendant was issued a franchise agreement on behalf of the court interpreted the operative statute, stock certificates in order to find that the LLC was personally bound by the agree- O.C.G.A. § 46-3-340, as giving EMCs defendant owned the corporation. ment’s arbitration clause. As a result, broad discretion to accumulate patron- In Wallace v. Wallace, 301 Ga. 195, 800 the LLC owner was required to arbi- age capital for purposes such as main- S.E.2d 303 (2017), the Supreme Court of trate statutory and tort claims against taining reserves and meeting future Georgia vacated a trial court order, issued the franchisor, even though he was as- capital needs. after a bench trial, resolving a dispute serting the claims on his own behalf In Lathan v. Hospital Authority of Charl- over the valuation of shares in a family- and not on the LLC’s behalf. Finally, in ton County, 343 Ga. App. 123, 805 S.E.2d owned corporation. The dispute turned Echenblatt v. Piedmont/Maple, LLC, 341 450 (2017), the Court of Appeals held on whether the valuation was to be gov- Ga. App. 761, 801 S.E.2d 616 (2017), the that a hospital authority is not a corpo- erned by the company’s original bylaws Court of Appeals held that an LLC eq- ration that is subject to service under or a later buy-sell agreement. This critical uity holder’s claims against its managing § 9-11-4(e)(1)(A). Instead, even though question was left unanswered by the trial member were not barred by the doctrine such bodies are often referred to as pub- court’s order, which included no findings of res judicata despite their similarity to lic corporations, they are “public bodies” of fact or conclusions of law. The Court claims that were litigated in a prior suit that must be served through their CEO concluded that it could not meaningfully between the parties. The court held that or clerk pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 9-11-4(e) review the lower court order in the ab-
44 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL sence of such findings, and remanded the case with instructions to make such find- ings. Finally, in One Buckhead Loop Condo- minium JE-067 Association v. Regent Tower Holdings, LLC, 341 Ga. App. 5, 798 S.E.2d 633 (2017), the Court of Appeals held that the presence of a corporate seal on an agreement invoked the 20-year limi- tations period set forth under O.C.G.A. Know Your Bar § 9-3-23. The defendant claimed that its only intent in affixing the seal to the document was to show that the signing officer had the ability to bind the corpo- ration, but the court held that the defen- dant’s stated reasons for affixing the seal were irrelevant.
Litigation Issues
Standing and Capacity to Sue The Court of Appeals of Georgia issued two decisions in 2017 addressing the novel question of whether a business entity can bring claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress. In Osprey Cove Real Estate, LLC v. SE-027 Towerview Construction, LLC, 343 Ga. App. 436, 808 State Bar Sections S.E.2d 425 (2017), the Court of Appeals Connect with other lawyers in your practice area. held that Georgia law does not recognize such a claim, for the simple reason that business entities cannot experience emo- If you’re looking for ways to connect To see a description of each tions. The Court of Appeals later reaf- with others in your practice area, section, go to www.gabar.org firmed this holding in Ortho Sport & Spine look no further than State Bar and click on the Committees, Physicians Savannah LLC v. Chappuis, 808 sections. Sections are organized by Programs & Sections button and S.E.2d 559 (Ga. App. 2017), and also practice and discipline areas. There navigate to Section Web Pages held that a business entity cannot bring are currently 49 sections to choose under the Sections link. an invasion of privacy claim because from ranging from Administrative Law to Workers’ Compensation Law. You can join sections by privacy is a personal right. The court checking them off on your dues distinguished the type of privacy claim Section memberships offer a notice that is mailed in May, or asserted in Ortho Sport, which was based variety of benefits ranging from you can log in to your membership on an LLC’s allegations that its landlord lunch and learn programs to account at www.gabar.org and was harassing it, from claims involving newsletters, social engagements click on Section Membership. the misappropriation of trade names, to CLE programs. Many sections which are permitted under Georgia law. work with the Institute of Some say sections are the life An earlier decision involving some of Continuing Legal Education blood of the State Bar. Join one the same parties addressed the corporate (ICLE) to provide member specific (or two or three) and find out! If programming in three to 12 hour you have additional questions, separateness doctrine in the context of increments. Sections are also call or email Sections Director applying the prior pending action rule. providing content for ICLE’s Derrick Stanley at 404-527-8774 or See Oskouei v. Orthopaedic & Spine Surgery webinar series. [email protected]. of Atlanta, LLC, 340 Ga. App. 67 (2017).
Secondary Liability The Georgia courts continue to ad- dress—and reject—attempts by credi-
2018 APRIL 45 There has been an interesting trend in Georgia federal courts toward more careful scrutiny of diversity jurisdiction cases where the citizenship of an LLC is involved. Unlike a corporation, which is a citizen of its state of incorporation and the state where it maintains its principal office, an LLC is a citizen of every state in which one of its members is a citizen.
tors to reach corporate assets to satisfy Jurisdiction, Venue and Service moval provisions. The panel held that the debts owed by their shareholders, a type of Process defendants could only establish minimal of claim known as “reverse veil pierc- There has been an interesting trend in diversity by showing that they were not ing.” In Community & Southern Bank v. Georgia federal courts toward more citizens of Georgia, which as Georgia cor- Lovell, 302 Ga. 375, 807 S.E.2d 444 (Ga. careful scrutiny of diversity jurisdiction porations they could not do. And in Burch- 2017), a unanimous Supreme Court of cases where the citizenship of an LLC is field v. West Metro Glass Company, Inc., 340 Georgia held that a creditor could not involved. Unlike a corporation, which is Ga. App. 324, 797 S.E.2d 225 (2017), the use the Uniform Fraudulent Transfers a citizen of its state of incorporation and Court of Appeals of Georgia addressed a Act (UFTA) as a basis for asserting a the state where it maintains its principal case that had been removed under Geor- reverse veil piercing claim. The plain- office, an LLC is a citizen of every state in gia’s corporate venue statute, O.C.G.A. tiff sought to set aside transfers made which one of its members is a citizen. In § 14-2-510(b). The court held that a mo- by a corporation owned by the debtor, Purchasing Power, LLC v. Bluestem Brands, tion to transfer should have been denied but the corporation was not alleged to Inc., 851 F.3d 1218 (11th Cir. 2017), the because it was not made during the stat- have owed any money to the plaintiff. Eleventh Circuit reviewed a sanctions ute’s 45-day window for removal. The Court held that the UFTA provided order that was issued in a case that pro- There were a large number of note- no basis for a departure from the settled ceeded to summary judgment and an ap- worthy decisions involving the sufficien- rule against reverse veil piercing. In Cor- peal before the parties realized that diver- cy of service of process under O.C.G.A. rugated Replacements, Inc. v. Johnson, 340 sity was destroyed due to the citizenship § 9-11-4. In S.D.E. Inc. v. Finley, 340 Ga. Ga. App. 364, 797 S.E.2d 238 (2017), the of a member of a member of one of the App. 684, 798 S.E.2d 303 (2017), the Court of Appeals held that the prohibi- parties. While the Eleventh Circuit held Court of Appeals affirmed a decision tion against reverse veil piercing is not that counsel had acted in good faith and holding that a McDonald’s franchisee’s subject to any exceptions. In that case, reversed the sanction on the basis of that shift manager was a “managing agent” the plaintiffs argued unsuccessfully for holding, the panel nonetheless used its of the franchisee, and that the franchisee an equitable exception that would apply opinion to admonish attorneys handling was properly served when a copy of the when the plaintiff is otherwise without diversity cases to be more proactive in re- complaint and summons were delivered an adequate legal remedy. solving questions about the citizenship of to the shift manager working behind the Finally, in a more conventional veil LLCs at an early point in the litigation. restaurant’s counter. The court held that piercing case, the Bankruptcy Court for In other decisions involving jurisdic- the trial court was authorized to find that the Middle District of Georgia rejected a tion and venue questions, the Eleventh the shift manager had a supervisory or customer’s attempt to pierce the veil of a Circuit held in Life of the South Insurance managerial role for the corporation due to homebuilder’s wholly owned corporation Company v. Carzell, 851 F.3d 1341 (11th the fact that she was generally in charge of in Matter of Hilsman, 576 B.R. 717 (Bankr. Cir. 2017) that two Georgia corporations the employees working on her shift. The M.D. Ga. 2017). The record showed that that were headquartered in Florida (and decision suggests that courts may take a the defendant had not strictly observed therefore were citizens of both states) broad view of the “managing agent” as it certain corporate formalities such as an- could not remove a class action brought is used in 2013 version of § 9-11-4(e). In nual meetings, but the court found no on behalf of a Georgia-only class by La Mara X, Inc. v. Baden, 340 Ga. App. 592, evidence that the defendant had com- claiming that their Florida citizenship 798 S.E.2d 105 (2017), the Court of Ap- mingled funds or had otherwise abused created the “minimal diversity” required peals held that a corporation operating a the corporate form. under the Class Action Fairness Act’s re- restaurant was not properly served, even
46 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL though the complaint and summons were and the presence or absence of any con- in part summary judgment in favor of served on its CEO at its correct address, flicts of interest between the proposed the sons of O. Wayne Rollins in a law- because the corporation was incorrectly representative and absent class members. suit challenging their conduct as direc- identified in the complaint and summons. A petition for certiorari to the Supreme tors of LOR, Inc., a family corporation The documents identified an existing but Court of Georgia was denied. established to hold assets of the Rollins different corporation whose separate ex- estate. The case is related to the Rollins v. istence could be proven from the Secre- Indemnification and Insurance Rollins litigation that has led to multiple tary of State’s records. Because there was In Georgia Dermatologic Surgery Cen- appellate decisions in recent years. The another corporation that went by the ters v. Pharis, 339 Ga. App. 764, 792 plaintiffs, trustees of a marital trust that name on the documents, the court held S.E.2d 747 (2017), the Court of Ap- held shares of LOR stock, alleged that that the misidentification was not a mere peals of Georgia upheld a trial court the defendants breached their fiduciary misnomer. In Vasile v. Addo, 341 Ga. App. order granting a director’s claim for duties to the marital trust by approving 236, 800 S.E.2d 1 (2017), the Court of Ap- mandatory indemnification following certain transactions that depressed divi- peals held that a plaintiff exercised “rea- his successful defense against litiga- dends, failing to pay dividends owed to sonable diligence” in attempting to serve tion brought by the corporation and its the marital trust, and using LOR to pur- an LLC as that term is used in O.C.G.A. other director. The court rejected the chase property, an airplane and other § 14-11-209(f), even though the plaintiff corporation’s argument that the manda- assets for their personal use. The court made only one attempt to serve the LLC tory indemnification statute, O.C.G.A. held that a number of claims were time personally before exercising the option of § 14-2-852, did not apply because it could barred, rejecting the plaintiffs’ tolling ar- making substitute service on the Secre- have asserted claims against the defen- gument on the grounds that the record tary of State. One reason why the plain- dant solely in his capacity as an officer or failed to show fraudulent concealment tiff’s efforts were deemed to be reasonable in some other capacity. and the plaintiffs should have exercised was that the LLC’s principal had stated to greater diligence. The court further held the plaintiff (who lived in the same house) Evidentiary Issues that much of the conduct complained of that he was out of the country. Finally, in In Robles v. Yugueros, 343 Ga. App. 377, 807 fell within the statutory safe harbor for Hunt v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC, 684 Fed. S.E.2d 110 (2017), the Court of Appeals of conflicted interest transactions and/or Appx. 938 (11th Cir. 2017), the Eleventh Georgia re-examined its prior opinion on the business judgment rule, and the de- Circuit held that a plaintiff failed to serve the admissibility of 30(b)(6) deposition fendants showed that they were entitled a defendant through its receptionist, be- testimony at trial in light of the Supreme to the protections of those statutes and cause the receptionist was not an autho- Court’s holding in Yugueros v. Robles, 300 rules. The court denied summary judg- rized agent and she did not accept service. Ga. 58, 793 S.E.2d 42 (2016) that the use of ment, however, as to the claims that the such testimony at trial is limited by other defendants used LOR funds to buy and Class Certification applicable evidentiary rules, including the manage assets for their personal use, find- In Lewis v. KNOLOGY, Inc., 341 Ga. App. rules governing expert testimony. This ing that such conduct was not entitled to 86, 799 S.E.2d 247 (2017), a divided nine- time, the Court of Appeals held that a cor- business judgment rule protection but judge Court of Appeals panel affirmed a porate representative’s 30(b)(6) testimony would have to be evaluated under an en- trial court order denying class certifica- cannot be admitted at trial as expert tes- tion in a putative shareholder class ac- timony without independently satisfying Counseling for Attorneys tion challenging a corporate merger. The the requirements of § 24-7-702. Because majority held that the trial court acted the proponent of the testimony relied only Depression within its discretion when it found that on Rule 30(b)(6) in arguing that the tes- Anxiety/Stress the proposed class representative was in- timony should be admitted, the Court of Life Transitions adequate. The trial court’s decision was Appeals held that the trial court correctly Career Concerns based largely on the plaintiff’s deposition excluded the testimony. Couples Counseling testimony, which indicated that she was Relationship Conflicts unaware of basic facts regarding the law- suit and did not understand the nature Decisions of the Fulton County 1 Elizabeth Mehlman, J.D., Ph.D. of her own claims. A dissenting opinion Business Court www.AtlantaPsychologist.org argued that the trial court’s review should In Rollins v. LOR, Inc., No. 2014-cv-249480 have been more narrowly confined to (Ga. Super. Apr. 28, 2017), the Busi- (404) 874-0937 evaluating the adequacy of class counsel ness Court granted in part and denied Midtown Atlanta
2018 APRIL 47 tire fairness standard instead. The court of the court’s opinion is its discussion retaliation for an earlier lawsuit the de- also addressed a demand for inspection of of operating agreement provisions that fendants had filed in Florida. The court books and records, which it found to be purport to eliminate the statutory pro- held that the lawsuit before it was strictly moot in light of the extensive discovery hibition on conflicting interest transac- a corporate governance matter and was taken during litigation, and a claim for ju- tions, O.C.G.A. § 14-11-307. The court not sufficiently related to the Florida dicial dissolution of LOR, which it tabled held that such provisions do not, without suit to raise any concerns under the anti- for later consideration. more, relieve members and managers of SLAPP statute. l In Gross Endowment Trust, LLC v. other duties, including the duty of care. Inglesby, No. 2015-cv-261031 (Ga. Su- In Obarski v. Elting, No. 2016-cv- per. Mar. 9, 2017), the Business Court 275799 (Ga. Super. May 9, 2017), the Michael P. Carey practices granted summary judgment to the defen- Business Court held that it lacked person- corporate, securities and dant in a dispute between former busi- al jurisdiction over a New York resident other complex litigation at ness partners that turned on whether who was an officer of a Delaware corpo- Bryan Cave LLP, with a focus on director and officer the plaintiff could rescind a release the ration that maintained an Atlanta office. liability issues. Carey is co-author of a parties executed in connection with the The case involved claims by an employee chapter on director and officer liability dissolution of their venture. The court of the Atlanta office that the defendant in a book published annually by the held that the plaintiff’s rescission claim promised him an ownership stake in the Daily Report. “Georgia Business was foreclosed by his five-month delay event of a sale. The court found that the Litigation” (Daily Report 2013). He can in seeking rescission after learning of defendant did not engage in any purpose- be reached at michael.carey@ a potentially undisclosed business op- ful act in Georgia related to the plaintiff’s bryancave.com. portunity that formed the basis for his claims. In Strategic Jubilee Holdings, LLC BSL Holdings, LLC v. Trin- v. Jubilee Development Partners, LLC fraud claim. In , No. Endnotes ity Lifestyles Management, LLC, No. 2016- 2016-cv-283484 (Ga. Super. Apr. 14, 1. Opinions from the Fulton County cv-278256 (Ga. Super. Jan. 20, 2017), 2017), the Business Court denied a mo- Business Court may be found on the the Business Court granted in part and tion to strike a lawsuit seeking a declara- Georgia State University College of denied in part a motion to dismiss 17 tory judgment that the defendants were Law’s website, at https://readingroom. counts a complaint involving the man- not members of an LLC. The motion law.gsu.edu/businesscourt. agement of LLCs that own and operate was based on the anti-SLAPP statute and senior living facilities. One highlight argued that the lawsuit had been filed in
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48 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL STATE BAR OF GEORGIA PRO BONO RESOURCE CENTER
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2018 APRIL 49 Honor Roll of Contributors: 2017 “And Justice for All” State Bar Campaign for Georgia Legal Services Program
The following individuals and law firms contributed $150 or more to the “And Justice for All” State Bar Campaign for GLSP from 4/1/17 - 2/28/18.
VISIONARIES PRESIDENT’S Michael G. Geoffroy CIRCLE CIRCLE ($1,500 - Georgia Power ($10,000 & Up) $2,499) Foundation, Inc. The Legal Division of Hon. William P. Adams Patricia A. Gorham The Coca-Cola Company Atlanta Association Hall Booth Smith, P.C. Marguerite Salinas of Legal Nurse Clinton A. Harkins Trust Consultants Allison and Ben Hill Tift County Beth Boone Keith T. Hill Law Library Hon. Susan S. Cole Sallie R. Jocoy The Wilson Family Jonathan W. Hewett Stanley S. Jones Jr. and Foundation Michael N. Loebl Barbara T. (Bobbi) Pandora E. Palmer Cleveland PATRON’S CIRCLE Hon. Guy D. Pfeiffer Elena Kaplan ($5,000 - $9,999) Strickland Brockington Paul Kilpatrick Jr. American College of Lewis, LLP Hon. John T. Laney III Bankruptcy Foundation Nancy Terrill and Tennell Lockett Elizabeth W. Arnold Camp Bacon Linda S. Lowe and Patrick J. Flinn Weiner, Shearouse, James S. Coonan Flint Energies Weitz, Greenberg Robert E. Foundation, Inc. & Shawe, LLP McCormack III The Geiger Terry L. Miller Foundation, Inc. EXECUTIVE CIRCLE Jenny K. Mittelman and State Bar of Georgia ($750 - $1,499) William C. Thompson Anonymous Hon. Margaret BENEFACTOR’S John P. Batson H. Murphy CIRCLE and Lisa J. Krisher Gretchen E. Nagy ($2,500 - $4,999) Jamie M. Brownlee Elizabeth J. Norman Alston & Bird, LLP and David G. Russell Shalamar J. Parham John T. Batson James A. “Jock” Kimberly J. Prior James W. Boswell III Clark and Mary Jane Annette T. Quinn M. Ayres Gardner Robertson Albert and Bebe and William J. Cobb Richard H. Deane Jr. Reichert Jr. Cynthia L. Jernigan Family Law Section Brian D. Rogers King & Spalding, LLP of the State Bar of Rogers & Hardin, LLP Willis L. Miller III Georgia Teresa W. Roseborough Andrew M. Jim and Kay Fleming Kent E. Silver Scherffius III Therese G. Franzen Darrell L. Sutton Troutman Sanders, LLP David H. Gambrell William A. Trotter III Carol J. Ward Dulaney L. O’Roark III Callie D. Bryan Sandra J. Evans J. David Hopkins III Hon. Charles H. Weigle Harry A. Osborne James B. Bucher Stacey G. Evans Catherine A. Hora Anderson Leigh M. Wilcox Jonathan B. Pannell Robert C. Buck Douglass K. Farrar Lisa K. Hoskin Young Lawyers Division Milton L. Petersen Christine P. Bump Cheryl A. Featherstun Melissa R. Hourihan of the Savannah Bar Jeffrey N. Powers Sandra S. Burgess William H. Ferguson David C. Howell Association Joseph A. Roseborough Sheryl L. Burke R. Jeffrey Field Robert P. Hoyt Sacred Heart Douglas W. Butler Jr. Hon. Gail C. Flake Richard N. Hubert LEADERSHIP CIRCLE Catholic Church George E. Butler II T. Michael Flinn Randall L. Hughes ($500 - $749) Savannah Bar Association Katharine S. Butler Jessie C. Fontenot Jr. Ruth A. Hughes Paul H. Anderson Jr. Ryan A. Schneider Sybil K. Butterworth Ira L. Foster Ashanti T. Hunt W. David Arnold Charity Scott Ivy N. Cadle Joseph H. Fowler Charles D. Hurt Jr. Augusta Bar Association and Evans Harrell Denise Caffrey Patrick J. Fox Jimmy Hwang Gina E. Bailey Rita C. Spalding Kevin T. Caiaccio Peter A. Fozzard John M. Hyatt Steven L. Beauvais John I. Spangler III Elizabeth C. Calhoun Dorothy B. Franzoni Leon A. Immerman Frank J. Beltran A. Thomas Stubbs Joel R. Callaway J. Randall Frost Jacob M. Jackson Charles and Lisa Bliss Michael J. Tafelski Robert P. Catlin III Dean Fuchs Terry D. Jackson Phil Bond David F. Walbert Darl H. Champion Jr. Karen C. Gainey J. Scott and Tanya Jacobson Russell S. Bonds Hon. Ronit Z. Walker John A. Chandler Murray A. Galin Mary B. James Wendy C. Breinig David A. Webster Lisa E. Chang E. Reid Garrett Christopher B. Jarrard Marquetta J. Bryan Katherine K. Wood Michael L. Chapman Karen Geiger Victoria L. Jeffries Maureen A. Cahill Jerome A. Zivan Sandra G. Chase William C. Gentry Frank and Vicki Jenkins III Cohen & Caproni, LLC Norman E. Zoller Socheat Chea Cynthia L. Gibson Frederick W. Johnson Steven M. Collins Frances A. Zwenig John P. Cheeley James B. Gilbert Jr. Gwendolyn L. Johnson Victoria M. Collins John D. Christy Neil J. Ginn J. Alexander Johnson Delia T. Crouch SUSTAINER’S CIRCLE Thomas H. Clarke Jr. Sharon K. Gipson Todd M. Johnson Ashley L. Deadwyler ($250 - $499) David C. Clifton Adam M. Gleklen Weyman T. Johnson Jr. Katherine J. Debriere Anonymous Wendi L. Clifton Richard G. Goerss Theodore C. Jonas Tracey L. Dellacona Virgil L. Adams Peter M. Cohen Steven I. Goldman James C. Jones III V. Robert Denham Jr. Tara L. Adyanthaya Arlene L. Coleman Robert F. Goodman Jr. Kenneth J. Jones William M. Dreyer Thomas Affleck III Thomas M. Cook Kenneth L. Gordon Pamela M. Jones Hon. William S. Duffey Jr. Melinda P. Agee Charles M. Cork III Walter J. Gordon Sr. Richard S. Jones Elarbee, Thompson, Barbara C. Alexander Steven A. Cornelison Gregory S. Graham Elizabeth R. Jonsson Sapp & Wilson, LLP Robert L. Allgood Alfred N. Corriere Ronda K. Graham William H. Jordan Betty and Davis Fitzgerald Stephen Andrew and Arturo Corso Kimberly W. Grant Sarah O. Jorgensen Foundation, Inc. Hon. Doris L. Downs Cramer & Peavy Philip P. Grant Mary and Richard Katz Daisy H. and Janet M. Ansorge Kenneth B. Crawford Wayne Grant Robert N. Katz Timothy W. Floyd Thomas J. Anthony Rev. John L. Cromartie Jr. John W. Greer III Robert J. Kauffman David L. Forbes Margaret L. Argent Raymond L. Crowell Charles C. Grile Marcus G. Keegan Fountain City Bar Association William H. Arroyo William F. Crozer Shelby S. Guilbert Jr. Kirk W. Keene Terrica Redfield Ganzy Richard J. Azar Thomas W. Curvin Stephen H. Hagler Michael B. Keene Ben and Michele Garren Jr. Bridget B. Bagley William T. Daniel Jr. Stacey A. Haire James B. Kendrick III William S. Goodman Hon. Jeffrey S. Bagley Hon. Marc E. D’Antonio Hon. Carolyn C. Hall Vicky O. Kimbrell Kristi L. Graunke Emily C. Bagwell Peter S. Dardi J. Edward Hall F. Carlton King Jr. William H. Gregory II Kirk B. Ballard Dennis A. Davenport Rebecca A. Hall Hon. Janet F. King F. Sheffield Hale Eleanor F. Banister Hugh M. Davenport Earline L. Ham Jason M. King Avarita L. Hanson E. Noreen Banks-Ware Gerald Davidson Jr. Lisa M. Hamilton Kip and Harriet Kirkpatrick Sally A. Haskins W. Leon Barfield Randall H. Davis Wilbur G. Hamlin Jr. Rhonda L. Klein James I. Hay Patricia T. Barmeyer Steven J. DeGroot Edward J. Hardin Ruth A. Knox Franklin D. Hayes Marshall B. Barton Scott D. Delius Harry H. Harkins Jr. Edward B. Krugman Carlton M. Henson Pamela O. Basto Hon. Clinton E. Deveaux Walter B. Harvey Thompson Kurrie Jr. L. Lynn Hogue Douglas D. Batchelor Jr. Foy R. Devine Jon-Selby R. Hawk David A. LaMalva Phyllis J. Holmen Nancy E. Bedford William D. Dillon Matthew G. Hawk John Lamberski Hon. Willis B. Hunt Jr. Kenneth I. Behrman Sally A. Dorn Charles A. Hawkins II John L. Latham HunterMaclean Jacob Beil Peter H. Dosik Margaret L. Hayes Allegra J. Lawrence-Hardy William R. Jenkins David B. Bell Sharon E. Dougherty James W. Head William C. Lee III Janie and Sheldon Jeter Kevin E. Belle Isle Thomas G. Douglass Jr. Gregory K. Hecht David N. Lefkowitz Forrest B. Johnson Cindy J. Bembry Clare H. Draper IV Kathryn N. Hedden Lawrence J. Lehman Roderic Johnson Mary T. Benton Diane Durgin Kathryn A. Heller Robert N. Leitch Hon. Michael L. Karpf Hon. James G. Blanchard Jr. Willis A. Duvall Rachael G. Henderson Keith D. Leshine Patricia M. Killingsworth R. David Botts W. Randy Eaddy Robert E. Herndon Ralph B. Levy Lawrence P. Klamon Catherine M. Bowman Julie I. Edelson Wade W. Herring II Keith E. Linch Eve B. Klothen The Bowman Law Office, LLC R. M. Edmonds Caroline W. Herrington Keith L. Lindsay Charlie Lester Jr. Noble L. Boykin Jr. William A. Edmundson Daniel M. Hirsh Stephanie R. Lindsey Ellen K. Lundergan-Linker Joshua W. Branch Margaret P. Eisenhauer Inman G. Hodges David S. Lipscomb Marie E. Massey James J. Breen Yuri L. Eliezer Kenneth B. Hodges III George W. Little III Stuart C. Mathews Brent M. Bremer A. James Elliott Rebecca A. Hoelting Rita J. Llop M. Faye McCord John M. Briski Glenn P. Elliott Clifford G. Hoffman Charles S. Logan Richard C. Mitchell Aleksandra H. Bronsted Kenneth P. Ellison John V. Hogan V Jack Long James H. Morawetz Lonnie T. Brown Jr. Anne S. Emanuel Philip E. Holladay Jr. Phillip G. Lookadoo John S. Myers Hon. S. Phillip Brown Benjamin P. Erlitz David S. Hollingsworth John R. Lovell Bernadette Olmos Lori A. Browne Hon. Philip F. Etheridge Justin S. Hollingsworth Charles W. Lykins
2018 APRIL 51 John F. Lyndon Robert B. Remar Torin D. Togut Hon. Thomas H. Baxley J. Michael and Daniel I. MacIntyre IV Harry D. Revell David R. Toraya Shannon C. Baxter D. Ann Garner Leonard T. Marcinko Jeffrey P. Richards Christopher A. Townley Rebecca A. Bays James D. Garner Hon. Beverly B. Martin Melody Z. Richardson Philip E. Tribble Stephanie S. Benfield Jarome E. Gautreaux Nina C. Martin Joycia C. Ricks Alan R. Turem John C. Bennett Rachele C. Gibson Shelly T. Martin Robert E. Ridgway Jr. Karen E. Ubell Lindsay H. Bennett Jr. Wendy J. Glasbrenner Hon. Johnny W. Mason Jr. Mary B. Robbins Gregory W. Valpey Trina E. Bergquist Alan B. Gordon Julian B. McDonnell Jr. Bryndis W. Roberts John T. Van Gessel Jameson B. Bilsborrow Joan C. Grafstein Angus N. McFadden Timothy D. Roberts Carl R. Varnedoe Peter M. Birnbaum Andrew M. Greene Brad J. McFall Gail E. Ronan Peter M. Varney Aisha Blanchard Collins Nancy C. Greenwood James R. McGibbon Howard A. Rosenberg Rex R. Veal Hon. Paul W. Bonapfel Theodore A. Greve C. Wade McGuffey Jr. Michael D. Rosenbloum Raye A. Viers John W. Bonds Jr. Karlise Y. Grier William M. McHugh Jr. Walter P. Rowe Rose Marie Wade John P. Booth Rebecca A. Haltzel-Haas Daniel R. McKeithen Robert G. Rubin Homer J. Walker III Lynne Y. Borsuk Robert K. Harris Marci W. McKenna M. Shayla Rumely J. Henry Walker IV Jesse G. Bowles III Andrew W. Hartman Michael A. McKenzie Michael J. Rust Joshua D. Walker Hon. William T. Boyett Dewey N. Hayes Jr. William R. McNally Claudia S. Saari Susan M. Walls Kevin D. Bradberry Rebekah K. Herman Michael D. McRae Julian L. Sanders Patrick F. Walsh Eugene C. Brooks IV Jeffrey F. Hetsko Jamie L. Mickelson Hon. W. Louis Sands Phillip J. Walsh Kristine E. Orr Brown Daniel F. Hinkel Mark M. Middleton Richard Sarrell II Daniel J. Warren William A. Brown Walter H. Hinton II Bruce R. Millar Brent J. Savage Thomas H. Warren William E. Bubsey Amanda L. Hodgson Charles C. Miller III Denise L. Savage Margaret G. Washburn Mark G. Burnette John H. Holdridge Mary A. Miller Robert A. Schapiro Kirk W. Watkins Thomas R. Burnside III Eva M. Holland John T. Mitchell Jr. Neil C. Schemm Joseph D. Weathers Jeanette Burroughs Keith W. Holman John L. Mixon III Richard R. Schlueter Robbie C. Weaver Butler Wooten & Peak, LLP Lake B. Holt III Daniel P. Monro Gregory G. Schultz John P. Webb Louis T. Cain Jr. Derek E. Horne Sidney L. Moore III Jason R. Schultz Neal Weinberg Jefferson C. Callier David L. Hudgins Carol E. Morgan Leslie A. Shad Mark Weinstein Manuel S. Campano David E. Hudson Joe Morris III Karen W. Shelton Robert G. Wellon Wayne M. Cartwright II James D. Hudson, P.C. Kristin W. Murnahan Kenneth L. Shigley Donald T. Wells Jr. Jennifer R. Cave Laura S. Huffman Heather E. Murphy Edward M. Shoemaker Wesley Monument United Adam S. Caveney James W. Hurt Roger E. Murray S. Andrew Shuping Jr. Methodist Church Fredric Chaiken James F. Imbriale Jeffrey D. Nakrin Arnold B. Sidman Peggy A. West Robert W. Chambers III James-Bates-Brannan- Terry L. Nevel Donald W. Singleton Anna M. Wetzel Joseph E. Cheeley III Groover-LLP Scott P. Newland Rita A. Sislen Benjamin T. White Julie Childs Deborah A. Johnson Gwyn P. Newsom Claude M. Sitton Diane S. White Martha J. Church George M. Johnson Charles L. Newton II Hon. Lamar W. Sizemore Jr. Robert J. Wilder James C. Cifelli Katherine M. Kalish Sam G. Nicholson Thomas F. Slater George W. Williams Jr. J. Patrick Claiborne, P.C. Andrew J. Kalt Kimberly W. Nystrom George B. Smith III Jeffrey L. Williamson Phillip G. Cody Jr. Pennington G. Kamm Patrick T. O’Connor George B. Smith IV Connie L. Williford Angela M. Coggins Lise S. Kaplan Jennifer L. Oswald John H. Smith John D. Wilson Diana R. Cohen V. Scott Killingsworth Mary Pruitt Owen Lynette E. Smith John T. Wilson John R. Coleman Jr. Bert King Paul W. Painter III Margaret R. Smith Deborah J. Winegard Eddie H. Cooper William R. King Robert I. Paller Matthew T. Smith Bruce A. Wobeck Daniel M. Covino Jonathan I. Klein Palmore, Boenig and Putnam C. Smith Timothy W. Wolfe Terrence L. Croft Tracie L. Klinke Associates, P.C. Robert B. Smith Christopher A. Wray Ruben J. Cruz Lynn S. Koch Cindy Paradies Brian G. Smooke Bright and Robert U. Wright Robert J. Curylo Sid M. Kresses Susannah R. Pedigo Edward B. Sobel Hon. Gordon R. Zeese Deryl D. Dantzler Hon. Jean M. Kutner Lee A. Peifer Roy M. Sobelson Nancy R. Daspit Sheri T. Lake Deborah H. Peppers Susan V. Sommers DONOR’S CIRCLE Pastor Patrick J. Davenport Kipler S. Lamar Clifford C. Perkins Jr. Lawrence S. Sorgen ($150 - $249) Caleb Davies IV Hon. Hugh Lawson W. Ray Persons Robert M. Souther Anonymous (3) N. Denise De La Rue Gregory G. Lawton Hugh Peterson Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Staples Marjorie J. Aaron Dawn C. Deans Betsy Lerner Therese C. Piazza E. Dunn Stapleton Russell T. Abney Christian L. Deichert Risa L. Lieberwitz Terri B. Pierce Jay F. Steele Gary M. Alembik Joseph W. Dent Joel I. Liss Frederic H. Pilch III Grant T. Stein Benjamin Allen Diane L. DeShazo L. Joseph Loveland Jr. Thomas A. Pogue John T. Stembridge Wanda Andrews Stephen B. Devereaux Peter C. Lown Carmen V. Porreca David J. Stewart Elizabeth J. Appley Jodi Dick Ethan S. Mann Elizabeth A. Price J. Douglas Stewart Margaret P. Ashmore Mary Irene Dickerson Demetrius Mazacoufa Hon. Jill A. Pryor Mary J. Stewart Anthony B. Askew Melissa S. Dillon Rowena G. McAllister Kory S. Pryor Daniel D. Stier Larry A. Auerbach Timothy R. Dodson Nell E. McCaw Margaret W. Puccini William J. Sussman Seth M. Azria Amy G. Donnella Stephanie W. McConnell Diane Pye-Tucker Jeri N. Sute David J. Bailey Bryce V. Durham Anne G. McGlamry Mary F. Radford Hon. David R. Sweat John B. Ballard Jr. Sylvia G. Eaves Angela K. McGowan J. Lynn Rainey Monika M. Taliaferro Douglas R. Balyeat Deborah S. Ebel June D. McKenzie Kiran S. Raj Elizabeth V. Tanis Juanita P. Baranco Jeffrey B. Ellman Hon. Jack M. McLaughlin Marie T. Ransley Bernard Taylor Danielle Barav-Johnson Dale S. Erickson Francis X. Moore Joan S. Redmond Gilbert M. Taylor Robin N. Bargeron Neil R. Flit Jonathan G. Moore John D. Reeves Michael B. Terry Hon. Patricia D. Barron Douglas N. Fox Stephen D. Moore Michael G. Regas II G. William Thackston Jr. Hon. William P. Bartles Gary S. Freed Jessica C. Morris Jaimi A. Reisz Burton L. Tillman Jr. Thomas A. Bauer Gregory L. Fullerton Edward D. Morrison
52 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Neil A. Moskowitz Chandra L. Wilson Gary S. Freed in honor Hon. and Mrs. Marion Building a Foundation Maria E. Mucha Steven E. Wolfe of Phyllis J. Holmen Cummings in memory of for Justice Brian M. Murphy Carla E. Young Terrica Redfield Ganzy in Hon. Dorothy A. Robinson The following individuals Michael T. Nations Kathryn M. Zickert honor of Phyllis J. Holmen Hon. Marc E. D’Antonio and law firms are supporters Leslie A. Oakes Ben and Michele Garren Jr. in memory of Kay Yvonne of the “Building a Founda- David E. Oles STATE BAR in honor of Phyllis J. Holmen Young tion for Justice” campaign Stephen A. Opler PAST PRESIDENTS’ Wendy J. Glasbrenner in Hon. Tommy R. Hankinson launched in 2001 by the Mary L. Parker DONOR’S CIRCLE honor of Phyllis J. Holmen in memory of Capt. John A. Georgia Legal Services W. Russell Patterson Jr. Hon. Robert W. Chasteen Jr. Patricia A. Gorham in Zimmerman III Foundation. Thank you for Linton A. Paulk A. James Elliott honor of Phyllis J. Holmen Allison and Ben Hill in your generous contributions Heather K. Peck David H. Gambrell Deborah Grant in honor memory of Hon. Marvin Shoob in support of the long-term Keri N. Powell J. Littleton Glover Jr. of Phyllis J. Holmen Cynthia L. Jernigan in stability of the Georgia Legal William C. Puckett Jr. W. Stell Huie William H. Gregory II in memory of Frank Love Jr. Services Program. Henry M. Quillian III Robert J. “Bob” Kauffman honor of Phyllis J. Holmen Hon. Michael L. Karpf in David A. Rabin Paul Kilpatrick Jr. Avarita L. Hanson in honor memory of Hon. Marvin Shoob JUSTICE BUILDERS Andrea Ramirez Leon Charlie Lester Jr. of Phyllis J. Holmen Jacqueline King in memory ($1,000 & UP) Vance O. Rankin III Patrick T. O’Connor Jonathan W. Hewett in of Hon. Marvin Shoob Anonymous (4) Judith A. Rausher Kenneth L. Shigley honor of Phyllis J. Holmen Jonathan I. Klein in memory Robert L. Allgood Kimberly A. Reddy J. Douglas Stewart L. Lynn Hogue in honor of Larry S. Gordon Joel S. Arogeti Michael S. Reeves of Georgia State University John Lamberski in memory Mr. and Mrs. R. M. Joseph Reitman Jr. YLD PAST PRESIDENTS’ College of Law of Sophie Lamberski Lawrence Ashe Jr. Reynolds Law Group, LLC DONOR CIRCLE David E. Hudson in honor of William R. McCracken in Alice H. Ball Nancy L. Richardson S. Kendall Butterworth Hon. William M. Fleming Jr. memory of Thomas Allgood Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Thomas S. Richey Thomas E. Dennard Jr. Katherine M. Kalish in honor Cindy Paradies in memory R. Bankoff Sumner E. Riddick II Joseph W. Dent of Rachael Schell, Tomieka R. of Hon. Marvin Shoob Patricia T. Barmeyer Lynn M. Roberson A. James Elliott Daniel and Phil Bond W. Ray Persons in memory The Barnes Law Group, LLC Richard B. Roesel Michael G. Geoffroy Vicky O. Kimbrell in honor of Hon. Griffin B. Bell Ansley and Earl Barton Robert Rosenblum, PC Elena Kaplan of Phyllis J. Holmen Sam and Lisa Commins James L. Bentley III Hon. William C. Rumer Charlie Lester Jr. Linda S. Lowe and James S. Roper in memory of Jean Bergmark Michael C. Russ Jennifer C. Mock Coonan in honor of Hon. Marvin Shoob Lynne Borsuk Sylvia E. Russell Nolie J. Motes Phyllis J. Holmen Katherine K. Wood in and Robert Smulian Loretta Salzano Jonathan B. Pannell Hon. Johnny W. Mason Jr. memory of Sidney L. Moore Jr. James W. Boswell III Steven E. Scheer Darrell L. Sutton in honor of Phyllis J. Holmen Bright and Robert U. Bouhan Falligant, LLP Todd A. Schweber J. Henry Walker IV Samuel L. Mikell in honor Wright in memory of Hon. Phil Bradley and Susan M. Sevor of Charles B. Mikell Jr. Marvin Shoob Cathy Harper Stanton J. Shapiro HONORARIUM GIFTS Daniel P. Monro in honor Jeffrey and Nancy Bramlett Linda S. Sheffield Anonymous in honor of Nancy Dalee Ellis IN-KIND GIFTS James J. Breen Daniel Shim of William R. McCraken Robert Rosenblum, PC in Lauren Alford Kelly William A. Brown Lois D. Shingler Hon. William P. Adams in honor of Rachel Sasseville Michelle Long Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Udai V. Singh honor of Tomieka Daniel and Venus Dye Elizabeth P. O’Neal L. Buchsbaum Amanda K. Smith Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Charity Scott and Evans Sheryl L. Burke Ellen W. Smith Foundation in honor Harrell in honor of 2017 CAMPAIGN Business Law Section of the Helen S. Smith of Phyllis J. Holmen Peter E. Harrell COMMITTEE State Bar of Georgia Jon P. Smith John T. Batson in honor Lamar W. Sizemore Jr. in Brian D. “Buck” Rogers Thalia and Michael C. Carlos William M. Smith of Lisa Krisher honor of Phyllis J. Holmen President, State Bar of Georgia Foundation, Inc. Melanie R. Snipes Frank J. Beltran in honor Ruby Stroschein in honor Patrick T. O’Connor John Chandler Catherine Wen Hwo So of Phyllis J. Holmen of Ashley Curtis Immediate Past President, James A. “Jock” Clark Alison R. Solomon Russell S. Bonds in honor Robert E. Talley in honor State Bar of Georgia and Mary Jane Robertson Steven L. Sparger of Phyllis J. Holmen of Hon. George H. Carley Jeff Davis David H. Cofrin Huey W. Spearman Lynne Y. Borsuk in honor Susan P. Tate in honor Executive Director, Steven M. Collins Don E. Stephens of Phyllis J. Holmen of Phyllis J. Holmen State Bar of Georgia Harold T. Daniel Jr. Joseph L. Stradley Jr. S. Kendall Butterworth in Neal Weinberg in honor Brinda Lovvorn Benjamin S. Eichholz, P.C. JoAnne P. Stubblefield honor of Phyllis J. Holmen of Hon. William P. Adams Director of Membership, J. Melvin England Anne V. Summerlin Elsie R. “Dolly” Chisholm in Talley Wells in honor State Bar of Georgia James C. Fleming Robert E. Talley honor of Phyllis J. Holmen of Phyllis J. Holmen Board of Directors John P. Fry Hon. Coy H. Temples Hon. Susan S. Cole in honor Nancy J. Whaley in honor Georgia Legal David H. Gambrell J. Greg Tharp of Phyllis J. Holmen of Phyllis J. Holmen Services Program Ben and Michele Garren Jr. Hon. Hugh P. Thompson Rev. John L. Cromartie Jr. in Leigh M. Wilco in honor Edward J. Hardin M. Robert Thornton honor of Phyllis J. Holmen of Phyllis J. Holmen Georgia Legal Services Harris & Liken, LLP Peter A. Wade Eleanor M. Crosby-Lanier in Foundation, Inc.® Phyllis J. Holmen Stuart E. Walker honor of Phyllis J. Holmen MEMORIAL GIFTS The Georgia Legal Services HunterMaclean Anthony C. Walsh Pastor Patrick J. Davenport Elizabeth J. Appley in memory Foundation is an indepen- R. William Ide III Joseph W. Watkins in honor of Phyllis J. Holmen of Hon. Marvin Shoob dent 501 (c)(3) nonprofit Inglesby, Falligant, Horne, Craig A. Webster Deborah S. Ebel in honor Elizabeth W. Arnold in organization with a mission Courington & Chisholm, P.C. Daniel E. Wehrenberg of Phyllis J. Holmen memory of Frank G. Wilson to build an endowment Mary B. James Jonathan E. Wells Julie I. Edelson in honor Council of Superior Court to sustain the work of the D. Wesley Jordan Stephen B. West II of Phyllis J. Holmen Judges of Georgia in memory Georgia Legal Services Walter Jospin and Jennifer R. Whitfield Elarbee, Thompson, Sapp of Hon. Phyllis Kravitch Program for generations Hon. Wendy Shoob Douglas E. Whitney & Wilson, LLP in honor Hon. John D. Crosby in to come. Paul Kilpatrick Jr. David S. Wilkin of Brent L. Wilson memory of Hon. Henry W. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Stacy B. Williams Bostick Sr. P. Klamon
2018 APRIL 53 Linda A. Klein Steven L. Pottle John D. Dalbey Huff Family Garna D. Miller and Michael S. Neuren Jill A. Pryor Dalton Regional Office of the Edward M. Hughes Martha A. Miller Catherine E. Long Robert B. Remar Georgia Legal Services Program Hon. Carol W. Hunstein Simon A. Miller Willis L. Miller III Udai V. Singh Dean S. Daskal Cindy Ingram Terry L. Miller Roger E. Murray Lynn Smith and Rebecca J. Miller Initial Public Offering C. Wingate Mims Gretchen E. Nagy J. Lindsay Stradley Jr. Thomas A. David Securities Litigation John T. Minor III Charles L. Newton II UNUM Group Hugh M. Davenport Hon. James T. Irvin R. Carlisle Minter Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. Patrick F. Walsh Thomas C. Dempsey Hon. Phillip Jackson Mitchell & Shapiro, LLP Lynne R. O’Brien David D. and Melody Joseph W. Dent Cathy Jacobson Jay D. Mitchell Patrick T. O’Connor Wilder Wilson Mary Irene Dickerson J. Scott and Tanya Jacobson Ann Moceyunas Thomas E. Prior Ellene Welsh Gregory J. Digel Jackson & Schiavone H. Bradford Morris Jr. Hon. Mae C. Reeves Bob and Lynda Wilson Robert and Joan Dokson Jaurene K. Janik William A. Morrison Robbins Geller Rudman John L. Douglas Dallas P. Jankowski Diane M. Mosley & Dowd, LLP OTHER DONORS Lester Z. Dozier Jr. W. Jan Jankowski James B. Muhlbach Alan F. Rothschild Jr. (GIFTS UP TO $499) Dozier Law Firm, LLC Weyman T. Johnson Jr. Jerold L. Murray Sanford Salzinger Anonymous (9) DuBose Law Group, LLC Howard H. Johnston The National Association J. Ben Shapiro Jr. Anthony H. Abbott Terri H. Duda Jones & Swanson of Realtors Silver & Archibald, LLP Bettye E. Ackerman Kathryn Durham, J.D., P.C. Jane M. Jordan NAR Legal Affairs Ethelyn N. Simpson Evan M. Altman Randy J. Ebersbach Lise S. Kaplan James A. Neuberger Hon. Philip C. Smith Miles J. Alexander Robert G. Edge Melinda M. Katz Mary Margaret Oliver Charles W. Surasky Peter J. Anderson William A. Erwin Lisa Kennedy William S. Ortwein Darrell L. Sutton Wanda Andrews Roslyn Falk Robbman S. Kiker Linda Ann Pace Sutton Law Group, LLC Janet M. Ansorge J. Daniel Falligant Vicky Kimbrell Rakesh N. Parekh, PC Michael H. Terry Anthony B. Askew William H. Ferguson Jeff S. Klein A. Sidney Parker Randolph W. Thrower Cathy and Bucky Askew Karen J. Fillipp Jonathan I. Klein Mr. and Mrs. Dianne P. Parker William A. Trotter III Bruce and Lisa Aydt Thomas M. Finn Simone V. Kraus John P. Partin Thomas W. Tucker S. Carol Baird Daisy H. Floyd Hon. Phyllis A. Kravitch G. Cleveland Payne III, PC Weissman, Nowack, Curry Michelle R. Barclay Ira L. Foster Alex Kritz Cathy Peterson & Wilco, P.C. Kathleen Barksdale Samuel A. Fowler Jr. Edward B. Krugman Hon. Albert M. Pickett William F. Welch Robert A. Barnes Paula J. Frederick Harry S. Kuniansky Loretta L. Pinkston Derek J. White Charles H. Battle Jr. Christine A. Freeman Steven J. Labovitz John L. Plotkin Diane S. White Hon. T. Jackson Bedford Jr. Gregory L. Fullerton L. Robert Lake Linda L. Holmen Polka Timothy W. Wolfe William G. Bell Jr. Jerry L. Gentry Kipler S. Lamar Robert and Donna Pollet Kevin E. Belle Isle Peter B. Glass Clifford S. Lancey Jeffrey N. Powers JUSTICE PARTNERS William T. Bennett III Susan H. Glatt Eleanor C. Lanier Thompson T. Rawls II ($500 - $999) Bentley, Bentley & Bentley Hon. Martha K. Glaze Joseph Lannucci Michael S. Reeves Anonymous (2) Harvey G. Berss Judy Glenn Allegra J. Lawrence-Hardy Clinton D. Richardson Aaron I. and Paula L. Bevington Yvonne K. Gloster Gregory G. Lawton Ritter Law Firm, LLC Judith M. Alembik Terry C. Bird Morton J. Gold Jr. Hon. Kelly A. Lee Timothy D. Roberts Renee C. Atkinson Evan J. Black Alan B. Gordon Stanley M. Lefco Richard B. Roesel JWP Barnes Martin J. Blank John L. Gornall Jr. Esther and Kristian Leibfarth Carmen Rojas Rafter Henry R. Bauer Jr. David J. Blevins Kevin R. Gough Zane P. Leiden James H. Rollins Lamont A. Belk Charles and Lisa Bliss Mark P. Grant R. O. and Mary C. Lerer Charles L. Ruffin Hubert J. Bell Jr. Marcia W. Borowski Thomas S. Gray Jr. Lightmas & Delk David A. Runnion Paul R. Bennett Edward E. Boshears Scott and Allyson Greene Jack N. Lincoln Dorothy W. Russell Wendy C. Breinig Ralph T. Bowden Jr. Gary G. Grindler Jeannine Lowery Richard B. Russell IV Mary Jane Cardwell Rosemary M. Bowen Divida Gude J. Rodgers Lunsford III Phillip B. Sartain Randall A. Constantine Thomas A. Bowman Cheryl L. Haas Herman O. Lyle Christopher G. Sawyer J. Michael Dover Barbara S. Boyer Stephen H. Hagler Dennis J. Manganiello Otis L. Scarbary John H. Fleming John H. Bradley Nedom A. Haley Edwin Marger Cathy L. Scarver Kevin B. Getzendanner Daryl Braham J. Edward Hall Andrew H. Marshall Alan Schlact Forrest B. Johnson Thomas B. Branch III Warren R. Hall Jr. H. Fielder Martin Bryan D. Scott Mary and Richard Katz Dianne Brannen Christopher Harrigan Raymond S. Martin Claude F. Scott Jr. Rob and Kathleen Katz Bill Broker Deborah H. Harris F. P. Maxson Janet C. Scott Paul S. Kish Brooks Law Firm Kirk E. Harris, Esq. James McBee Martin J. Sendek William H. Kitchens The Brown Firm, LLC Jeanne D. Harrison Elizabeth L. McBrearty Mark A. Shaffer Leslie and Judy Klemperer George E. Butler II Alexsander H. Hart Hon. and Mrs. Gil McBride III Hon. Marvin H. Shoob Rita J. Kummer John D. Carey J. Madden Hatcher Jr. M. Faye McCord Ann A. Shuler James H. Lokey Jr. John R. Carlisle James A. Hatcher Robert L. McCorkle III Viveca Sibley John F. Lyndon Thomas D. Carr Karen G. Hazzah James T. McDonald Jr. Silvis, Ambrose & Celeste McCollough Hon. Edward E. Carriere Jr. Gregory K. Hecht Jane S. McElreath Lindquist, P.C. Jane and Randy Merrill Nickolas P. Chilivis Philip C. Henry Christopher J. McFadden Douglas K. Silvis Caitlin Miller Edward B. Claxton III Kenneth M. Henson Jr. James B. McGinnis John E. Simpson Jenny K. Mittelman and T. Kellker Cobb Mr. and Mrs. Andrew M. Michael C. McGoff George B. Smith William C. Thompson James H. Coil III Hepburn Jr. McKenney & Jordan Rebecca S. Stone Smith Amber L. Nickell Arlene L. Coleman Sharon B. Hermann Hon. Jack M. McLaughlin Jay I. Solomon The Oldenburg Law Firm Mary C. Cooney Chris Hester Merrill & Stone, LLC David N. Soloway Hon. George and Anne Peagler Hon. Lawrence A. Cooper Jeffrey F. Hetsko Metropolitan Regional John D. Sours Carl S. Pedigo Jr. Philip B. Cordes Charles F. Hicks Information System, Inc. Thomas A. Spillman and Kathy Horne Hon. John D. Crosby Jon E. Holmen Michael S. and Peggy Meyer State Bar of Georgia J. Robert Persons Robert M. Cunningham Matthew A. Horvath Von Bremen Mason W. Stephenson
54 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Michael P. Stevens Kathleen Barksdale in Hon. Roy Barnes Mary and Richard Katz compiling GLSP’s Honor Hon. Michael B. Stoddard memory of Frank Love Jr. Earl and Ansley Barton Robert and Kathleen Katz Roll of Contributors and Joseph F. Strength Dean S. Daskal and Rebecca Henry R. Bauer Jr. in Leslie P. Klemperer the GLS Foundation Honor Strickland Brockington J. Miller in memory of memory of Jeff Bramlett Allegra J. Lawrence-Hardy Roll of Contributors. If we Lewis, LLP Frank Love Jr. Lamont Belk R.O. and Mary C. Lerer have inadvertently omitted C. Deen Strickland Scott and Allyson Greene in Hubert J. Bell Jr. in memory of your name, or if your name Jay L. Strongwater memory of Frank Love Jr. William T. Bennett Hon. Marvin Shoob is incorrect in our records, David R. Sweat Huff Family in memory Lynne Y. Borsuk Charlie T. Lester Jr. we apologize and encourage Robert E. Talley of Frank Love Jr. James W. Boswell III in L. Joseph “Joe” Loveland Jr. you to contact the Develop- Jeffrey D. Talmadge Cynthia L. Jernigan and honor of Phyllis Holmen Melanie L. Marks and ment Office at 404-206- Susan C. Tarnower Frank “Chip” Love in Bouhan Falligant, LLP Joseph M. Gannam 5175. Some donors have Jackie Taylor memory of Frank Love Jr. Phillip A. Bradley in honor C. James McCallar Jr. requested anonymity. William M. Tetrick Jr. Mary Margaret Oliver in and memory of Nat Rackett Patrick T. O’Connor G. William Thackston memory of R. Nat Rackett III John Chandler Mary Margaret Oliver The Georgia Legal Services Dale L. Thompson Robert and Donna Pollet and Beth Tanis Hon. William H. Orrick III Program is a nonprofit law Daniel R. Tompkins III in memory of Andrew Elsie R. “Dolly” Chisholm and Mrs. Caroline F. Orrick firm recognized as a 501(c) William L. Tucker Duncan Lee James A. “Jock” Clark and George Rozensweig (3) organization by the Leslie W. Uddin Strickland Brockington Mary Jane Robertson Alan Schlact IRS. Gifts to GLSP are Frederick D. Underwood Lewis, LLP, in memory The Coca-Cola Company Hon. Wendy L. Shoob tax-deductible to the fullest Joseph M. Ventrone and of Frank Love Jr. (Legal Division) and Walter E. Jospin extent allowed by law. To Jeanne Broyhill Dale L. Thompson in The Coca-Cola Foundation Evelyn Y. Teague make a contribution, go Jennifer B. Victor memory of Frank Love Jr. Harold T. “Hal” Daniel Jr. Kwame Lateef Townes to www.glsp.org (click on Rose Marie Wade William T. Daniel Jr. in and Keishan J. Davis Donate Now), or mail your Christopher A. Wagner CAPITAL CAMPAIGN honor of Bill Broker William A. Trotter III check to Georgia Legal Hon. Ronit Z. Walker DONORS Connie and Glen Darbyshire Thomas W. Tucker Services Program, Develop- Walker Wilcox The Georgia Legal Services Tracey L. Dellacona in Bart Turner ment Office, 104 Marietta Matousek, LLP (GLS) Foundation launched memory of Ms. Jean Peets UPS St. NW, Suite 250, Atlanta, Carol J. Ward a $1,000,000 capital cam- Delta Air Lines, Inc., and David F. Walbert GA 30303. Brian W. Wertheim paign in January 2017 in rec- the Delta Law Department M. Ellene Welsh Sally S. Westmoreland ognition of the Foundation’s Robert and Joan Dokson in Robert E. and Lynda W. The Georgia Legal Ser- Brian K. Wilcox 20th anniversary, and in memory of Hon. Marvin Wilson in memory of vices (GLS) Foundation Mark Wilcox honor of the late Senior U.S. Shoob and Elizabeth Neely Hon. Marvin Shoob was founded in 1998, as Robert J. Wilder District Court Judge Marvin Sharon E. Dougherty a nonprofit corporation Frank B. Wilensky Shoob, whose $1,000,000 cy J. Michael Dover Georgia Legal recognized as a 501(c)(3) or- Paul C. Wilgus pres award to the Georgia Ellis, Painter, Ratterree Services Foundation ganization by the IRS. Gifts Kathryn B. Wilson Legal Services Program in & Adams, LLP Board of Directors to the GLS Foundation are Norman D. Wilson 1996, led to the creation of J. Daniel Falligant Edward J. Hardin, President tax-deductible to the fullest William N. Withrow Jr. the GLS Foundation in 1998. David H. Gambrell Lynn Y. Borsuk, Secretary/ extent allowed by law. To Leigh M. Wilco and For more information about C. Ben Garren Jr. Treasurer make a contribution, go Carolyn C. Wood the capital campaign, please Georgia-Pacific Harold T. “Hal” Daniel Jr., to www.glsp.org (click on Hugh M. Worsham Jr. contact the Development Foundation, Inc. Fundraising Committee Donate Now and designate Brian D. Wright Office at 404-206-5175. Hon. Martha K. Glaze Chairperson GLS Foundation), or mail Hon. Lawrence D. Young Yvonne K. Gloster Joseph R. Bankoff your check to Georgia Legal Daniel D. Zegura Anonymous Gray Pannell & Patricia T. Barmeyer Services Foundation, Devel- Norman E. Zoller Judith M. Alembik in Woodward, LLP James W. Boswell III opment Office, 104 Marietta memory of Aaron I. Alembik Edward J. Hardin Phillip A. Bradley St. NW, Suite 250, Atlanta, 2017 HONORARIUM Mr. and Mrs. Miles J. The Home Depot Foundation Paul T. Carroll III GA, 30303. GIFTS Alexander in memory of Kathleen Horne James A. “Jock” Clark Alan F. Rothschild Jr. in Hon. Marvin Shoob HunterMaclean C. Ben Garren Jr. Thank you for your support. honor of Phyllis Holmen Joel S. Arogeti in memory R. William Ide III in honor Kathleen Horne Sally S. Westmoreland in of Hon. Marvin Shoob of Bettye Kehrer and Allegra J. Lawrence-Hardy honor of Phyllis Holmen Todd Baiad and Phil Heiner Evelyn Y. Teague Anne Allen Westbrook Cynthia L. Jernigan and Thomas W. “Tommy” Tucker 2017 MEMORIAL GIFTS Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Frank “Chip” Love in Miles J. Alexander in R. Bankoff memory of Frank Love Jr. We appreciate our donors memory of Mara McRae Patricia T. Barmeyer Carlton E. Joyce and take great care in
2018 APRIL 55 TO PLACE AN ANNOUNCEMENT Bench Contact Lane Sosebee | [email protected] | 404-527-8736 &Bar
Kudos Taylor English Duma LLP announced that part- Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP an- ner Mark Carter was elected to serve as co-chair nounced that partner Elisa S. Kodish was elected of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society (ALAS) Service board president of Atlanta Legal Aid Society Council. ALAS assists low-income individuals in (ALAS). ALAS helps low-income individuals in meeting basic needs through free civil legal ser- meeting basic needs through free civil legal ser- vices. The core of Legal Aid’s mission is to help vices. The core of Legal Aid’s mission is to help low-income people navigate the complexities of the court sys- low-income people navigate the complexities of the court sys- tem at the most vulnerable times in their lives. tem at the most vulnerable times in their lives.
FordHarrison LLP announced that former man- Warshauer Law Group announced that Michael aging partner C. Lash Harrison has transitioned Warshauer was elected president of the Georgia to the role of chairman of the executive com- Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advo- mittee where he will work with six other firm cates (ABOTA). ABOTA is a national association partners in overseeing every aspect of the firm’s of experienced trial lawyers and judges dedicated
operation and development. Harrison has more M. WARSHAUER to preservation and promotion of the civil jury than 50 years of experience representing management in all trial right provided by the Seventh Amendment aspects of labor and employment law in almost every state. to the U.S. Constitution. The firm also announced that Lyle War- Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP announced shauer was elected to serve on the board of Sec- that Eric Charity was appointed to the Young ond Helpings Atlanta, Inc. Second Helpings is a Leaders Council of Big Brothers Big Sisters of 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose vision is Metro Atlanta (BBBSMA). BBBSMA’s mission is L. WARSHAUER to fight hunger in the five-county metro-Atlan- to provide children facing adversity with strong ta area by rescuing surplus food and delivering and enduring, professionally supported, one-to- it to those in need. one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.
Brian D. Burgoon was re-elected as an out-of- On the Move state representative on The Florida Bar Board of Governors. The 52-member Board of Governors IN ATLANTA has exclusive authority to formulate and adopt Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein matters of policy concerning the activities of the LLP announced that Michael Bar, subject to limitations imposed by the rules Binns and Karen Carroll joined regulating The Florida Bar. the firm as partners and Sharad Bijanki joined as an associate. Supreme Court of Georgia Justice Britt C. Grant Binns is a member of the intellec- was elected to the American Law Institute. The BINNS CARROLL tual property practice group and American Law Institute is the leading indepen- focuses primarily in the area of patent litigation. dent organization in the United States produc- His experience includes all aspects of intellectual ing scholarly work to clarify, modernize and property (IP) law related to a variety of tech- otherwise improve the law. Members of the nologies, including patent and trademark pros- American Law Institute have the opportunity to influence the ecution proceedings before the U.S. Patent and development of the law in both existing and emerging areas BIJANKI Trademark Office, IP licensing and counseling by drafting, revising and publishing model codes, principles of clients on all forms of IP evaluation and risk as- law and restatements of the law, bodies of work that are influ- sessment. Carroll’s practice focuses on complex IP litigation ential in the courts and legislatures as well as in legal scholar- and counseling, with a specific focus on pharmaceutical and ship and education. biotechnology-related patent matters, including Hatch-Wax- man litigation. Bijanki focuses his practice on IP, especially patent litigation and post-grant proceedings before the patent
56 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL trial and appeal board. The firm is located at 1180 Peachtree motor vehicle companies, their drivers and insurers in all as- St. NE, Suite 1800, Atlanta, GA 30309; 678-690-5749; Fax pects of litigation. The firm is located at 1180 W. Peachtree 404-869-6972; www.parkerpoe.com. St. NW, Suite 2300, Atlanta, GA 30309; 404-962-1000; Fax 404-962-1200; www.smithmoorelaw.com. Alston & Bird LLP announced that Jeremy Sil- verman joined the firm as a partner in the corpo- Dentons US LLP announced that Mark G. Trigg rate transactions and securities group. He advises joined the firm as partner in the litigation and dis- private equity funds, closely held businesses and pute resolution practice. His experience includes publicly traded companies in mergers and acqui- representing corporations and individuals in gov- sitions transactions, and other strategic matters. ernment investigations, administrative proceed- He also assists clients in the health care industry in mergers ings and civil actions in federal and state courts. and acquisitions and other strategic transactions, and has non- The firm is located at 303 Peachtree St. NE, Suite 5300, Atlanta, mergers and acquisitions transactional experience, including GA 30308; 404-527-4000; Fax 404-527-4198; www.dentons.com. assisting clients in structuring and effectuating joint ventures, strategic alliances and other complex commercial relationships. Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarbor- The firm is located at One Atlantic Center, 1201 W. Peachtree ough LLP announced that Kate- St., Suite 4900, Atlanta, GA 30309; 404-881-7000; Fax 404- lyn Fredericks, Lee Hart, Nekia 881-7777; www.alston.com. H. Jones and Mark Nash joined as partners. Fredericks focuses her Shawn Kalfus and Matt Stone announced the for- FREDERICKS HART practice in the areas of corporate mation of their civil defense law firm, Stone Kal- law, mergers and acquisitions, and fus LLP. Kalfus’s practice focuses on defending private equity and venture capital. wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases for Hart is a member of the financial companies and individuals. Stone focuses on mo- institutions group and focuses his tor vehicle liability claims, automotive dealership practice on real estate finance, KALFUS cases and consumer and regulatory issues. He also structured finance and corporate represents motor carriers, specialty haulers, bus JONES NASH finance. Jones handles white col- lines and motor coaches, waste haulers, mobile lar criminal defense matters, government investigations and crane companies, emergency and non-emergency business litigation. Nash focuses his practice in the area of medical transportation providers and automobile general litigation. The firm is located at 201 17th St. NW, dealerships. The firm is located at 1718 Peachtree Suite 1700, Atlanta, GA 30363; 404-322-6000; Fax 404-322- STONE St. NW, Suite 550, Atlanta, GA 30309; 404-736- 6050; www.nelsonmullins.com. 2600; Fax 404-736-2601; www.stonekalfus.com. Taylor English Duma LLP announced that John Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP Taylor joined as partner in the real estate prac- announced the addition of Doro- tice group. His practice focuses on commercial thy H. Cornwell as partner, Dan M. real estate issues, including transaction, litigation Silverboard as of counsel and Kori and mediation. Taylor’s experience includes real E. Flake as an associate. Cornwell is property litigation as well as serving as special a member of the firm’s health care master in disputes concerning discovery generally and elec- CORNWELL SILVERBOARD group and focuses on litigation and tronically stored information particularly. The firm is located regulatory compliance, particularly at the inter- at 1600 Parkwood Circle, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30339; 770- section of the health care and health insurance 434-6868; Fax 770-434-7376; www.taylorenglish.com. industries. Silverboard represents a variety of health care providers, including hospitals, phy- Conley Griggs Partin LLP announced the addi- sician groups, pharmacies, clinical laboratories tion of Scott Farrow to the firm as of counsel. FLAKE and federally qualified health centers. His prac- Farrow brings more than 30 years of experience tice focuses on transactions and complex regula- in product liability, premises liability, truck/ tory matters relating to Medicare and Medicaid compliance, car accidents, fire-related injuries and business including practitioner and facility licensing and certification, disputes. The firm is located at 4200 Northside reimbursement, HIPAA, and fraud and abuse laws including Parkway NW, Building One, Suite 300, Atlanta, GA 30327; the Physician Self-Referral (Stark) Law and Anti-Kickback 404-467-1155; Fax 404-467-1166; www.conleygriggs.com. Statute. Flake is a member of the transportation and logistics group and focuses her practice on the defense of commercial
2018 APRIL 57 Hall Booth Smith, P.C., announced Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton the addition of Russell Britt, Mi- LLP announced the addition of chael Johnson, Justin Kerenyi and Aaron Gallardo as a litigation at- David Younker as partners, Doug- torney and Ross Berger, Dan Eng- las G. Ammerman as of counsel lander and Juan Martinez as associ- and Austin Atkinson and Allison ates. Gallardo focuses his practice BRITT JOHNSON GALLARDO BERGER Averbuch as associates to the firm. on internal investigations and white Britt specializes in governmental li- collar criminal defense. His experience includes ability and local governmental law, conducting international investigations and audits and his experience includes repre- for companies as well as compliance training for senting local government entities company board members and employees. Berger including counties, municipalities joined the global sourcing and technology team in YOUNKER KERENYI and school districts throughout ENGLANDER the corporate, finance and real estate department. Georgia. Johnson joined with ex- He focuses on technology transactions, including perience including more than three information technology outsourcing, business process outsourc- decades of commercial insurance ing, ERP licensing, SaaS arrangements and other commercial litigation experience counseling transactions. Englander focuses on domestic and international clients on commercially insured trademark portfolio protection and enforcement, and has experi- risks and litigating coverage dis- ence with trade dress and copyright counseling, as well as right AMMERMAN ATKINSON putes in the state and federal courts of publicity, false advertising, licensing and product packaging across the country. Kerenyi focuses his practice issues. Martinez focuses his practice on internal investigations on a broad range of litigation, transactional and and white collar crime. The firm is located at 1100 Peachtree St. intellectual property work. Younker specializes NE, Suite 2800, Atlanta, GA 30309; 404-815-6500; Fax 404-815- in civil litigation matters and possesses trial ex- 6555; www.kilpatricktownsend.com. perience as well. Ammerman focuses his practice AVERBUCH on professional negligence, medical malpractice, Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP, and dental litigation and trial. Atkinson special- announced that William Long, izes in aging services. Averbuch focuses on employment law Perry J. McGuire and Nicholas C. and general liability. The firm is located at 191 Peachtree St. Rueter joined the firm as partners. NE, Suite 2900, Atlanta, GA 30303; 404-954-5000; Fax 404- Long joined the firm’s intellectual 954-5020; www.hallboothsmith.com. property practice where he focuses LONG MCGUIRE on patent and other intellectual Butler Wooten & Peak LLP announced that property and technology-related disputes. Mc- Robert H. Snyder Jr. was elected partner. Sny- Guire focuses on franchise, mergers and acquisi- der’s practice focuses on whistleblower/qui tam, tions and governmental affairs. Rueter represents accounting malpractice, business torts, products domestic and international clients in a variety of liability, wrongful death, trucking and automo- corporate and transactional matters, including bile wreck cases. The firm is located at 2719 Bu- RUETER mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, venture ford Highway, Atlanta, GA 30324; 404-321-1700; Fax 404-321- capital and private equity transactions, emerging 1713; www.butlerwootenpeak.com. company issues, fund formations, private placements and fran- chise law. The firm is located at Promenade, Suite 3100, 1230 Eversheds Sutherland LLP announced that Jeremy Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30309; 404-815-3500; Fax 404- D. Spier joined the firm as counsel. Spier counsels 815-3509; www.sgrlaw.com. clients on intellectual property (IP) law, including international and domestic IP rights. He primarily DiPietro Family Law Group announced focuses on patent and trademark procurement. In that Kelli Byers Hooper joined as a part- addition, he counsels clients on patent portfolio ner. Hooper’s practice focuses on all as- management and prepares patentability, validity, non-infringe- pects of family law, including divorce, ment and product clearance opinions. The firm is located at 999 child custody, prenuptial agreements and Peachtree St. NW #2300, Atlanta, GA 30309; 404-853-8000; support disputes. The firm is located at 3348 Fax 404-853-8806; www.us.eversheds-sutherland.com. Peachtree Road, Suite 700, Atlanta, GA 30326; 404-490-4435; Fax 888-881-4946; www.familyanddivorcelawyers.com.
58 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL George Reid and Keith Licht- Balch & Bingham LLP announced that Tash- man announced the opening of wanda Pinchback Dixon and Righton Johnson Bridgewater Resolution Group, a Lewis joined the firm as partners. Dixon prac- boutique mediation firm. Reid is tices in the labor and employment and litigation a mediator, commercial attorney practices and provides counsel to large and small and arbitrator who has success- corporations on complex and emerging employ- REID LICHTMAN DIXON fully mediated more than 2,000 ment laws. Lewis practices in the litigation and disputes, involving a wide variety of complex business issues. government relations practices and defends Lichtman is a trained and registered mediator, and board-cer- product manufacturers and utilities against a tified construction lawyer. The firm is located at 3330 Cum- variety of allegations, including property dam- berland Blvd., Suite 325, Atlanta, GA 30339; 770-818-4430 or age and personal injury. The firm is located at 30 470-481-1531; www.bridgewaterresolutions.com. Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd. NW, Suite 700, Atlanta, GA LEWIS 30308; 404-261-6020; www.balch.com. Stites & Harbison, PLLC, announced that Brian Levy was promoted to partner. Levy’s practice Jones Walker LLP announced that Jennifer S. focuses on representing financial institutions, Lowndes and Tyler P. Scarbrough were elected mortgage servicers and other creditors in state and to the firm as partners. Lowndes has dedicated federal courts throughout Georgia in commercial her practice to assisting clients in avoiding and loan recoveries and consumer finance litigation. resolving complex construction disputes, and His experience includes litigating and arbitrating complex busi- working closely with large construction man- LOWNDES ness disputes across a range of industries, including financial in- agers, general contractors, subcontractors and stitutions, real estate, insurance, manufacturing and technology. developers, as well as large equipment manu- The firm is located at 303 Peachtree St. NE, Suite 2800, Atlanta, facturers and owners in both public and private GA 30308; 404-739-8800; Fax 404-739-8870; www.stites.com. sectors throughout the United States and abroad. Scarbrough works with the construction practice Swift, Currie, McGhee & Hiers team, focusing exclusively on construction and LLP announced that Ashley Al- SCARBROUGH infrastructure projects, construction litigation, fonso, Ken Brock, Mark Irby, alternative dispute resolution and government Marion Martin, Jeff Stinson and contracting. He represents a variety of clients in the construc- Drew Timmons were elected as tion industry, which includes owners, general contractors, en- partners. Alfonso practices in the gineers, EPC contractors, design-build contractors and subcon- ALFONSO BROCK areas of general liability and civil tractors. The firm is located at One Midtown Plaza, Suite 1030, litigation, focusing primarily on 1360 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30309; 404-870-7500; automobile litigation, premises Fax 404-870-7501; www.joneswalker.com. liability, medical malpractice and workers’ compensation defense. Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP, announced that Brock focuses his practice in the Tyler J. Wetzel joined the firm as a partner. Wet- IRBY MARTIN area of workers’ compensation zel focuses his practice on commercial litigation, defense, where he represents em- including accounting and legal malpractice de- ployers, insurers, self-insurers fense. The firm is located at 191 Peachtree St. NE, and third-party administrators in Suite 3600, Atlanta, GA 30303; 404-221-2268; numerous workers’ compensation Fax 404-523-2345; www.carlockcopeland.com. claims. Irby focuses his practice on workers’ compensation, where he STINSON TIMMONS advises adjusters, managers and employers on the process and administration of workers’ com- pensation law. Martin focuses her practice on workers’ com- CORRECTION pensation litigation, where she represents employers, insurers In the February 2018 issue of the Georgia Bar Journal, and self-insureds. Stinson represents employers and insurers in Meghan R. Gordon was incorrectly listed as practicing workers’ compensation claims. Timmons focuses his practice at Miller & Martin PLLC’s Chattanooga, Tenn., office. in the areas of medical malpractice defense, premises liability, Gordon is based in the firm’s Atlanta office, located insurance coverage and automobile liability. The firm is located at Regions Plaza, Suite 2100, 1180 W. Peachtree St. NW, at 1355 Peachtree St. NE, Suite 300, Atlanta, GA 30309; 404- Atlanta, GA 30309; 404-962-6100; Fax 404-962-6300; 874-8800; Fax 404-888-6199; www.swiftcurrie.com. www.millermartin.com. We apologize for this error.
2018 APRIL 59 Harris Lowry Manton, LLP, announced that T. The firm of Bloom Sugarman is now Bloom Peyton Bell joined the firm as an associate. Bell’s Parham LLP, and has named Stephen M. Par- practice focuses on product liability, wrongful ham managing partner. Parham has more than death, personal injury and business torts. The 18 years of experience in counseling clients and firm is located at 201 Peachtree St. NE, Suite 900, trying cases in the fields of complex commer- Atlanta, GA 30361; 404-961-7650; Fax 404-961 cial, construction, business, fiduciary duty, real PARHAM 7651; www.hlmlawfirm.com. estate and tort litigation. The firm is located at 977 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30306; 404-577-7710; FordHarrison LLP announced that Henry War- Fax 404-577-7715; www.bloom-law.com. nock joined as partner and Margaret F. Holman was named chief operating officer. Warnock fo- James Bates Brannan Groover LLP cuses his practice on the health care and technol- announced that Callen A. Carroll, ogy industries, defending employers in discrimi- L. Joseph Potente and Michael L. nation and retaliation cases involving the Fair Seymour joined the firm as associ- WARNOCK Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave ates. Carroll practices in the firm’s Act, Americans with Disabilities Act and Title financial institutions group, focus- CARROLL POTENTE VII. Holman oversees all non-legal operations of ing on counseling banking and fi- the firm and serves as an advisor to firm lead- nancial institutions in a variety of areas, includ- ership on performance, strategic planning and ing regulation compliance, risk mitigation and growth. The firm is located at 271 17th St. NW, collections. Potente joined the firm’s commercial HOLMAN Suite 1900, Atlanta, GA 30363; 404-888-3800; litigation group, where he focuses on represent- Fax 404-888-3863; www.fordharrison.com. ing individual and corporate clients in commer- SEYMOUR cial and business litigation. Seymour joined the Burr & Forman LLP announced the election of firm’s corporate and transactional practice group, Bret Beldt to partner. Beldt is a member of the where his practice focuses on business and corporate transac- general commercial litigation group where he tions, including mergers and acquisitions, and corporate for- focuses on business disputes and financial ser- mation. The firm is located at 3399 Peachtree Road NE, Suite vices litigation. The firm is located at 171 17th St. 1700, Atlanta, GA 30326; 404-997-6020; Fax 404-997-6021; NW, Suite 1100, Atlanta, GA 30363; 404-815- www.jamesbatesllp.com. 3000; Fax 404-817-3244; www.burr.com. Coleman Talley LLP announced that Emily Ma- Fish & Richardson announced that Erin Alper cheski-Preston was promoted to partner. Ma- and Jacqueline Tio were named principals in the cheski-Preston works with the litigation group firm’s litigation group. Alper focuses her prac- and specializes in local government law, zoning tice on patent litigation, which covers a range and affordable housing property management. of technologies in venues across the country, The firm is located at 3475 Lenox Road NE, Suite including the U.S. International Trade Commis- 400, Atlanta, GA 30326; 770-698-9556; Fax 770-698-9729; ALPER sion (ITC) and inter partes review proceedings www.colemantalley.com. before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Tio focuses her practice on IP litigation in venues Adams and Reese LLP announced the addition of across the country, including before the U.S. C. Glenn Dunaway as special counsel to its for- ITC, with an emphasis on patents covering a estry/timber law practice. His practice focuses wide range of technologies. The firm is located primarily in the field of timber and timberland TIO at 1180 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30309; transactions, with a concentration on complex 404-892-5005; Fax 404-892-5002; www.fr.com. finance structures and cross-border consider- ations. Dunaway provides structural tax advice on both do- Carlton Fields announced that D. Barret Brous- mestic and international transactions. The firm is located at sard joined the firm as an associate. His practice 3424 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1600, Atlanta, GA 30326; 470- focuses on business disputes in both federal and 427-3700; Fax 404-500-5975; www.adamsandreese.com. state courts. The firm is located at One Atlantic Center, 1201 W. Peachtree St. NW, Suite 3000, Atlanta, GA 30309; 404-815-3400; Fax 404-815 3415; www.carltonfields.com.
60 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL IN ALBANY IN ROSWELL Perry & Walters, LLP, announced that Hayden The Hilbert Law Firm, LLC, announced the ad- Headley Hooks was elevated to partner. Her dition of Kelly Himes Brolly as a senior associate. practice focuses on civil litigation, local govern- Brolly’s practice focuses on general civil litiga- ment and education matters. The firm is located tion and education law. The firm is located at 205 at 212 N. Westover Blvd., Albany, GA 31707; Norcross St., Roswell, GA 30075; 770-551-9310; 229-439-4000; www.perrywalters.com. Fax 770-551-9311; www.hilbertlaw.com.
Hall Booth Smith, P.C., announced that Robert IN SAVANNAH Middleton joined the firm as a partner. Middle- Bouhan Falligant LLP announced that Andrew ton is the head of the firm’s energy, regulatory and Dekle was named partner. Dekle practices in the utilities practice group as well as a member of the areas of civil litigation, corporate and employment firm’s agriculture, business litigation, government law, collections and bankruptcy. He represents affairs and transactional practice groups. He repre- individuals, businesses and government agencies. sents both public and private clients, governmental entities and The firm is located at One W. Park Ave., Savannah, nonprofits in a broad range of legal matters including adminis- GA 31401; 912-232-7000; Fax 912-233-0811; www.bouhan.com. trative and civil litigation and appeals, corporate law, transac- tions, complex contract negotiations, economic development Joseph J. Steffen Jr. announced the opening of and government affairs before agencies and legislative bodies. The Law Offices of Joseph J. Steffen Jr. Steffen’s The firm is located at 2417 Westgate Drive, Albany, GA 31708; practice concentrates on personal injury, cycling 229-436-4665; Fax 229-888-2156; www.hallboothsmith.com. accidents and advocacy, government relations, and local and education law. The firm is located at 317 IN CANTON Tattnall St., Savannah, GA 31401; 912-604-4147. Thompson, Meier & King, P.C., announced that Cynthia L. Patton joined the firm as a part- IN VALDOSTA ner. Patton practices in all areas of family law. Coleman Talley LLP announced that Mary Mar- The firm is located at 341 E. Main St., Canton, garet Williams was promoted to partner. Wil- GA 30114; 770-479-1844; Fax 866-813-1298; liams practices in the firm’s transactional group, www.thompsonmeierking.com. focusing on affordable housing, commercial real estate and commercial transactions. The firm is lo- IN MACON cated at 910 N. Patterson St., Valdosta, GA 31601; James Bates Brannan Groover LLP announced 229-242-7562; Fax 229-333-0885; www.colemantalley.com. that Caitlyn Clark joined the firm as an associ- ate. Clark’s practice focuses on general and insur- IN MOBILE, ALA. ance litigation. The firm is located at 231 Riv- Adams and Reese LLP announced that Brian erside Drive, Macon, GA 31201; 478-742-4280; Smithweck was named partner. Smithweck Fax 478-742-8720; www.jamesbatesllp.com. practices in the areas of tax, corporate securities, mergers and acquisitions, business planning and Jones Cork, LLP, announced that R. Matthew estate planning. He represents clients with the “Matt” Shoemaker joined the firm as of counsel. formation, operation and termination of busi- Shoemaker focuses his practice on general civil lit- ness entities as well as corporate restructuring. The firm is igation, including insurance defense, premises lia- located at 11 N. Water St., Suite 23200, Mobile, AL 36602; bility defense, products liability defense, insurance 251-443-3234; Fax 251-438-7733; www.adamsandreese.com. coverage, business litigation and medical malprac- tice defense. The firm is located at 435 Second St., Macon, GA IN WASHINGTON, D.C. 31201; 478-745-2821; Fax 478-743-9609; www.jonescork.com. Linklaters LLP announced the addition of Amy Edgy as a partner in the firm’s restructuring and Michael Mayo and Michael Hill insolvency practice. Edgy has industry-specific announced the formation of Mayo experience in municipal bankruptcies, health care | Hill, a firm specializing in cases systems, cultural institutions, retail corporations, involving catastrophic injury. The financial institutions and airlines, and represents firm is located at 577 Mulberry St., both debtors and creditors in connection with some of the coun- Suite 110, Macon, GA 31201; 478- try’s largest restructurings and reorganizations. The firm is lo- MAYO HILL 238-9898; www.mayohill.law. cated at 601 13th St. NW, Suite 400 S, Washington, DC 20005; 202-654-9211; Fax 212-903-9100; www.linklaters.com.
2018 APRIL 61 GBJ | Office of the General Counsel
It’s Your Disciplinary System—Own It!
BY PAULA FREDERICK
“I’m really grateful to you for taking my case,” your newest client says with a sigh of relief. “I talked to a dozen lawyers, and no one would handle it once they heard my first lawyer was in trouble.” “It’s been an ordeal,” you admit. “But I’m hopeful we can get back some of the money that he stole.” “I just can’t believe the Supreme Court went so easy on him,” your client complains. “What do you mean?” you ask. “Didn’t I send you the order? They disbarred him last week.” “He surrendered his license,” your cli- ent responds. “That makes it look like he just decided to stop practicing, not like he did anything wrong. I can’t believe the Bar did not even request a hearing so I could tell my story in open court. I was really hoping he would be disbarred.” “It’s the same thing!!!” you point out, exasperated. You have had this conver- sation with the client every week since her first lawyer filed his Petition for Voluntary Discipline, but she still is not convinced that voluntary surrender is as bad as disbarment. “If you say so,” your client says doubt- fully. “So if he’s disbarred, can I finally get
GETTYIMAGES.COM/BAKHTIAR_ZEIN my money back from the Bar?”
62 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Although it is understandable that many lawyers want nothing to do with the disciplinary system, all Georgia lawyers should have a basic knowledge of how it works.
“Yes, you should qualify for reim- lic believe the word “voluntary” connotes yers should be proud of, but there is not bursement from the Clients’ Secu- something more like a slap on the wrist enough money to pay all of the eligible rity Fund now that Joe has been dis- than actual discipline. losses in a given year. Payments are re- barred,” you state with confidence. “I stricted to $25,000 per claim and the Fund cannot imagine what you have been only pays out a maximum of $500,000 in through—$50,000 stolen—but hopefully Myth #2—A disbarred lawyer any given Bar year. you will get it back soon.” can never return to the practice Having been burned once by an un- HELP!!! of law. ethical attorney, complainants are un- Any experienced lawyer knows how False! Georgia does not have permanent derstandably suspicious of their new harmful it can be to create unrealistic disbarment. A disbarred lawyer may counsel and distrustful of the disciplin- expectations at the outset of a case. We apply for reinstatement five years after ary system. It is especially important that in the Office of the General Counsel disbarment, although it is quite rare for they get accurate information about the sometimes find that complainants have a lawyer to be reinstated that soon. The disciplinary process, particularly from expectations about the disciplinary pro- disbarred lawyer must go through the members of the Bar. cess that we cannot possibly meet. Some- fitness process in order to prove reha- Call or email the Ethics Helpline if times Bar members feed these expecta- bilitation, and if certified as fit to resume you need information about the pro- tions by making promises based upon a practice, must pass the bar examination. cess, or if you represent a client who has faulty understanding of the system. The reinstatement process is rigorous; it complained about a lawyer. We’ll let you Although it is understandable that many requires repayment of any amounts paid know what to expect in the context of lawyers want nothing to do with the disci- by the Clients’ Security Fund to former your client’s particular matter. l plinary system, all Georgia lawyers should clients and allows for input by the pub- have a basic knowledge of how it works. lic. The number of reinstated lawyers is There are several myths about the process quite small, but two or three disbarred Paula Frederick that Bar members can help dispel. lawyers do return to practice each year. General Counsel State Bar of Georgia
[email protected] Myth #1—A voluntary surrender of Myth #3—The Clients’ Security license is less than disbarment. Fund will reimburse attorney’s False! The Court order accepting a vol- fees or settlement funds stolen untary surrender often recites that the by an unethical lawyer. surrender is “tantamount to disbarment.” Partially true! The fund is a wonderful Despite this, some members of the pub- public service that we as Georgia law-
2018 APRIL 63 GBJ | Attorney Discipline
Attorney Discipline Summaries
Dec. 12, 2017, through March 2, 2018 BY JESSICA OGLESBY
Disbarment conversion and theft by deception. Miller penalty for a single violation of any of admitted that, by entering these pleas, he those rules is disbarment. Larry Bush Hill is in violation of Rule 8.4 (a) (2) of the P.O. Box 264 Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, Lookout Mountain, TN 37350 Richard V. Merritt the maximum sanction for a violation of P.O. Box 1265 On Jan. 29, 2018, the Supreme Court which is disbarment. Smyrna, GA 30081 of Georgia accepted the petition for Vol- On Jan. 29, 2018, the Supreme Court untary Surrender of License of attorney of Georgia accepted the petition for Vol- Larry Bush Hill (State Bar No. 354360). In Lorne Howard Cragg 1286 B Washington St. untary Surrender of License of attorney his petition, Hill admitted that in Septem- Clarkesville, GA 30523 Richard Vinson Merritt (State Bar No. ber 2017 he entered a guilty plea in the On Jan. 29, 2018, the Supreme Court 503105). In his petition, Merritt admitted Superior Court of Walker County to one of Georgia accepted the petition for that in February 2017 he settled a client’s count of influencing a witness in violation Voluntary Surrender of License of personal injury matter for $75,000, but of O.C.G.A. § 16-10-93 (a) and one count attorney Lorne Howard Cragg (State failed to promptly disburse those funds of criminal attempt to suborn perjury in Bar No. 697876). In his petition, Cragg to his client or her medical providers, and violation of O.C.G.A. § 16-10-72. As both admitted that he received client funds failed to render a full accounting of the offenses are felonies, Hill’s convictions vi- and that he should have preserved those funds to his client. Merritt acknowledged olate Rule 8.4 (a) (2) of the Georgia Rules funds in his trust account, but that he that the above-described conduct violated of Professional Conduct, the maximum misappropriated those funds for his Rules 1.15 (I) (c) of the Georgia Rules of penalty for which is disbarment. personal use and did not otherwise Professional Conduct. The maximum pen- account to his client for the funds. He alty for a single violation of Rule 1.15 (I) Christopher Mark Miller further admitted that the bank at which is disbarment. P.O. Box 7150 he maintained his attorney trust account Savannah, GA 31418 notified the State Bar about checks he On Jan. 29, 2018, the Supreme Court Robert Jutzi Howell had written on that account, which 301 Fayetteville St., Suite 1900 of Georgia accepted the petition for Vol- checks had to be returned as the account Raleigh, NC 27602 untary Surrender of License of attorney held insufficient funds to pay them. On Jan. 29, 2018, the Supreme Court Christopher Mark Miller (State Bar No. Finally, Cragg admitted that he provided of Georgia accepted the petition for Vol- 506428). On Nov. 7, 2016, the Supreme false and misleading information to the untary Surrender of License of attor- Court accepted a petition for voluntary Office of the General Counsel during ney Robert Jutzi Howell (State Bar No. discipline filed by Miller pending the res- its investigation of this matter. Cragg 561931). In his petition, Howell admitted olution of multiple felony charges. Miller acknowledged that the above described that in June 2016 he pled guilty in South entered guilty pleas to counts of financial conduct violates Rules 1.15 (II) (b), 8.1 Carolina to one felony count of Point- transaction card fraud, financial transac- (a) and 8.4 (a) (4) of the Georgia Rules ing/Presenting a Firearm, in violation of tion card theft, theft by taking, theft by of Professional Conduct. The maximum SC Code §16-23-410; one misdemeanor
64 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL 2018 APRIL 64 count of Unlawful Carrying of a Pistol, unearned portion of retainers when his “He who is his own lawyer in violation of SC Code § 16-23-20; and services were terminated and failed to re- one misdemeanor count of Possession of spond timely to the properly served No- has a fool for a client.” Cocaine, in violation of SC Code § 44-53- tices of Investigation that resulted from 370 (d) (3). Howell admitted that, by vir- these grievances. tue of his felony conviction, he violated In SDB Docket No. 6982, Morris’ cli- Warren R. Hinds, P.C. Rule 8.4 (a) (2) of the Georgia Rules of ent had a bench warrant issued for his “An Attorney’s Attorney” Professional Conduct. arrest after the client failed to appear at • Bar Complaints a hearing about which Morris failed to • Malpractice Defense Adam Lorenzo Smith advise him; the client learned that Mor- • Ethics Consultation 3107 Gold Drive SW ris was in custody and was able to resolve Atlanta, GA 30311 the warrant on his own and have his case On Feb. 5, 2018, the Supreme Court rescheduled. Morris responded to that of Georgia accepted the petition for Vol- client’s termination letter, but failed to untary Surrender of License of attorney return the unearned portion of retainers Adam Lorenzo Smith (State Bar No. paid to him. 653199) following the entry of a guilty In SDB Docket Nos. 6936 and 6939, plea in the U.S. District Court for the Morris was paid a $17,500 retainer Northern District of Georgia to the of- to represent a defendant in a criminal fense of conspiracy to commit bribery. matter in Henry County. Although the Smith admitted that, by his conviction, he client paid an additional $400 to cover has violated Rule 8.4 (a) (2) of the Georgia expenses for an expert witness, the ex- Rules of Professional Conduct. pert was never hired. Morris appeared at the call of the criminal jury trial cal- 1303 Macy Drive Ricky W. Morris Jr. endar on Jan. 25, 2016, and announced 305 Charming Court that he was ready for the trial, which was Roswell, Georgia 30076 McDonough, GA 30252 then set to begin with jury selection the Call (770) 993-1414 On Jan. 29, 2018, the Supreme Court next morning. Later that afternoon, the www.warrenhindslaw.com of Georgia disbarred attorney Ricky W. assistant district attorney (ADA) on the Morris Jr. (State Bar No. 525160), based case overheard Morris on a telephone charges by pleading guilty to disorderly on 11 underlying grievances. On April call in the courthouse men’s restroom, conduct and simple assault. 21, 2017, the Bar personally served Mor- apparently attempting to purchase con- In SDB Docket No. 6937, Morris ap- ris with the Notice of Discipline, see Bar trolled substances for himself. The ADA peared at the Spalding County jail alleg- Rule 4-203.1 (b) (3) (i). brought Morris’s behavior to the presid- edly to have his client sign a Power of Morris admitted by virtue of default ing judge’s attention. The next morning, Attorney, but he did not have the proper regarding State Disciplinary Board Morris appeared in court for jury selec- identification to enter the jail. The Book- (SDB) Docket Nos. 6935, 6938, 6940- tion but seemed to be under the influ- ing Clerk reported that Morris was act- 6944 and 6982 that between August 2013 ence of a controlled substance. The court ing erratically and appeared to be under and January 2016 he took retainers rang- recessed the trial and held a hearing on the influence of an unknown substance. ing from between $1,000 and $15,000 to Morris’s fitness to proceed as defense Morris told the clerk that his paralegal represent clients in criminal matters in counsel. At that hearing, Morris declined was present with proper identification various counties. the court’s request that he submit to a and would meet with his client in book- In one case, SDB Docket No. 6941, drug test; denied he was under the influ- ing first. Although he falsely identified the Morris made direct personal contact with ence or that he had made the phone call person with him as his paralegal, jail staff the prospective client in the hallway of a the prior day; and threatened the ADA knew her to be the wife of the client—a fact courthouse and offered to handle his case with bodily harm. Morris was held in Morris attempted to conceal. Morris was for a fee, even though that client had not contempt and jail time imposed that was allowed to meet with the client for the sole sought any advice or legal representation to be immediately served. Morris took purpose of having him sign the Power of from Morris. no further action on behalf of the client, Attorney, but was observed sleeping dur- Morris either abandoned the cases and failed to refund the unearned por- ing that meeting; the visit was interrupted at issue in the above-listed disciplin- tion of the retainer. In addition, Morris and Morris was asked to leave the jail. ary matters or failed to properly handle was charged with Felony Intimidation In aggravation, Morris’s conduct involves them. Morris failed to contact the clients of a Court Officer and Felony Terror- multiple offenses and evidences a pattern or respond to their efforts to contact him istic Threats for threatening the ADA. of misconduct, and he failed to timely re- with regard to their cases, failed to return In November 2016 Morris resolved the spond to the Notices of Investigation relat-
2018 APRIL 65 2014. Shahab said he would have a draft ent if the client did not terminate repre- application ready for the client’s review sentation. The client’s wife learned in De- by early August. In late August, the cli- cember 2014 that immigration authorities ent asked about the delay, and Shahab re- had no record of a motion to reopen ever sponded that he would provide an update being filed. She asked Shahab to provide within a few days. Having not heard from proof of filing. He responded more than Shahab, the client emailed him on Sept. a month later, with a PDF attachment 3, 2014, and asked why he had not pro- which claimed to show the label for the vided an update or a draft asylum applica- packet he sent to immigration authori- tion as promised. The client then sent a ties. The client’s wife determined that, as text message to Shahab in late September of Jan. 26, 2015, the postal service had ob- after he failed to respond to the client’s tained an electronic notification that mail For the most up-to-date emails. Shahab responded and exchanged was to be sent to the postal service but no several text messages with the client, who package had actually been delivered to the information on lawyer reminded Shahab that the asylum appli- postal service. By March 20, the client ob- discipline, visit cation was due by Oct. 2, 2014. On Sept. tained new counsel. Responding to new 30, 2014, Shahab told the client that he counsel’s email, Shahab initially promised www.gabar.org/forthepublic/ was dealing with a family health matter to deliver the paid filing fees ($3,000) to recent-discipline.cfm in another state, and reassured the client new counsel, but later refused to do so. that he would submit the asylum applica- The client later received a $11,750 fee tion on time and would supplement the refund award through the State Bar’s Fee application afterward if necessary. Sha- Arbitration program. hab later told the client that the applica- tion would be filed at the end of October. Natalie Dawn Mays Shahab never sent a draft application to P.O. Box 973 the client, never filed an application for Ellenwood, GA 30294 the client and refused the client’s demand On Feb. 19, 2018, the Supreme Court for a full refund. The client later received of Georgia disbarred attorney Natalie a fee refund award through the State Bar’s Dawn Mays (State Bar No. 479761). Mays ing to these disciplinary matters. The facts Fee Arbitration program. was served by publication after she failed clearly demonstrate that Morris violated In May 2013 a second client paid Sha- to acknowledge service of the Notice of 1.2 (a), 1.3, 1.4, 1.16 (d), 3.5 (d), 4.1 (a), 7.3 hab $11,750 to help the client establish Discipline mailed to her at the post office (d) and 8.4 (a) (4) of the Georgia Rules of legal residence in the United States. The box address on file with the State Bar’s Professional Conduct. The maximum pen- client provided Shahab with requested membership department. alty for a single violation of Rule 1.2 (a), 1.3, documentation over the succeeding The facts were admitted by virtue 4.1 (a), 7.3 (d) or 8.4 (a) (4) is disbarment, months. In Jan. 2014, the client made of the default. In August 2013, a client while the maximum penalty for a single several phone calls to Shahab but could retained Mays to represent her in con- violation of Rule 1.4, 1.16 (d) or 3.5 (d) is a not reach him. The client also sent a num- nection with a bankruptcy case and paid public reprimand. ber of emails to Shahab. Shahab failed to her $4,000. The client thereafter tried notify the client of a December 2013 im- to contact Mays on numerous occasions Cameron Shahab migration hearing, causing the client to about her case, but she failed to respond. 444 Cornerstone Drive miss it and resulting in a deportation or- Mays also failed to respond to the client’s Newtown Square, PA 19073 der being issued against the client. Shahab attorney in a pending personal injury On Jan. 29, 2018, the Supreme Court later told the client that he would file a lawsuit in order to settle that lawsuit, of Georgia disbarred attorney Cameron motion to reopen the client’s case, and and failed to respond to the bankruptcy Shahab (State Bar No. 135087), for mul- had assured the client that he had filed the trustee. In April 2017, the bankruptcy tiple violations of the Georgia Rules of motion, but immigration authorities had court entered orders sanctioning Mays Professional Conduct in relation to his no record of any such filing. The client’s and terminating her as counsel for the deficient representation and neglect of wife twice requested to meet with Shahab client. Mays did not refund the unearned two unrelated clients. in May 2014 but he declined. portion of the fee that the client had paid. In July 2014 one client paid Shahab In July 2014 the second client met with In aggravation, the Investigative Panel $2,500 to help him apply for asylum. another attorney, who asked Shahab to found that Mays acted willfully in collect- The client expressed that he wanted the provide an accounting and copies of the ing a fee from the client and then aban- application filed before his legal student documents filed in the case. In response, doning her legal matter; acted with a self- resident status expired in early October Shahab offered a partial refund to the cli- ish motive; had substantial experience in
66 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL the practice of law, having been admitted ed by submitting a detailed letter concern- ent would be allowed to testify because to the Bar in 1994; had a prior disciplin- ing his misconduct to the State Bar and the hearing officer wanted to hear his ary history, having received an Investiga- consulted with the Law Practice Manage- testimony. Smart, however, informed his tive Panel reprimand on Oct. 3, 2008; and ment Program as advised, has otherwise client that there was no need to appear at failed to respond adequately to the Notice good character and reputation as shown by the hearing, because he intended to move of Investigation. The Investigative Panel submitted letters of support from the legal for voluntary dismissal without prejudice. found that Mays’ conduct violated Geor- community and has expressed remorse for However, Smart filed the voluntary dis- gia Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, his conduct. The Bar recommended a sus- missal after the deadline for doing so, and 1.5, 1.16 and 3.2. The maximum sanction pension of one year, and noted in aggrava- the hearing officer dismissed the matter for a violation of Rule 1.3 is disbarment. tion that Johnson’s conduct was dishonest with prejudice on June 20, 2016. and selfishly motivated. The Investigative Panel found prob- able cause to believe that Smart violated Suspension Rules 1.1, 1.2 (a), 1.3 and 1.4 of the Geor- Clarence R. Johnson Jr. Review Panel Reprimand gia Rules of Professional Conduct. The 325 Edgewood Ave. Donald Edward Smart maximum sanction for a violation of Atlanta, GA 30312 84 Chelsea St. Rules 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 is disbarment, and On Jan. 29, 2018, the Supreme Court Stratford, CT 06615 the maximum sanction for a violation of of Georgia accepted a petition for volun- On Feb. 19, 2018, the Supreme Court Rule 1.4 is a public reprimand. tary discipline filed by attorney Clarence of Georgia imposed a Review Panel In aggravation, the Investigative Panel R. Johnson Jr. (State Bar No. 392870) and reprimand on attorney Donald Edward found that Smart had substantial experi- imposed a six-month suspension. In his pe- Smart (State Bar No. 653526). By virtue ence in the practice of law and that he had tition, Johnson admits that he became sub- of default, Smart admitted that he repre- a selfish motive when he failed to inform ject to collection efforts after he was hos- sented a client and the client’s son before his client that, despite the matter being pitalized due to illness and unable to work the Georgia Department of Education to dismissed due to Smart’s mistake, the while on bed rest, that he deposited per- ensure the client’s son had access to spe- hearing officer wanted to hear the client’s sonal funds into his trust account to conceal cial education services and support as a testimony. In mitigation, the Investiga- them from his creditors and that he made result of the son being diagnosed with tive Panel noted that Smart had no prior withdrawals for personal expenses from learning disorders. A hearing was sched- disciplinary history. l the trust account. Johnson admitted that uled for June 20, 2016, with the witness his conduct violated Bar Rules 1.15 (I) (a), and exhibit lists due June 13, 2016. Smart 1.15 (II) (a), 1.15 (II) (b) and 8.4 (a) (4), of did not file the witness list until June 14, Jessica Oglesby the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct. 2016, and the hearing officer granted the Clerk, State Disciplinary Board In mitigation, Johnson offers that he opposing party’s motion for involuntary State Bar of Georgia had no prior disciplinary history, cooperat- dismissal, but also indicated that the cli- [email protected]
2018 APRIL 67 GBJ | Legal Tech Tips
Legal Tech TIPS
BY NATALIE R. KELLY AND MIKE MONAHAN 280 finitive Guide”; and “Microsoft Office product from Amazon by asking you to 365 for Lawyers.” Check out these and confirm your order via your Amazon app other legal technology titles to help with or account dashboard. Don’t like the idea your early summer reading list plans. of buttons all over the place? Check out the new virtual dash buttons!
Zelle 3www.zellepay.com Ghost of ABA TECHSHOW You’ve likely seen the commercials about 5Just Past the Zelle payment service, but what you #ABATECHSHOW might not have recognized is that it differs If you missed the ABA TECHSHOW in from some other earlier services like Pay- Chicago last month, make sure you keep Pal or Venmo in that the service manages an eye out for the many reviews of what transactions directly between banks. Zelle was seen and heard at this year’s event. Noisli was created by Early Warning Services Simply search #ABATECHSHOW or 1www.noisli.com LLC, a consortium of seven of the largest TECHSHOW to learn about the latest Available from the App Store, Google U.S. banks, including Bank of America, legal technology developments and cool Play or the Chrome Web Store, this ser- JPMorgan Chase and Capital One. You gatherings. The 2018 conference moved vice allows users to create background can have your bank review options for to a different location and boasted new noise and generate colors ideal for work- your business accounts to receive client content and program ideas. Go ahead and ing and relaxing. Sounds can be created payments faster. Just don’t forget your add Feb. 27–March 2, 2019, to your cal- by mixing various sounds like waves, obligations for tracking financial transac- endar for next year’s ABA TECHSHOW! wind and train tracks. The service also tions and your trust accounting rules! includes a sharing option, a timer and a text editor. CameraMicAlert Amazon Dash Buttons 6play.google.com 4www.amazon.com/ddb/learn-more Paranoid about your phone’s camera or Tech Books from LPM With buttons from Scotch Laminating mic? Has someone hacked your phone 2Resource Library Pouches and Expo Markers to coffee pod and is eavesdropping? There are apps to www.gabar.org/lpmlibrary refills, Amazon can quickly serve up office alert you to a phone camera that’s been The LPM Resource Library just got in supplies to your law office. Don’t over- turned on. For example, Android apps “Macs in Law: The Definitive Guide for look the future possibilities, as Amazon like CameraMicAlert add a layer of pri- the Mac-Curious, Windows-Using At- has more than 250 dash buttons for easy vacy protection. The app won’t find any torney”; “The 2018 Solo and Small Firm ordering. Simply attach the button to the malicious app you may have download- Legal Technology Guide: Critical Deci- area where supplies are likely to run out, ed, but it will tell you when your phone’s sions Made Simple”; “Fastcase: The De- and through a Wi-Fi connection, the ser- camera or mic is activated. vice will order a new batch of the depleted
68 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Tweet Up to 280 Characters Testimonial 7 www.twitter.com Twitter lets you ramble on now. But be judicious. It’s true you now have 280 characters—double the original 140— but after a recent upgrade, you can also thread your tweets together giving you a longer soapbox. If you want to com- pose a thread—like steps in a process or a progression of ideas with photos and Amazon Dash Buttons GIFs—just compose each Tweet up to the Amazon Dash Buttons are great maximum 240 then click on the plus sign shortcuts for finding and buying my on the bottom right of the Tweet field. Prime shipping-eligible things I order Keep doing that until you’ve completed frequently on Amazon. I can avoid the thought, then submit the full thread. the search and find my items quickly, But remember to ask yourself first: Is this then just tap on the “Buy” in the dash 280 helpful to my followers? button and I’m done. It’s one-step shopping once my Amazon home Mike Monahan page loads. Great for remembering Drop Business Card Scanner Director, Pro Bono Resource Center State Bar of Georgia favorite office supplies, pharmacy 8www.getdrop.net items like contact lens solution and Most of us still use the traditional paper those “go-to” business gift items. business card. Download a business card scanning app to add the cards you collect to your contacts. Many scanning apps are free and you can also use them to send your business contact or “vCard” to a col- the week and reminders about your fit- Acorns (www.acorns.com), Robin Hood league using SMS. Try out Drop Business ness goals. If you need motivation to get (www.robinhood.com) and Stash (www. Card Scanner. up and get moving, ask your home as- stashinvest.com) will let you begin ex- sistant to launch your gym playlist to get perimenting. Stash and Acorns are simi- you in the mood. lar. Choose an investment strategy from a Use Your Home Assistant preset list, link your bank account and add 9for Wellness as little as $10 and create recurring invest- GoogleHome is good for #wellness. Sev- Investment Apps ments. These apps will allow you to add eral home assistants are on the market: 10Novice investors, take note: There’s spare change from rounding up purchases Google Home, Alexa and others. Consid- an app—or three—for you. If you’re fresh you make using that bank account. Other er using your home assistant to calendar out of law school or you’ve had your nose apps, like Betterment (www.betterment. reminders about your medications and buried in LexisNexis for years and want to com), will teach you and give you easy exercise schedules. Sync your calendar join the ranks of investors, there are some tools to invest for retirement–especially with your fitness tracking app and then apps that will help you get over your ner- useful if you are just starting out in your use your home assistant to call up exer- vousness and teach you the basics without career. Check your App Store for versions cise routines on YouTube, meal plans for risking too much money right off the bat. of these investment apps.
2018 APRIL 69 GBJ | Law Practice Management
Managing Your Practice with Technology
As a key member service to State Bar of Georgia members, the Law Practice Management Program helps lawyers learn to select and utilize technology to manage their practices. BY NATALIE R. KELLY
Lawyers should keep pace with the Technology Platforms ever-changing technology landscape. For firms that desire to be up-to-date Modern law offices have embraced with the latest available technology, the technology and some firms have even first question that needs to be answered taken the lead in discussions about where is about a preferred work platform. You technology will take us in the law practice can use a traditional wired network of of the future. Take the time to step back computers or go with an updated on- and analyze your practice and the use of line platform like Office 365 or GSuite technology. Adopt new ideas smartly. to handle your office’s applications and Keep what works. Change what doesn’t. tools. You may have already considered A core set of services and production this option based upon the devices—tab- technology tools surrounded by specific lets and smart phones—you’ve chosen to apps and programs can help lawyers focus use. You also must consider which prod- on very defined practice-area needs. uct will work best for you when inte- As a key member service to State Bar grating with others, and which product of Georgia members, the Law Practice provides the slate of applications and Management Program helps lawyers tools you are most likely to use or are learn to select and utilize technology to already using. Whether you use a Mac manage their practices. This article pro- or PC should be considered, but with the vides general tips and information to prevalence of online platforms, many kickstart thinking about your next steps firms find that debate may no longer with using technology and to help select matter as much. In fact, “mixed shops” products most suitable for you if you are have found their reliance on cloud sys- just starting out. tems has given them flexibility when GETTYIMAGES.COM/MACTRUNK
70 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL their users want to work with the tools an individual or company serving as the Apps for Lawyers they are familiar with. Because cloud center of a relational database program Apps are all the rage. The sheer number of systems give users access to firm data offered in standalone network format apps is staggering, and legal-specific ones online from any location, strict adher- or—most recently and more generally are likely to continue to grow. For each ence to sticking with one system over recommended—via an online platform. of the practice management, document another is no longer required. The list of online cloud practice managers management and litigation support tools continues to grow, and the cloud features available, it’s likely that they offer a corre- are being developed at a pace that makes sponding app. And there are hundreds of Word Processing them more comparable to the older standalone apps out there to make using Lawyers work with words, and where networked versions of these programs. technology in practice management easi- these words are created matters. While Because the options are plentiful, you er. From productivity options to working most lawyers use Microsoft Word can get help from the Law Practice tools, lawyers will be using apps for the or Corel WordPerfect for generating Management Program with selecting a foreseeable future. Check out the Legal documents, there are many other service most suitable for your individual Tech Tips column in this Journal regularly programs available to manage this core office needs. for options. law office work function. While we rarely recommend straying from the tried and true Word and WordPerfect Document Management Technology Audits programs specifically, we have seen that After those documents are generated, You don’t know how well your practice lawyers are not fully exploiting the word the paper is sent, stored and managed in is doing until you are evaluated, and the processing tools’ potential to increase several places and formats. To make it Law Practice Management Program has productivity. Investing in training in easier to keep track of the many options been evaluating the progress of State Bar the use of their products pays off. We for dealing with documents, particularly member firms since 1995. With onsite are so convinced of this that we plan to those related to client matters, you can consultations, the staff of the Law Practice unveil specialized training as a part of choose from a wide array of document Management Program can review your our updated consulting services in the management software programs and technology approach and help you near future. Keep an eye out for this new services geared specifically toward law become savvier with practical advice member benefit. firms. You could also try one of the about what you should be doing and how open-source programs available. As with to do it. Give the program a call to set practice management and other law office up a low-cost, confidential technology Practice Management Software technology solutions, you may contact the consultation visit. The program can also Another area of legal technology that Law Practice Management Program for help you with general legal technology should be a key part of any technology assistance with selection. audit services as a part of its member update should be practice management service to you. software. In my award-winning article, Whether you have vowed to give up “Say Yes to a Practice Management Litigation Support your status as a technological dinosaur or System,” I lay out the many reasons Litigators require special tools to help to become your firm’s go-to power user, firms should use these programs to organize client matter files. From exhib- using technology to manage your law of- help manage their practice. These its to deposition transcripts to briefs and fice is a modern day necessity and a daily reasons have not changed over the past electronic discovery tools, litigation sup- challenge. Learning where to get help is 20 years. Lawyers and their staff must port technology tools are ever expand- often the answer, and the Law Practice be able to access and work with client ing. With options to help get a case ready Management Program is here for you. and prospective client information and through trial, available technology Contact us to get help with your legal without having to duplicate data input can help outline steps and organize key technology budget and plans. l and worry about losing information people and information readily. However, as is possible with physical paper files. as with all types of legal technology, cost Further, email applications should not concerns exist at every level of practice. Natalie R. Kelly be the dumping ground for everything You can contact the Law Practice Man- Director, Law Practice client related or otherwise. Utilize these agement Program to help sort through Management Program State Bar of Georgia practice management programs to help the options if you are a litigator looking organize information with the client for practical and affordable solutions to [email protected] matter record or the contact record of manage your cases.
2018 APRIL 71 GBJ | Pro Bono
When I was a young transactional lawyer, I thought of pro bono work as Yes, Transactional something that was completely separate and apart from my regular practice. Lawyers Can Do Based on the work we do at Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta, I now know it doesn’t have to be that way. Pro Bono Work As a transactional associate at a large law firm, I responded to my sense of ob- ligation to do pro bono work by handling If you are hesitant to take on pro bono work because you feel you will be adoptions for low-income people. I par- assigned projects that fall outside your area of expertise, don’t worry. ticipated in a day-long training and took Organizations such as Pro Bono Parthership of Atlanta, among others, full advantage of the assistance offered by match their pro bono projects to the skills and expertise of their volunteers. the pro bono provider. While I thoroughly BY RACHEL EPPS SPEARS enjoyed helping my pro bono clients, I felt GETTYIMAGES.COM/MICROSTOCKHUB
72 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL uncomfortable with the litigation aspects PRO BONO STAR STORY of my work, which were completely dif- ferent from my day-to-day practice. The CREIGHTON FROMMER enjoyment I gained from my pro bono work kept me at it, but I understood my Creighton Frommer transactional colleagues’ reluctance to take Chief Counsel on pro bono work because it was so dif- RELX Group, Alpharetta ferent from what we were being trained to do. I just thought that was the reality of pro bono work. Then I was asked to help on a pro bono project that did require my skills as Creighton Frommer first learned Even while serving as the As- a public finance attorney. An issue that about Pro Bono Partnership of sociation of Corporate Counsel- had baffled a team of attorneys was very Atlanta (PBPA) in 2009 when his Georgia Chapter president in 2016, straightforward to me because it was in employer at the time, Choice- Frommer still found the time to my area of expertise. My pro bono ef- Point, participated in a Non- volunteer with PBPA. He worked profit Legal Check Up. In the years with Tourette Information Center forts on the project only took a few hours since, he has taken on 17 pro bono and Support of Georgia to review of my time but it had a tremendous im- matters for nonprofit clients their terms of use and privacy pact on the work of a nonprofit fighting through PBPA. Frommer often policy for their website. He has homelessness—all because it was in my advises on intellectual property also advised PBPA clients like area of expertise. My eyes were opened issues including trademark and Soccer in the Streets, Loving Arms to the possibility that even transactional copyright, and he also drafts poli- Cancer Outreach and Lawrencev- lawyers could find pro bono work that cies and conducts legal audits ille Cooperative Ministry. “It’s such was similar to their regular practice. of nonprofit websites. In 2014, he a perfect way to give back to the That’s exactly what we provide at Pro did a webcast for PBPA on legal Atlanta community broadly, but in issues with electronic signatures. a way that uniquely uses my legal Bono Partnership of Atlanta—pro bono skills. And as an Atlanta native, projects that are matched to the skills it’s especially important for me.” and expertise of the volunteers. We don’t handle litigation and we don’t represent individuals. All of our clients are nonprofits that serve the poor and that need legal assistance—just like any business. I’m amazed at the variety of pro bono projects that come through our door. For example, nonprofits need assistance with registering trademarks, drafting conflict torneys are available to provide forms and clients through Pro Bono Partnership of of interest policies, properly using assistance as needed but because attorneys Atlanta since we started in 2005. If you’d independent contractors, understanding take projects that are within their practice like to sign up to receive our monthly contracts, revising employee handbooks, area, no training is required. email with volunteer opportunities, please acquiring other nonprofits, reviewing There is one benefit I see as consis- email [email protected]. If you are a leases and complying with IRS tent among all types of pro bono work, first time volunteer, please include your regulations. If you do any of these things whether it is or isn’t in your area of ex- contact information (including address and in your regular practice, you can also do pertise. Pro bono clients really need your phone number), the name of your law firm them in your pro bono work. help and they are not shy about expressing or legal department, practice area, state(s) Interested attorneys sign up to receive a their appreciation. For me, their expres- in which you are licensed to practice law monthly email with volunteer opportuni- sions of gratitude (such as a homemade and year(s) of admittance in your email. l ties or check out the current list at www. red velvet cake from one of my adoption pbpatl.org/for-attorneys/volunteer- clients) provided tremendous motivation opportunities. Volunteers send me an to do pro bono work. I encourage you to Rachel Epps Spears has email with a list of projects that interest take the leap and take on a pro bono proj- been practicing law for more them and I match them up with a project. ect, whether through our organization or than 20 years, first as an After the volunteer attorney opens a file, one of the many others that provide pro associate at King & Spalding and later as we schedule and participate in an initial bono opportunities. executive director of Pro Bono call or meeting with the client to make sure More than 3,000 attorneys have com- Partnership of Atlanta, which she everyone is on the same page. Our staff at- pleted pro bono projects for nonprofit joined in 2005.
2018 APRIL 73 GBJ | Member Benefits
1
Fastcase 6 vs. Fastcase 7: Advanced Search
Fastcase training classes are offered three times a month at the State Bar of Georgia in Atlanta for Bar members 2 and their staff. Training is available at other locations and in various formats and will be listed on the calendar at www.gabar.org. Please call 404-526- 8618 to request onsite classes for local and specialty bar associations. BY SHEILA BALDWIN
Finding the seminal case is one of the most important tasks in legal research, and Fastcase’s integrated citation analysis tools provide a powerful way to find the seminal case in any research. Considering the vast information on the site, it’s understandable that the website design requires a great deal of versatility. Some are familiar with the way Fastcase 6, the default version that opens when you log in to your Bar account, gath- 3 ers results based on relevancy, decision date and how often a case is cited. These are all necessary factors in research, but it can be tedious viewing them all in a list format. The developers at Fastcase designed the interac- tive timeline to help users view all the data on a graph, making the most important cases stand out immediately. The 2016 launch of Fastcase 7 integrated all these features into a parallel platform that enables a unified search capability. For the first time, you can search across different materials at once, eliminating the need to repeat the process in each indi-
74 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL vidual content library. To view the new and select the material you are interested version, use the orange toggle switch at in viewing in the box below. What hap- the top right of Fastcase 6, and see if you pens if you select the Go option? Using Tax Court Accepts achieve more in less time. The follow- the terms “dog bite” and the Go button, Kaye Valuation ing comparison of the Advanced Search 10,869 documents appear in the results feature found in Fastcase 6 and Fastcase screen (see fig 3). In essence you end up 7 may help you determine which version directly on the results page without pre- Affirmed by will work best for you. selecting your criteria such as jurisdiction US Court of Appeals Advanced Caselaw Search is a good or type of material. The sidebar to the left starting point to find cases when using breaks down the results according to each Fastcase 6. You can perform three types of type (or library) and jurisdiction. Nar- Mitchell Kaye, CFA, ASA searches: Keyword, Natural Language or row the search from this screen by using (770) 998-4642 Citation Lookup, with Keyword being the checkmarks to denote specific types and recommended choice. Below the query jurisdictions and add search terms to fur- box you can see Search Tips that explain ther target helpful information. I prefer the Boolean language used in Fastcase. At entering terms and selecting Advanced Business Valuations the bottom of the Advanced Search page, instead of Go, and then choose the type of choose your jurisdiction and then press material and the jurisdiction. If you select Divorces ! Estates ! Gifts the Search button (see fig. 1). The result- Georgia as the jurisdiction, the data in the ESOPs ! FLPs ing cases are filtered by relevance, deci- selection box below will change and show Intangible Assets ! Disputes sion date, case name and how often cited. only Georgia materials. Then decide what The default is always relevance. Fastcase particular information you want to view, Court Testimony and IRS Experience determines relevance using an algorithm or choose the all-inclusive option such that examines the number of times terms as “all Georgia materials,” which can be a appear; close proximity of terms to each good starting place. serving appraisal clients since 1981 other; the balance of the terms in relation If you haven’t yet explored Fastcase 7, I www.MitchellKaye.com to other terms in the query; and the num- encourage you to give it a try. Once again, ber of search terms appearances in rela- it’s easy to change versions using the or- tion to the length of the document. Once ange toggle switch at the top right of your the algorithm brings cases that meet the screen. You’ll notice the new, updated STATE BAR OF GEORGIA relevance, decision date (looking for re- look immediately, and while the research cent) and highly cited criteria, you can ex- starting point may look different, the Member amine the cases further to determine their content and filtering options are still effectiveness in proving your argument. available with the added benefit of the Benefits In the process, you will likely rethink unified search. how to run your query in order to im- Fastcase is a great member benefit. prove your results. The disadvantage of If you don’t feel that you are getting this version is that you must search each the most out of your Fastcase research, library individually, such as statutes, rules schedule a training. You can see what’s FASTCASE or law reviews. available on the calendar found on the LEGAL RESEARCH In Fastcase 7, the Advanced Search has Bar’s website. Sign up for a webinar by a different look. From the home screen, Fastcase experts or attend a live training The State Bar of Georgia offers all locate the query box at the top left, en- at the Bar Center; CLE credit is available of its members a comprehensive ter your search terms and choose either for either option. Please contact me at national law library on your computer/ Go, Outline or Advanced. Notice that [email protected] or call 404-526-8618 tablet/smartphone, with online access the label is Advanced with no mention with any questions. l to cases, statutes, regulations, court of caselaw because you are not searching rules and Bar publications. Apps and only caselaw as in the older version. By mobile sync aid mobility in regard to choosing the Advanced option, a wide va- Sheila Baldwin legal research. riety of filters appear (see fig. 2). Because Member Benefits Coordinator Fastcase 7 features a unified search, you State Bar of Georgia we’re here for you. are able to mix and match types of docu- [email protected] ments and jurisdictions. If you want to Learn more at www. gabar.org or search one particular type of material, you contact Sheila Baldwin at 404-526-8618 choose a state in the state jurisdiction box
2018 APRIL 75 GBJ | Writing Matters
Federal courts have long accepted e-filed briefs and other court documents, Writing Matters: and a growing number of Georgia trial courts are as well.1 While e-filing has the What e-Filing May potential to reduce costs (paper, alone) and save money (no traveling to the court- house, postage or messengers), the in- Mean to Your Writing crease in e-filing means that more judges may be reading documents on screens, not paper. This installment of Writing Mat- This installment of Writing Matters examines how the fact that e-filing ters examines how the fact that e-filing may mean that judges are making decisions solely by reading documents on may mean that judges are making decisions screens should inform how lawyers write briefs and other court documents. solely by reading documents on screens BY KAREN J. SNEDDON AND DAVID HRICIK should inform how lawyers write briefs and other court documents. GETTYIMAGES.COM/ANDREYPOPOV
76 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL We start by noting how much has changed in a very short period of time. When we began our careers as lawyers, law firms had libraries—with books, ta- bles to place books on and more books N D L available from other libraries. You could Norwitch Document Laboratory tell someone was busy writing a brief or Forgeries - Handwriting - Alterations - Machine Printing - Ink Exams memorandum by the size of the cart of Medical Record Examinations - “Xerox” Forgeries - Seminars books outside his or her office, or sta- F. Harley Norwitch - Government Examiner, Retired tioned at the copier nearby. Everything Court Qualified Scientist - 35+ years. Expert testimony given in was on paper at some point in the re- excess of six hundred times, including Federal and International search, writing and filing process. Even when computerized research became 1 Offices in Augusta and West Palm Beach more prominent, it was still unusual to www.QuestionedDocuments.com read a case or document on a screen: we Telephone: (561) 333-7804 Facsimile: (561) 795-3692 did the research online, and then printed out the cases or articles to read later. So much has changed with how we access information and how we engage with information.2 A famous YouTube video shows a small child using an iPad Consider the Judge’s Inability important tool for electronic documents. regularly, but then being given a magazine to Make Notes and Marginalia For example, if the family tree is important and trying to “double click” images on the When reading, many lawyers read in a will contest and somewhat hard to printed page. “This one doesn’t work,” she actively, underlining text, making notes follow, include a simple drawing or chart.8 says.3 Perhaps that says it all. in the margins or diagraming who sued Now with the rise of e-filing, briefs who over what.5 Clearly, with many legal can be drafted, revised and filed without documents “full comprehension . . . may Consider that a print existence. They’re written depend on making notes related to a Hyperlinks Distract electronically, filed electronically and particular text during the act of reading Some courts require lawyers to link to received electronically. This means that it.”6 While electronic devices often allow a case, or factual support in the record, the judge may be making the decision in the reader to mark-up text or make notes, for statements made in brief.9 Whether the same way: reading everything only doing so is not, yet at least, as intuitive required or not, hyperlinking presents a on a screen. We are making a leap “from for most people as is marking up paper wonderful opportunity to gain credibil- e-filing to e-briefing.”4 and ink documents. Further, studies show ity with a judge by providing a link to the This reality should make you as a that readers retain less information when underlying testimony, document or case. writer reflect on how you present any reading documents in electronic, rather Yet, studies have found that document bound for a courthouse and than paper, formats.7 hyperlinks distract readers and reduce a judge’s screen. In this regard, think Given those facts, consider whether comprehension.10 “Research continues about how you read when you read pa- it may now be useful to more frequently to show that people who read linear text per texts compared to electronic texts. provide a diagram in the text to present comprehend more, and learn more than In addition to reflecting on that, ask for the judge what he or she may, with those who read text peppered with links.”11 yourself whether the following might paper and pen, have drawn in the margins What this means, somewhat perversely, help you represent your clients more “in the old days.” Diagraming in the text is that although more information can effectively and help judges better do what a judge may have done on his or her be contained in an electronic brief, less their jobs. own in the margins may more often be an information is conveyed.
2018 APRIL 77 2. See generally Mary Beth Beazley, Writing for For this reason, while obviously re- Conclusion a Mind at Work: Appellate Advocacy and the quired hyperlinks must be included, con- In addition to making it easier for judges Science of Digital Reading, 54 Duq. L. Rev. sider the impact of hyperlinks on com- to read documents in electronic form, 415 (2016); Daniel E. Harmon, Seeing Double prehension. Previous “Writing Matters” consider the impact that not reviewing . . . or Triple Can Multiple Desktop Monitors have explained how to make text easier printed documents may be having on you Improve Your Work?, Lawyer’s PC (Oct. to comprehend and more memorable. when you are writing a brief. Given that 15, 2016); Patrick Meyer, The Google Effect, Those strategies have included atten- it is harder to comprehend e-documents, Multitasking, and Lost Linearity: What We tion to headings, paragraphing, margins, and more difficult to retain the informa- Should Do, 42 Ohio N.U.L. Rev. 705 (2016); line spacing and typeface. With e-fil- tion in them, perhaps you should consider Ellie Margolis, Is the Medium the Message?, 12 ing, those skills bring even more value printing out materials before drafting a Leg. Comm. & Rhetoric: JALWD 1 (2015). than before. legal document. Printing out the material 3. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=aXV-yaFmQNk. and making notations may improve your 4. Am. B. Ass’n Council of Appellate work product. By paying attention to the Lawyers, The Leap from e-Filing to Reduce or Eliminate Footnotes medium from start to finish, lawyers will e-Briefing: Recommendations and Options for Footnotes are already distracting. Now have a better understanding of the cases Appellate Courts to Improve the Functionality think about a judge reading a brief on an and facts, and e-file something that better and Readability of e-Briefs, (2017) (available iPad and either having to scroll down to advances the lawyer’s cause. l at https://www.americanbar.org/ read the footnote, and then scroll back content/dam/aba/administrative/ up, or to click on a footnote number appellate_lawyers/2017_cal_ebrief_report. and then be taken somewhere in the file Karen J. Sneddon is a authcheckdam.pdf) (last visited Feb. 18, to read the note before clicking back to professor of law at Mercer 2018). see In a Case, return to the text. And, then amplify University School of Law. 5. For more on active reading, On the Screen, Do They Remember What those distractions by those created by They’ve Seen? Critical Electronic Reading in the required (or optional) hyperlinks. the Law Classroom, 30 Hamline L. Rev. 247 David Hricik is a professor With that in mind, consider whether (2007). of law at Mercer University a footnote is necessary and, if it is, 6. Stephen T. Maher & Ana Romes, The School of Law who has consider putting it in the text. Quiet Revolution in Brief Writing aw written several books and , L more than a dozen articles. Practice Today (Feb. 12, 2016). The Legal Writing Program at Mercer 7. See Maia Szalavitz, Do E-Books Make it Condense the Text continues to be recognized as one of Harder to Remember What you Just Read? Briefs must of course conform with the nation’s top legal writing programs. TIME, Mar. 14, 2012. applicable rules, but if a court permits 8. Id. briefs to be single spaced, rather than 9. See generally, The Leap from e-Filing to e-Briefing, supra, n.4. double, consider using a larger font Endnotes 10. See Martin L. Kutscher, The Effects 1. See eFiling in Georgia Courts, https:// and single spacing. That may allow the of Digital Technology on Reading, www.gabar.org/efiling.cfm (last visited reader to scroll less and read more, and PSYCHOLOGY TODAY (Jan. 15, 2017). Feb. 18, 2018). so increase usability and comprehension. 11. Id. Stress, life challenges or substance abuse?
The Lawyer Assistance Program is a free program providing confidential assistance to Bar members whose personal problems may be interfering with their ability to practice law.
ILLUSTRATION BY ISTOCK.COM/COMERHUI1979 ILLUSTRATION STATE BAR OF GEORGIA LAP Confidential Hotline | 800-327-9631
78 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL GBJ | Professionalism Page
Justice Robert Benham Awards for Community Service
The Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism and the State Bar of Georgia honored 12 Bar members with awards for community and public service. BY KARLISE Y. GRIER AND NNEKA HARRIS-DANIEL
The 19th Annual Justice Robert Benham attorney and vocalist Laurel R. Boatright, Awards for Community Service, spon- assistant U.S. attorney, U.S. Attorney’s sored by the Chief Justice’s Commission Office, Northern District of Georgia, At- on Professionalism (Commission) and the lanta, accompanied on piano by Norman State Bar of Georgia, was held Feb. 27 at Lewis Barnett, assistant district attorney, the Bar Center. More than 350 people Douglas County District Attorney’s Of- were on hand to honor and celebrate the fice, Douglasville. Chief Justice P. Har- deserving recipients. ris Hines welcomed everyone on behalf Since 1998, the Commission has pre- of the Supreme Court, while State Bar sented the Benham Awards to Georgia President Brian D. “Buck” Rogers and attorneys who go beyond their usual Young Lawyers Division President Nicole legal work or judicial duties to serve C. Leet brought greetings from the State their communities. Judges and lawyers Bar and YLD. Karlise Y. Grier, executive meet the criteria for these awards if they director of the Commission, served as the combine a professional career with out- emcee for the program. standing service and dedication to their The audience then enjoyed an enter- communities through voluntary par- taining question and answer segment led ticipation in community organizations, by William J. “Bill” Liss, attorney, com- government-sponsored activities, or hu- munity service awards selection com- manitarian work outside of their profes- mittee member and WXIA-TV News sional practice or judicial duties. Service business editor. Liss used the interview may be made in any field, including but format to introduce Justice Robert Ben- not limited to: social service, education, ham, who shared his views on what pro- faith-based efforts, sports, recreation, the fessionalism and community service mean arts or politics. The selection commit- to him. Benham concluded the session by tee generally believes that community or telling the audience that he believed that public service is not service to a bar asso- professionalism’s most important factor ciation; however, community service can is to heal and to bring together the com- be done through bar-sponsored or related munity in a positive way. activities or projects.
Award Recipients Awards Program The Lifetime Achievement Award for Honorees and program participants en- Community Service recognizes a lawyer tered the auditorium to music provided by or a judge who, in addition to meeting PHOTO BY DON MORGAN PHOTOGRAPHY
2018 APRIL 79 PHOTO BY DON MORGAN PHOTOGRAPHY (Front row, left to right) Avarita L. Hanson, Justice Robert Benham, Chief Justice P. Harris Hines, Karlise Y. Grier and Hon. Robert “Bobby” Chasteen. (Back row, left to right) Gregory W. Edwards, Hon. Thomas L. Hodges III, Hon. Kathryn M. Schrader, La’Keitha D. Carlos, Tommy T. Holland, Robert B. Remar, Patrick T. O’Connor, Charles L. Jones, Allegra J. Lawrence-Hardy and Ann B. Bishop. the general criteria for the Justice Robert In Grateful Appreciation to Angie Wright-Rheaves of Atlanta In- Benham Award for Community Service, This year’s program was successful because terfaith Broadcasting who served as our has also demonstrated an extraordinarily of the contributions and hard work of many commentator for filming, and to Hon. long and distinguished commitment to people. Selection committee members re- Carla Wong McMillian, Court of Ap- volunteer participation in the community sponsible for the selection of the deserving peals of Georgia, who served as our throughout his or her legal career. This honorees included: Janet G. Watts, attorney, guest tweeter. year’s recipients were Hon. Robert “Bobby” Chapter 7 Trustee, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, The Commission also appreciates our Chasteen Jr., chief judge, Cordele Judicial Jonesboro; Mawuli Davis, The Davis Boze- program vendor team members: Don Circuit, Fitzgerald; and Avarita L. Hanson, man Law Firm, Decatur; Elizabeth L. Fite, Morgan, photographer; Vince Bailey, vid- former executive director of the Commis- DeKalb County Attorney’s Office, Decatur; eographer; Eric Thomas, musician; AIB- sion, legal consultant, Atlanta. Joy Lampley-Fortson, Georgia Commission TV, film production services; and Seren- The Justice Benham Awards for Com- on Equal Opportunity, Atlanta; Laverne dipity, catering. We’d like to also recognize munity Service were presented to: Ann B. Lewis Gaskins, Augusta University, Au- our reception sponsors: Hon. J. Antonio Bishop, partner, Sponsler, Bishop, Koren gusta; Michael Hobbs Jr., Troutman Sand- DelCampo, DelCampo & Grayson LLC, & Hammer PA, Atlanta; La’Keitha D. Car- ers LLP, Atlanta; W. Seaborn Jones, Owen, Atlanta; and Gerald M. Edenfield, Eden- los, chief of staff, DeKalb County Law De- Gleaton, Egan, Jones & Sweeney LLP, Atlan- field, Cox, Bruce & Edenfield, Statesboro. partment, Decatur; Gregory W. Edwards, ta; Hon. Chung Lee, associate judge, Duluth The awards ceremony would not have district attorney, Dougherty Judicial Dis- Municipal Court, Duluth; William J. “Bill” been possible without the tireless assistance trict, Albany; Hon. Thomas L. Hodges III, Liss, legal and financial advisor, WXIA- of the Bar Conference Center staff: Faye chief judge, Northern Circuit Superior TV News, Atlanta; and Brenda C. Youmas, First, Joyce Javis, Kyle Gause, Mark Bray- Court, Hartwell; Tommy T. Holland, at- Edwards & Youmas, Macon. Their work field and Ulysses Fred. Finally, the awards torney, Jonesboro; Charles E. Jones, at- was invaluable. ceremony was a wonderful event because torney, Jones & Oliver, P.C., Fort Valley; A program of this magnitude is suc- of the hard work of the Commission staff: Allegra J. Lawrence-Hardy, founding cessful only with the assistance of others. Karlise Y. Grier, executive director; Terie partner, Lawrence & Bundy LLC, Atlan- We had a large number of volunteers on Latala, assistant director; and Nneka Har- ta; Patrick T. O’Connor, managing part- hand that evening to ensure everything ris-Daniel, administrative assistant. l ner, Oliver Maner, LLP, immediate past ran smoothly. From decorating the venue president, State Bar of Georgia, Savannah; to registering attendees and assisting our Robert B. Remar, partner, Rogers & Har- honorees, we thank them for their help: Karlise Y. Grier din LLP, Atlanta; and Hon. Kathryn M. Aisha Hill, Precious Johnson, Shermela Executive Director Schrader, judge, Gwinnett County Supe- Williams, Jena Emory, LaQuierra Harris, Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism rior Court, Lawrenceville. This year’s hon- Beza Tadessa, Josephine Frazier, Carrie [email protected] orees were exceptional servants to their C. Foster, Roberta Rhodes, Joyce Marsh, communities and each has answered Ben- Vicki Hall, Bernadette Hartfield, Janet Nneka Harris-Daniel ham’s charge for lawyers and judges to help Prioleau, Avery Dixon, Antonia Hardin, Administrative Assistant heal and to bring the community together Anthony Salgado, Joshua Crenshaw, Chief Justice’s Commission in a positive way through their service Kira Jacobs, Lisa Dixon, Ressie Hardin on Professionalism and commitment. and Sparkle Adams. A special thank you [email protected]
80 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Ann B. Bishop Charles E. Jones Past president and current member of the Board Works with the literacy program Leadership of Directors of Kids Chance of Georgia, Inc.; Education for Adults; board member, Mount member, Board of Visitors for Mercer Universi- de Sales Academy; baseball and football coach, ty Law School; Wesley Friendship Sunday school Warner Robins Recreational League; advisor, teacher at Northside United Methodist Church. Fort Valley Boys and Girls Club; coach, Macon County High School Mock Trial Team. La’Keitha D. Carlos Founder of It’s My Birthday, Atlanta, a nonprofit Allegra J. Lawrence-Hardy organization for children facing life-threatening Architect of Sutherland Scholars, a summer pre- illnesses; past president, Georgia Association of law school program offered at no cost; member, Black Women Attorneys; volunteer, Project Children’s Museum of Atlanta Board of Direc- Open Hand and Hosea Feed the Hungry; mem- tors; past executive committee member and ber, Executive Committee, American Constitution Society. board member, Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta; Board of Trustees member and current chair, Atlanta Girls’ Hon. Robert “Bobby” Chasteen Jr. School; created AT&T legal pipeline program. Member, Board of Trustees, Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Foundation; volunteer, Habitat Patrick T. O’Connor for Humanity “Great Day of Service”; founding Past president and executive board member, member “LOVE OUT LOUD 365,” youth men- of the Coastal Georgia Council Boy Scouts of toring group; president, Fitzgerald Rotary Club. America; immediate past president, State Bar of Georgia; past chair, Savannah Country Day Gregory W. Edwards School Board of Trustees; past national presi- Supporter of The Lily Pad “Walk a Mile in Her dent, Theta Chi fraternity; chairman of deacons, Ardsley Shoes” event; developed “Growing Albany’s Park Baptist Church; member, Auburn University’s Dean Next Generation,” an initiative for at-risk lo- Advisory Council for the School of Liberal Arts. cal youth; life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fra- ternity; quizmaster for the Georgia Quiz Bowl Robert B. Remar Competition; co-chair, Board of Trustees, Hines Memorial Member and current vice president, secretary CME Church of Albany. and treasurer, National Board of the American Civil Liberties Union; past president, Georgia Avarita L. Hanson Chapter of ACLU; past president, Georgia Cen- Founded legal ministry at Ben Hill United ter for Law in Public Interest a/k/a GreenLaw; Methodist Church; past president, Georgia member, City of Atlanta Board of Ethics; member and former Association of Black Women Attorneys; can- chair, Board of Directors, Georgia Appellate Practice and Edu- didate for College Park City Council Ward 5; cational Resource Center. active in College Park Voters League; volun- teer, Election Protection Taskforce; past president, Atlanta Hon. Kathryn M. Schrader Chapter Links, Inc. Co-sponsored and organized inaugurual Mental Health and Substance Abuse Summit Hon. Thomas L. Hodges III in Gwinnett County; advisor, Central Gwin- Little League coach; past president, Kiwanis nett High School Legal Team; coach, Greater Club and the Optimist Club of Elberton; board Atlanta Christian School Mock Trial Team; chair, Broad River District, Boy Scouts of Amer- Marriage Enrichment small group leader, Cross Point, The ica; president and treasurer of the Chancel Choir Church at Gwinnett; member, Gwinnett Chamber of Com- and finance committee chair of the Elberton merce and Leadership Gwinnett. First United Methodist Church; past director, Elbert County *partial list of honoree accomplishments Chamber of Commerce.
Tommy T. Holland Board member and former chairman of Calvary Refuge, Inc.; former chairman of deacons, Jones- boro First Baptist Church; led mission trips to build churches, schools and other facilities in ap- proximately 25 countries, including Liberia, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Cambodia, Russia and the Dominican Republic.
2018 APRIL 81 GBJ | In Memoriam
In Memoriam honors those MILTON F. GARDNER HINSON MCAULIFFE H. GRAY SKELTON JR. members of the State Bar of Milledgeville, Ga. Atlanta, Ga. Marietta, Ga. Georgia who have passed Atlanta Law School (1947) Woodrow Wilson College Emory University School away. As we reflect upon the Admitted 1947 of Law (1949) of Law (1968) memory of these members, we Died August 2017 Admitted 1949 Admitted 1968 are mindful of the contribu- Died January 2018 Died January 2018 SEARCY S. GARRISON JR. tions they made to the Bar. Decatur, Ga. JACK J. MENENDEZ MICHAEL DAVID SORKEY Each generation of lawyers is Mercer University Walter Acworth, Ga. Columbus, Ga. indebted to the one that F. George School of Law Atlanta’s John Marshall Mercer University Walter precedes it. Each of us is the (1966) Law School (1978) F. George School of Law recipient of the benefits of the Admitted 1966 Admitted 1978 (2003) learning, dedication, zeal and Died January 2018 Died November 2017 Admitted 2003 standard of professional Died July 2017 responsibility that those who DAVID ROY HEGE COOPER L. MORRIS have gone before us have Tifton, Ga. Shady Dale, Ga. STEPHEN H. TUCKER contributed to the practice of Atlanta Law School (1973) Woodrow Wilson College Melville, N.Y. law. We are saddened that they Admitted 1973 of Law (1981) University of Florida Levin are no longer in our midst, but Died September 2015 Admitted 1985 College of Law (1978) privileged to have known them Died January 2018 Admitted 1979 MICHELLE J. HIRSCH Died October 2017 and to have shared their Atlanta, Ga. WILLIAM GREGORY friendship over the years. John Marshall Law POPE SR. ROBERT H. UEHLING School, Chicago (1994) Covington, Ga. Watsonville, Calif. Admitted 2004 University of Georgia University of South CYNTHIA LEE COLEMAN Died February 2018 School of Law (1996) Carolina School of Law Sandy Springs, Ga. Admitted 1996 (1977) University of Georgia GWENDOLYN JOHNSON Died December 2017 Admitted 1983 School of Law (1989) Atlanta, Ga. Died May 2017 Admitted 1989 St. Louis University NANCY ELIZABETH QUYNN Died January 2018 School of Law (1979) Tifton, Ga. RAYMOND H. Admitted 1980 University of Virginia VIZETHANN JR. CHARLES L. DREW Died January 2018 School of Law (1986) Watkinsville, Ga. Atlanta, Ga. Admitted 1994 Washington & Lee University of Georgia MICHAEL BERNARD KING Died January 2018 University School of Law School of Law (1954) College Park, Ga. (1966) Admitted 1954 Atlanta Law School (1990) JOHN H. RIDLEY JR. Admitted 1967 Died January 2018 Admitted 1990 Atlanta, Ga. Died January 2018 Died January 2018 Oklahoma City University WILLIAM D. EDWARDS School of Law (1974) ALBERT MIMS Valdosta, Ga. J. ALVIN LEAPHART JR. Admitted 1974 WILKINSON JR. Woodrow Wilson College Jesup, Ga. Died January 2018 Atlanta, Ga. of Law (1981) Atlanta Law School (1962) University of Georgia Admitted 1982 Admitted 1962 GARY LEE SIMPSON School of Law (1949) Died August 2017 Died January 2018 Roswell, Ga. Admitted 1948 University of Tennessee Died January 2018 AMELIA M. FEUSS MAURICE N. MALOOF College of Law (1972) Decatur, Ga. Atlanta, Ga. Admitted 1999 University of Cincinnati Emory University School Died December 2017 College of Law (1978) of Law (1956) Admitted 1982 Admitted 1955 Died December 2017 Died December 2017
82 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL OBITUARIES
Joseph Alvin Leaphart Jr. of Jesup and Shellman Leaphart was a longtime member and past chairman of the Bluff, the longest-serving member of the Board of Gov- Wayne County Democratic Party. He served on the state committee ernors of the State Bar of Georgia, died Jan. 22, 2018, at of the Democratic Party of Georgia and was active in the campaigns Southeast Georgia Health System in Brunswick after a of many local, state and presidential candidates. He and his wife, lengthy illness. He was 80 years old. Beverly, attended both of President Bill Clinton’s inaugurations Leaphart was born and raised in Jesup, where he and were both delegates to the 2016 Democratic National Conven- was a communicant of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. During high tion. He was also a longtime member of the Jesup Elks Lodge #2133 school, he worked in his father’s hospital as an orderly as well as a lab B.P.E., the Jesup Lodge #112 F&AM, the Alee Temple and Shrine and X-ray assistant. He graduated from Georgia Military Academy Club, the Jesup Royal Arch Masons #70 R.A.M., and was a member and attended Oglethorpe University, Florida State University and and past president of the Jesup Rotary Club. l Atlanta Art Institute. He served his country in the Coast Guard, stationed for two years off the coast of New England on a search- William Gregory Pope Sr. passed away in De- and-rescue cutter and a cable-laying vessel. cember 2017. Born in Atlanta, Pope was a lifelong Leaphart earned his law degree from Atlanta Law School and resident of Covington. He attended Piedmont Acad- was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1962. After starting emy, graduating in 1989. While in high school, he his legal career in Atlanta, he practiced law in Jesup and through- served as the youth governor of the 44th Youth As- out southeast Georgia for 55 years. He was a member of the Board sembly for the State YMCA of Georgia. Pope earned of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia for 40 years, from 1969 a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Georgia, through 1971 and continuously from 1979 until the time of his pass- graduating with honors in 1993. He graduated from the Univer- ing. Throughout his tenure, he provided a strong voice for the inter- sity of Georgia School of Law in 1996. While at Georgia, Pope est of his fellow Bar members, especially his fellow “country lawyer” was an active member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, was selected colleagues in Georgia’s small towns and rural areas. He also served for the Arch Society and was a member of the Moot Court Team. the public as attorney for the cities of Jesup and Odum, for Wayne After briefly working in Atlanta, Pope returned to Covington County, the Wayne County Board of Education and the McIntosh and founded The Pope Law Firm, P.C., spending 19 years repre- County Board of Education. senting disabled and injured workers. He also served eight years An accomplished author, Leaphart wrote several novels, many as a Newton County magistrate judge. Pope was a member of the of which were set in coastal Georgia. He was the proudest of his Commerce Club and the Atlanta Lawyers Club. He served twice law manual published in December 2016: “How to Practice Law in as Rotary president in Covington. At the time of his death, he was a Small Town and Make Money Doing It.” He was an artist, avid serving as a representative for the Alcovy Circuit of the State Bar reader and history student and had traveled extensively throughout of Georgia Board of Governors. An active member of First United the world. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing and boat building, Methodist Church of Covington, Pope served on several commit- having constructed a 65-foot steel hull sailboat in his backyard. He tees, was a Sunday school teacher and a church trustee. l held a Master’s License issued by the Coast Guard. Memorial Gifts Memorial Gifts are a meaningful way to honor a Suite 610, Atlanta, GA 30303, stating in whose loved one. The Georgia Bar Foundation furnishes memory they are made. The Foundation will notify the Georgia Bar Journal with memorials to honor the family of the deceased of the gift and the name of deceased members of the State Bar of Georgia. the donor. Contributions are tax deductible. Unless Memorial Contributions may be sent to the otherwise directed by the donor, In Memoriam Georgia Bar Foundation, 104 Marietta St. NW, Contributions will be used for Fellows programs of the Georgia Bar Foundation.
2018 APRIL 83 GBJ | Book Review
Seeing Through Legalese: More Essays on Plain Language by Joseph Kimble, 273 pages, Carolina Academic Press REVIEWED BY DONALD P. BOYLE JR.
Joseph Kimble has taught legal writ- Federal Rules of Evidence. Kimble shows A PERSON SHALL REMAIN IN AT- ing at Western Michigan University- how the advisory committees were able TENDANCE OUTSIDE OF THE Cooley for more than 30 years and is now to shorten the Rules considerably without VEHICLE AND IN VIEW OF a lecturer. He also is the co-founder of changing their substance. The handiest THE NOZZLE. the Center for Plain Language and a past items in the toolkit were use of headings, The sentence is nearly a direct quote president of the international organiza- subheadings and subdivisions. from the regulation. The gas company’s tion Clarity. He was a drafting consultant Because Georgia’s Civil Practice Act has attorney must have decided to use the on all federal court rules. This is his third not yet had the benefit of these changes, it exact language from the statute in order to book on legal writing. no longer resembles the Federal Rules of avoid any penalty from regulators. This way This book should be of value for three Civil Procedure as closely as it once did. of drafting, although common, ignores the groups of lawyers: first, legislators and (Similarly, the 2011 adoption of many of purpose of the statutory requirement, which their staff who write statutes; second, the Federal Rules of Evidence into Title is to communicate with the consumer. judges and the committees who write 24 of the Georgia Code just missed the Kimble does not cut the gas station’s court rules; and third, practitioners, both 2011 federal stylistic changes.) Our Gen- lawyer any slack. (How does a nozzle litigators and business lawyers, who need eral Assembly may and should consider “view” anyone?) He concedes that gov- to be clear to the courts, their clients and adopting similar changes. This would be erning law sometimes requires specific other parties. useful not only to make the Civil Practice language—but when it doesn’t, follow the The book is a collection of essays and Act and Evidence Code more obviously law and be clear. illustrations of revisions to codes and conform to the federal models, but also Similarly, it is common for jury in- rules. Kimble divides the book into three to give courts and litigators the benefit of structions to pull language directly from parts: (1) drafting; (2) writing generally; improved clarity and readability. governing statutes. The result may be a and (3) interviews and remarks. The section on drafting also has advice precise statement of the law, but not clear for writers of contracts and consumer to the jurors who hear it. In Kimble’s documents. Kimble gives an example, opinion, many model jury instructions Drafting with photo included, of a Michigan gas are “appalling” because they are not writ- The drafting section provides a number station’s literal adoption of required lan- ten in plain language. of illustrations of stylistic changes to the guage from a Michigan regulation on a Kimble calls drafting a “neglected” top- Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the sign posted by the pump: ic. Legal writing courses in law schools
84 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL emphasize writing briefs and largely omit tion of “shall” from Rule 56 (“judgment instruction in the drafting of contracts (let shall be rendered”) set off an explosion alone statutes, administrative rules and of complaints that the change was sub- rules of procedure). Compounding this stantive and not just a matter of style. In problem, contracts often are not “tested” 2010, the advisory committee reversed in the way that court filings inevitably course and restored “shall” to the sum- must be. A boilerplate clause or a favorite mary judgment standard. form “works”—until it doesn’t. Kimble calls the pre-2007 Federal A long section on revisions to the Fed- Rules of Civil Procedure “a gold mine—or eral Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal should I say a landfill?—for examples of Rules of Evidence illustrates some of how not to draft.” Georgia’s Civil Prac- Kimble’s drafting principles, including: tice Act still has the pre-2007 language l “Put the parts in a logical order”— (and in some cases, language from even chronological order will often be best; earlier versions of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure). l “Use lists to the best advantage”— separate a long paragraph into man- ageable chunks; Writing Generally l “Break up long sentences”—look for Throughout, Kimble comes back again the conjunction and split the sen- and again to his themes: (1) be clear; and tence in two; (2) avoid legalese. l “Avoid needless repetition”— By “legalese” he means those words that e.g., use pronouns; regular people never use but somehow show up in nearly every motion, brief l “Don’t state the obvious”—i.e., don’t belabor the point when it’s obvious and rule: hereof, therefor, wherein, to a reader in good faith; pursuant to, prior to, provided that, etc. (Microsoft Word thinks that “therefor” is l “Say what you mean in normal Eng- a misspelling, and is obviously controlled lish”—be direct and concise; by a plain-language advocate.) There are l “Try to put statements in positive such things as terms of art, and Kimble form”—e.g., “the pleading is sufficient concedes that they are unavoidable. if” rather than “the pleading is not insufficient if”; l “Minimize cross-references”—they “are at least distracting and at worst irritating”; This book should be of value for three l “Use informative headings and sub- groups of lawyers: first, legislators and headings”—as navigational aids for the reader; their staff who write statutes; second, l “Simplify inflated diction”—e.g., use judges and the committees who write “later” instead of “thereafter”; and court rules; and third, practitioners, both l “Banish ‘shall’”—it should mean “must,” but is often interpreted as litigators and business lawyers, who need “should” or “may.” to be clear to the courts, their clients and Regarding the last item, Kimble is proud to say that his committee elimi- other parties. nated every “shall” in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as of Dec. 1, 2007— but one change didn’t last. The elimina-
2018 APRIL 85 But he insists that much legal writing is l Statutes and court rules shouldn’t marred by legalese that is both useless and be written for lay people—no, lay vague. A writer who wants to be clear persons “should have the greatest won’t use legalese. possible access to the law.” In drafting briefs, Kimble insists on l Plain language advocates would im- moving citations out of the text and pose a conformity on all legal writ- into footnotes for readability. He rejects ing—rather, standard English should the common objection of litigators that be used in a way that conveys the the reader will miss the citations or be desired meaning to the most readers distracted by having to move back and possible. forth between the text and the bottom The book is a bit of a grab-bag. Kim- of the page. As support for why this is ble’s impatience with the slowness of Always Stay not the case, he cites his poll of Michigan change in legal writing is obvious. His Bar Journal readers, who preferred detailed notes on revisions of the federal citations in footnotes, compared to the CONNECTED rules are probably more detailed than same material written traditionally, with necessary. There is some redundancy as citations in text. one reads through the book, but maybe Some litigators may be afraid to make that’s better considered as useful repeti- this change because it might require tion to get the point across. more space and so make it harder to stay His role as a teacher rather than a within page limits. Although Kimble practicing attorney is a strength that al- does not address this concern, I can say lows him to shake up attorneys’ bad hab- from my own drafting that there does its. On the other hand, Kimble probably not appear to be any change in total doesn’t give enough allowance for the job page length when I move citations from of an attorney working zealously for the the text to footnotes. In addition, the client. Sometimes vagueness is required, Court of Appeals of Georgia (but not the or at least seems the only alternative, if Supreme Court of Georgia) has amended the facts are against you. Kimble himself its rules to impose word limits rather admits that vagueness may be required in than page limits in briefs. The hope is a contract if the parties cannot agree on that this is a trend that the other courts wording of a particular term; they may will follow. decide on vagueness over clarity in order to reach agreement. Interviews and Remarks This book is a challenge to lawyers’ bad habits. No one likes having bad habits Not all lawyers have converted to the pointed out, but it’s hard to argue against plain-language movement, Kimble ad- seeking clarity. l mits, and he takes on his critics in two separate sections in the book. Some of the main objections (and Kimble’s re- facebook.com/ Donald P. Boyle Jr., a sponses) are: member of the Georgia Bar statebarofgeorgia l Plain language leads to errors when Journal Editorial Board and GeorgiaYLD terms are simplified and distorted— past editor-in-chief, is a but not if the drafter is careful in use litigation partner at Taylor of plain language. English Duma LLP.
86 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL 2018 APRIL 87 GBJ | CLE Calendar Note: To verify a course that you do not see listed, please call the CLE Department at 404-527-8710. Also, ICLE seminars only list total CLE hours. For a breakdown, call 678-529-6688. For ICLE seminar locations, please visit www.iclega.org.
APRIL
20 ICLE: GA Auto Insurance Seminar Take Your Atlanta, Ga., and Statewide Satellite | 6 CLE Legal Career MAY to the Next 4 ICLE: 9th Annual Dispute Resolution for Trial and Non-Trial Lawyers Level Martinez, Ga. | 6 CLE Specialized Training 10-12 ICLE: 40th Annual Real Property Law Institute for Attorneys Amelia Island, Fla. | 12 CLE
11 ICLE: Georgia DUI Update Atlanta, Ga. | 6 CLE 22 ICLE: May Group Mentoring Atlanta, Ga. New Online Master of Laws (LLM) 24-26 ICLE: 36th Annual Family Law Institute in business law and health law Jekyll Island, Ga. | 14 CLE
JUNE Increase your practice area knowledge—to better serve your clients and enhance your ICLE: career—with advanced training from one 7 Wellness for Lawyers: of the nation’s top-ranked law schools. Why We Need it and How We Get It Annual Meeting Two Concentrations: The new online LLM Amelia Island, Fla. | CLE TBD is offered in two concentrations: Business Law and Regulation and Health Care Law, 7 ICLE: War Stories XVIII Policy, and Regulation Annual Meeting Amelia Island, Fla. | CLE TBD Now Online: Complete the program in only 15 months with three short residencies; enroll now for classes starting 8 ICLE: ICLE/ICJE Social Media Seminar Annual Meeting January 2018 Amelia Island, Fla. | CLE TBD Scholarships: Scholarships and financial aid are available 8 ICLE: Drum Majors for Justice— The Legacy of and Lessons from Georgia’s Iconic Civil Rights Lawyers Annual Meeting Amelia Island, Fla. | CLE TBD
22 ICLE: Trials—Tips, Tactics and Tales Atlanta, Ga. | 6 CLE 29-30 ICLE: Southern Admiralty Law Institute Amelia Island, Fla. | 10 CLE Learn more at law.emory.edu/llm Email us at [email protected]
86 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL 2018 APRIL 87 GA Bar Journal_NEW.indd 1 9/14/2017 2:54:25 PM GBJ | Notices
Notice of Motion to Amend the Rules and Regulations of the State Bar of Georgia
No earlier than 30 days after the publication of this Notice, the State Bar of Georgia will file a Motion to Amend the Rules and Regulations for the Organization and Government of the State Bar of Georgia pursuant to Part V, Chapter 1 of said Rules, 2017-2018 State Bar of Georgia Directory and Hand- book, p. H-7 (hereinafter referred to as “Handbook”). The exact text of the Motion to Amend, including the text of the proposed amendments, can be found on the State Bar of Georgia’s website at www.gabar.org/newsandpublications/ announcement/announcementdetail.cfm?id=65491. Any mem- ber of the State Bar of Georgia who wishes to obtain a printed copy of these proposed amendments may do so by sending such request to the following address:
Betty Derrickson Office of the General Counsel State Bar of Georgia 104 Marietta St. NW, Suite 100 Atlanta, GA 30303
I hereby certify that the following is the verbatim text of the proposed amendments as approved by the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia. Any member in good standing of the State Bar of Georgia who desires to object to part or all of these proposed amendments to the Rules is reminded that he or she may only do so in the manner provided by Rule 5-102, Handbook, p. H-7. This Statement and the verbatim text of the proposed amendments are intended to comply with the notice requirements of Rule 5-101, Handbook, p. H-7.
Jeffrey R. Davis Executive Director, State Bar of Georgia
88 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Notice of and Opportunity for
Comment on Amendments to the GEORGIA BAR Rules of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit JOURNAL
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2071(b), notice and opportunity for comment is hereby given of proposed amendments to the Rules of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. THE The public comment period is from April 4 to May 4, 2018. DIGITAL A copy of the proposed amendments may be obtained on EDITION and after April 4, 2018, from the court’s website at http://www. ca11.uscourts.gov/rules/proposed-revisions. A copy may also be obtained without charge from the Office of the Clerk, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 56 Forsyth St. NW, Download today to Atlanta, Georgia 30303 (phone: 404-335-6100). enjoy single issues at www.gabar.org/ Comments on the proposed amendments may be submitted in writing to the Clerk at the above address, or electronically newsandpublications/ at http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/rules/proposed-revisions, by georgiabarjournal/ 5 p.m. Eastern Time on May 4, 2018.
April 2018 Volume 23, Number 6
From the Executive GEORGIA BAR Director: Website and Directory Enhancements Proposed Amendments to the to Benefit Bar Members and the Public
Financial Institutions: JOURNAL Protecting Elderly Clients From Financial Uniform Rules for Superior Court Exploitation Bending the Arc: Georgia Lawyers in the Pursuit of Social Justice
Writing Matters: What e-Filing May At its business meeting on January 18, 2018, the Council Mean to Your Writing of Superior Court Judges approved proposed amendments to Uniform Superior Court Rules 31 and 39. A copy of the pro- posed amendments may be found at the Council’s website at http://georgiasuperiorcourts.org. 2018 Should you have any comments on the proposed changes, please submit them in writing to the Council of Superior Court ANNUAL Judges at 18 Capitol Square, Suite 104, Atlanta, Georgia 30334 MEETING or fax them to 404-651-8626. To be considered, comments Amelia Island, Fla. | June 7-10 must be received by Monday, August 6, 2018. 418GBJ_Cover.indd 1 3/30/2018 2:49:55 PM
www.gabar.org
2018 APRIL 89 CONNECT THEFACTS
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Property/Rentals/Office Space Prime Buckhead Peachtree Offices for Rent—Brand new, award-winning, high tech Class A offices on glass in new Peachtree Tower. Client wow factor. Peachtree views. The Georgia High School Mock Trial Concierge service, valet parking, three restaurants, across Program would like to express our from Phipps Plaza. Support staff. Share with other for- sincerest gratitude to the Georgia mer big firm lawyers. Referral work with opportunities. legal community for their support Contact: [email protected]. during the 2018 season. Seeking a sublease with a law firm? See www. More than 350 Georgia attorneys and judges lawspacematch.com. Created by lawyers for lawyers who gave a tremendous amount of their time serving space share. Search 40,000 zip codes for free. Find and con- local schools as attorney coaches for one of the tact your match for your law practice. Need to list empty 140 teams who registered for the season. LawSpace? It’s easy, fast and a nominal monthly fee. Twenty-one attorneys and judges (and their staffs) spent numerous hours preparing for and conducting the regional and district competitions this past Practice Assistance spring. We thank them not only for their time, but their firms (and families) as well, for giving them this Security Expert Witness. Board Certified Protection Pro- time to make these competitions happen. fessional and former Senior Police Commander providing Lastly, we thank the hundreds of attorneys and forensic consulting to both plaintiff and defense counsel in judges across the state that served as evaluators all areas/venues of security negligence. A comprehensive CV, or presiding judges for our competitions. During impeccable reputation and both criminal and civil experience the season, we had to find enough volunteers equate to expert litigation support. Michael S. D’Angelo, CPP. from the legal community to fill 336 courtrooms Secure Direction Consulting, LLC. www.securedirection.net. for all levels of the competition. 786-444-1109. [email protected]. The result is that more than 1,650 high school students had the opportunity to compete in one of the most public programs of the State Bar of Forensic Accountant—Detailed Financial Investigation Georgia. Without your support, they would not have & Data Analysis, Precise & Understandable Reporting, Ex- had this opportunity. pert Witness Testimony, Full-Service Litigation Support— Stephen C. Rowland, President—BBA Finance (University of The 2018 State Champion Georgia), MBA (Florida State University), Certified Fraud Team is from Jonesboro Examiner (ACFE), Master Analyst in Financial Forensics High School. (NACVA)—Rowland Financial Forensics, LLC—912-577-5705— [email protected] The State Champion Team will represent Georgia at the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Reno, Nev., Position Wanted May 11-12. —In-town firm seeks experienced attor- Managing Attorney For more information about the program or to make a ney to assist in overseeing the management of cases in litigation. donation to the State Champion Team to support their Ideal candidate will have significant experience in civil litigation. participation at Nationals, please contact the mock trial office: Collegial work environment, stable firm, benefits. All replies 404-527-8779 or toll free 800-334-6865 ext. 779; confidential. Please send resume to: [email protected]. Email: [email protected]
PI Associate Attorney—Personal injury law firm is seeking a junior associate in the Jacksonville, Fla., area with 0-5 years of PI experience for entry level personal injury position. Energetic
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2018 APRIL 91 GBJ | Classified Resources
self-starters with great written and verbal communication skills of April 9, 2018. In accordance with LSC’s multiyear funding is a must. If you are highly motivated to do great lawyering for policy, grants are available for only specified service areas. On your clients, aren’t afraid to pay your dues and want excellent pro- or around the week of March 12, 2018, LSC will publish the fessional development and earnings potential, then send detailed list of service areas for which grants are available and the ser- cover letter (explaining your desire to represent the injured and vice area descriptions at https://www.lsc.gov/grants-grantee- your willingness to pay your dues) along with resume AND refer- resources/our-grant-programs/basic-field-grant/lsc-service- ences to [email protected]. If you are not serious about areas. Applicants must file a Notice of Intent to Compete (NIC) your legal career and willing to pay your dues, then do not apply. and the grant proposal through LSC’s online application system in order to participate in the grants process. The online ap- plication system will be available at https://lscgrants.lsc.gov/ Request for Proposal EasyGrants_Web_LSC/Implementation/Modules/Login/ Legal Services Corporation Notice of Availability of Grant LoginModuleContent.aspx?Config=LoginModuleConfig& Funds for Calendar Year 2019—The Legal Services Corpora- Page=Login during the week of April 9, 2018. tion (LSC) announces the availability of grant funds to provide Please visit http://www.grants.lsc.gov/grants-grantee- civil legal services to eligible clients during calendar year 2019. resources for filing dates, applicant eligibility, submission The Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes instructions requirements, and updates regarding the LSC grants process. for preparing the grant proposal will be available from http:// Please email inquiries pertaining to the LSC grants process to www.grants.lsc.gov/grants-grantee-resources during the week [email protected].
Are You Attracting the Right Advertisers Audience for Index Your Services? 47 Elizabeth Mehlman, J.D., PhD. 87 Emory University School of Law 25 Gilsbar, LLC Advertisers are discovering a fact well 67 Investors Title Insurance Company known to Georgia lawyers. If you have something to communicate to the 1 Member Benefits, Inc. lawyers in the state, be sure that it is 75 Mitchell Kaye Valuation published in the Georgia Bar Journal. 77 Norwitch Document Laboratory 25 Read GA Family Law 9 Southern Center for Human Rights
65 Warren R. Hinds, P.C. Contact Stephanie Wilson at 404-527-8792 or [email protected].
92 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Visit www.gabar.org for the most up-to-date information on committees, members, courts and rules. JUNE Visit www.gabar.org 7-10
Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort
Opening Night Festival, CLE Opportunities, Presidential Inaugural Dinner, Social Events, Family Activities, Exhibits
Early Bird & Hotel Cut-off Date: May 11 Final Cut-off Date: May 23
AMELIA ISLAND, FLA.
2018 STATE BAR OF GEORGIA ANNUAL MEETING