August 2021 Volume 27, Number 1
The Legal: Area-Wide GEORGIA BAR Service Delivery in Georgia
2021 State Bar Annual Meeting Coverage JOURNAL Volunteering and Happiness
#KnowYourBar: Law Practice Management Program
59TH STATE BAR PRESIDENT ELIZABETH L. FITE 1 in 4 people will become disabled before reaching age 67.
If you were suddenly diagnosed with a long-term disability (LTD) would you be able to make ends meet despite losing your paycheck?
As a member of the State Bar of Georgia, you have access to a Member Group LTD Plan that can help protect your income if you become disabled as the result of a covered accident or illness—including pregnancy. The plan offers up to $10,000 of monthly own-occupation coverage*, and there is no annual fee. Get the protection you need to safeguard your future.
Get an instant quote at memberbenefits.com/gabar
ADMINISTERED BY:
*Income and underwriting limits apply. Disability statistics courtesy of the U.S. Social Security Administration. Products sold and serviced by the State Bar of Georgia’s recommended broker, Member Benefits. The State Bar of Georgia is not a licensed insurance entity and does not sell insurance.
GABAR 2021 LTD ad.indd 1 7/8/21 9:16 AM BENOUTSTANDING PARKS RATES & SERVICE
Outstanding rates and service. Even more importantly, Ben Parks is why we are with ALPS--Ben explains all to lawyers in an easy to understand manner-a fleeting art in our profession.
Randall Fry, The Fry Law Firm, Atlanta, GA
Learn how ALPS can benefit your firm at:
www.alpsinsurance.com/georgia
Ben is located right here in Georgia. He's been a member of the Bar since 2003 and has been helping lawyers and firms protect their practices for the last 17 years. < Get in touch with Ben today! [email protected] (470) 946-0819
THE NATION’S LARGEST DIRECT WRITER OF LAWYERS’ MALPRACTICE INSURANCE. Our Policyholders Love Us! AUGUST 2021
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 BOARD OFFICERS OF THE QUICK DIAL MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION STATE BAR OF GEORGIA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ATTORNEY DISCIPLINE The Georgia Bar Journal welcomes the submission of Megan Turley Hodgkiss PRESIDENT 800-334-6865 ext. 720 unsolicited legal manuscripts on topics of interest to Elizabeth L. Fite 404-527-8720 the State Bar of Georgia or written by members of MEMBERS the State Bar of Georgia. Submissions should be 10 Donald P. Boyle Jr. PRESIDENT-ELECT CLIENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM to 12 pages, double-spaced (including endnotes) and J. Kyle Brooks Sarah B. “Sally” Akins 404-527-8759 on letter-size paper. Citations should conform to A John Clay Bush TREASURER CONFERENCE ROOM RESERVATIONS UNIFORM SYSTEM OF CITATION (19th ed. 2010). Timothy J.Colletti Hon. J. Antonio “Tony” DelCampo 404-419-0155 Please address unsolicited articles to: Megan Hodgkiss, Angela Ellen Cusimano State Bar of Georgia, Communications Department, Jacob E. Daly SECRETARY FEE ARBITRATION 104 Marietta St. NW, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30303. Bridgette E. Eckerson Ivy N. Cadle 404-527-8750 Authors will be notified of the Editorial Board’s Jake Evans IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT CLE TRANSCRIPTS decision regarding publication. Catherine Fitch Dawn M. Jones 404-527-8710 Lynn Gavin The Georgia Bar Journal welcomes the submission Mary Elizabeth Gilchrist YLD PRESIDENT DIVERSITY PROGRAM of news about local and voluntary bar association Eric Hooper Elissa B. Haynes 404-527-8754 happenings, Bar members, law firms and topics of interest to attorneys in Georgia. Please send news Abbey Beth Morrow YLD PRESIDENT-ELECT ETHICS HELPLINE releases and other information to: Ashley Stollar, Kerry Nicholson Ron Daniels 800-682-9806 Communications Coordinator, 104 Marietta St. NW, Amber L. Nickell 404-527-8741 Kevin Patrick YLD IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30303; 404-527-8791; Kristin Poland Bert Hummel GEORGIA BAR FOUNDATION/IOLTA [email protected]. Derrick Alexander Pope 404-588-2240 DISABILITIES Roxann Sherri Smithers COMMUNICATIONS GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL If you have a disability which requires printed Michael Steven Webb COMMITTEE 404-527-8791 Pamela Y. White-Colbert materials in alternate formats, please call 404-526- Mark W. Wortham CHAIRPERSON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 8627 for assistance. Leslie L. Cadle 404-526-8608 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE LIAISON PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT Shiriki Cavitt Jones VICE CHAIRPERSON ICLE Derrick Alexander Pope 678-529-6688 The Georgia Bar Journal (ISSN-1085-1437) is LAWYER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM published six times per year (February, April, June, August, October, December) by the State Bar of EDITORS EMERITUS COMMUNICATIONS 800-327-9631 Georgia, 104 Marietta St. NW, Suite 100, Atlanta, Kristin Poland (2019-21) DEPARTMENT LAW PRACTICE MANAGEMENT GA 30303. Copyright State Bar of Georgia 2021. One Bridgette E. Eckerson (2017-19) DIRECTOR 404-527-8773 copy of each issue is furnished to members as part Timothy J. Colletti (2015-17) Jennifer R. Mason of their State Bar license fees. Subscriptions: $36 to Bridgette E. Eckerson (2012-15) LAW-RELATED EDUCATION non-members. Single copies: $6. Periodicals postage Robert R. Stubbs (2010-12) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR 404-527-8785 paid in Atlanta, Georgia, and additional mailing Donald P. Boyle Jr. (2007-10) Vacant MEMBERSHIP offices. Advertising rate card will be furnished Marcus D. Liner (2004-07) COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR 404-527-8777 upon request. Publishing of an advertisement does Rebecca Ann Hoelting (2002-04) Ashley G. Stollar not imply endorsement of any product or service Marisa Anne Pagnattaro (2001-02) MEETINGS INFORMATION offered. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to D. Scott Murray (2000-01) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT 404-527-8790 same address. William Wall Sapp (1999-00) Vacant PRO BONO RESOURCE CENTER Theodore H. Davis Jr. (1997-99) 404-527-8763 L. Brett Lockwood (1995-97) Stephanie B. Manis (1993-95) PROFESSIONALISM William L. Bost Jr. (1991-93) 404-225-5040 Charles R. Adams III (1989-91) SECTIONS L. Dale Owens (1987-89) 404-527-8782 Donna G. Barwick (1986-87) The opinions expressed in the Georgia Bar TRANSITION INTO LAW PRACTICE James C. Gaulden Jr. (1985-86) Journal are those of the authors. The views 404-527-8704 Jerry B. Blackstock (1984-85) expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Steven M. Collins (1982-84) UNLICENSED PRACTICE OF LAW State Bar of Georgia, its Board of Governors or Walter M. Grant (1979-82) 404-527-8743 its Executive Committee. Stephen E. Raville (1977-79) YOUNG LAWYERS DIVISION 404-527-8778
2 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL August 2021 | Volume 27 | Number 1
GBJ | The Features
24 2021 Annual Meeting: Reunited and It Feels So Good JENNIFER R. MASON
34 2021-22 State Bar Officers, Executive Committee and Board of Governors Members
36 Jones’ Final Remarks to the Board of Governors DAWN M. JONES
40 Remarks of Elizabeth L. Fite to the Board of Governors ELIZABETH L. FITE
44 Elizabeth Fite Takes Her Turn in a Partnership of Presidents LINTON JOHNSON
50 Chief Justice Harold D. Melton Receives the Bar’s Highest Honor ASHLEY G. STOLLAR
52 Twenty-Five Years of TILPP KELLYN O. MCGEE GETTYIMAGES.COM/MARC DUFRESNE
The AREA-WIDE SERVICE DELIVERY IN GEORGIA | 16 Legal James V. Burgess Jr.
2021 AUGUST 3 72
GETTYIMAGES.COM/ZHAOJIANKANG
GBJ | In Every Issue 54 Georgia Lawyer Spotlight 74 Member Benefits A Conversation with Chief Fastcase Tricks and Tips 5 Editor’s Letter Justice Harold D. Melton Sheila Baldwin 6 From the President Jacob E. Daly 10 From the YLD President 76 Attorney Wellness 62 Office of the General Counsel The Power of Connection 14 From the Executive Director Signed, Sealed, Delivered and Perspective Paula Frederick Sam Skelton 58 Bench & Bar 63 Attorney Discipline 70 Pro Bono 78 Writing Matters 68 Legal Tech Tips Volunteering and Happiness You Keep Using That Word: 86 In Memoriam Sarah J. Anderson I Do Not Think It Means 90 ICLE What You Think It Means 94 Notice 72 Law Practice Management David Hricik and Karen J. Sneddon 95 Classified Resources #KnowYourBar: Law Practice Management 82 Professionalism Page 96 Advertisers Index Program You Matter Kim Henry Karlise Y. Grier
4 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL EDITOR’S LETTER
August 2021 Volume 27, Number 1
The Legal: Area-Wide GEORGIA BAR Service Delivery in Georgia
2021 State Bar Annual The August Issue Meeting Coverage JOURNAL Volunteering and Happiness
#KnowYourBar: Law Practice Management Program
Welcome to the August issue of the she plans to accomplish during her time as Georgia Bar Journal! The State Bar of Geor- leader of the Young Lawyers Division. gia is celebrating the start of its 2021-22 Bar In this month’s Georgia Lawyer Spot- year, and our editorial team would like to light, former Supreme Court of Georgia 59TH STATE BAR introduce you to the leaders and causes that Chief Justice Harold D. Melton sits down PRESIDENT ELIZABETH we’ll be following for the next year. with Georgia Bar Journal editorial board L. FITE The article “Reunited and It Feels So member Jacob E. Daly. 821GBJ_cover.indd 1 8/6/2021 5:15:53 PM Good” discusses the State Bar of Georgia’s For our legal article, James V. Burgess ON THE COVER Annual Meeting, which took place this June writes about Georgia’s regional commis- Pictured on the cover is 2021-22 in Isle of Palms, South Carolina. We intro- sions and the issue of urban services in President Elizabeth L. Fite duce the new officers who took over in July, “Area-wide Service Delivery in Georgia.” PHOTO BY ZACHARY D. PORTER and say goodbye to those who helped steer Also in this issue, Sam Skelton talks about the ship and keep us afloat in the challenging the importance of spiritual and emotional Bar year that was 2020-21. Be sure to read wellness, as well as changing the stigma of the parting remarks from outgoing State mental health in “The Power of Connection gabar.org Bar President Dawn M. Jones, who discusses and Perspective.” In “You Matter,” Chief how the Bar and its leadership pivoted, sur- Justice’s Commission on Professionalism VIEW ONLINE vived, thrived—and learned to embrace our Executive Director Karlise Y. Grier discuss- www.gabar.org/journal similarities and respect our differences. es how people can be more present for their In this issue, you’ll hear from new State colleagues, friends and family, as well as the FOLLOW Bar of Georgia President Elizabeth L. Fite. resources available for Georgia attorneys. Twitter In addition to her remarks to the Board of On a personal note, this is my first issue as @StateBarofGA @GeorgiaYLD Governors, she also shares her thoughts on editor-in-chief of the Georgia Bar Journal, and @iclega expanding the peer court for juvenile of- I am so incredibly honored and excited for Facebook fenders in “Peer Courts: Showing Young this opportunity. I want to thank previous @statebarofgeorgia Offenders a Different Path.” We also hear editor Kristin Poland for her service, guid- @GeorgiaYLD @iclega from the new YLD President Elissa Haynes ance and wisdom. I’m also looking forward YouTube about “The Path to Leadership: Finding to working with the talented and dedicated /StateBarofGeorgia Your Why.” In this article, Haynes traces State Bar of Georgia communications de- Flickr her professional journey and explains what partment. New Bar year, here we come! l /statebarofgeorgia /yld Instagram @statebarofga @georgiayld MEGAN HODGKISS LinkedIn Editor-in-Chief, Georgia Bar Journal /state-bar-of-georgia [email protected]
2021 AUGUST 5 GBJ | From the President
Peer Courts: Showing Young Offenders a Different Path
I grew up in an area of southern Ar- For the last nine years, through a joint kansas that was economically distressed effort of state and local agencies, Georgia and, likely as a result, I witnessed a fair has successfully run its own peer court amount of conflict and violence in my for juvenile offenders. Founded in 2012 school. To address the increase in vio- as a collaboration with the Athens-Clarke PHOTO BY ZACHARY D. PORTER lence, my school implemented a peer County Juvenile Court, the Georgia De- mediation program when I was in middle partment of Juvenile Justice, the Univer- ELIZABETH L. FITE school as an alternative means of disci- sity of Georgia School of Law and UGA’s pline for some of the students who were J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership President getting into trouble. I was selected to be Development, the Athens Peer Court is State Bar of Georgia trained and serve as a peer mediator. a diversionary program that offers young [email protected] As a middle school student, serving people who have been arrested a chance as a peer mediator was an eye-opener. to have their cases’ dispositions decided It ultimately led me to understand the by fellow middle and high school students importance of a “jury of one’s peers.” who are trained to serve as lawyers, judg- For the student referred to the program, es, jurors and bailiffs. they often responded more favorably to Georgia’s second peer court was start- talking to a fellow student and resolv- ed in 2015 by the Forsyth County Juve- ing whatever the underlying conflict nile Court, supported by a grant from the was that gave rise to the infraction. It Criminal Justice Coordinating Council also created a sense of civic responsibil- and in coordination with the Fanning In- ity in the students to help their peers. stitute, which is working to expand into These experiences helped form my ap- other counties as soon as possible. preciation of the justice system’s role in In both Athens-Clarke and Forsyth helping people peacefully resolve their County, youth volunteers conduct sen- problems. It is no surprise that those tencing hearings for their peers who are years heavily influenced my decision to first-time defendants charged with vari- become a lawyer. ous misdemeanor offenses. The youth
6 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL OFFICERS’ BLOCK
The State Bar of Georgia’s eight officers are elected to a one-year term by the membership and serve as members of the Executive Committee. Three of the officer positions are held by the president, president-elect and immediate past president of the YLD, shown on page 11. offenders who successfully complete ELIZABETH L. FITE their dispositions are able to learn from President their mistakes but avoid having perma- Fite, of Rogers & Fite, LLC in Atlanta, represents nent records and/or contact with the ju- those who have suffered catastrophic injuries or lost venile court system. Cases are resolved loved ones as a result of tractor trailer collisions or in a timely manner, as 60% of youth other commercial vehicle wrecks. In addition, Rogers offenders participating in Athens Peer & Fite pursues the civil prosecution of DUI and dram Court have had their hearings within 30 shop cases. days of being charged. For the students who volunteer to SARAH B. “SALLY” AKINS run the peer court, the value is in the President-Elect 13 hours of training in leadership skills, public speaking, an understanding of re- Akins is with Ellis, Painter, Ratterree & Adams LLP storative justice and confidentiality. Stu- and Miles Mediation & Arbitration. Her practice dents learn and have an opportunity to focuses on mediating civil cases, including premises liability, professional negligence and practice how to interview a client, how products liability, amongst others. to give an opening statement and how to serve on a jury to determine a fair and appropriate disposition. As a means of expanding the peer HON. J. ANTONIO “TONY” DELCAMPO court program to other communities Treasurer around Georgia, the Fanning Institute has DelCampo, of DelCampo & Grayson LLC in Atlanta, established the Judge Horace J. Johnson focuses his law practice in the areas of personal Jr. Peer Court Initiative to raise funds for injury, medical malpractice, trucking accidents, that purpose and honor the legacy of one premises liability and business disputes. He is of Georgia’s most respected jurists. also a mediator/arbitrator with Henning Mediation During nearly four decades in the legal and Arbitration. profession and justice system, Judge John- son was both the first African-American IVY N. CADLE attorney and first African-American Su- Secretary perior Court judge in Newton County. Dedicated to the betterment of his pro- Cadle, of Baker Donelson in Macon and Atlanta, is fession and his community, Judge John- a real estate litigator who advocates for property son regularly mentored young lawyers, rights in the areas of eminent domain, land started a mentoring program in the New- use, title, zoning, conservation easements and commercial lending litigation. He is also a certified ton County School System and worked to public accountant and mediator. start a Boys and Girls Club in his home- town of Covington. As a judge who fought for justice, DAWN M. JONES fairness and compassion, Judge Johnson Immediate Past President was a pioneer in the realm of alternative sentencing. He started parental account- Jones, of The Firm of Dawn M. Jones, LLC, is a former ability courts in the Alcovy Judicial Cir- ICU nurse representing clients and their families for death or severe injuries resulting from medical cuit (Newton and Walton counties) and negligence, nursing home neglect/abuse, truck opened a treatment court for veterans. collisions and other tort-related matters. She also Judge Johnson’s untimely passing serves as a Receiver and a consultant to retain on July 1, 2020, at the age of 61 was a expert witnesses.
2021 AUGUST 7 ... peer courts can be set up by a Juvenile Court judge or court administrator or even a local Division of Family and Children Services office or local youth advocacy group.
tremendous loss for the entire Georgia money to other jurisdictions throughout legal community. During my years in the state. State Bar leadership, my path crossed According to Matthew L. Bishop, with Judge Johnson’s on numerous director of the Fanning Institute, peer occasions. For everyone who has ever courts can be set up by a Juvenile Court known him, he had a way of making judge or court administrator, or even a you feel you were the most important local Division of Family and Children person in the room. Services office or local youth advocacy By seeking to train future generations group. “But ultimately, it’s run through to give back to their communities, pro- the Juvenile Court,” Bishop added. “The mote justice and fairness, and act with judge creates a set of standards for what compassion, the Peer Court Initiative cases he or she would be willing to send named in his honor thus speaks in a to peer court. The whole idea is to catch meaningful way to the legacy of servant young, first-time offenders as soon as leadership left by Judge Horace Johnson. we can and show them a different path It is a way for these young people to so they won’t reoffend. It saves money BAR move forward and grow from their expe- for the taxpayers and reduces a judge’s riences. No one chooses to be in that situ- caseload not having to adjudicate those BENEFITS ation, but accountability courts are tools in Juvenile Court.” Fastcase Legal Research for our justice system to resolve problems. I hope you will join me in support- At this point you might be thinking, all ing this expansion effort by considering DID YOU KNOW? that is very nice, but do peer courts actu- a contribution to the Judge Horace J. Fastcase is a comprehensive ally work? Yes, they do. The Athens Peer Johnson Jr. Peer Court Initiative, hon- national law library on your Court reports that 78% of the youth of- oring the legacy of our late friend and computer/tablet/smartphone, fenders it saw between 2017 and 2020 did colleague, and providing technical as- with online access to cases, not reoffend. Lowering youth recidivism sistance and support to communities in statutes, regulations, court rates lead to better outcomes for youth Georgia that would like to start a peer rules and Bar publications. Apps and long-term benefits for the commu- court. You can learn more and donate and mobile sync aid mobility in nity. According to studies, between $1.7 online by visiting www.fanning.uga. regard to legal research. million and $5.3 million is saved when edu/programs/athens-peer-court/ or diverting a youth from more serious in- by writing a check payable to the UGA CONTACT fractions with the justice system. Foundation (note “Judge Horace J. John- Sheila Baldwin In nine years, more than 660 youth son Jr. Peer Court Initiative” in memo) Member Benefits Coordinator offenders and 300 youth volunteers have and mailing it to the J.W. Fanning Insti- 404.526.8618 | [email protected] had the opportunity to engage with their tute for Leadership Development, 1240 Fastcase Reference Attorney: community, learn new skills and make a S. Lumpkin St., Athens, GA 30602. 866.773.2782 positive contribution through service and For more information on starting a volunteerism. Now, the Judge Horace J. peer court in your community, contact Peer Court Initiative seeks to replicate Emily Boness, a public service associate at- the successful Athens-Clarke and For- torney with the Fanning Institute, at 706- syth County models by providing seed 542-1472 or [email protected]. l
8 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Find your people. Georgia Lawyers Helping Lawyers (LHL) is a confidential peer-to-peer program that provides 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.
If you are looking for a peer or are interested in being a peer volunteer, visit www.GeorgiaLHL.org for more information. GBJ | From the YLD President
The Path to Leadership: Finding Your ‘Why’
For the last few years, people have Many people think that the Young asked me, “why?” Why did I decide to get Lawyers Division is just a group of brand involved with the Young Lawyers Divi- new “baby lawyers” fresh out of law sion of the State Bar of Georgia? Why school, when in reality our membership do I voluntarily choose to write and edit consists of lawyers under the age of 36 briefs, for free, as chair of the Georgia or lawyers in their first five years of law Defense Lawyers Association’s Amicus practice, regardless of age. My journey to Committee? Why do I serve on various YLD leadership was a bit delayed and did committees within my law firm? Is work not begin during my “baby lawyer” days. not exhausting enough? While I can as- During my first four years of practice, sure you that work is, indeed, exhausting, extracurricular involvement was never it is the non-billable work that embodies encouraged or financially supported. It who I am as a lawyer. was not until 2016 and my sixth year of Those who know me know that Ruth practice when my former colleague and ELISSA B. HAYNES Bader Ginsburg is one of my greatest inspi- friend, Kevin Patrick, encouraged me to rations (and the namesake behind by Pelo- apply for the YLD Leadership Academy YLD President ton username, @RideLikeRBG). Thanks that I got involved. State Bar of Georgia to YLD Past President Rizza O’Connor During my six-month Leadership [email protected] and our then-YLD Newsletter Editor Academy program, I had the privilege of ShaMiracle Rankin, I had the once-in-a- serving, networking and building friend- lifetime opportunity to meet and be sworn ships with 30-plus lawyers who practiced in by Justice Ginsburg at the YLD Spring in various areas of the law across our Meeting in March 2019. Justice Ginsburg state. Together, we learned what it meant had many traits that made her one of the to be leaders in our profession, and sev- most influential leaders of our profession. eral of my classmates have since gone on She spoke her mind, fought for what she to become judges, partners in law firms, believed in and advocated with passion. owners of law firms and top-ranking While Justice Ginsburg had many note- corporate counsel. I think many of them worthy quotes, one is particularly relevant would agree, as I do, that the YLD played for the work many of us do for our profes- a role—however big or small—in their sion. When she was asked how she would personal and professional development. want to be remembered, she said, “I’ve got- If you scour the internet, you will find ten much more satisfaction for the things several definitions for leadership. James that I’ve done for which I was not paid.” MacGregor Burns defined leadership as The same applies for me and the work I do “leaders inducing followers to act for cer- for the YLD and the State Bar of Georgia. tain goals that represent the values and the
10 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL OFFICERS’ BLOCK The Young Lawyers Division officers consist of a president, president- elect, treasurer, secretary, immediate past president and two newsletter editors who are responsible for carrying out the purposes of the Young Lawyers Division.
ELISSA B. HAYNES | YLD President Haynes is a partner and chair of the appellate practice group at Drew Eckl & Farnham, LLP, in Atlanta. Haynes’ trial and appellate practice is focused primarily on defending claims involving negligent security, premises liability, personal injury and religious institution liability.
RON DANIELS | YLD President-Elect Daniels is the owner of Daniels Law LLC, in Eastman, Georgia. The firm focuses on claims under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. He also serves as special assistant attorney general motivations—the wants and needs, the as- representing the Division of Child Support Services and pirations and expectations—of both lead- the Department of Corrections. ers and followers.” Before I was sworn in BRITTANIE D. BROWNING | YLD Treasurer as the 75th president of the YLD, I spent Browning is an associate at Hall Booth Smith, P.C., years thinking about the type of leader I Atlanta. She focuses her practice on advising clients in wanted to be, the goals I wanted to ac- civil litigation matters involving governmental liability, complish and how I could build upon the general liability and appellate matters. foundation laid by my 74 predecessors. First, I want to encourage and promote inclusivity and YLD involvement at any KENNETH MITCHELL JR. | YLD Secretary stage of a young lawyer’s career. Starting Mitchell is an associate at Johnson & Freeman, LLC. He my climb up the YLD leadership ladder focuses his practice on government litigation, commer- later in my career meant that unlike many cial litigation and general counsel services. past officers, I had not served on the YLD Board of Directors before I decided to run for YLD Secretary. I ran as an “outsider,” so to speak, which was frowned upon by BERT HUMMEL | YLD Immediate Past President many at the time. Whether you are just Hummel is a partner with Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith beginning your legal career or have made in Atlanta. He has extensive litigation experience and becoming a lawyer a second career later in practices insurance defense primarily in the areas of general life, I want to make sure you feel included liability, premises liability and workers’ compensation. and at home with the YLD as a lay mem- ber, committee chair or even an officer. ASHLEY AKINS | YLD Newsletter Co-Editor Second, I will work to increase YLD involvement in our state legislature. As Akins is an associate at Nelson Mullins Riley & part of the YLD Leadership Academy, Scarborough. She practices in the areas of K-12 and higher our young lawyers get the opportunity education law and workers’ compensation defense. to meet with lawyer/legislators during a visit to the Capitol and every year, I am shocked to hear how few lawyers we have LAKEISHA R. RANDALL | YLD Newsletter Co-Editor in our General Assembly. Currently, only 8 of our 56 State Senators are lawyers and Randall is an Atlanta trial attorney. A former civil defense litigator, she now operates The Randall Firm, LLC. The by my last count, there are only 24 law- firm represents individuals across Georgia in the areas yers out of 180 members in the Georgia of personal injury, car accidents, divorce, family law and House of Representatives. Regardless of estate planning. She also owns Atlanta Life Coaching & which side of the “v” you are on or what Consulting, a wellness consulting firm for professionals.
2021 AUGUST 11 The YLD is the service arm of the Bar and seeing the good that 10,000-plus young lawyers can bring to our community and the legal profession is my “why.” What’s yours?
your political affiliations may be, the legal ter a year of Zoom and Microsoft Teams. knowledge and skills that you possess are While we all have Zoom fatigue, one greatly needed and can be put to good use. thing that these virtual meeting plat- I look forward to working closely with our forms have helped us with is being able YLD Legislative Affairs Committee chairs to participate in more meetings and and the State Bar’s director of governmen- events without the burden or expense of tal affairs to help find more opportunities traveling. I plan to keep a virtual option for our young lawyers to get involved. for all our YLD meetings and CLEs so Always stay Third, I want to see greater interac- our members across the state, and even tion between members of the YLD and out of state, can participate and feel in- connected. members of what the YLD often refers to cluded. On the CLE front, I am excited as the “big Bar.” I am honored to serve un- to bring innovative programming to der the leadership of State Bar President the YLD such as speakers who will be Elizabeth Fite, marking only the second discussing blockchain, cryptocurrency female leadership duo in 59 years. Un- and their interaction with the law, along like years past, the YLD will be combin- with our inaugural YLD Constitution @statebarofgeorgia ing three of our four meetings with the Day CLE. Another technology-related @GeorgiaYLD Board of Governors starting with our Fall goal of mine is to lay the groundwork @iclega Meeting in Savannah (Oct. 22-24), fol- for a YLD-wide listserv for those who lowed by our Midyear Meeting in Atlan- may not have the benefit of a law firm ta (Jan. 6-8), and our Annual Meeting in or the GTLA/GDLA listserv to ask ques- Amelia Island (June 2-5). Our standalone tions, seek recommendations or initiate YLD meeting will be our Spring Meeting case referrals. in Chattanooga (March 18-20). It is my In addition to these four goals, I re- hope that with increased interaction be- mind everyone of the YLD’s motto which tween our YLD and non-YLD members, is “working for the profession and the we will see an increase in mentor-mentee public.” I am committed to continuing our relationships and an easier transition for efforts in addressing lawyer wellness, men- the lawyers who will soon age out of the tal health and racial injustice, and with the YLD and hopefully continue serving our help of my committee chairs and Board of State Bar. I implore each of our State Bar Directors, we will also work to strengthen members to encourage YLD involvement our institutional projects and programs and to financially support our younger such as the Legal Food Frenzy, Georgia lawyers by sponsoring their attendance High School Mock Trial Competition and at one of our quarterly meetings. the YLD Signature Fundraiser. The YLD Finally, I would be remiss if I did is the service arm of the Bar, and seeing not acknowledge how fortunate I am the good that 10,000-plus young lawyers to serve at a time when we have slowly can bring to our community and the legal started to return to in-person events af- profession is my “why.” What’s yours? l
12 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL I love LawPay! I’m not sure why I waited so long to get it set up. – Law Firm in Ohio
Trusted by more than 150,000 professionals, LawPay is a simple, secure solution that allows you to easily accept credit and eCheck payments online, in person, or through your favorite practice management tools.
22% increase in cash flow with online payments
Vetted and approved by all 50 state bars, 70+ local and specialty bars, the ABA, and the ALA
62% of bills sent online are paid in 24 hours
YOUR FIRM LOGO HERE
Trust Payment IOLTA Deposit
New Case Reference
**** **** **** 9995 ***
TOTAL: $1,500.00
POWER ED BY
PAY ATTORNEY
Get started at lawpay.com/gabar 866-343-2217
Data based on an average of firm accounts receivables increases using online billing solutions.
LawPay is a registered agent of Wells Fargo Bank N.A., Concord, CA and Synovus Bank, Columbus, GA. GBJ | From the Executive Director
A New Bar Year
For the State Bar of Georgia, summer tention from an operational perspective rings in the new year. In June, a new slate as this new Bar year begins. I am person- of officers was installed at our Annual ally grateful to the Board of Governors Meeting, along with several new faces for their confidence and extension of on the Executive Committee and Board my term as executive director. I appreci- of Governors. New President Elizabeth ate the opportunity to continue to work Fite has completed her committee assign- with an amazing team as we support the ments, numbering in the hundreds, and mission of the Bar and provide value for our fiscal year began July 1. our members. We are confident and op- It comes as no surprise that there is timistic in our position and the manner a lot more “new” in this new Bar year in which we will support our members in than most others. For the first time since this new Bar year and beyond. PHOTO BY EVAN BARTLESON PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO BY EVAN March 2020, our Bar Center headquarters My report to the Board included some is buzzing with activity as our staff mem- highlights of recent successes and devel- DAMON ELMORE bers, who never stopped working during opments within several of our depart- the pandemic closure, have returned to ments. It included our Fee Arbitration Executive Director the office and welcomed a number of new staff and how they continue to moderate State Bar of Georgia faces. Our conference center is once again long and complicated hearings. It com- [email protected] hosting member meetings and events. It is plimented our office manager, who has an exciting time. been instrumental in collaborating and After a long absence from in-person coordinating with our conference center, gatherings, we are pleased with the way building security, sections, departments the 2021 Annual Meeting turned out. and other groups keeping the Bar Center’s Hundreds of our colleagues, members and reopening top of mind. friends were able to gather in person to We also bragged on our High School conduct Bar business, receive updates on Mock Trial program and that team sup- improvements and changes in the law and ported the national competition tourna- legal theory and, most enjoyable of all, to ment, an event that saw a Georgia team simply fellowship. We are also grateful to bring home a top-5 finish. Many of you the members who joined the meetings, have received support from our mem- events and educational sessions via tele- bership department as it has been work- conference. The result was a record-set- ing through database changes and server ting weekend that we all can be proud of. updates, while navigating past license re- In case you were unable to join us in newals and elections. In addition, while the person or participate online, I provided report was a snapshot of the work going an update about the work that has our at- on, we did also brag about all of our other
14 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL departments not specifically mentioned, but doing the work they need to do. Three things especially have my at- tention, as I reported to the Board in Point of June. First, we are constantly monitor- ing the landscape of the commercial Personal Privilege: real estate market as we stay focused on optimizing the use of 104 Marietta Street. During the building’s period of closure, we did lose one tenant. Under Pulling off an Annual Meeting in “normal” times requires a significant amount of work by our meetings department and the leadership of our Bar Center Com- other staff members. However, to pull one off during a pandem- mittee, we are working with a broker to ic, in a hybrid format and with a number of obstacles stacked identify potential new tenants and take against us, required something just short of a miracle. advantage of Atlanta’s rebounding office But it was that phenomenon that was carried out this year. It market. That is a top priority. could only happen as a result of the planning and participation Another priority includes an inten- of our volunteer leaders, coupled with an ability to execute like tional effort to connect with Bar mem- no other on the part of so many of our staff. bers and key stakeholders to share the We are grateful for the positive feedback and compliments story of the work we are doing at the Bar shared by all. We thank you. Our attention is now turned to the next one, and what similar attention will be required then. Until as part of President Fite’s #KnowYourBar then, thank you, everyone, for a remarkable event. initiative. What is equally important in those sessions is to hear your thoughts, feedback, opinions and suggestions. We are always open to improving our ser- vices and enhancing our value to all Bar members. I am grateful to those of you that have already allowed me a chance to processes and people are best suited to do connect in recent weeks, and I look for- that work. ward to seeing more of you in the weeks Now that we are at a place that is di- to come, especially if lunch is involved. rectionally supportive of that focus, we Our final focus is simple, and that is will take full advantage of that space and to get back into a groove of supporting deliver results. I appreciate the opportu- our staff and carrying out the work of the nity to have been a part of the Bar in this Board and Bar leadership. That is it. My fashion since January, and I look forward office has no agenda, program or plan. to the work before us. DEE l The aim is to simply make sure that our
DID YOU KNOW? CHECK IT OUT As a member of the Bar, you www.gabar.org/ BAR have access to special attorneyresources discounts at Atlanta and CONTACT BENEFITS Savannah hotels, a list of Sheila Baldwin job resources for lawyers Member Benefits Coordinator Hotel Discounts, seeking employment and an 404.526.8618 online directory of practice- [email protected] Job Resources & related products and services, Vendor Directory sometimes with discounts.
2021 AUGUST 15
GBJ | The Legal
Area-Wide Service Delivery in Georgia
The concept of the delivery of local government services on a regional or area-wide basis in Georgia may warrant consideration as an alternative for improving local government service delivery, particularly in some of the declining rural areas of Georgia. BY JAMES V. BURGESS JR.
There have been a number of initia- Georgia’s 159 counties would be grouped tives to eliminate fragmentation in urban together regionally to provide delivery of service delivery by counties and munici- urban services. The current 12 regional palities in Georgia since the 1950s. In commissions would serve as a model for 1951, an attempt was made to sort out implementation of this concept, and, by urban services and functions to eliminate expanding their direct service delivery, functional duplication in service delivery could achieve economies of scale that between Atlanta and Fulton County.1 This would result in cost savings to local gov- was followed by voter approval of a con- ernments throughout Georgia, and par- stitutional amendment in 1972, authoriz- ticularly in rural areas. ing both counties and cities to provide the same type of urban services.2 In 1991, Gov. Zell Miller’s Local Government Commis- Local vs. Area-Wide sion on solving service delivery problems While there is little published research in found extensive jurisdictional fragmenta- Georgia about the delivery of local gov- tion among Georgia’s local governments.3 ernment services on a regional or area- In 1995, the Georgia Future Communi- wide basis, the concept was examined ties Commission proposed legislation for extensively in a report by the Advisory service delivery reform. Its recommenda- Commission on Intergovernmental Re- tions resulted in passage of the Service lations (ACIR) in 1963.5 The ACIR report Delivery Act (HB 489) that required cities analyzes urban functions and presents and counties to minimize duplication and conclusions about whether they should overlap in service delivery and conflicts in be performed on a local, area-wide or land use plans.4 intermediate basis. The report examines A concept for improving urban service 15 major urban functions and enumerates delivery on a regional basis that received economic and political criteria for evalu- limited attention in these earlier reform ating these functions from the standpoint efforts is the delivery of urban services on of an appropriate area of jurisdictional an area-wide basis. Under this concept,
GETTYIMAGES.COM/MARC DUFRESNE performance. It presents three groupings
2021 AUGUST 17 of urban functions in terms of whether of “most local” through “most area-wide” livery, particularly in some of the declin- the service is confined or broadly diffused as follows: ing rural areas of Georgia. throughout the region. The three group- l Fire protection. Georgia’s Regional Commissions (see ings of services are distinguished on the page 19) may offer possible geographic l following basis: Public education. jurisdictions for area-wide service deliv- l Refuse collection and disposal. ery. Georgia was one of the first states in 1) Services whose benefits are least l the country that allowed local govern- susceptible to appropriation by any Libraries. ment to voluntary form regional group- one individual and most likely en- l Police. ings of counties, initially known as Area joyed on a community-wide basis. l Health. Planning and Development Commis- These services include: l Urban renewal. sions (APDCs). These APDCs were later l Parks and conservation. reconstituted as Regional Development l Housing. l Sanitary and health inspection Centers (RDCs) by the Georgia Planning l services. Parks and recreation. Act of 1989, and given responsibility for l Welfare. the establishment of coordinated and l Highways and streets. l Hospital and medical care. comprehensive planning for the state and l Planning and zoning. for assisting local governments with the l Transportation. l Building and housing inspection. preparation of such plans.7 l Planning. l Judicial functions. Regional cooperation and coordina- l tion in service delivery was one of the key l Water supply and sewage disposal. Civil defense. issues considered by The Commission for l Air pollution control. l Nuisance control. a New Georgia (CNG) established during 8 l Welfare. These 15 functions and services account Gov. Sonny Perdue’s administration. As for approximately 85% of local govern- an innovative public-private partner- 2) Services whose benefits are enjoyed ment expenditures.6 Examples of criteria ship, the CNG’s goal was to provide an almost exclusively by the individual used in evaluating the optimum perfor- opportunity for leaders from both sectors consumer. These services include: mance of these 15 urban services include: to lend expertise in the areas of policy de- l Refuse collection and disposal. l The governmental jurisdiction velopment and governmental operations. l Gas and electricity. responsible for the service should It was comprised of small, highly focused working groups created around a dozen l Golf courses. be large enough to allow benefits of the service to be enjoyed primarily or so themes and chaired by prominent l Curb, gutter and sidewalk im- within the jurisdiction. business leaders. Each task force was provement and maintenance. charged with reviewing and analyzing l The unit of government should be l Transportation terminals, airports. various aspects of state government, large enough to realize benefits of l Legal services. learning as much as possible about the economies of scale. issues, sharing best practices and pro- 3) Services that fall between the above l The unit of government should have viding ideas for improvement. Creative groupings in that their benefits are en- sufficient administrative and legal suggestions generated by the task forces joyed primarily by individual consum- authority to perform the service. were forwarded to the governor and se- ers. These services include: l The unit of government should be nior staff for review, and transferred to l Water supply. controllable and accessible to its the appropriate governmental agency or residents and allow opportunities for department for potential implementation. l Sewage disposal. citizen participation. The Service Delivery Task Force, as l Public health services. its name implies, reviewed matters re- l Hospital and medical facilities. lated to the delivery of services and their Area-Wide Service Delivery coordination by state agencies, local gov- l Transportation. in Georgia ernments and regional entities. This par- l Recreation programs. ACIR’s demonstration of an approach for ticular task force was active from 2007-09 l Education. area-wide delivery of urban services may and chaired by Paul Wood, president and not be fully applicable or even feasible as a CEO of the Georgia Electric Membership l Libraries. model for implementation in most Geor- Corporation. The Service Delivery Task These services are analyzed in terms gia communities. However, this concept Force included elected and appointed lo- of whether the cost and spill over ben- for area-wide service delivery may war- cal government officials, members of the efits of the service is susceptible to area- rant consideration as an alternative for General Assembly, representatives of Re- wide performance and ranked on a scale improving local government service de- gional Development Centers and others
18 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL knowledgeable of the subject matter.9 The Georgia s Regional Commissions Service Delivery Task Force approved the ’ following recommendations: 1) Rename Regional Development Cen- ters as Regional Commissions. 2 2) Reduce the number of entities from 1 16 to 12 and revise boundaries to ensure that commissions include a minimum of 300,000 persons and a vibrant regional economic hub so that each commission would 3 have sufficient population base and resources for support of operations. 5 3) Expand the governing boards of the commissions to include members ap- pointed by the governor, lieutenant 7 governor and speaker of the house. 4 4) Establish and implement minimum per capita dues in order to receive addi- 6 tional matching funds from the state. 5) Authorize Regional Commissions to provide the direct delivery of urban services within their boundaries only 9 upon formal requests and consent by 8 participating governments.10 12 In 2010, state legislation was adopted to implement the Service Delivery Task Force recommendations, designating RDCs as Regional Commissions (RCs).11 This legislation further authorized RCs 10 to provide direct services to local gov- ernments within their respective regions. Each RC is governed by a council that es- 11 tablishes policy and provides direction for the commission. Membership on the council is comprised of the chief elected official of each county and one elected of- ficial of each municipality in each county Central Savannah River Area of the region. 1 Northwest Georgia 7 The organizational structure of Geor- gia’s Regional Commissions is consistent 2 Georgia Mountains 8 River Valley with the ACIR criteria for performance of area-wide urban services. The jurisdiction of the commissions is sufficiently large 3 Atlanta Regional Commission 9 Heart of Georgia Altamaha enough to facilitate economies of scale that would benefit the residents of their mem- ber counties and cities. They have been 4 Three Rivers 10 Southwest Georgia granted sufficient legal and administrative authority to perform urban service deliv- 5 11 Southern Georgia ery. Each commission is governed by a Northeast Georgia council that establishes policy and direction for its programs and services. The council 6 Middle Georgia 12 Coastal is composed of elected officials and resi-
2021 AUGUST 19 dents as nonpublic members, thus assuring upon telephone interviews with executive 2002. The reservoir includes 505 citizen accesses and participation. An exec- directors and from their websites: acres and contains 5 billion gallons of water. The treatment plant, with utive director is appointed by the council, 1) The Southern Georgia Regional serves at its pleasure and is responsible to a capacity of 21 million gallons per Commission provides staff assis- day, provides treated water to Bar- carrying out the policies and programs of tance to a solid waste authority that the commission. row, Jackson and Oconee counties. A operates a regional landfill for cities raw water line extends from the res- The provision of direct governmental and counties.13 services on behalf of local governments ervoir to an existing treatment plant requires approval of the council and the 2) The Middle Georgia Regional Com- in Athens-Clarke County, providing passage of a resolution by the county or mission provides property tax parcel water to that entity. Initial estimated municipality requesting direct provision maintenance, graphic information project costs were approximately $75 of services. Governmental services in- services and local human resource million; however, the project was clude all the necessary services provided assistance in the recruitment and completed at an amount approxi- by local governments.12 selection of personnel for local mately $6 million under budget. Ad- governments.14 ditional savings were realized when 3) The Northeast Georgia Regional bonds were refinanced. Services Provided by Regional Commission (NEGRC) was se- The Bear Creek project, from Commissions lected to coordinate a comprehensive initiation to fruition, was undertaken Most of Georgia’s regional commissions multi-county water study conducted with staff support and oversight by provide a similar base line of services to by the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- the NEGRC. Since the 2002 open- the citizens of counties and cities within neers.15 Completed in 1987, the study ing of the project, the UOBWA has their respective regions. Generally, these indicated that future water resource relied upon the NEGRC to serve as the entities serve local governments by fo- planning in the region would be the body’s administrative entity. Work- cusing on planning, economic develop- responsibility of local and regional ing with UOBWA officers, NEGRC ment, services for the elderly and work- entities, there being no identified hosts all meetings, prepares agendas force development, providing technical navigational concerns or flood con- and meeting minutes, coordinates and consulting assistance to local gov- trol issues. This led to the formation the Authority’s finances and reports, ernments as follows: of the Upper Oconee Basin Group, and serves as the administrator of all including Barrow, Athens-Clarke, UOBWA contracts. Several members l Aging and Disability Services. Jackson and Oconee counties, and of the UOBWA Board serve also as l Community Development. the NEGRC was asked to provide members of the NEGRC Board, thus l Comprehensive/Regional Planning. staffing for the Basin Group. Fol- the relationship among the two bodies is seamless. The UOBWA has realized l Economic Development. lowing due diligence studies related to environmental concerns, ar- administrative cost savings through l Government Information Systems. chaeological and historic resources, utilization of NEGRC staff resources. l Historic Preservation. existing residential and commercial 4) The Coastal Regional Commission l Human Resources. structures, wildlife, endangered initiated a regional transportation species of plants and others, a site services program in 2009 for em- l Information Technology. in southwestern Jackson County ployment, medical and public service l Land Use and Development Code. on Bear Creek, a tributary of the needs within the 10-county coastal l Revolving Loan Fund. Middle Oconee River, was chosen as region. Its Coordinated Transpor- the optimum location for a regional tation Department provides rural l Transportation. reservoir. The Upper Oconee Basin public transit across 10 counties l Workforce Training and Development. Water Authority (UOBWA) was and 35 municipalities. Its Coastal created by the General Assembly Regional Coaches operate a system in 1994.16 It secured the necessary of 62 buses and cover a service area Direct Urban Services Delivery permits related to design, financing, of more than 5,100 square miles. Georgia’s 12 Regional Commissions acquisition and construction of the Passengers are allowed to travel provide few direct urban services to reservoir and related improvements. regionally to accommodate their their member cities and counties. While A Section 404 permit from the U.S. trip purpose regardless of county granted this legal authority in 2010, it has Army Corps of Engineers allowing boundaries. The service is a demand- been seldom utilized by Georgia’s RCs for construction efforts to proceed was response, advance-response regional the direct delivery of urban services. The issued in 1998. public transit program that coordi- following examples of direct services pro- The Bear Creek Reservoir and nates human services transportation vided by regional commissions are based Treatment Plant were dedicated in and private contract services on one
20 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL fleet of vehicles. This optimizes use Personnel administration services could of trained officers and, if necessary, pay of resources and expanded transit include employee recruitment and selec- supplements to salaries if desired. choices.17 tion, pay and position classification, and Law enforcement in Canada offers a 5) The Three Rivers Regional Com- training. A computer-based information model for a regional approach for provi- mission has administered a Rural system for utility billing could be of great sion of police services. Most urban areas Public Transportation Program in assistance to small cities. in Canada have been given the authority its 10 county regions since 1999.The to maintain their own police departments. program operates under a “demand- Records Management However, seven of Canada’s provinces response” model. This means that All local governments have requirements and three territories contract out their there are no fixed routes, bus trips or for storing and retrieving public records. law-enforcement responsibilities to the pickup times. Residents must call in Those records that have to be kept for a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and order a trip 24 hours in advance, longer period of time could be stored in popularly known as the “Mounties.” The and daily routes are generated based a regional facility. There would be per- RCMP also serves in areas that do not on the destination request.18 sonnel savings from economies of scale have an established police force, primar- as well as cost of storage space for the ily rural areas.20 records. A number of years ago, Rome Potential Direct Service Delivery and Floyd County created a joint records There are a number of additional poten- management agreement. They have a Detention tial urban services that RCs could provide building for this and used it for both city The county jail function would be an- to member counties and cities. This is and county records.19 other excellent candidate for area-wide particularly true in certain rural areas of performance. In one area of South Geor- the state where cities and counties have Fire Protection gia, five rural counties have jails within 30 experienced declines in populations and Most urban services consist of various minutes of each other. About half of these resources. Regional commissions could sub functions, which may have differ- jails have excess jail capacity ranging from serve as the leadership catalyst by initiat- ent spillover effects. For example, fire 40-70%.21 Elimination of this county-by- ing discussions and workshops among lo- protection is best suited for administra- county jail function could result in signifi- cal elected officials about potential urban tion at the local level. Fire companies of cant savings for taxpayers. services that could be performed on a re- necessity must be close to the scene of gional basis. The universities could assist a fire. However, personnel recruitment Solid Waste Collection and Disposal in this effort by conducting research to and training could benefit from perfor- Solid waste collection is a service that demonstrate benefits and cost savings to mance on an area-wide basis. many local governments both “provide” local government from area-wide service and “produce.” In some instances, they delivery. The following examples of direct Public Safety provide the service but contract out the urban services are presented for purposes Day-to-day law enforcement should re- production to a private vendor. There of illustration. Extensive cost-benefit re- main a local responsibility because of are many private vendors; some are search would be necessary to determine quick citizen access. Police patrol, park- regulated by the local the government whether a particular service provided by a ing and traffic regulation are best admin- jurisdiction others are not. Regional regional commission is feasible. istered locally. However, the costs and commissions could offer consolidated benefits of other police services such as region wide solid waste collection via in- Administrative Services laboratories, communications, detection dividual contracts with the local govern- This category covers a number of func- and detention may be more suitably per- ments. The RC would in turn contract tions that could be provided by regional formed on an area-wide basis. for the production of the service with commissions. Examples include purchas- A problem of major concern to local private vendors. This could be done as ing and contracting, personnel man- law enforcement agencies is the recruit- a franchise with a limit on the number agement, computer-based information ment and retention of personnel. Police of producing private sector companies or systems and geographic information chiefs and sheriffs frequently complain offer contracts for any and all businesses systems. A number of the RCs currently about the loss of good people to higher wanting to offer the service. As part of provide these services to their cities and paying jurisdictions. Regional commis- the contract, the RC could set standards counties. The establishment of a central sions could assist in solving this problem for recycling, frequency of pickup and purchasing and warehousing system ad- by providing a central recruitment service contract administration. Local govern- ministered by the regional commission and training for a pool of law enforce- ments would contract with the RC for could result in cost savings through bulk ment officers. The service would be un- solid waste services produced by the pri- acquisition of commonly used public der contract and include a specified scale vate sector vendors. By offering a private works material and equipment, such as of base salaries where local government vendor a larger service area, there could sand, gravel, stone, tractors, trucks, etc. under contract could draw upon the pool be cost savings to the local governments.
2021 AUGUST 21 Water Supply and Sewage Disposal Regional commissions could also es- and Area Wide, Advisory Commission on Responsibility for water distribution and tablish employee insurance pools that Intergovernmental Relations, Washington, sewage collection is appropriate for local could have potential for cost savings on D.C. (1963). control. There could be savings or econo- health benefits. 6. Id. at p. 5. 7. Georgia Planning Act, O.C.G.A.§ 50-8-38. mies of scale from area-wide performance 8. The commission was established at the of water supply and sewage disposal. beginning of the Perdue Administration Conclusion in 2003 as a non-profit corporation, Parks and Recreation Georgia’s Regional Commissions have privately funded, with representation A larger geographic area has the advan- legal authority to provide the same direct from businesses, professions and tage of economies of scale in the finan- urban services provided by counties and academia. cial planning of large parks. Recreation municipalities. Regional commissions 9. James Dove, then Executive Director programs involving team sports may also have proven highly effective as admin- of the Northeast Georgia Regional benefit from area-wide organization and istrative agencies for comprehensive Commission, now retired, was a participation. Recreation programs and planning and technical assistance to local key member of the Commission and activities generally cut across political governments. A few RCs provide certain provided this background information about the Commission. boundary lines. direct urban services regionally, but utili- 10. This recommendation was to ensure that Passive recreational services such as zation of this concept is not widespread. the regional commissions refrain from bike trails, hiking trails, canoe/kayak The possible drawback to this approach engaging in service delivery activities trails, and historic and scenic trails often is that many may lack the level of con- without consent of participating local benefit from routes that may encompass fidence from local governments to turn governments. Delivery of services more than one jurisdiction. A regional over some aspect of their operations to a across regional boundaries would occur commission could act as a planning, co- regional entity. There is significant addi- only if formal agreements among the ordinating and administrative body to tional potential for direct service delivery participating regional commissions plan and manage such resources. Costs by regional commissions ranging from are executed. The Task Force felt that could be allocated on levels of use by each solid refuse disposal to health and human Georgia had long been recognized as jurisdiction which could be monitored by services. Regional commissions could be a national model for effective regional efforts, and this would become another random survey or video monitoring of an excellent resource for achieving econ- example of benefits derived from joint vehicle tags in parking areas. omies of scale and cost savings to the tax- collaboration - primarily the elimination payers of Georgia’s local governments. l of duplication of efforts and unwise Comprehensive Planning expenditure of financial resources. This function is best administered on an 11. O.C.G.A.§ 50-8-32 (2010). area-wide basis for resolving land use James V. Burgess Jr. served 12. O.C.G.A.§ 50-8-35 (11) (2010). and development conflicts among local as executive director of the 13. Lisa Cribb, Executive Director, Southern government units. Planning activities Georgia Municipal Association Georgia Regional Commission. such as subdivision control and zoning from 1983 until 1995. Upon 14. Laura Mathis, Executive Director, retirement he served as mayor are local functions. Middle Georgia Regional Commission. of the city of Social Circle from 1997 15. James Dove, former Executive until 2011. He is a practicing attorney Director, Northeast Georgia Regional Health and Human Services specializing in municipal law and also Commission. In recent years, Georgia has experienced serves as a public policy mediator and 16. HB 168, Ga. Laws 1994, at 5123 a number of hospital closures. These consulting attorney in matters affecting (approved April 14, 1994). closures have occurred in rural areas of local and state government. 17. Coastal Regional Commission of Georgia the state where economies are distressed. Transportation Services
22 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Get published. Earn CLE credit.
The Editorial Board of the Georgia Bar Journal is in Submit articles to Jennifer R. Mason: regular need of scholarly legal articles to print in the Director of Communications Journal. Earn CLE credit, see your name in print and help [email protected] | 404-527-8761 the legal community by submitting an article today. 104 Marietta St. NW, Suite 100, Atlanta 30303 GBJ | Feature
Annual Meeting 2021: Reunited and It Feels So Good
BY JENNIFER R. MASON
R&B vocal duo “Peaches and Herb” said it best: “Reunited and it feels so good.” And who are we to argue? For the first time since January 2020, the State Bar of Georgia held an in-person meeting, and by all accounts from those who attended, it was a huge success. The 2021 Annual Meeting offered in a hybrid format, allowed for in-person attendance at the Wild Dunes Resort, Isle of Palms, South Carolina, for those who were comfortable with an in-person event, or virtual attendance for all Board of Governors meetings, as well as a large number of committee and section meet- ings, YLD functions and CLE offerings. This combination allowed for a larger number of participants than in previous years as the virtual component enhanced accessibility for those who may not have normally been able to attend due to cost or feasibility of travel based on profes- sional or personal obligations. Whether you attended in person or virtually, the experience of being reunited with friends and colleagues resonated with all par- ticipants as the hard work, success found and lessons learned over the past Bar year
An impromptu dance party breaks out during the Opening Night Festival. PHOTO BY JENNIFER R. MASON
24 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL were highlighted, celebrated and noted. credit, or for those who were just inter- ing upon members of the Bar and the The lessons learned by looking back and ested in learning more about the topics judiciary for assistance. taking stock of the year completed ensure at hand. Offerings, presented live and via After inviting Jay Elmore, chair of the that the Bar as a whole is well-equipped to livestream, included courses on institu- Military Legal Assistance Program to the shape a path moving forward, strength- tional bias in the justice system, lawyers podium, the 2019 Marshall-Tuttle Award ening the organization and its service to as legislators and the annual war stories was presented to Charles Shanor, profes- the profession and the public. and Georgia evidence series. sor of law emeritus, Emory University Business was also conducted in a num- School of Law, Asheville, North Carolina; ber of less structured environments, allow- and the 2020 Marshall-Tuttle Award was Opening Night Festival ing for a more personal approach to any presented to Douglas G. Andrews, part- The traditional Opening Night Festival manner of professional conversations. Be- ner, Andrews & Sanders Law, Savannah. on Thursday evening had more of a cel- ginning with the Opening Night Festival Following the presentation of the Mar- ebratory feel than ever before due to the on Thursday and continuing through the shall-Tuttle Award, President Jones in- two-year hiatus between Annual Meet- weekend, Bar members were able to meet vited JP Berlon, chair, Child Protection & ings. The excitement was almost palpa- with their colleagues in more casual set- Advocacy Section, and Supreme Court of ble as the minutes ticked away before the tings, including a number of social events, Georgia Presiding Justice David Nahmias official opening of the weekend. Attend- most open to all, that attendees could to the podium to present the Juvenile Law ees and their guests gathered outside the choose to participate in based on their and Child Advocacy Awards. The 2021 Sweetgrass Inn pool deck eagerly await- level of interest. From the YLD/Pro Bono Judge Willie Lovett Award for Advanc- ing the moment when they could enter Fun Run on Friday morning to the section ing the Field of Juvenile Law was pre- the appropriately themed “Superhero and law school receptions that evening, at- sented to Hon. LeRoy Burke III, presiding Soiree” and celebrate the simple pleasure tendees were able to gather together in a judge, Chatham County Juvenile Court, of being with other people in the same relaxed atmosphere for fun, food and fel- retired; and Ira Foster, general counsel/ place. Music by the Live Exchange Party lowship that enhanced the in-person net- deputy director, Georgia Legal Services Band set the tone while everyone’s fa- working opportunities that had been on Program. The 2021 Chief Justice Harris vorite superheroes meandered amongst hold for the last 18 months or so. More Hines Award for Outstanding Advocacy the guests, stopping for photo-ops in formal events included the YLD Dinner for Children in Dependency Proceedings between playing out scenes from the big and Swearing-In Ceremony on Friday and was presented to Christy Williams, Chat- screen to the delight of everyone watch- the Presidential Gala on Saturday evening. tooga County Georgia Division of Family ing. Food, drink, fun and games were en- & Children Services (case manager), and joyed by all, but the best part of the night Richard “Rick” Jones, Jones Family Law, was the time people had with each other. Board Meeting Highlights Canton (lawyer). President Jones then That, and the end-of-the-evening dance The June 11 plenary session began with called Immediate Past President Darrell party that spontaneously broke out and recognition by President Dawn M. Jones Sutton to the podium to present the 2020 closed out the night on sweet notes of of members of the judiciary, the past pres- Chief Justice Thomas O. Marshall Profes- joy and laughter. idents of the State Bar and other special sionalism Awards to Hon. Toby Batson guests in attendance, in addition to honor- Prodgers, retired judge, State Court of ing retiring Executive Committee mem- Cobb County, Marietta and A. James El- Weekend Bar Business bers and Board of Governors members. liott, Dean, Emory University School of This was a working meeting, and de- Following the recognition of special Law, Atlanta. President Jones then pre- spite the change in location and view, guests and prior to the presentation of sented the 2021 Chief Justice Thomas for most, the business of the Bar took the awards, President Dawn M. Jones re- O. Marshall Professionalism Awards to precedence even in the lovely resort set- ported on Inactive Sections and presented Hon. John D. Allen, retired judge, Chat- ting. There was work to be recognized, the Individual Rights Law and the Law tahoochee Circuit Superior Court, Co- work to do and plans to make. Attendees and Economics Sections for abolition per lumbus; and George W. “Buddy” Darden were able to set about doing the business Article IX Sections, Section 5. Abolition III, Pope McGlamry, Atlanta. of the Bar during the day as committee of Sections. The Board of Governors, by President Jones presented a replica meetings, section meetings and Board of majority voice and poll vote, agreed to check to GLSP General Counsel Ira Fos- Governors meetings took place. And in abolish both sections. If there are mem- ter in the amount of $827,870, represent- the new dawn of hybrid meeting offer- bers who would like to reinstate either ing voluntary contributions made by Bar ings, participation was enhanced by the of these sections, per the rules, they will members to GLSP’s 2020 “And Justice for virtual attendance of those who were un- follow the same process as if they were All Campaign.” able to make the trip. CLE opportunities establishing a new section. Following the presentation of the an- were also available for those who wished President Jones then took time to nual awards, the State of the Supreme to get a jump-start on earning their CLE present a number of special awards, call- Court of Georgia was given by Chief Jus-
2021 AUGUST 25 PHOTO BY JENNIFER R. MASON PHOTO BY ASHLEY G. STOLLAR
(Left to right) Avarita L. Hanson, Hon. Joy Lampley-Fortson and 2020-21 President (Left to right) Executive Committee and Board Member Dawn M. Jones celebrate Lampley-Fortson’s 2021 Thomas R. Burnside Excellence Martin Valbuena, Christina Hummel and 2020-21 YLD in Bar Leadership Award. President Bert Hummel during the Presidential Gala.
tice Harold D. Melton and the State of the efited the YLD’s Public Interest Intern- l The Board approved the following Court of Appeals of Georgia was given ship Program, allowing the program to presidential appointments: by Chief Judge Christopher J. McFadden. award four grants this year. Hummel also State Disciplinary Board: The State of the Office of the Attorney reported that the YLD’s Women in the John Herbert Cranford Jr., Newnan General was given by Attorney General Profession Committee continued their (2024) Chris Carr and the State of the Office of wills program to provide estate plan- Robert Rogers Giannini, Lawrenceville the Governor was delivered by Executive ning for frontline workers in the fight (2022) Counsel David Dove on behalf of Gov. against COVID-19, helping several hun- Jeffrey R. Harris, Savannah (2024) Brian Kemp. The State of the Georgia dred Georgians. The Georgia Legal Food Margaret Ware Sigman Puccini, Sa- House Judiciary Committee was given Frenzy was a resounding success, raising vannah (2024) by Rep. Chuck Efstration (chair) and the more than $934,000, setting a new record. State Disciplinary Review Board: State of the Georgia Senate Special Judi- The YLD also sponsored the Atlanta Vol- At-Large: D. Pearson Beardsley, Atlanta ciary Committee was given by Sen. Jen- unteer Lawyers Foundation’s Saturday (2024) nifer Jordan (chair). President Dawn M. Lawyers Program, providing impactful Lay Member: Susan Leger-Boike, Jones presented the Memorials report. results for several Georgians in their time Cordele (2024) Outgoing YLD President Bert Hum- of need. Hummel thanked the Board for Formal Advisory Opinion Board: mel reported on the activities of the YLD. their support during his year and wished Member-at-Large: David Neal Lefkowitz, He stated that, “this was not the year that Incoming YLD President Elissa Haynes Athens (2023) anyone envisioned,” but he was proud of luck as he turned over the YLD to her. Member-at-Large: Edward B. Krugman, what the YLD was able to accomplish re- During the plenary session, President Atlanta (2023) gardless of the circumstances. He said that Jones delivered her outgoing remarks as Georgia Defense Lawyers Association: the YLD had received the benefit of many required by the bylaws of the State Bar of Jacob Edward Daly, Atlanta (2023) leaders this year. The Poll Worker Pro- Georgia. A copy of those remarks can be Georgia Trial Lawyers Association: C. gram in conjunction with the Secretary found on page 36. Andrew Childers, Atlanta (2023) of State’s office was a huge success; they Elizabeth L. Fite presided over the John Marshall: Jeffrey Alan Van Detta, had hundreds of volunteers who served as 288th meeting of the Board of Governors Atlanta (2023) poll workers and deputy registrars. Each on Saturday, June 12. Highlights of the Mercer University: Patrick E. Longan, Bar member who volunteered with their meeting included: Macon (2023) county’s Board of Elections, completed l Immediate Past President Dawn M. State Disciplinary Review Board: Alfreda poll worker training, worked at their Jones presented the Section Awards. Lynette Sheppard, Albany (2022) local polling place on Election Day and l President Fite addressed the Board of State Disciplinary Board: Christian Jo- donated their reimbursement check was Governors and presented an overview seph Steinmetz III, Savannah (2022) eligible to receive six hours of CLE credit. of her proposed program activities for University of Georgia: Lonnie Theodore The donated reimbursement checks ben- the 2021-22 Bar year (see page 40). Brown Jr., Athens (2023)
26 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL PHOTO BY ASHLEY G. STOLLAR PHOTO BY JENNIFER R. MASON
Past President Jimmy Franklin and wife Fay Foy take in (Left to right) Tabitha Ponder and Hon. Phinia Aten displaying signs of pure joy the sights and sounds of the Opening Night Festival. during the Presidential Gala.
Young Lawyers Division: Donavan Keith l As required by Article V, Section 8 the treasurer shall sign all checks or Eason, Savannah (2023) of the Bylaws, the Board anthorized vouchers and that said accounts can l The Board approved the proposed the president to secure a blanket fi- be reconciled from time to time by 2021-22 ICLE Board by unanimous delity bond to cover all officers, em- said persons or their designees. The voice and poll vote. ployees and other persons handling authority herein given is to remain l The Board approved the proposed State Bar funds. irrevocable so as said banks are 2021-22 standing, special and program l Pursuant to Article V, Section 6 of the concerned until they are notified committees and board by unanimous Bylaws, the Board: in writing of such revocation of au- voice and poll vote. l directed that the State Bar of Geor- thority and in writing, acknowledge l Following a report by President gia and related entities open appro- receipt thereof. Elizabeth L. Fite, the Board of Gov- priate accounts with such banks in l designated Mauldin & Jenkins as ernors, by unanimous voice and poll Georgia, but excluding any bank the independent auditing firm to vote, approved the following list of that does not participate in the IOL- audit the financial records of the nominees, as revised, to the Judicial TA Program, and other such de- State Bar of Georgia for the fiscal Qualifications Commission, which positories as may be recommended year 2020-21. was submitted by the JQC Nominat- by the Finance Committee and/or l The Board, by unanimous voice and poll ing Committee: Robert O. Bozeman, Investment Committee, and desig- vote, elected Damon Elmore as execu- M. Gino Brogdon Sr., Caren Cloud, nated by the Executive Committee tive director for the 2021-22 Bar year. J. Anderson “Andy” Davis, Jeffrey of the Board of Governors of the l The Board approved the proposed Reese Davis, Keith Elliot Gammage, State Bar of Georgia, and that the 2021-22 elections schedule. W. Pope Langdale, Tiffany Darcel, persons whose titles are listed be- l The Board, by unanimous voice and Williams Roberts, Toronda “Tori” low are authorized to sign an agree- poll vote, approved the Election Com- Michelle Silas and R. Gary Spencer. ment to be provided by such banks mittee’s recommendation of changing Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 15-1-21, the and customary signature cards, and how members choose to receive paper names will be provided to Lt. Gov. that the said banks are hereby au- ballots from opt-out to opt-in. Geoff Duncan for consideration. thorized to pay or otherwise honor l The Executive Committee elections l Treasurer Tony DelCampo reported on any check drafts, or other orders is- were held with the following re- the Bar’s finances and investments, and sued from time to time for debit to sults: William C. “Bill” Gentry, R. Ja- the Board, by majority voice and poll said accounts when signed by two voyne Hicks, Shiriki Cavitt Jones and vote, approved the 2021-22 proposed of the following: the treasurer, the David Lipscomb. consolidated budget and ICLE budget. president, the immediate past presi- l The Board approved the appointments l The Board of Governors approved dent, the executive director, the of- of William Gregory II, Tennell Lock- the following financial resolutions by fice manager and the general coun- ett, Darrell Sutton and Suzanne Wer- unanimous voice and poll vote: sel, provided either the president or ner for two-year terms to the Geor-
2021 AUGUST 27 PHOTO BY LAUREN KANE 1 PHOTO BY JENNIFER R. MASON 2 PHOTO BY JENNIFER R. MASON 4 PHOTO BY JENNIFER R. MASON 5 PHOTO BY JENNIFER R. MASON PHOTO BY LAUREN M. KANE PHOTO BY LAUREN KANE
7 PHOTO BY JENNIFER R. MASON
PHOTO BY JENNIFER R. MASON PHOTO BY LAUREN KANE PHOTO BY ASHLEY G. STOLLAR PHOTO BY ASHLEY G. STOLLAR PHOTO BY BETTY SIMMS 9 10 PHOTO BY JENNIFER R. MASON Photos from the ANNUAL MEETING
1. (Left to right) Board Member Jack Long and new Board Member Hon. Amanda Heath enjoy the atmosphere at the Mercer Law School Reception. 2. The Opening Night Festival Superhero Coloring Wall, sponsored by Georgia State University College of Law . 3. State Bar of Georgia’s 2020-21 Executive Committee: (back row, left to right) YLD President-Elect Ron Daniels, Secretary Ivy N. Cadle, Member David Lipscomb, PHOTO BY JENNIFER R. MASON 3 Member Javoyne Hicks, Member Martin Valbuena, YLD Immediate Past President Bert Hummel; Treasurer Tony DelCampo, Member Bill Gentry; (front row, left to right) Member Shiriki Cavitt Jones, YLD President Elissa B. Haynes, President Elizabeth L. Fite, Immediate Past President Dawn M. Jones, President-Elect Sally Akins and Member Nicki Vaughan. 4. (Left to right) Secretary Ivy Cadle, Treasurer Tony DelCampo and President-Elect Sally Akins were sworn in as officers of the State Bar of Georgia on Saturday, June 12, by Chief Justice Harold Melton. 5. (Left to right) Hon. Verda Colvin receives the Distinguished Judicial Service Award from 2020- 21 YLD President Bert Hummel. 6. (Left to right) Treasurer Tony DelCampo and son Michael take PHOTO BY ASHLEY G. STOLLAR 6 charge on the dance floor at Presidential Gala. 7. (Left to right) Rebecca Dally and Anne LaMalva accept the 2020 Award of Merit, 2020 Law Day Award and 2020 Website Award for under 50 members; and the 2021 Award of Merit, the 2021 Law Day Award and the 2021 Website Award for 51-100 members on behalf of the Walton County Bar Association from 2020-21 State Bar of Georgia President Dawn M. Jones. 8. (Left to right) Construction Law Section Chair Peter Crofton accepts the Section Award of Achievement from 2020-21 President Dawn M. Jones. 9. (Left to right) Hon. Toby Batson Prodgers accepts the 2020 Chief Justice Thomas O. Marshall Professionalism Award from 2019- 20 State Bar of Georgia President 8 Darrell Sutton. 10. 2021-22 YLD Officers are sworn in by Hon. Sara Doyle. (Left to right) Secretary Kenneth Mitchell Jr., Treasurer Brittanie Browning, President-Elect Ron Daniels, Newsletter Co-Editors LaKeisha Randall and Ashley Akins, President Elissa Haynes ad Immediate Past President Bert Hummel. 11. The Band Be Easy brings the dancers to the floor. 12. 2016-17 President Pat O’Connor and wife Carol enjoying the Opening Night Festivities.
11 PHOTO BY LAUREN KANE 12 334, which was of interest to several State Bar sections, did not pass and will continue next year in the second year of the session. She briefly reported on HB 411, a bill to create a disciplinary en- tity similar to the Judicial Qualifications Commission for district attorneys and solicitors. It did not pass during session but will continue next year. She intro- duced Kyle Williams as the new chair of the Advisory Committee on Legislation and thanked Javoyne Hicks for her ser- vice as last year’s chair. She stated that she was grateful for the support of the Bar’s contract lobbyists Rusty Sewell, Mark Middleton and Roy Robinson. Lastly, Hayes thanked the Bar’s leader- ship and the Board of Governors for their support of the legislative program. l Hon. Walt W. Davis reported on the Georgia Statewide Business Court. He said that it had been two years since the governor asked him to take on
PHOTO BY JENNIFER R. MASON and create the Business Court, which Chief Justice Harold D. Melton shares a moment with his wife, Kimberly, during the 2021 officially opened on Aug. 1, 2020. He State Bar of Georgia Annual Meeting. reported that they created the Busi- ness Court and got it running by: gia Legal Services Program Board by YLD and the Board of Governors, hold- 1) building, designing, developing unanimous voice and poll vote. ing joint meetings and gatherings; and rules and a web presence; and 2) mar- l The Board approved the appointment 4) focusing on technology, including a keting the Business Court with many of Christopher J. Chan for a three-year virtual option for all of her meetings to speaking engagements. As a result, term to the Chief Justice’s Commis- encourage participation. She also plans the Business Court has had 37 cases sion on Professionalism by unanimous to create a YLD-wide listserv for those filed since August. Judge Davis of- voice and poll vote. who may not have the benefit of a law fered to visit any place to tell people l YLD President Elissa Haynes said that firm or access to a listserv like GDLA about the new Business Court. she was grateful to be the 75th president or GTLA, so they can ask questions or l Secretary Ivy Cadle gave an in- of the Young Lawyers Division this receive support; focus on attorney well- formational report on the Clients’ year, and she thanked Outgoing YLD ness; secure new and interesting speak- Security Fund. President Bert Hummel for his service ers for YLD CLEs and events; create a l The Board received a copy of the State and dedication to the YLD during a Hamilton-themed CLE for Constitu- Bar of Georgia Audit Reports for the difficult year where almost all meet- tion Day; and continue the momentum year-end 2020 and related auditor’s let- ings and events were held via Zoom. of the Legal Food Frenzy. ter regarding governance. Haynes stated that her goals will be: l Executive Director Damon Elmore re- l The Board received a copy of the 1) encouraging and promoting inclu- ported on current Bar operations. minutes of the Executive Committee sivity and involvement in the YLD, and l Hon. Susan Edlein reported on the ac- meetings held on Feb. 26, March 6 and she encouraged Board members to help tivities of the Chief Justice’s Commis- April 16. support young lawyers in their partici- sion on Professionalism. l The Board of Governors received a pation in the YLD; 2) increasing legis- l Governmental Affairs Director Chris- written memorandum from the Office lative involvement from young lawyers tine Butcher Hayes reported that the of the General Counsel and written because of the extremely low numbers Bar successfully lobbied the passage of reports from the following: the Insur- of lawyers in the Legislature; 3) encour- the Uniform Mediation Act, SB 234. ance Committee, the Fee Arbitration aging greater interaction between the The Remote Online Notary bill, HB Program, the Law Practice Manage-
30 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL ment Program, the Unlicensed Prac- l 101 to 250 members: Gwinnett 2020 Recipients: tice of Law Program, the Adminis- County Bar Association l Under 50 members: Walton County trative Law Section, the Animal Law l 251 to 500 members: Georgia Asso- Bar Association Section, the Antitrust Law Section, ciation of Black Women Attorneys l 101 to 250 members: Gwinnett the Child Protection and Advocacy l 501 members or more: Atlanta Bar County Bar Association Section, the Construction Law Sec- Association tion, the Creditors’ Rights Section, the 2021 Recipients: Employee Benefits Law Section, the 2021 Recipients: l 51 to 100 members: Walton County Equine Law Section, the Family Law l 51 to 100 members: Walton County Bar Association Section, the Fiduciary Law Section, the Bar Association l 101 to 250 members: Houston General Practice & Trial Law Section, l 251 to 500 members: Georgia Asso- County Bar Association the Nonprofit Law Section and the ciation of Black Women Attorneys The Best Newsletter Award is present- Professional Liability Section. l 501 members or more: Cobb County ed to voluntary bars that provide the best l The Board received a copy of the 2020- Bar Association informational source to their member- 21 media report. ship, according to their size. l The Board received a copy of the Well- The Law Day Award of Achieve- ness Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 2. ment is presented to local and vol- 2020 Recipients: untary bar associations that best plan l 101 to 250 members: Gwinnett Law Day activities in their respective County Bar Association Annual Awards communities to commemorate this oc- l 501 members or more: Georgia De- During the plenary session, outgoing casion. The bar associations are judged fense Lawyers Association President Dawn M. Jones recognized in size categories: specific Bar members and organizations for the work they have done over the past two years, as this year’s awards presenta- tions included award recipients from both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 Bar years.
Local and Voluntary Bar Awards The Thomas R. Burnside Excellence in Bar Leadership Award, presented an- nually, honors an individual for a life- time of commitment to the legal profes- sion and the justice system in Georgia, through dedicated service to a voluntary bar, practice bar, specialty bar or area of practice section. The 2020 recipient is Re- becca Dally, as nominated by the Walton County Bar Association. The 2021 re- cipient is Hon. Joy Lampley-Fortson, as nominated by the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys. The Award of Merit is given to volun- tary bar associations for their dedication to improving relations among local law- yers and devoting endless hours to serv- ing their communities. The bar associa- tions are judged according to size. PHOTO BY LAUREN KANE 2020 Recipients: Christie Williams, case manager, Chattooga County Georgia Division of Family & Children l Under 50 members: Walton County Services, accepts the Chief Justice Harris Hines Award for Outstanding Advocacy for Bar Association Children in Dependency Proceedings from Supreme Court of Georgia Presiding Justice David Nahmias and 2020-21 State Bar of Georgia President Dawn M. Jones.
2021 AUGUST 31 2021 Recipients: tion with the best overall program. The The Distinguished Judicial Service l 101 to 250 members: Gwinnett recipient of this award for both 2020 and Award was presented to Hon. Keith R. County Bar Association 2021 is the Georgia Association of Black Blackwell, Hon. Verda Colvin and Hon. l 501 members or more: Georgia Women Attorneys. Robert D. Leonard II. Defense Lawyers Association The Ross Adams Award was presented to Sharri Edenfield. The Best Website Award is given to Section Awards The Joe Dent Hospitality Award was local and voluntary bar associations with Section awards are presented to out- presented to Zack Howard. websites that exemplify excellence in use- standing sections for their dedication and The YLD Ethics & Professional- fulness, ease of use, content and design in service to their areas of practice, and for ism Award was presented to Pamela meeting the needs of the website’s tar- devoting endless hours of volunteer effort Peynado Stewart. geted audience. The bar associations are to the profession. The Award of Achievement for Ser- judged in size categories. l Section of the Year vice to the YLD was presented to Chris- 2020 Recipients: Equine Law Section—Philip Burrus, topher Bruce, J. Daniel Cole, Harry D. l Under 50 members: Walton County interim chair Dixon III, B. Chase Elleby, Matthew Bar Association Gettinger, Taylor Hanks, Hon. Marga- l Awards of Achievement ret A. Head, Hon. Amanda N. Heath, l 101 to 250 members: Gwinnett Construction Law Section—Peter County Bar Association JonVieve Hill, Sarah Jett, Chinny Law, Crofton, chair Luke Moses, ShaMiracle J. Rankin and Fiduciary Law Section—Patricia 2021 Recipients: Mark Weaver. Friedman, chair l 51 to 100 members: Walton County The Award of Achievement for Ser- Bar Association Nonprofit Law Section—Sabrina vice to the Profession was presented Fitze, chair l 101 to 250 members: Gwinnett to Audrey Bergeson, Chanel Chauvet, County Bar Association Carlos Fernández, Matthew Gettinger, Michelle Gettinger, Alexis Hamilton, l Young Lawyers Division Awards 501 members of more: Cobb County Mishael Najm, Andy Navratil, Pamela Young Lawyers Division Awards are Bar Association Peynado Stewart and Kate Reddy. presented during the YLD Dinner and The President’s Cup Award is present- The Award of Achievement for Ser- Swearing-In Ceremony. ed annually to the voluntary bar associa- vice to the Public was presented to
THANK YOU ANNUAL MEETING SPONSORS
CORPORATE SPONSOR Family Law Presidential Gala Green 5 Gavel Fiduciary Law Screen Intellectual Property Law Member Benefits, Inc. Emory University School Other of Law SECTIONS Animal Law Presidential Gala Chalet Antitrust Law Superhero Stage Pravati Capital Product Liability Law Child Protection & Advocacy Creditors’ Rights Plenary Session/BOG Breakfast Superhero Photo Opportunity Judicial The University of Georgia Criminal Law School of Law Superhero Stage ADDITIONAL SPONSORS COVID-19 Floor Markers Product Liability Law Superhero Color-by-Number Wall Georgia State University LawPay Superhero Photo Opportunity College of Law Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc. Criminal Law Veritext Legal Solutions COVID-19 Floor Markers Superhero Wing Wall Appellate Practice Southern First Constitutional Law
32 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL PHOTO BY JENNIFER R. MASON
Chief Justice Harold D. Melton swears in Elizabeth L. Fite as the 59th president of the State Bar of Georgia while Fite’s mother looks on. (Left to right) President Fite, Margaret Wooten Fite and Chief Justice Melton.
LaToya Bell, Jena Emory, Greenberg Passing of the Gavel best of my ability and understanding, and Traurig, LLP, Joe Habachy, Morgan Saturday evening began with the recep- agreeable to the policies, bylaws, and rules Lyndall, Lindsey Macon, Veronica Ro- tion honoring the justices and judges of and regulations of the State Bar of Georgia gusky and Jamie Rush. the Supreme Court of Georgia and the and constitution of the United States, so help The Award of Achievement for Ser- Court of Appeals of Georgia, followed me God. vice to the Bar was presented to Ashley by the business portion of the evening. The evening continued with dinner Akins, Autumn Cole, Donavan Eason and Prior to the swearing-in ceremony, Pres- and drinks, along with two different LaKeisha Randall. ident Jones presented the State Bar of types of entertainment, depending on The Award of Excellence for Dedica- Georgia’s Distinguished Service Award, preference. The Band Be Easy brought tion to the YLD was presented to Win the highest accolade bestowed on an in- the tunes for dancing while an immer- Cook, Michael Geoffroy, Ana María Mar- dividual lawyer by the State Bar of Geor- sive 4K musical listening experience was tinez and Henry Walker. gia, to Chief Justice Harold D. Melton. available for those who preferred a more The Outstanding YLD Affiliate Award Melton was honored for “conspicuous relaxing way to spend their last evening was presented to the Cobb County YLD service to the cause of jurisprudence and at the Isle of Palms. l and the Houston County YLD. to the advancement of the legal profes- The Bert Hummel Profile in Courage sion in the state of Georgia” (see page Award was presented to Will Davis, Lynn 50). Following the award presentation, Jennifer R. Mason Garson, Ryan Germany, Javoyne Hicks, Chief Justice Melton swore in Elizabeth Director of Communications Kelsey Kicklighter, Jamie McDowell, L. Fite at the 59th president of the State State Bar of Georgia
Hon. Shondeana C. Morris, Hon. Wesley Bar. With her hand on the Bible, Fite re- [email protected] B. Tailor and Erica Taylor. peated the following: The Griffin Bell Triumph in Lead- I, Elizabeth L. Fite, do solemnly swear ership Award was presented to Dawn that I will execute the office of president of M. Jones, Hon. Harold D. Melton and the State Bar of Georgia, and perform all the Darrell Sutton. duties incumbent upon me, faithfully, to the
2021 AUGUST 33 2021-22 State Bar Officers, Executive Committee and Board of Governors Members
Atlanta Circuit, Post 2 Atlanta Circuit, Post 27 Officers New Board of Kent Edward Altom, Atlanta Nancy Jean Whaley, Atlanta Governors Members President Atlanta Circuit, Post 3 Atlanta Circuit, Post 28 Lisa Katsuko Liang, Atlanta J. Henry Walker IV, Atlanta Elizabeth L. Fite Alapaha Circuit, Post 1 Atlanta Daniel Jackson Connell III, Adel Atlanta Circuit, Post 4 Atlanta Circuit, Post 29 Jeffrey Ray Kuester, Atlanta Tina Shadix Roddenbery, Atlanta President-Elect Atlanta Circuit, Post 10 Atlanta Circuit, Post 5 Atlanta Circuit, Post 30 Sarah B. “Sally” Akins Edward A. Piasta, Atlanta Savannah Catherine Koura, Atlanta Shiriki Cavitt Jones, Atlanta Augusta Circuit, Post 1 Atlanta Circuit, Post 6 Atlanta Circuit, Post 31 Treasurer Amanda Nichole Heath, Augusta Tracee Ready Benzo, Atlanta Michael Brian Terry, Atlanta Hon. J. Antonio “Tony” DelCampo Atlanta Brunswick Circuit, Post 1 Atlanta Circuit, Post 7 Atlanta Circuit, Post 32 Stephen Elliott Tillman, Baxley William M. Ragland Jr., Atlanta Seth David Kirschenbaum, Atlanta Secretary Atlanta Circuit, Post 8 Atlanta Circuit, Post 33 Ivy N. Cadle Flint Circuit, Post 1 Hon. Paige Reese Whitaker, Atlanta Hon. Susan Eichler Edlein, Atlanta Macon Amanda Renee Flora, McDonough Atlanta Circuit, Post 9 Atlanta Circuit, Post 34 Keith Elliott Gammage, Atlanta Allegra J. Lawrence, Atlanta Immediate Past Macon Circuit, Post 3 President Rebecca Holmes Liles Grist, Macon Atlanta Circuit, Post 10 Atlanta Circuit, Post 35 Dawn M. Jones Edward A. Piasta, Atlanta Terrence Lee Croft, Atlanta Atlanta Member-at-Large, Post 1 William T. Davis, Newnan Atlanta Circuit, Post 11 Atlanta Circuit, Post 36 Jill Pryor, Atlanta Graham Elliott McDonald, Atlanta YLD President Elissa B. Haynes Member-at-Large, Post 2 Atlanta Circuit, Post 12 Atlanta Circuit, Post 37 Atlanta Rosten Dara Diya “Chinny” Law, Atlanta Joyce Gist Lewis, Atlanta Harold Eugene Franklin Jr., Atlanta Atlanta Circuit, Post 13 Atlanta Circuit, Post 38 Middle Circuit, Post 2 YLD President-Elect R. Gary Spencer, Atlanta Michael Dickinson Hobbs Jr., Atlanta Ron Daniels Jerry Neal Cadle, Swainsboro Eastman Atlanta Circuit, Post 14 Atlanta Circuit, Post 39 Northern Circuit, Post 1 Edward B. Krugman, Atlanta Anita Wallace Thomas, Atlanta Kimberly W. Higginbotham, Hartwell YLD Immediate Past President Atlanta Circuit, Post 15 Atlanta Circuit, Post 40 Bert Hummel Letitia A. McDonald Atlanta Carol V. Clark, Atlanta Atlanta Out-of-State Circuit, Post 1 Scott R. McMillen, Winter Park, FL Atlanta Circuit, Post 16 Atlantic Circuit, Post 1 James Daniel Blitch IV, Atlanta H. Craig Stafford, Hinesville Executive Committee Toombs Circuit Atlanta Circuit, Post 17 Atlantic Circuit, Post 2 Thomas B. “Britt” Hammond, Hon. JaDawnya C. Baker, Atlanta Hugh J. McCullough, Glennville William C. “Bill” Gentry Warrenton Marietta Atlanta Circuit, Post 18 Augusta Circuit, Post 1 Foy R. Devine, Atlanta Hon. Amanda Nichole Heath, Augusta R. Javoyne Hicks Atlanta Circuit, Post 19 Augusta Circuit, Post 2 Stone Mountain Board of Governors Zahra S. Karinshak, Atlanta Danny L. Durham, Evans Shiriki Cavitt Jones Members Atlanta Circuit, Post 20 Augusta Circuit, Post 3 Atlanta Jennifer Auer Jordan, Sandy Springs Thomas Reuben Burnside III, Augusta Alapaha Circuit, Post 1 David S. Lipscomb Daniel Jackson Connell III, Adel Atlanta Circuit, Post 21 Augusta Circuit, Post 4 Patricia Anne Gorham, Atlanta John Ryd Bush Long, Augusta Lawrenceville Alapaha Circuit, Post 2 Clayton Alan Tomlinson, Nashville Atlanta Circuit, Post 22 Bell Forsyth Circuit Martin E. Valbuena Frank B. Strickland, Atlanta Hon. Philip C. Smith, Cumming Dallas Alcovy Circuit, Post 1 Michael G. Geoffroy, Covington Atlanta Circuit, Post 23 Blue Ridge Circuit, Post 1 Donna G. Barwick, Atlanta David Lee Cannon Jr., Canton Nicki Noel Vaughan Alcovy Circuit, Post 2 Gainesville Austin O. Jones, Loganville Atlanta Circuit, Post 24 Blue Ridge Circuit, Post 2 Joseph Anthony Roseborough, Atlanta Eric Alvin Ballinger, Canton Appalachian Circuit Will H. Pickett Jr., Jasper Atlanta Circuit, Post 25 Brunswick Circuit, Post 1 Amanda Rourk Clark Palmer, Atlanta Stephen Elliott Tillman, Baxley Atlanta Circuit, Post 1 Nicole Christine Leet, Atlanta Atlanta Circuit, Post 26 Brunswick Circuit, Post 2 Anthony B. Askew, Atlanta Martha Wilson Williams, Brunswick
34 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Chattahoochee Circuit, Post 1 Dublin Circuit Middle Circuit, Post 1 Southern Circuit, Post 1 Amy Carol Walters, Columbus Joseph Carl Sumner Jr., Dublin Mitchell McKinley Shook, Vidalia Christopher Frank West, Thomasville Chattahoochee Circuit, Post 2 Eastern Circuit, Post 1 Middle Circuit, Post 2 Southern Circuit, Post 2 Brandon Lee Peak, Columbus Paul Wain Painter III, Savannah Jerry Neal Cadle, Swainsboro Robert Allen Plumb Jr., Valdosta Chattahoochee Circuit, Post 3 Eastern Circuit, Post 2 Mountain Circuit Southern Circuit, Post 3 Alex Musole Shalishali, Columbus Lester B. Johnson III, Savannah Hon. James T. Irvin, Toccoa H. Burke Sherwood, Valdosta Chattahoochee Circuit, Post 4 Eastern Circuit, Post 3 Northeastern Circuit, Post 1 Southwestern Circuit Donna Stanaland Hix, Columbus Jonathan B. Pannell, Savannah Mark William Alexander, Gainesville Hon. R. Rucker Smith, Americus Cherokee Circuit, Post 1 Eastern Circuit, Post 4 Northeastern Circuit, Post 2 Stone Mountain Circuit, Post 1 Randall H. Davis, Cartersville John Bell Manly, Savannah Nicki Noel Vaughan, Gainesville Hon. Stacey K. Hydrick, Decatur Cherokee Circuit, Post 2 Enotah Circuit Northern Circuit, Post 1 Stone Mountain Circuit, Post 2 John Thomas Mroczko, Cartersville Hon. Joy Renea Parks, Dahlonega Kimberly Wilkerson Higginbotham, William Dixon James, Decatur Clayton Circuit, Post 1 Flint Circuit, Post 1 Hartwell Stone Mountain Circuit, Post 3 Kathryn Lauranne Powers, Jonesboro Amanda Renee Flora, McDonough Northern Circuit, Post 2 Hon. Shondeana Crews Morris, Clayton Circuit, Post 2 Flint Circuit, Post 2 Hon. Richard Dale Campbell, Elberton Decatur Harold B. Watts, Jonesboro John Philip Webb, Stockbridge Ocmulgee Circuit, Post 1 Stone Mountain Circuit, Post 4 Clayton Circuit, Post 3 Griffin Circuit, Post 1 Carl Santos Cansino, Milledgeville Donna Coleman Stribling, Decatur Hon. Martin L. Cowen III, Jonesboro Janice Marie Wallace, Griffin Ocmulgee Circuit, Post 2 Stone Mountain Circuit, Post 5 Cobb Circuit, Post 1 Griffin Circuit, Post 2 Ashley Mackin Brodie, Gray Amy Viera Howell, Atlanta Katie Kiihnl Leonard, Marietta Hon. Christopher Charles Edwards, Ocmulgee Circuit, Post 3 Stone Mountain Circuit, Post 6 Cobb Circuit, Post 2 Fayetteville Christopher Donald Huskins, Eatonton Claudia Susan Saari, Decatur Ronald Arthur Lowry, Marietta Gwinnett Circuit, Post 1 Oconee Circuit, Post 1 Stone Mountain Circuit, Post 7 Cobb Circuit, Post 3 David S. Lipscomb, Lawrenceville Hon. Charles Michael Johnson, Eastman John G. Haubenreich, Atlanta C. Lee Davis, Atlanta Gwinnett Circuit, Post 2 Oconee Circuit, Post 2 Stone Mountain Circuit, Post 8 Cobb Circuit, Post 4 Judy C. King, Lawrenceville Stephanie Diane Burton, Hawkinsville R. Javoyne Hicks, Stone Mountain Patrick H. Head, Marietta Gwinnett Circuit, Post 3 Ogeechee Circuit, Post 1 Stone Mountain Circuit, Post 9 Cobb Circuit, Post 5 Wesley Charles Ross, Lawrenceville Daniel Brent Snipes, Statesboro Sherry Boston, Decatur Dawn Renee Levine, Marietta Gwinnett Circuit, Post 4 Ogeechee Circuit, Post 2 Stone Mountain Circuit, Post 10 Cobb Circuit, Post 6 Gerald Davidson Jr., Lawrenceville Susan Warren Cox, Statesboro Hon. Dax Eric Lopez, Decatur Laura Joan Murphree, Marietta Houston Circuit Out-of-State, Post 1 Tallapoosa Circuit, Post 1 Cobb Circuit, Post 7 Carl A. Veline Jr., Warner Robins Scott R. McMillen, Winter Park, Florida Michael Douglas McRae, Cedartown William C. Gentry, Marietta Lookout Mountain Circuit, Post 1 Out-of-State, Post 2 Tallapoosa Circuit, Post 2 Conasauga Circuit, Post 1 Archibald A. Farrar Jr., Summerville William J. Monahan, Washington, D.C. Brad Joseph McFall, Cedartown Terry Leighton Miller, Dalton Lookout Mountain Circuit, Post 2 Pataula Circuit Tifton Circuit Conasauga Circuit, Post 2 Douglas Ray Woodruff, Ringgold Edward R. Collier, Dawson Hon. Render Max Heard Jr., Tifton Robert Harris Smalley III, Dalton Lookout Mountain Circuit, Post 3 Paulding Circuit Toombs Circuit Cordele Circuit Christopher Sutton Connelly, Martin Enrique Valbuena, Dallas Hon. Thomas Brittan Hammond, Summerville James W. Hurt, Cordele Piedmont Circuit Warrenton Coweta Circuit, Post 1 Macon Circuit, Post 1 Barry E. King, Hoschton Towaliga Circuit John Flanders Kennedy, Macon Nina Markette Baker, LaGrange Rockdale Circuit Curtis Stephen Jenkins, Forsyth Coweta Circuit, Post 2 Macon Circuit, Post 2 Daniel Shelton Digby, Conyers Waycross Circuit, Post 1 Thomas W. Herman, Macon Jason W. Swindle Sr., Carrollton Rome Circuit, Post 1 Matthew Jackson Hennesy, Douglas Dougherty Circuit, Post 1 Macon Circuit, Post 3 Christopher Paul Twyman, Rome Waycross Circuit, Post 2 Rebecca Holmes Liles Grist, Macon Joseph West Dent, Albany Rome Circuit, Post 2 C. Deen Strickland, Waycross Dougherty Circuit, Post 2 Member-at-Large, Post 1 J. Anderson Davis, Rome Western Circuit, Post 1 William Thomas Davis, Newnan William Fleming Underwood III, South Georgia Circuit, Post 1 Hon. Lawton E. Stephens, Athens Albany Member-at-Large, Post 2 Lawton Chad Heard Jr., Camilla Western Circuit, Post 2 Rotsen Dara Diya Law, Atlanta Douglas Circuit South Georgia Circuit, Post 2 Edward Donald Tolley, Athens Kenneth Brown Crawford, Douglasville Member-at-Large, Post 3 Tabitha Edwina Payne, Whigham Joshua I. Bosin, Atlanta
2021 AUGUST 35 GBJ | Feature
Jones’ Final Remarks to the Board of Governors
The bylaws of the State Bar of Georgia specify the duties of the president. One of the responsibilities is to “deliver a report at the Annual Meeting of the members of the activities of the State Bar during his or her term of office and to furnish a copy of the report to the Supreme Court of Georgia.” Following is the report from 2020-21 President Dawn M. Jones on her year, delivered June 11 at the State Bar’s Annual Meeting. BY DAWN M. JONES
How it started. I began this particu- lar journey five years ago when I ran for secretary of the State Bar of Georgia. It was a contested election. I was the person who made it contested, as a good friend had entered the race first. At the time, all of my knowledge about running for a State Bar officer position resulted from working with others on their campaigns, beginning with Past President Patrise Perkins-Hooker. I also knew I had the support of many friends and organiza- tions including Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys and Gate City Bar Association. I wasn’t sure if I would win. In fact, I was prepared to lose to my good friend, learn valuable lessons and run successful- ly next time. I did not really have a plan beyond getting my name and qualifica- tions out there, crossing the state to meet with Bar members, to talk to them, to see what their needs and concerns were
2020-21 President Dawn M. Jones presents her final remarks to the Board of Governors during the plenary session of the Annual Meeting. PHOTO BY LAUREN KANE
36 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL and how I could help. I had no idea at the matic year, and it demanded more from us this year. I am extremely thankful for that. time, but I quickly recognized the “ben- as individuals and as a profession than we Not so many years ago, I do not think efits” of a contested election and how it could have ever anticipated. I am grateful many would have used the words “care” forces a candidate to work for each and for the journey and worked daily to do my or “caring” in the same sentence as a “good every vote earned. Among other cam- very best to benefit the Bar, its members lawyer.” Now, I think we understand that paigning activities and gatherings across and the public as your president. In spite we have to; we must care as a Bar. It is metro-Atlanta, I campaigned across of those challenges, we accomplished our responsibility to care for each other. I the state for two months, crisscrossing quite a lot together. believe we understand that in ways we did Georgia in my car, staying at local hotels, What we did together, facing incred- not understand before the two pandem- often carrying portable office equipment ibly challenges, was more than any one of ics (that I described to you during my in- in my trunk to work from the road. It us could have ever imagined. And those stallation last June) occurred. In addition was an incredibly valuable experience challenges really started during Immedi- to caring, we accomplished a lot this Bar for me, and it certainly highlighted how ate Past President Darrell Sutton’s year as year, in spite of the pandemics and associ- the concerns and needs of our members Bar president. Darrell really had to pivot ated tribulations. Let me summarize some vary from region to region. During those when we faced these new challenges. I of them for you. two months of campaigning on the road, need him to stand up and be recognized We Zoomed a lot. We hosted numer- I meet with local bar associations, with for his leadership by giving him a round ous virtual meetings as Executive Com- lawyers and judges, with non-lawyers of applause. Darrell had to pivot; the Bar mittee members and Board of Governors who served on various Bar-related com- had to pivot; the Supreme Court had to members, including four Board of Gov- mittees and boards. I met with people pivot; and everyone worked together to ernors meetings before today, starting from all over the state, people whom do whatever was needed. I saw it happen- with my virtual installation last June. And I would not have had the pleasure and ing as president-elect, and I was grateful we set a record, I believe, for the longest opportunity to meet had I not run in a for Darrell’s leadership at that uniquely Board of Governors meeting ever held. I contested election. As a bonus, my ap- difficult time. know folks will laugh at that, but I do not preciation for the beauty and character I want to just highlight a couple of think it is funny. It is admirable. Although of every corner of our state grew. things that we did together this Bar year. not planned, our six hour and 15 minute In meeting with at least three to four And I will happily take credit for all of it, BOG virtual meeting held in January al- groups in two to three cities each week even though I accomplished nothing alone. lowed us to conduct all the necessary busi- for two months, I enjoyed a number of There is so much that you do not see ness of our Bar. It will remain one of the unexpected surprises and pleasures. I re- behind the scenes. As you know, I was highlights of this Bar year for me. I was ceived extremely warm receptions and of- a Board of Governors (BOG) member so proud of us. We talked, we discussed ten welcome baskets containing local fare. before I became a member of the Execu- and we even argued a little bit. And that Bar members, some old friends and some tive Committee (EC) six years ago. I had is exactly what we were supposed to be new acquaintances, volunteered to walk no idea about all the work that went on doing, working through an agenda full of me around and introduce me in each of behind the scenes to make this Bar work Bar issues and action items, with discus- those meetings, at each of those associa- and move forward every day before I was sions held and questions answered. Every tion events, in numerous cities and coun- elected to the EC. Board of Governors member is elected to ties throughout the state. I saw our State Leading a Bar of our size is not easy. do just that, and this year our BOG mem- Bar of Georgia in a new and different We are individuals with different inter- bers went above and beyond the call of light, and I learned so much about who ests, perspectives, opinions and expecta- duty to complete the work, regardless of we are as Bar members and as people. tions. I saw that five years ago when I was obstacles faced. I sincerely hope, however, That is how I started this journey. campaigning, and our membership has that no one breaks that record. Today, I end my presidency of the grown since then to more than 52,000 We had at least 15 Executive Commit- State Bar of Georgia presiding over the members. With that many people, the tee virtual meetings. We had a two-day only in-person meeting of the Bar year, idea that, from the start, we are all go- extremely fun—I’m going to use the word our very first hybrid meeting and the first ing to agree or be on the same page about fun—joint meeting with the Supreme Annual Meeting of our Bar in two years. most issues is idealistic at best. Court of Georgia. (I thought it was fun. I And the bonus here, added to those firsts, Nevertheless, as officers and BOG think they thought it was fun.) And it was is that we are still here. We have survived. members, we were elected to serve the extremely informative and substantive as We are not only surviving, but we are Bar and its members. I knew we could well; you should know that the relation- thriving together. I am grateful for the work together, respecting those differ- ship between your State Bar and your journey and for the support, leadership, ences and talking through our concerns to Supreme Court is healthy and thriving. guidance, cajoling and prayers that I have reach agreement or consensus. Frankly, I That’s important. received over the course of this year. It have never been prouder of the care and I accepted invitations to speak at more was an incredibly challenging and trau- kindness that we have shown each other than a dozen conferences, local bar asso-
2021 AUGUST 37 ciations, the American Bar Association I appointed this special committee to help appreciation for the work that the 105 or and other events throughout the state, all us think outside the box when it comes to so Bar staff does to support not only Bar virtually. I took every opportunity to talk our meetings. Normally, we hold our BOG members, but the EC and the BOG in par- about our Bar, about our members, about meetings on Saturday morning. The Friday ticular. I’m grateful for that, because we member benefits like the six free counsel- night before that, we would have a dinner literally would not be here, but for Mi- ing sessions each Bar year, and about the to connect, socialize and network. Due to chelle Garner, Gakii Kassamba, Michael work we do through our programs, com- COVID-19, we were unable to continue Nixon and so many other Bar staff. I am mittees and sections. that tradition. The COVID-19 Virtual going to stop trying to call everyone’s As you all know, I established the Seek- Planning Committee not only helped to name because I don’t want to miss any- ing Equal Justice and Addressing Racism give us that networking, connecting, fun one, but I wish you knew the heavy lifting & Racial Bias Committee. Among other “face time” virtually, but they also contrib- and the incredible amount of work it took work of that committee, we began hav- uted to the work that we’re doing today by to get us here today. This hybrid meet- ing courageous conversations about race, helping us plan events and providing input ing, being our first, was no small feat. We social justice and bias. How many of you and feedback for this Annual Meeting. I’m were flexible, we were accommodating attended that committee’s enlightening really grateful for their work. They really and we got it done. CLE presentation yesterday morning? stepped up and showed out. I initiated monthly attorney wellness I must admit, I was fairly ignorant of a As your Bar president, I served on nu- “touches,” in addition to a new wellness lot of the discussion topics that this com- merous committees because I hold this newsletter. I know the wellness and men- mittee covered this year, and I learned so office. And on those committees, it was tal health work we have done as a Bar this much. Whether formally through a pro- clear to me that not only does the State year in fact saves lives. I hope it contin- gram, or informally among our members, Bar of Georgia have a voice, but others ues. We don’t talk about mental health. I am proud of the race conversations we seek our advice and counsel as a Bar. You We don’t talk about stress and anxiety are having. Darrell led our EC through should know that. You should be proud of as a group and we don’t talk about it as a one of them before his term ended last and inspired by that fact. I am. We have profession. I was stressed; I was anxious; year. And they are hard conversations. a voice; others listen to us and what we I was tested this year, and I “used my six.” They’re not supposed to be easy. We have have to say. I appreciated every opportu- I am certain I am not alone. The more so many differences, and I hope your un- nity afforded to me to advocate for our we talk about it as a Bar, the more mem- derstanding of how much we are alike has Bar and our members. bers we will help. If you have not used grown this Bar year. Ok, so we didn’t really have meeting your six free counseling sessions that you The Courageous Conversations series practices and protocols in place for regu- get a member of the Bar, you are selling that the Seeking Equal Justice and Address- lar virtual meetings, but after you have yourself short. You don’t need to wait for ing Racism & Racial Bias Committee began a couple of virtual BOG Zoom meetings a crisis to happen to use those sessions. included the topic, “Blue Lives Matter vs. with 150+ members and guests, you’ll Please take advantage of that offering. Black Lives Matter.” And the series opened learn that you need to have some stand- We’ve heard from folks who have told us with an interesting discussion involv- ing policies, and the Bar staff jumped in to that they were considering suicide and the ing and with the Daily Report about how make that happen. I am purposefully leav- presentations by the Attorney Wellness stories are created, and when the focus ing my comments about our incredible Committee and/or Lawyer Assistance involves a person of color, how that can staff until the end of this address, but rest Program helped them. They can help be misinterpreted. We also discussed the assured we all worked together to make you, too. role that the media actually plays in shap- virtual meetings run smoothly, including Caring for our collective health is se- ing bias, in contributing to bias, implicit or implementing regular BOG and EC vir- rious business. That point was certainly actual, conscious or unconscious. tual meetings; creating protocols for how brought home to our members this year, We’ve had and will continue to have to poll, how to conduct business and how affecting every aspect of our practice. I these healthy conversations. Again, I’m to vote; and how to determine attendance am grateful again that, as a Bar, we are so grateful for the leadership of Anita and a quorum. Those were only some of able to have these conversations and Wallace Thomas and Gary Spencer and the logistics we had to work out to con- talk about real stuff, real issues. Some all of the active committee members of duct our Bar work safely. are concerned about looking weak, or the Seeking Equal Justice Committee. I held weekly virtual huddles initially, being stigmatized or even ridiculed, or Please stand up. Let’s give them a round and since January, huddles twice a week some other negative impact. I’m grateful of applause. with senior management—including Pau- that as a Bar we understand that being I also established the special COVID-19 la Frederick, Damon Elmore and Sarah healthy means you’re a better lawyer and Virtual Planning Committee. I’m going to Coole. Elizabeth, in preparation for her likely a better human, too. ask Shiriki Jones, Eric Ballinger and ev- year, was included in many of those hud- I asked the Executive Committee eryone else who served on this commit- dles as well. Every week of this Bar year to take on a number of tasks, and they tee to please stand up and be recognized. I developed a greater understanding and showed up and showed out. We all serve
38 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL I am very, very grateful. I’m grateful to be here and I’m grateful for everyone who supported me. I am grateful to have my family with me. ... it was my absolute pleasure to serve, and I am honored to have led this remarkable Bar. Thank you!
as liaisons to the committees and pro- members and senior Bar staff early this would have chosen this opportunity grams of the State Bar, as do the Bar staff. year, which was well-received. We also to lead at this time had I known what At every Executive Committee meeting, had a Robert’s Rules of Order instruc- was coming, but I know I was here for liaisons shared updates, keeping the en- tion and training for EC members. They a reason. Ultimately, my goals as your tire EC informed about how Bar com- weren’t particularly excited about that president every day, including today and mittees and programs were working and training, but enjoyed using it against me through this weekend—when I’m asking ensuring they had the support they need (smile) in subsequent meetings. you to wear your mask and social distance to work virtually. This also allowed us to Remote working for the State Bar of to keep us all safe at this Annual Meet- identify whether any committees or pro- Georgia was a fairly new situation when ing—were to do the very best I could for grams were having issues, or were hav- I was installed last June, one we managed our Bar, and to keep everyone, vaccinated ing trouble meeting. What did they need? this entire Bar year. To make sure all Bar and unvaccinated alike, safe. Were they nervous about meeting virtu- staff had what they needed to work from If you have not yet figured it out, I ally? Did a chair not have the capacity to home and to ensure that they were fully am very, very grateful. I’m grateful to be run a meeting virtually? How could we engaged while working remotely, I ini- here and I’m grateful for everyone who help them do that? In that way, we were tiated a comprehensive oral review last supported me. I am grateful to have my more efficient and supportive than ever winter of Bar staff functions, capacity family with me. My family, whom I have in supporting the work of each committee and needs. not seen in person since February of last and program of the Bar. I don’t know what it is about me and year, is here this morning: my father, We had these great social networking Bar leadership, but when I was Bar trea- Elwood Jones Sr. (Vietnam Veteran); events this year. I don’t discount them surer we hired a new CFO. That means I my brother Elwood Jones Jr. (Marine because while everyone was working re- started as the new treasurer of the State Corps Veteran); my uncle Warren Jones motely, it was more important than ever Bar of Georgia when Ron Turner came (Army Veteran); my stepmother Erna to connect with each other. One of the on. Two years ago, when I was then pres- Jones (retired teacher); my cousin Renee many downsides of a virtual meeting is ident-elect, I found out that the Bar was Jones Forney (CISSP top exec., among that you don’t get to have one-on-one losing our 30-plus year chief operating other skills) and her daughter, my cousin conversations, or chat around the break- officer and our executive director, two Kierston Forney (a ‘21 Spelman gradu- fast buffet before the meeting or during of our top Bar staff. So, we hired two of ate). I will have few additional remarks a meeting break. I have many long-time our senior staff this year, Damon Elmore to share tomorrow night during the gala friendships that began at a BOG dinner as executive director and Sarah Coole as and installation. Suffice it to say, it was or a reception or from other Bar-related chief operating officer. You can imagine, my absolute pleasure to serve, and I am events. Connecting with members when- with everything else that was going on, I honored to have led this remarkable Bar. ever possible was especially important would not have chosen to have these im- Thank you! l this year. I can clearly see that these more portant and crucial roles transition during “social” events play a vital role in how well the course of this year, but we dealt with we do the work we do, and how well we it and we thrived as a result. I’m grateful Dawn M. Jones work together. for that. Our Bar staff is amazing! Immediate Past President As I mentioned earlier, EC members I’m not going to bore you with any State Bar of Georgia showed up and showed out. We had an other stuff that I’ve done because we’ve [email protected] anti-bias, team building session for all EC done it together. I don’t know that I
2021 AUGUST 39 GBJ | Feature
I am incredibly grateful and most as- suredly ready to stand before you today. Remarks of Elizabeth Before I talk about what I hope we can accomplish together, I’d like to take L. Fite to the Board a moment to thank those who had the unenviable task of leading our profes- of Governors sion and this organization during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following is excerpted from Elizabeth L. Fite’s remarks to the Board First, I’d like to thank Chief Justice of Governors on June 12, during the 2021 Annual Meeting in Isle of Palms, Melton, who suspiciously timed his re- South Carolina. tirement from the Court to coincide with start of my Bar year. Next, to thank Dar- BY ELIZABETH L. FITE rell Sutton and Will Davis, who found PHOTO BY LAUREN KANE 2021-22 President Elizabeth L. Fite addresses Board of Governors members on Saturday, June 12.
40 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL the end of their Bar years as president and anyway. At my gym, we say it’s the chal- constituency, but also the public, I wanted YLD president, respectively, upended by lenge that creates the change. That is cer- to give you time to collect whatever ad- a virus that had never before been heard tainly true with the State Bar. I know we ditional information you may need before of and that resulted in many of us becom- will still be in an early stage of this transi- we call for a vote. ing armchair epidemiologists. Last, but tion. Some would say a transition back to Likewise, many of you have asked certainly not least, to thank Dawn Jones, normalcy. Instead of a transition back to when we would be having a vote on the immediate past president, and Bert Hum- normal, why not take this opportunity to final recommendations of the Profes- mel, YLD immediate past president, who reflect on who we are and who we want sional Liability Insurance Committee. bore the brunt of the challenges facing this to be? Let’s take this opportunity to create The committee will also present its final organization at a time when we had to be- something exceptional. As you can imag- recommendations at the Fall Meeting. come fluent in Zoom to be able to continue ine, that’s no small feat for an organiza- This is a topic that has been addressed the work of the Bar. To each of them, I say, tion of more than 50,000 members. in multiple meetings and townhalls, but “Thank you.” Thank you for your service I can tell you that I have no grand it was important for us to let you know to the profession and for your leadership. initiatives planned for the coming year. today when the vote would be held be- I hope everyone will join me in showing This is not the time for that. Going for- cause of the significance of this vote and our gratitude for their leadership during ward, we will remain focused on figuring to give as much notice as possible so you this unprecedented time. out ways for the Bar to adapt and grow can make arrangements to attend that The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic during a time of transition. We will meeting and cast the vote that best rep- in March of 2020 was the beginning of an promote our strengths and address our resents the wishes of the lawyers in your era unlike any other in our lifetimes—for perceived weaknesses. community and our Bar. the world, our nation, our state and our To work toward a stronger, better, I commit to continuing to prioritize profession. No one could have predicted more-unified Bar, I will utilize the tools of transparency in our budget process, so in March of 2020 that it would be June collaboration and consensus-building. For that Bar members can have a full un- 2021 before we were able to gather to- all the pomp and circumstance that will derstanding of our budget. We know gether again. It makes me think about the occur later tonight, this year isn’t about our programs have costs associated with last time we were able to meet in person me; it’s about us—all 52,000 of us. When them, and we, like many institutions, at the Midyear Meeting in January 2020 Damon nominated me for the Executive continue to have budget challenges. As in Atlanta. Knowing what we know now, Committee when I was still considered a a long-standing member of the finance would we have stopped to say hello to or young lawyer, he said I was the right per- committee and someone who enjoyed caught up with one other person? Would son for the job because I didn’t have a per- the minutia of being treasurer, I take very any annoyances about venue or menu sonal agenda. That my concern was for the seriously our responsibility to be good seemed trivial? Would we have stayed best interests of this Bar. I stand before you stewards of our Bar license fees. and chatted a little longer with someone today ready to deliver on that promise. While this has certainly been a focus else? I think the answer is “yes,” and it is By way of example, I’ve already started of mine for years, it is particularly im- with that in mind that I look forward to regularly communicating with the slate portant because during this past legisla- the upcoming year. We will face addition- of officers that will follow me to ensure tive session, as mentioned by Chairman al challenges, but we will do it together. If that we can operate as one cohesive unit Efstration yesterday, the State Bar as an the past year has taught us anything, it is where possible, and my commitment is organization also faced a unique challenge that we are better together. that I will continue to do so. I respect the in the form of HB 166 requiring the Bar to As excited as we are all to be here at this diversity of experiences and backgrounds remit member fees to the state treasury, meeting—indeed, the atmosphere is elec- of those whom our members have chosen which would allow the General Assem- tric—Georgia is still reeling from the dev- to lead this great organization. I firmly bly to appropriate the Bar’s budget. Ulti- astating effects of the pandemic that have believe that our collective effort will en- mately the bill didn’t get out of committee robbed us of our loved ones and members sure the successful operation of the Bar. in the House, but the legislation gave the of our community. For those losses you Whenever possible and especially when Bar’s leadership a chance to evaluate and have suffered, I, on behalf of State Bar of it relates to difficult decisions that you—the reflect on why we, unlike other regulated Georgia, offer my sincerest condolences. Board of Governors—must make for the professions in the state, are able to collect It is difficult to quantify the number Bar, I want to provide timely information our own fees and set our own budget. of challenges that we as a profession to allow for real, substantive deliberation. In Georgia, our state Supreme Court have faced over this last year, and some For example, later today you will hear delegates budgeting and the collection of of those challenges will stay with us. And a presentation on the recommendations fees to the State Bar’s Board of Governors yet, for all of the bad, the pandemic has of the Clients’ Security Fund that will be to cover attorney discipline and other pro- provided us with some opportunities for set for action at the Fall Board of Gov- grams to improve the practice of law. We introspection and change that, if we were ernors meeting. Given the impact that don’t take this duty lightly and we continue being honest with ourselves, were needed your decision will have not only on your to prioritize transparency in the process so
2021 AUGUST 41 ... I hope to be a steady hand at the helm as the State Bar plans and implements our post-pandemic future, continues to adapt as needed and moves forward.
that Bar members and the Legislature can tice Management Program (LPM), which have a full understanding of our budget. can provide your firm advice on technol- We also plan to engage new stakeholders ogy, firm finances, organization or library in our programs so we can continue to materials, among other things. showcase the important work the Bar is Maybe you are saying to yourself, “I’m doing for Georgia and its lawyers. a judge, work at an ‘established’ firm or While serving on the Board of Gover- work in the public sector. I don’t need to nors, the Executive Committee and as an know about tools to better run a firm.” officer over the years and hearing from I respectfully suggest that’s not necessar- Bar members, I have learned that a lot of ily the case. First, as a gentle reminder, lawyers in this state don’t know how the as a member of the Board of Governors, Bar operates, which certainly makes it you were elected by your community of difficult for them to answer the question lawyers to represent their interests in this “What has the Bar done for you?” organization. LPM is a service that could So I’m not going to ask you that today. be beneficial to them. With our very well done and successful Second, perhaps your office, court or public service announcements and other public agency is looking to acquire soft- education campaigns, we have been fo- ware to further adapt to the change in BAR cusing the past few years on what the work patterns that have arisen because public thinks of the legal profession and of the pandemic. LPM can provide you BENEFITS justice system. Perhaps it’s time for us to with suggestions, recommendations or a pay more attention to what our members forum to learn more about various plat- Law Practice Management think of the State Bar and to raise their forms related to the practice of law or the & Resource Library awareness of the importance of a unified judicial system. Bar. I could do a day’s program extolling I look forward over the year of high- DID YOU KNOW? the virtues of the Bar, but I want to give lighting more of our offerings so that you The Law Practice Management you a sampling of the member benefits: can better #KnowYourBar. Program provides business Fastcase; the insurance exchange offered There are other areas of focus I have management assistance; by Member Benefits, Inc.; and free, con- this year, but I want to always be respect- technical and general fidential counseling services, which saw ful of your time. Besides, I know I’ll have consultations; software advice a significant increase in use this last year. other opportunities to speak to this group. and training; sample forms; Over the course of this next year, I in- In conclusion, I hope to be a steady start up resources; a solo/small tend to highlight in each of my president’s hand at the helm as the State Bar plans and firm discussion board and remarks one program or offering of the implements our post-pandemic future, video resources. Bar because I need your help in letting our continues to adapt as needed and moves members know what they get for their forward. After all, it’s not about me. It’s CHECK IT OUT Bar license fees. With this platform, I can always about the Bar and our more than www.gabar.org/lpm reach many. With your help, however, 52,000 members. Thank you for your ser- we can reach everyone, and you never vice and dedication to our profession. l CONTACT know what lawyer in your community Kim Henry, Resource Advisor may need the very service the Bar offers 404.527.8770 | [email protected] as a part of their Bar license fees. Elizabeth L. Fite In this first installation of #KnowYourBar President (everything has a hashtag these days), I State Bar of Georgia
wanted to highlight our amazing Law Prac- [email protected]
42 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL LAW PRACTICE MANAGEMENT The Law Practice Management Program is designed to help all Georgia lawyers and their employees with every piece of the office management puzzle.
• Law office management • Solo & Small Firm • Technology resource library discussion board • Law office start-up • Fastcase legal research and closing kits • CloudLaw • Consultation visits • Online vendor directory • Solo & Small Firm Institute
For information on Law Practice Management offerings and resources, visit www.gabar.org/LPM or call 404-527-8772.
#KnowYourBar
GBJ | Feature
Elizabeth Fite Takes Her Turn in a Partnership of Presidents
“I very much so respect the perspectives of my fellow officers, my fellow EC members and the Board of Governors. I just want people to know that their interests are represented and that they can always feel free to reach out.” BY LINTON JOHNSON
Should the need arise during her ser- tracurricular activity. I sang in the church vice as 59th president of the State Bar choir, I sang in the school choir, I played of Georgia, Elizabeth L. Fite won’t have the piano and briefly played a couple of to go far to seek input from one of her other instruments. Music was an impor- predecessors on an issue or idea. Her law tant part of my upbringing.” partner, Brian D. “Buck” Rogers, just hap- When she was 15, “the minute that pens to have served as State Bar president I was allowed to work somewhere,” Fite four years ago. took her first part-time job and has worked It’s likely the Rogers & Fite civil plain- ever since. During her senior year in high tiffs’ firm is the only two-member part- school, a Camden lawyer named Allen P. nership of presidents in State Bar history. Roberts, whose clients included the local Fite—also known to many friends by her School Board, asked the school superin- monogram “ELF”—says she is glad to have tendent to recommend some students who Rogers nearby, not only as a sounding might want to work at his solo firm. Fite, a board but also as someone who knows straight-A-plus student who had expressed the level of commitment that leading an some interest in the law, got the job and organization of more than 52,000 mem- her first experience in the legal field. bers can require. Roberts, a Marine from Texas, had For Fite, the path to the State Bar gone to law school at the University of presidency started in Camden, Arkansas, Arkansas and in 1966 moved to Cam- a town situated on a bluff overlooking den, where he lived and practiced until the Ouachita River in the south-central his death last January. Roberts’ obituary part of the state. The daughter of a ware- noted, “Allen was particularly proud of house foreman and a schoolteacher, with the work he did over many decades work- a brother 11 1/2 years her senior, “I had ing toward the desegregation of several a really traditional upbringing,” Fite re- school districts across south and central calls. “We went to church on Sundays. I Arkansas.” To Fite, he was an influential Elizabeth L. Fite and Betty White. was in Girl Scouts and was in every ex- mentor and lifelong friend. PHOTO BY ZACHARY D. PORTER
2021 AUGUST 45 “He was a retired Marine, he was gruff, to pay for me to even go to school,” Fite play. “My parents were good, and I said, he had a big, booming voice, and he was said. She made the decision to accept the ‘OK, I’m leaving the state now.” I had a smart,” she said. “He lived in Camden be- scholarship and attend Hendrix College, couple of schools that were viable con- cause that’s the kind of lifestyle he pre- which was 135 miles away in Conway tenders for me, but I knew I wanted to ferred, but he would have been success- and was, she thought, the best academic land in a city. I thought Atlanta was far ful in any major city being a lawyer. As opportunity in Arkansas. For a Georgia enough away and big enough that I could a general practitioner, a sole practitioner counterpart to Hendrix, the school com- do something, and I like living where it’s in a small town, he did everything.” As his petes at the NCAA Division III level in warm. I don’t want to be cold.” protégé, so did Fite. the Southern Athletic Association with Emory University is affiliated with “So as a senior in high school, I started Berry College and Oglethorpe University. the United Methodist Church, as is drafting pleadings, I had to walk to the She contemplated majoring in history but Hendrix College. Although Fite is not clerk’s office and file things, I recorded wound up a math major with a minor in a Methodist, she had heard good things deeds, I helped proofread metes and economics, taking her brother’s advice about Emory from some of her Hendrix bounds, which, to put it mildly, I did not that “I needed to do something that would professors who had gone to Emory ei- find enjoyable,” she recalled. “I got to go get me a job.” ther for conferences or to get advanced to depositions, I got to go to hearings and She enjoyed her math classes at Hen- degrees. “I also came to Atlanta because I got to go to trials. I worked with him drix and took a research assistant’s posi- my thought was if I get to law school part-time my senior year, and I worked tion, which Fite said “blossomed into a and it’s not a fit, if it just ends up not be- with him the summer after I graduated job as a computer programmer. I started ing for me, I knew I would be at a place from high school. Throughout college, if off developing something theoretical and where I could have more options for an I didn’t have a job associated with some- ultimately ended up writing software to advanced degree,” she said. “If I wanted thing I was doing at college, on breaks implement the theory. But while doing to jump back into science, I was coming when I would come home, I’d go pick up that, I applied to law school on the side.” to a place where that would be very easy. a few hours with him and go work and Going to law school had always been a I hedged a little.” hang out. He was just really important in possibility for Fite, even before her time As an Emory Law student, Fite had my life.” working for Allen Roberts. In the third started out on a path to a career in trans- Fite had envisioned her college years grade, her teacher told her she would actional law. But the mid-sized firm being spent somewhere other than in Ar- probably grow up to be president, not of where she got her first summer job as a kansas. But during her junior year in high the State Bar of Georgia but of the United law student introduced her in a big way school, her father suffered a serious heart States. “I didn’t know what that meant,” to litigation. “I had done litigation with attack and went through “a really long, ar- Fite said, “but I always did have an affinity Allen, but I didn’t know what it looked duous recovery,” she said. Fite had quali- for American history and civics. I think like in a bigger place, so I just started do- fied for the Distinguished Governor’s when you start to read and learn about ing litigation that first summer and then Scholarship, the Arkansas equivalent those things, you understand the impor- never stopped. After my first summer, I of Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship, which tance of the law to our society.” had a part-time job at a law firm the rest would pay for her tuition and board at With her father’s health having im- of my law school career. I was helping pay any in-state institution, public or private. proved by the time she earned her math my way, so I needed to do that. I also got “Because of my dad’s situation, we had degree from Hendrix, Fite’s delayed plans a lot of real-world experience while I was real concerns about my family’s ability to venture out of Arkansas were back in at law school, which has served me well.”
46 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Knowing litigation was in her future, Fite took a trial practice class her third year at Emory. Her adjunct professors included prominent trial lawyers Rob Wellon and Tommy Malone and a Fulton County Su- perior Court judge named Rowland W. Barnes, an Emory Law alumnus. During the second week of March in 2005, Fite’s class was trying a medical malpractice case before Judge Barnes. “That week, I had the easy job, I got to be the witness,” she re- called. “I got to sit in the witness box, and he was the judge. I remember on down- time, Judge Barnes and I were just chit- chatting and carrying on. I was having a good time that day.” That Friday morning, Fite heard on the news that a Superior Court judge had been shot and killed, along with a court reporter, a sheriff’s deputy and, later in the day, a federal agent, by a defendant who had escaped custody at the court- house and taken another deputy’s gun. “I only knew one Superior Court judge and I was hoping it was not him,” Fite said. “Within minutes, we found out that it was Judge Barnes. That experience was traumatic generally just because of what had happened and where it had hap- pened, but to know him and to have in- teracted with him that week really left a mark on me.” Fite earned her law degree from Em- ory and was admitted to the State Bar in 2005. Her legal career, all in Atlanta, has been focused in one area or another of litigation. Having started in medical malpractice defense with Owen, Gleaton,
Egan, Jones & Sweeney LLP, the next PHOTO BY ZACHARY D. PORTER
2021 AUGUST 47 nine years were in business litigation, first “I think we had a conversation in line Elena Kaplan to continue her service in at Schreeder, Wheeler & Flint LLP and while we were getting drinks, which is the YLD. Fite would serve on the YLD next at Kutak Rock. when lots of great ideas are hatched,” Board of Directors, and later she edited In 2015, Fite moved on to King & she recalled, “and talked about wheth- the YLD’s newsletter. At 29, she ran for Spalding LLP, where for nearly two years er I would be interested in joining up and won a seat on the Board of Gover- she worked exclusively on defending the with him. We knew we got along well. nors of the “big Bar,” becoming one of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in prod- We don’t think the same on everything. youngest board members at time, to the uct liability cases. “All of our cases were We definitely complement each other, best of anyone’s recollection. tried in Florida,” Fite said, “so I traveled though, and we have a healthy mutual Then, “I ran for Executive Committee a lot then. We would go down to Flori- respect for each other. So if you’re going and won. I knew, however, I wanted to be da and be there maybe three weeks or a to hang up a shingle, it’s also nice to hang an officer, or I would roll off the Execu- month. But it was a great, immersive ex- it up with someone who’s done it, knows tive Committee. When the time was right perience. It’s an anomaly. It’s an unusual what they’re doing and is well respected for me professionally, I ran for secretary, type of litigation. But I’m glad I got to do and an expert in their field.” and here we are.” it. I learned from a lot of great people, re- Rogers & Fite LLC was launched in The theme for Fite’s presidential year ally got to see how it works, and it was late 2019, convenient timing as Rogers is #KnowYourBar, which will focus on such a unique experience to have to work was ending his service on the Executive communicating to Georgia’s lawyers and cases up that way.” Committee as immediate past president judges the many benefits of Bar member- For the next 2 1/2 years, Fite was an just as Fite was transitioning from sec- ship they are paying for with their annual assistant county attorney for DeKalb retary to treasurer in the Bar hierarchy. license fee. “I want to at least do my part County, leaving King & Spalding for gov- But less than a year in, the COVID-19 to help raise our members’ awareness of ernment work in an effort to broaden her pandemic caused jury trials to come to the benefits they are getting. Until the experience with an eye on the future. “The a screeching halt. “Certainly we were pandemic, many people didn’t know we idea of becoming a judge has always been impacted by that,” Fite said. “We’re trial had our ‘Use Your Six’ campaign, where in the back of my mind,” she said. “Because lawyers, so trials are really important to we provide free counseling sessions. of that I wanted to make myself as well- us. Having them pushed indefinitely or Through the past year, we’ve promoted rounded as possible. I thought I had the having them pushed for the foreseeable that heavily, and we know more members private sector litigation side covered, and I future was a cause for concern.” With are using it. We have so many other pro- wanted to see what it was like to work for civil trial calendars open again, Fite said, grams and offerings, and I want to make a governmental entity. I came on board to “we are really optimistic now.” sure our members know about them.” do public safety work, and that was just a During the past year as president-elect, Finally, Fite said she wants her fellow great experience to learn how our govern- Fite served on the Judicial COVID-19 Task Bar members to know “that I intend to lead ment works and the different consider- Force and counts that among her proudest collaboratively this year. I very much so re- ations you have when you’re working for achievements, stating that working with spect the perspectives of my fellow officers, a governmental agency.” other leaders of the bench and bar to shep- my fellow Executive Committee members Fite met Buck Rogers in 2012 when herd Georgia’s justice system through the and the Board of Governors. I just want she was elected to the State Bar’s Execu- public health crisis enabled her to witness people to know that their interests are rep- tive Committee, following Rogers onto “professionalism, collegiality and servant- resented and that they can always feel free the committee by one year. They imme- leadership regularly demonstrated.” to reach out.” l diately struck up a professional friendship Having a law partner who is willing that continued through each of their as- and able to support and advise her on censions through the officer ranks, four Bar leadership is important to Fite be- Linton Johnson years apart. According to Fite, it was “at cause she has been deeply involved in Media Consultant one meeting or another” when they first professional service for most of her ca- State Bar of Georgia talked about her joining Rogers in a truck reer. After heading her firm’s effort for linton.johnson@ collisions-focused plaintiffs’ practice, al- a Young Lawyers Division project early verdictservices.com ready his specialty. on, she was encouraged by then-President
48 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL CorpCare
Connect with a counselor virtually.
Maintaining your mental health is vital. Every State Bar of Georgia member receives six pre-paid clinical sessions per calendar year through the Lawyer Assistance Program. Now, you can connect with a counselor wherever you are.
Call the confidential LAP Hotline at 1-800-327-9631 to schedule your appointment today. GBJ | Feature
Chief Justice Harold D. Melton Receives the Bar’s Highest Honor
The 2021 Distinguished Service Award was presented to Chief Justice Harold D. Melton at the State Bar’s Annual Meeting for his extensive service to the legal professional, the justice system and the public. BY ASHLEY G. STOLLAR
The Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor bestowed by the State Bar of Georgia for conspicuous service to the cause of jurisprudence and to the ad- vancement of the legal profession in the state of Georgia. During the plenary session of the State Bar’s Annual Meeting at Wild Dunes Resort, Isle of Palms, South Carolina, Supreme Court of Georgia Chief Justice Harold D. Melton was presented with this prestigious award by 2020-21 President Dawn M. Jones. Melton was honored for his extensive service to the legal system over his 30- year career as an attorney for the State of Georgia, executive counsel to Gov. Sonny Perdue and justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. A native of Washington, D.C., Melton was raised in East Point and Marietta, Georgia. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Auburn Univer-
Chief Justice Harold D. Melton receives the Distinguished Service Award from 2020-21 President Dawn M. Jones. PHOTO BY JENNIFER R. MASON
50 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL August 2021 Volume 27, Number 1
The Legal: Area-Wide GEORGIA BAR Service Delivery in Georgia
2021 State Bar Annual Meeting Coverage JOURNAL Volunteering and Happiness
#KnowYourBar: Law Practice Management Program
59TH STATE BAR PRESIDENT ELIZABETH L. FITE
821GBJ_cover.indd 1 8/6/2021 5:15:53 PM
GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL sity where he served as the president of DIGITAL EDITION the Student Government Association, the first African-American to hold that role in the school’s history. The univer- Download today to enjoy sity’s student center is now named in his honor. Melton earned his J.D. from the single issues at University of Georgia School of Law and www.gabar.org/journal. was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1991. Justice Melton worked for the Geor- gia Department of Law for 11 years where he dealt with issues ranging from the cre- ation of the Georgia Lottery Corporation to the administration of Georgia’s tobacco settlement. He served as executive coun- sel to Gov. Sonny Perdue, representing the governor on legal issues covering the entire scope of state government, help- justice since September 2018 and retired of the Supreme Court into the new Na- ing safeguard Georgia’s interests in water from the position July 1. than Deal Justice Center and, more re- rights disputes with Alabama and Florida, Upon presenting Chief Justice Melton cently, the many unique challenges of the and participating in the administration’s with the 2021 Distinguished Service COVID-19 pandemic.” l efforts to advance the delivery of criminal Award, President Jones remarked, “The justice services in the state. legal community in our state owes you In July 2005, Melton was appointed to considerable appreciation for your many Ashley G. Stollar serve as a justice of the Supreme Court contributions upholding the founda- Communications Coordinator of Georgia, and has subsequently been tional American ideal of equal access to State Bar of Georgia re-elected statewide with no opposition justice for all, including your direction [email protected] to three terms. He has served as chief in the state of Georgia during the move
2021 AUGUST 51 GBJ | Feature
1
Twenty-Five Years of TILPP
The Transition Into Law Practice Program began as an idea 25 years ago. As we get our feet planted firmly in the new Bar year, we look forward to continuing to build upon the foundation laid a quarter of a century ago. BY KELLYN O. MCGEE 2 As we start a new Bar year, this is a good time to provide a little history of the Transition Into Law Practice Program (TILPP) and give some updates. It has been 16 years since the first class of newly-admitted lawyers enrolled in the program. In 1996, the State Bar of Georgia created the Standards of the Profession Committee, whose charge was to determine whether the Bar should require internships or other supervised work for new lawyers. A year later, that committee suggested a pilot program to determine the feasibility of a mandatory mentoring and continuing legal educa- tion program. That pilot program lasted two years, from 2000-02. Following an evaluation of that program, approval by 3 the Board of Governors and adoption by the Supreme Court, TILPP officially began in 2005, the first program of its kind in the country. If you were admit- ted before 2005, you may remember at- tending Bridge-the-Gap, the regular or enhanced versions. The mentoring component includes three different statuses: Inside Mentor- ing (for the lawyer who has a mentor within the firm or organization where they are employed); Group Mentoring (for the lawyer who is employed in a
52 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Transition Into Law Practice Program Since 2005
BEGINNING LAWYERS ENROLLED MENTORS TILPP CLE/MENTORING COURSES 13,810 4,852 88
TILPP BY THE NUMBERS
Outside Mentoring 7%
Group Mentoring 23% GEORGIA IS FIRST IN THE Inside NATION TO HAVE A MANDATORY Mentoring LEGAL MENTORING PROGRAM. 71%
non-legal setting or part-time, is unem- tain forms, which allows us to receive all 2020, subsequently affecting program- ployed, or is not paired with a mentor); forms electronically at [email protected]. ming in 2021. But we are currently evalu- and Outside Mentoring (for the sole ating and planning what our Beginning practitioner with a mentor from another Lawyers Program and Group Mentoring firm or organization). Check TILPP Status Online sessions will look like in 2022. Lawyers Lawyers enrolled in TILPP are re- TILPP lawyers are able to check their sta- who currently need those programs to quired to complete 12 hours of CLE. They tus at any time by logging onto the website complete their requirements are able must attend the Beginning Lawyers Pro- and selecting “CLE Status.” TILPP require- to view webcasts of previous sessions gram (which provides six hours) or the ments, including those still outstanding, through the ICLE course schedule, view- equivalent trainings that prosecutors and are located at the top of the CLE Tran- able at www.gabar.org/webcasts (see public defenders are required to attend. script along with the lawyer’s deadline to fig. 3). It is our hope that when we re- Lawyers can choose courses to fulfill the complete the program (see fig. 1). turn to live programming next year, additional six hours. our offerings will be even more engaging There have been changes to TILPP and informative. over the past 16 years, and we will TILPP Webpages continue to implement changes to en- We are excited to announce that the TILPP As we get our feet planted firmly in the hance the ease and efficiency for those webpages have been updated. We stream- new Bar year, we look forward to con- lawyers enrolled in the program. Some lined the pages to make locating informa- tinuing to build upon the foundation laid of the modifications and updates we tion about the program simpler and more a quarter of a century ago. l have made over the last year have been accessible in addition to giving them an en- highlighted here. tire new look. I invite you to check them out at www.gabar.org/tilpp (see fig. 2). Kellyn O. McGee Director, Transition Into Law Electronic Submissions Practice Program State Bar of Georgia We are all electronic now! In an effort to Live Programming better serve lawyers enrolled in TILPP, We hit pause on creating new content, [email protected] we no longer require notarization on cer- and particularly, live programming in
2021 AUGUST 53 GBJ | Georgia Lawyer Spotlight PHOTO BY JENNIFER R. MASON A Conversation with Chief Justice Harold D. Melton
In this installment of the “Georgia Lawyer Spotlight,” Editorial Board Member Jacob E. Daly interviews Chief Justice Harold D. Melton prior to his June 30 retirement from the Supreme Court of Georgia. BY JACOB E. DALY
Why have you decided to leave the Court at How do you look back and assess your 16 ally strong working relationship that I this particular time? years on the Court? value greatly. I always knew I probably would not Better than I would have expected. Bet- retire on the Court. When I was ap- ter than I deserved. When I came on the Is there anything that stands out about your pointed in 2005, the trend was for gov- Court, the tone and the concern and the time on the Court that you’re most proud of? ernors to appoint younger lawyers as doubt were palpable. I understood. I told What gets the most attention is the navi- judges. That trend has continued, but the governor that I did not fit the profile gation of the pandemic. I am somewhat it remains to be seen how far we actu- of what people were expecting for an surprised how well that’s received. What ally go toward retirement. Once I serve appointment to the Supreme Court. Nor it felt like when nobody else was look- as chief, that checks a significant box in did they know me in a way that would ing was not having any idea what we terms of what is left to be done in ser- give them some degree of comfort. I re- should do next, bringing smart people on vice to this Court. More immediately, member going to Savannah for the State board for several conversations and try- starting in the fall I will have all three Bar meeting and walking through the ing to figure out as best we could what of my children in college at the same Marriott, and I felt the eyes, the stares we needed to do. It felt like sometimes we time. Math dictates that I have a little and the question marks. All of it was fair. were just commiserating about loss and bit more income so I can have a better What was beautiful and what I value is struggle, commiserating about uncer- outcome. I do want to be able to help the protective nature that the Bar has tainty. The reaction that interprets this as them and have been able to help them. toward the bench in general. They gave leadership in some form or fashion is kind So now is just a good time. me a fair chance, and we developed a re- of surprising, but rewarding. I value that
54 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL experience, not from a sense of pride, but ing around that needs to be accurate the from a sense of fellowship in tough times. first time. The more we work in a unified way, the more efficient we are. If we hold What were the considerations that weighed on to that, protect it and treasure it, we’ll on you in the last year and a half as you were be better off. thinking about how to navigate the pandemic? A lot of it was abstract, just like with the With the benefit of hindsight, is there work that we do in deciding cases. We an- anything you think you should have swer discrete legal questions, and we have done differently? to remind ourselves that real lives are in- I have not gotten to that point yet. I am volved. So we’re thinking about policies sure there will be some things that I will and procedures for safety. We could talk say I would have liked to have done dif- about CDC guidelines and public health ferently, but I have not gotten to that guidelines, and all of those types of ques- point yet. tions, but then when you get a call from somebody about people you know, it be- Are there any decisions you made during comes really real really fast and you almost the last 16 years that stand out to you as have a sense of panic at times about the particularly important or impactful for need to get it right. There is no absolute the state? right because you’re painting with a broad I try not to measure cases based on what brush. There are 11 million people across kind of impact they would have. I do not the state, and whatever you do, somebody’s think that’s the right way to look at how we going to fall out as an outlier. So there were decide cases. There are some cases that we moments when there was a lot of fear and decide that we knew would have a negative the reality and magnitude of what we were impact, but in our view, that’s what the law dealing with would sink in. What I tended required. So we went that way. I am hesi- to do was talk with the people affected, and tant to celebrate our impacts, one way or we bonded and said, “Let’s get through this the other. What I would hope is that when together the best we can.” anybody looks at the body of work, and not just the work coming from my cham- Tell us about some of the good that you’ve bers, but our Court as a whole over the seen in the judiciary during the last year and a half. Right now, our judiciary is as unified as it’s been in the history of our judiciary largely because the pandemic has had a galvanizing effect. We have the ability for anybody to pick up the phone and talk to anybody and work collaboratively on any initiative in a way that would be “Right now, our judiciary is as unified as designed to benefit the entire judiciary. it’s been in the history of our judiciary Even if it’s to benefit one class initially, the mindset is that as soon as we learn largely because the pandemic has had a what we’re doing, we’re going to spread galvanizing effect. ... The more we work in a this out to the rest of the courts. That is a real strength right now. Ultimately, our unified way, the more efficient we are. If we judiciary will have to figure out how to hold on to that, protect it and treasure it, work in a unified fashion to adapt to the modern world, especially as it relates to we’ll be better off.” data sharing. People move between coun- ties and between circuits and move in and out of the state. We have 11 million peo- ple compared to half that just a few years ago. There is a lot more information fly-
2021 AUGUST 55 last 16 years, that they would see the effort the fellow justices on the Court. Value What advice do you have for attorneys who and faithful dedication to applying the law the relationships with the fellow jus- appear in the Supreme Court? fairly and squarely, regardless of persons tices on the Court. And enjoy the Bar as I think for our current Court, the main involved. I would hope that they would see a whole. advice would be to go two or three layers that there was fidelity to the law that trick- beyond what you would do to prepare to led all the way down to the most local of What do you think of the method for select- argue for a trial court motion in terms of courts, and that there would be confidence ing judges in Georgia? the law that you are trying to assess and in the judicial system. Ultimately, I want Judicial selection can be done any num- where that law came from. It is often not people to trust that their interests would ber of ways, and all options have a down- good enough just to cite the law that sup- be fairly presented and protected in our ju- side. If you have a lifetime appointment, ports the proposition. You have to make dicial system, and be confident of a fair and you increase the ability for judges to be sure you understand where that law came just result. independent. The downside of that is, from and whether the case law that you you might increase the opportunity for are relying on is well reasoned and well Does it bother you that the American judges to be independent. And there’s informed so that you can have the as- Tort Reform Association has included the such a thing as too much independence. surance that you are standing on solid Supreme Court of Georgia on its list of On the election side, you have the risk ground. Anticipate the questions and the judicial hellholes? of judges being too beholden to public weak spots, and be prepared for how you Sure. I do not like the Court or the judicial sentiment. On the appellate courts, that’s would respond. Everybody is preparing a system being viewed as a judicial hellhole. buffered somewhat by having 6-year lot more than they used to. If you argue To the extent people view it that way, terms versus 4-year terms. And it’s buff- in front of this Court, you have to moot that’s not what we want people to view it ered even more by the reality that a sit- your arguments. You can’t just go over it as. I also would take issue with what they ting appellate judge is hardly ever defeat- a couple of times the night before. are grading us on to some extent. They ed at the polls. And then you talk about have their personal interests, and they are selections, the governor versus election. Is partisan political office in your future? measuring it from that perspective. But a I think by and large the governors have It is not in my immediate future. I am not lot of times, the outcomes that we are be- been very good, especially at the appel- ruling anything out. I definitely have a de- ing graded on are driven by what I would late court level, about the rigor in select- sire to impact the community on a large consider factors beyond our control, such ing judges. I also think at the trial court scale. I have more perspective now than I as what the Constitution says, or what the level they have selected really good have ever had, and I’d like to be able to do actual statutes say that we are called to in- judges. You could debate which process something with it in some capacity. But terpret. There are times when the text of produces the best quality of judges, but I there are a lot of ways to impact the com- a statute drives a certain result that the do not have any qualms with the current munity on a large scale, and I hope to find Legislature may or may not have really way that the judges are selected, and I a way to do that. focused on when it was passing the legis- said that even before I was selected. lation. We can’t look past the legislation Tell us about your work with the Atlanta and into the thought processes. We can’t Do you think in the future you might find Youth Academy and Young Life Ministries say, “Let’s look past the text and follow yourself arguing a case here on the other and why those organizations are important the philosophy of what’s embedded in the side of the bench? to you. legislation instead.” We are not inclined It could happen. There was a time when I am on the board of the Atlanta Youth to do that as a Court. So, if we end up former justices who argued in front of Academy, which is a private Christian with a result that’s unfavorable because our Court could expect very friendly school in the Thomasville Heights area. we followed that pattern, we’ll take our treatment, not so much in opinions, Its mission is to make sure everybody has lumps and live by whatever assessment but at least in how they were treated quality educational opportunities regard- that follows. Ideally, I’d like for there to be during oral argument. I suspect that if less of economic background and fam- another layer of analysis before the Court I were to argue in front of this Court, ily situation. Young Life is a Christian is referred to as a judicial hellhole. or if Justice Blackwell were to argue in ministry as well. It is designed to reach front of this Court, there would be very unchurched kids. Young Life leaders and What would you want your successor to rigorous discussion to help the justices volunteers walk with these kids: rural, ur- know as he or she embarks on a career here understand whatever issues they are ban, international, kids with disabilities, at the Court? trying to decide. If they were dissatis- teenage mothers, all kids. It has been an Get the best support you can from a staff fied with any of my answers, I think I interesting cross-section between that attorney standpoint. Value the input of would be able to tell. which I love doing with the kids and see-
56 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL ing the lightbulb turn on in the hearts and minds. That involvement intersects nice- ly with my experience in the legal com- munity, especially in the criminal justice context. It has very much informed my perspective about what it means when we talk about criminal justice reform and social justice and what kinds of things will make a difference and what kinds of things won’t make a difference. I’m a big believer that if you really want to change the outcomes and disparities or just sheer volume in our prison population, it is go- ing to require personal support of families and individuals, the earlier the better, and if you are not talking about that as part of the equation, I do not believe you are really serious about talking about affect- Expand your network. ing those numbers. If you’re talking about education as a tool, great, but you are go- ing to have to provide some support to Join a State Bar individuals and families to increase edu- cational outcomes. You can put a factory Section. in the backyard and say now you have job opportunities, but you are going to have to provide individual support and train- ing to help people in that endeavor. It’s not something that we can fix externally. I’ve seen that firsthand in so many differ- ent ways. This is not what I hear in the general conversation right now, and that scares me because the more we talk about the things that won’t move the needle, then that means we’re distracted for a continued period of time and it will de- lay getting us to what we need to produce real and meaningful change. Meanwhile, the situation will be getting worse. l
The State Bar of Georgia’s 51 sections provide newsletters, Jacob E. Daly is of counsel programs and the chance to exchange ideas with other with Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP, in Atlanta and a practitioners. Section dues are very affordable, from $10- member of the Georgia Bar 35. Join one (or more) today by visiting www.gabar.org > Our Journal Editorial Board. He Programs > Sections. Questions? Contact Sections Director represents private companies, Mary Jo Sullivan at [email protected]. government entities and their employees in personal injury litigation with a focus on defending property owners, management companies and security companies in premises liability lawsuits.
2021 AUGUST 57 TO PLACE AN ANNOUNCEMENT Bench Contact Ashley G. Stollar | [email protected] | 404-527-8792 &Bar
Kudos The Georgia Defense Lawyers Bouhan Falligant announced partner Dennis Association (GDLA) announced Keene was named to the Georgia Motor Truck- George R. Hall of Hull Barrett, PC, ing Association’s Board of Directors at the or- Augusta, was sworn-in as presi- ganization’s annual meeting. The Georgia Mo- dent during the 54th GDLA Annu- tor Trucking Association (GMTA), founded in
HALL MEADOWS al Meeting held at the Omni Ame- 1933, is the only organization in the state that lia in June. Other officers installed provides full-time service and representation for the trucking included President-Elect James industry. GMTA serves as the “voice” of the trucking industry D. “Dart” Meadows of Balch & in Georgia, representing for-hire carriers, private carriers and Bingham LLP, Atlanta; and Trea- affiliate members. surer Pamela N. Lee and Secretary William T. “Bill” Casey Jr., both Adams and Reese LLP announced that the firm is participating LEE CASEY of Swift Currie McGhee & Hiers, in the Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certification Process. Adams and Reese LLP, Atlanta. Tracy O’Connell of is among more than 160 large law firms in the United States and Ellis Painter, Savannah, was pro- Canada participating, with the goal of boosting the representation moted to vice president and Mary of historically underrepresented lawyers in law firm leadership. Elizabeth “Libby” Watkins of Levy Participating in the Mansfield Rule initiative is a commitment to Sibley Foreman & Speir, LLC, Au- consider an intentionally broad pool of candidates for leadership O’CONNELL WATKINS gusta, was elected to the board of and high visibility positions within the firm. This includes select- directors. Walter B. McClelland of ing leaders for positions within the firm, hiring lateral attorneys Mabry & McClelland, LLP, Atlan- and forming teams for client pitches. The Mansfield Rule initia- ta, was honored with the Distin- tive also includes a commitment by the firm to be transparent in guished Service Award, the high- internal governance, particularly with selection guidelines and job est accolade given by GDLA. The descriptions for existing management roles and committees. President’s Award was presented to In collaboration with the Adams and Reese Diversity Com- MCCLELLAND BITTING Past President N. Staten Bitting Jr. mittee, the firm announced that it has created a year-long cal- of Levy Sibley Foreman & Speir, LLC, Augusta, and his wife, endar of programs and messaging to promote the firm’s pri- Cindy, for their combined efforts in helping organize and man- ority on diversity. To enhance the professional opportunities age GDLA conference arrangements for the past decade. GDLA afforded to law students who are members of underrepresented is committed to advancing the civil defense bar by providing groups, the firm has established the Adams and Reese Minority training and resources, facilitating communication, and offer- Fellowship Program to support law students as they embark ing networking to more than 950 members. on their legal careers. In addition, Adams and Reese is proud to host, sponsor, partner and participate in numerous diversity Merchant & Gould P.C., announced Partner Lo- initiatives throughout the year, including the ABA Minority retta L. Freeman will co-chair the Patent Design Counsel Program, the Bayou Classic, the Endowed Professor- & Trade Dress Group, demonstrating a forward- ships and Scholarships at Historically Black Universities, the looking view of the firm’s more-inclusive lead- GE Midwestern Diversity Conference and the National Black ership team. The Patent Design & Trade Dress Law Student Association Convention. Group serves all clients, regardless of industry or specific technical needs, helping obtain and enforce utility Chandler Law announced the publication of patents, utility models, design patents, trademarks, trade dress, “Minnows and Sharks, Lawyers’ Quick Refer- copyrights and trade secrets. Intellectual property spans a wide ence for Reducing Risk and Avoiding Trouble,” group of disciplines, as does Merchant & Gould’s Patent Design & by founding partner Douglas V. Chandler. The Trade Dress Group, providing a holistic and integrated approach book serves a lawyer’s go-to resource with prac- to help clients secure their protected position in the marketplace. tice tips for handling Bar Admissions obstacles, ethics conundrums, disciplinary investigations and malpractice situations. Chandler condenses some of the lessons learned dur- ing his more than 20 years of practice focusing on suing and
58 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL defending lawyers in malpractice and ethics situations into this Hall Booth Smith, P.C., announced handy guide. The book is available in paperback and e-book the addition of Jake Evans and through the firm’s website, www.chandler-law.net. James E. “Jim” Gilson as partner, Christopher J. Watkins as counsel, Chamberlain Hrdlicka announced and M. Christopher Freeman Jr.
that Stephanie Friese Aron and EVANS GILSON and Cristal Gomez Vickers as as- Scott Augustine have been named sociates. Evans focuses his practice co-managing shareholders of the on disputes involving breach of firm’s Atlanta office. Chamberlain contract and fiduciary duties, resi- Hrdlicka is a diversified business dential and commercial real estate, ARON AUGUSTINE law firm that represents both pub- restrictive covenants, business dis- lic and private companies, as well as individuals and family- solutions, partnerships and joint owned businesses across the nation. WATKINS FREEMAN ventures, derivative corporate claims, note defaults and workouts, and intellec- tual property. Gilson specializes in high-exposure On the Move trial litigation for catastrophic injury, premises li- ability, insurance and transportation tort claims. IN ATLANTA Watkins’ practice focuses on wrongful death, Baker Jenner LLLP announced the addition of VICKERS personal injury and other high-exposure general attorney Adam P. Ford as senior counsel. Ford liability matters in construction, transportation practices business law, litigation and consult- and other industries, liability and damage estimates, insurance ing, focusing on employment law, commercial coverage evaluations and other pre-litigation matters. Free- transactions, intellectual property, trademarks man represents clients in corporate and partnership matters, and brand protection, personal injury and other business litigation, labor and employment, general liability areas of law that impact businesses. The firm is located at 210 cases, government affairs matters and governmental liabil- Interstate N. Parkway, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30339; 404-400- ity litigation. Vickers concentrates her practice on insurance 5955; www.bakerjenner.com. coverage and general liability matters. The firm is located at 191 Peachtree St. NE, Suite 2900, Atlanta, GA 30303; 404-954- Sutton Slover announced the addition of Kevin 5000; Fax 404-954-5020; hallboothsmith.com. W. Burkhart as an associate. Burkhart’s practice focuses on civil litigation in state and federal Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP announced courts in matters of premise liability, transporta- the addition of Josh Marks as counsel. Marks fo- tion liability, workers’ compensation and medical cuses his practice on environmental compliance, malpractice. The firm is located at 5901 Peachtree conservation, sustainability, real estate, land use Dunwoody Road NE, Suite A220, Atlanta, GA 30328; 404-768- and corporate legal needs. The firm is located at 0292; Fax 404-419-6011; www.sloverlaw.net. 1075 Peachtree St. NE, Suite 1500, Atlanta, GA 30309; 678-690-5750; Fax 404-869-6972; parkerpoe.com. FordHarrison LLP announced the addition of Elverine “Rena” Felton and Abigail Larimer as Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn counsel. Felton focuses her practice on execu- & Dial announced the addition of tive compensation, including negotiating and William “Bill” Sheppard as partner drafting equity compensation plans and awards, and Briana Burrows and Marriah
FELTON employment/severance agreements, other com- Paige as associates. Sheppard fo- pensation arrangements, and health and welfare cuses his practice on construc- SHEPPARD BURROWS matters. Larimer’s practice focuses on restric- tion, environmental, real estate tive covenants, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and banking matters. Burrows’ practice areas the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family include complex civil litigation with an empha- Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, sis on catastrophic personal injury and wrong- and state wage and hour laws such as employee ful death, and commercial disputes involving LARIMER misclassification, meals and rest breaks, and oth- intellectual property and construction-related er wage and hour concerns. The firm is located at 271 17th St. PAIGE issues. Paige focuses her practice on wrongful NW, Suite 1900, Atlanta, GA 30363; 404-888-3800; Fax 404- death, personal injury premises liability, medi- 888-3863; fordharrison.com. cal malpractice and civil rights violations. The firm is located at 3344 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 2400, Atlanta, GA 30326; 404-876-2700; Fax 404-875-9433; www.wwhgd.com.
2021 AUGUST 59 Stein Law, LLC, announced the addition of Evita Boyd & Jenerette, P.A., announced the addition Jantaraweragul as partner. Jantaraweragul’s prac- of Payton D. Bramlett as partner and Nicholas L. tice focuses on a wide range of business, tax and McKenney as senior associate. Bramlett focuses estate planning-related issues. The firm is located his practice in the areas of insurance defense, at 750 Hammond Drive, Building 5-100, Atlanta, general liability and personal injury litigation GA 30328; 770-804-4888; steinlawllc.com. BRAMLETT including automobile, trucking and premises li- ability, and property damage cases including con- IN BRUNSWICK struction defect cases. McKenney’s practice fo- Hall Booth Smith, P.C., announced the addition of cuses on insurance defense, general liability and Krysta Grymes as an associate. Grymes focuses her personal injury litigation, including automobile, practice on aging services and medical malpractice bad faith, trucking and premises liability. The defense. The firm is located at 3528 Darien High- firm is located at 33 Bull St., Suite 100, Savannah, way, Suite 300, Brunswick, GA 31525; 912-554- MCKENNEY GA 31401; 912-921-8820; www.boydjen.com. 0093; Fax 912-554-1973; hallboothsmith.com. IN STATESBORO IN SAVANNAH Kimberly S. Ward announced the launch of HunterMaclean announced the Kimberly S. Ward, LLC. Ward focuses her prac- addition of Sarah J. Sarb and Clint tice on representing debtors in consumer and Guillebeau as associates. Sarb fo- business bankruptcies and related areas of law. cuses her practice on corporate law The firm is located at 127 N. Main St., Suite 203, and business transactions. Guille- Statesboro, GA 30459; 912-764-9616; Fax 912-
SARB GUILLEBEAU beau focuses his practice on real 764-8789; www.kswardlaw.com. estate, affordable housing, com- mercial real estate and bond transactions. The firm is located at 200 E. Saint Julian St., Savannah, GA, 31401; 912-236-0261; Fax 912-236-936; huntermaclean.com.
Announcement When life Submissions doesn’t he Georgia Bar Journal welcomes the submission of news about local and make sense. Tvoluntary bar association happenings, Bar The SOLACE program is designed members, law firms and topics of interest to assist any member of the legal to attorneys in Georgia. community (lawyers, judges, law Notices are printed at no cost, must be office and court staff, law students submitted in writing and are subject to and their families) in Georgia who editing. Some restrictions apply, and items suffer serious loss due to a sudden are printed as space is available. News catastrophic event, injury or illness. releases regarding lawyers who are not Visit www.gabar.org for more members in good standing of the State Bar information on SOLACE, or email of Georgia will not be printed. Learn more [email protected]. at www.gabar.org/newsandpublications.
For more information or to submit an announcement, please contact Ashley G. Stollar, [email protected] or 404-527-8792.
60 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Lawyers Living Well, a podcast for all things wellness.
Available now.
SOUNDCLOUD ITUNES STITCHER SPOTIFY
www.lawyerslivingwell.org GBJ | Office of the General Counsel
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
BY PAULA FREDERICK
“I only hired your firm because of the The answer is clearer now that the cybersecurity precautions you have in Supreme Court of Georgia has approved place,” your client fumes. “I thought my new comments to the confidentiality rule, Secret Formula would be safe with you, Georgia Rule of Professional Conduct 1.6. but now it’s swirling around in cyberspace The Court’s Order of May 14, 2021, adds where any hack can find it!” Comments 24 and 25 to help lawyers un- “We’ve done everything you asked,” derstand the precautions they must take you respond. “This firm safeguards cli- to prevent confidential information from ent information with the latest technol- falling into the wrong hands. ogy. We don’t have any reason to be- Comment 25 specifically deals with lieve that the Secret Formula is at risk.” transmitting a communication that includes “I’ll agree you were storing it safely,” confidential information. Although the your client admits. “But why in the world lawyer is required to use “reasonable pre- did you send that email with the Formula cautions,” the comment clarifies that there attached? And from your zmail account, is no need to use special security measures no less!” if the method of communication affords a “Umm … I used my zmail account “reasonable expectation of privacy,” so en- because the file was so large. The office crypted email would normally suffice. On email doesn’t allow large attachments. the other hand, the comment acknowledges What’s wrong with zmail?” you ask. “I use that extra steps might be warranted when it all the time!” dealing with sensitive information or when “Are you kidding?” your client asks. the client requests specific precautions. “It’s not even encrypted! You could at least Email transmission is often the weak- have used confidential mode.” est link in a firm’s cybersecurity plan. “Zmail has a confidential mode?” Consult your cyber professional to be you wonder. sure that you are acting responsibility to The Rules of Professional Conduct preserve client confidentiality. l require lawyers to keep confidential in- formation safely in order to reduce the likelihood that it will be compromised. Paula Frederick But how far must a lawyer go to en- General Counsel sure that confidential client information State Bar of Georgia stays confidential? [email protected] GETTYIMAGES.COM/PIRANKA
62 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL GBJ | Attorney Discipline
Attorney Discipline Summaries
April 19, 2021 – June 21, 2021 BY PAULA FREDERICK
Disbarments cess, the Court agreed that disbarment “He who is his own lawyer Cynthia Ann Lain was the appropriate sanction. 4470 Satellite Blvd., Suite 101 The State Bar filed a formal complaint has a fool for a client.” Duluth, GA 30096 in each matter in January 2019, and Lain Admitted to the Bar 2007 filed an answer in each matter in April On April 19, 2021, the Supreme Court 2019. Thereafter, the Special Master en- Warren R. Hinds, P.C. of Georgia disbarred attorney Cynthia tered an initial scheduling order and the “An Attorney’s Attorney” Ann Lain (State Bar No. 705135) from Bar served interrogatories, requests for • Bar Complaints the practice of law in Georgia. The dis- admissions and requests for production • Malpractice Defense ciplinary matters came before the Court of documents on Lain. Lain, however, • Ethics Consultation on the reports and recommendations of failed to respond adequately to the Bar’s the Special Master who recommended requests, and her response to the Bar’s that Lain be disbarred as a result of five requests for admissions became the sub- State Disciplinary Board matters, each ject of a discovery dispute. The Special pursued in a separate formal complaint. Master attempted to resolve the dispute In connection with these matters, the by issuing a discovery deadline order, Special Master concluded that Lain vio- but Lain still failed to comply with the lated Rules 1.2 (a), 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 (a), 1.16 discovery order and never supplement- (d), 3.1 (b), 3.2, 3.3 (a), 3.5 (d) and 8.4 ed her responses to the Bar’s discovery (a) (4) of the Georgia Rules of Profes- requests. The Bar filed three motions sional Conduct. The maximum sanc- to compel, and in December 2019, the tion for a violation of Rules 1.2, 1.3, 3.3, Special Master entered orders on the and 8.4 (a) (4) is disbarment while the motions to compel, directing Lain to maximum penalty for the remainder of comply with her discovery obligations. 1303 Macy Drive the rules is a public reprimand. Because Lain failed to comply, and the Bar filed Roswell, Georgia 30076 Lain engaged in a pattern of serious mis- a motion for sanctions. Lain then filed Call (770) 993-1414 conduct that included contempt of court a frivolous motion to dismiss the Bar’s www.warrenhindslaw.com and contempt for the disciplinary pro- complaints on the grounds that they
2021 AUGUST 63 were not timely prosecuted. The mo- attend her arraignment hearing without tion to dismiss was denied, and follow- counsel present; violated Rule 1.3 when ing a show cause hearing on the matter, she failed to promptly attend scheduled the Special Master found that Lain failed court appearances and notify her client of to show why her answers should not be any delays in attending court appearances; stricken. In addition, although Lain had and violated Rule 1.4 (a) when she failed to agreed to attend a deposition in January appear in court on behalf of her client on 2020, she failed to appear, leading the multiple occasions without notice to her Bar to file a second motion for sanctions. client or to the court, which caused delay The Special Master said that Lain’s and detriment to the client’s case. The Spe- conduct in the underlying actions was cial Master determined that Lain’s lack of consistent with her approach to the dis- performance and failure to meet reason- ciplinary proceedings, in which she re- able expectations resulted in the collection fused to participate in good faith, failed of an unreasonable fee from her client in to respond to motions, failed to attend violation of Rule 1.5 (a). The Special Mas- scheduled status conferences or hearings, ter also concluded that Lain violated Rule and attempted to advance factual and legal 1.16 (d) because, after accepting payment positions inconsistent with the facts and for representation, she was expected to law governing proceedings. The Special perform promptly and diligently on behalf Master determined that her conduct was of her client, but instead her lack of per- For the most up-to-date so consistent and pervasive that, at best, formance delayed the case, which should information on lawyer it could be characterized as reckless disre- have resulted in a refund of unearned fees. gard for the disciplinary process and those Finally, the Special Master concluded that discipline, visit involved in it, and at worst, an intentional Lain violated Rule 3.2 when she agreed to effort to avoid or delay the process. In represent her client in a criminal case but April 2020, the Special Master entered an then caused unnecessary delay for several order granting the Bar’s first motion for months by failing to communicate and to www.gabar.org/ sanctions and ordering that Lain’s answer attend several court appearances. to each formal complaint be stricken and In Case S21Y0655, the Special Master forthepublic/ that all facts alleged in the Bar’s formal concluded that Lain violated Rule 1.2 (a) recent-discipline.cfm complaints be deemed admitted. when she failed to consult and commu- In Case No. S21Y0652, the Special nicate with her client about the client’s Master concluded that Lain violated Rule case, including before pretrial hearings 1.3 by failing to act with reasonable dili- and the jury trial; that she violated Rule gence when she failed to appear for sched- 1.3 by failing to promptly attend and uled court appearances without notifying communicate with the court regarding the court in advance, resulting in the court court appearances and to consult with finding her in contempt and assessing at- her client about the status of the client’s torney fees against her and her client caus- case; and that she violated Rule 1.4 (a) ing detriment to her client The Special by failing to notify her client about the Master also concluded that Lain violated status of her case or attend court appear- Rule 1.4 (a) by failing to notify her client ances, which was detrimental to her cli- of scheduled court appearances, resulting ent’s case. In addition, the Special Mas- in attorney fees being assessed to her cli- ter concluded Lain violated Rule 3.2 by ent and a finding of contempt by the court. agreeing to represent her client but then Finally, the Special Master concluded that failing to serve her client’s interests; that Lain violated Rule 3.1 when she know- she violated Rule 3.3 (a) when she filed ingly filed a frivolous motion to dismiss. a motion containing false information; In Case S21Y0654, the Special Master and that she violated Rule 3.5 (d) when concluded that Lain violated Rule 1.2 (a) she attempted to mislead the court, failed when she failed to consult with her cli- to comply with court orders and failed to ent about her case, causing the client to appear for scheduled hearings. Finally,
64 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL the Special Master concluded that Lain imposition of reciprocal discipline which been issued for her arrest and asked Da- violated Rule 8.4 (a) (4) when she filed arose out of a Judgment of Disbarment vis to investigate and arrange for her to a motion containing false information in entered against him in Texas. The State turn herself in, if necessary. Davis failed the hope of obtaining a supersedeas. Bar of Texas Evidentiary Panel found that to conduct an appropriate investigation In Case S21Y0657, the Special Mas- in 2015, a Texas client hired Ghanayem to into whether warrants existed, but falsely ter found that Lain violated Rule 1.3 and file an involuntary relinquishment of pa- told the client there were no warrants. Al- 3.2 when she failed to appear in court as rental rights action against the biological though the client continued to make pay- scheduled in her two clients’ cases and father of her son; that Ghanayem neglect- ments, Davis failed to respond to many failed to provide evidence to the court to ed the legal matter by failing to file a pe- of her inquiries; failed to appear on her excuse her absences. The Special Master tition for an involuntary relinquishment behalf at a hearing; failed to respond to found that she violated Rule 3.3 (a) when of parental rights until March 2017; that her questions about how the payments she misled the court regarding her rea- Ghanayem failed to keep the client rea- she had made had been earned; and re- sons for failing to appear in court and sonably informed about the status of her peatedly told her that no warrants had Rule 3.5 (d) by failing to comply with the matter and failed to promptly respond to been issued. The client was arrested on court’s orders and failing to appear for reasonable requests for information; that Dec. 24, 2018, on warrants that had been scheduled hearings. Ghanayem engaged in conduct involving issued prior to her hiring Davis. Follow- In Case S21Y0658, the Special Master dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresen- ing the arrest, the client and her family at- found that Lain violated Rule 1.2 (a) when tation by misrepresenting the status of the tempted to contact Davis, but he failed to she failed to consult with her client about matter to his client and by providing her respond to their calls and failed to contact her case; Rule 1.3 when she failed to file with a fraudulent order and forged signa- or visit the client. The client remained in the client’s custody action; and Rule 1.4 ture of the judge. The Evidentiary Panel jail for about seven weeks, and her failure when she failed to keep the client updated found that by his conduct, Ghanayem to turn herself in despite having knowl- about the status of her case and failed to violated various Texas Disciplinary Rules edge of the arrest warrants was cited by respond to her client’s numerous requests of Professional Conduct relating to his the prosecution as a reason for not allow- for an update on the case. In addition, the failure to provide competent and diligent ing her to be released. After her release, Special Master concluded Lain violated representation, his failure to communi- the client sent Davis a letter by certified Rule 1.5 (a) when she charged her client cate with his client and his dishonest con- mail asking him to detail what he did to an unreasonable fee and did not perform duct in forging a court order. Based upon earn the money she paid him, to whom work to earn the fees; that she violated a review of the disciplinary procedures he spoke about the warrants and request- Rule 1.16 (d) when she failed to return the and rules in Texas and the correspond- ing a refund. Davis did not respond to the client’s file and refund any unearned fee; ing disciplinary procedures and rules in letter nor did he respond to the grievance and Rule 3.2 when she failed to perform Georgia, the Review Board concluded filed by the client with the State Bar. work on the client’s case, including filing that disbarment would be an appropriate The disciplinary matter came before the custody action. level of discipline in Georgia for similar the Court on the report and recommen- misconduct and found no basis for rec- dation of the Special Master recommend- Majd M. Ghanayem ommending anything other than substan- ing that the Court disbar Davis for the 500 Chestnut St., Suite 1509 tially similar discipline. The Court agreed abandonment of a client and his failure Abilene, TX 79602 with the Review Board that disbarment to respond in the disciplinary matter. The Admitted to the Bar 2013 was the appropriate sanction. Court agreed with the Special Master On April 22, 2021, the Supreme Court that based on the misconduct, Davis vio- of Georgia disbarred attorney Majd M. Joseph Roger Davis lated Rules 1.2 (a), 1.3, 1.4 (b), 1.5 (a), 8.4 Ghanayem (State Bar No. 221849) from 433 Cherry St., Suite A (a) (4) and 9.3 of the Georgia Rules of the practice of law in Georgia. The dis- Macon, GA 31201 Professional Conduct. The maximum ciplinary matter was before the Court on Admitted to the Bar 2005 sanction for a violation of Rules 1.2 (a), the Report and Recommendation of the On June 21, 2021, the Supreme Court 1.3 and 8.4 (a) (4) is disbarment, and the State Disciplinary Review Board address- of Georgia disbarred attorney Joseph maximum sanction for a violation of ing a Notice of Reciprocal Discipline is- Roger Davis (State Bar No. 141985) from Rules 1.4 (b), 1.5 (a) and 9.3 is a public sued to Ghanayem pursuant to Rule 9.4 the practice of law in Georgia. Davis was reprimand. The Court agreed with the of the Georgia Rules of Professional Con- retained to represent a client in a crimi- Special Master that at least the following duct. After personal service was unsuc- nal matter in early November 2018. The aggravating factors were present: dishon- cessful, Ghanayem was served by publi- client paid Davis a retainer, informed est or selfish motive, a pattern of miscon- cation. He did not file any objection to the him of her concerns that warrants had duct, refusal to acknowledge the wrongful
2021 AUGUST 65 nature of his conduct, and substantial ex- loan modification but instead proceeded to ney sent written requests to Paxton for perience in the practice of law. The Court process his file for a repayment plan with information regarding the case on Oct. also noted that Davis received a Formal the mortgagee. 18 and Nov. 1, 2018, and again on Feb. Letter of Admonition in 2015 and that his During the same period, the client 13, 2019. Paxton finally responded on prior disciplinary history was another ag- failed to respond to requests and inquiries Feb. 18, 2019, stating that she was “in the gravating factor. The Court agreed that from KLC and failed to make monthly middle of loan modification efforts” when Davis’s intentional misrepresentations to payments, resulting in KLC notifying the the mortgagee foreclosed on the client’s and abandonment of a client facing crimi- client in June 2018 that his case would be home. The legal aid lawyer asked Paxton nal charges, and his failure to respond to closed if payment wasn’t received in 10 for additional information and docu- the disciplinary authorities, warranted the days. On June 29, KLC notified the cli- ments but she never responded. sanction of disbarment. ent that his case with the firm was being The client filed a grievance against closed for non-payment. Neither Paxton Paxton in April 2019. On Oct. 30, 2020, nor KLC sent a mortgage modification Paxton refunded the client’s money as re- Review Board Reprimand package to the client’s mortgagee be- quested by the State Bar. Paxton asserted Misty Oaks Paxton tween January and June of 2018. On July that her failures were based on a business 3895 Brookgreen Point 24, 2018, the mortgagee notified the cli- model that left too much of the handling of Decatur, GA 30034 ent that his home was subject to a fore- client matters in the hands of non-lawyers Admitted to the Bar 2009 closure sale on Sept. 4, 2018. On July 31, several states away whom she did not su- On April 19, 2021, the Supreme Court the client notified KLC about the pend- pervise or employ, which caused the cli- of Georgia accepted the petition for volun- ing foreclosure sale and date and signed ent’s case to fall through the cracks to his tary discipline of Misty Oaks Paxton (State another attorney-client agreement with detriment. She said she has terminated Bar No. 127089) and directed that Paxton KLC agreeing to pay his balance and a her relationship with KLC. Paxton admit- receive a State Disciplinary Review Board $900 “requalification fee.” On Aug.1, ted she violated Rule 1.2 (a) insofar as she Reprimand for her admitted violations Paxton wrote to the client introducing failed to abide by her client’s decisions con- of Rules 1.2 (a), 1.2 (c), 1.3 and 1.5 of the herself as “the local attorney in the State cerning the scope and objectives of repre- Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct. of Georgia, working ... on your file for a sentation; she violated 1.2 (c) insofar as the In her petition, Paxton admitted the loan modification/foreclosure defense.” limitations on her representation of the following: As a solo practitioner, she had The client paid $500 to KLC on Aug. client were unreasonable; she violated 1.3 a relationship with a nationwide law firm 3, but did not provide necessary docu- insofar as she was not sufficiently diligent marketing loan modification services mentation and he spent several days that on behalf of the client; and she violated 1.5 called Kealy Law Center (KLC) where month in the hospital with a head injury. (e) insofar as she did not advise the client KLC would refer people in Georgia who On Aug. 31, the client called KLC and about the division of fees between her and contacted the firm for services to Paxton. expressed concern because his house was KLC, that division was not proportionate In December 2017, KLC referred a disabled still being advertised for the foreclosure and the total fee was unreasonable. The veteran who was in danger of losing his sale on Sept. 4. KLC sent the client an maximum punishment for a violation of home to Paxton. KLC provided a retainer email informing him that nothing would Rules 1.2 (a), 1.2 (c) and 1.3 is disbarment agreement on Paxton’s letterhead to the be done for him because he had not paid and the maximum punishment for Rule client. The agreement required payment of the full fee and the client paid the addi- 1.5 (e) is a public reprimand. In mitigation, an initial retainer and monthly payments tional $400 to KLC. That same day, KLC Paxton asserted she had no prior discipline, and also required the client to respond to emailed Paxton about the matter and she had no dishonest or selfish motive, had a requests and inquiries. The client executed emailed the client, informing him that she cooperative attitude toward the disciplin- the agreement, returned it to KLC and be- could not travel to Brunswick to file for ary proceedings, had otherwise exhibited gan making payments to KLC. On May bankruptcy to head off the foreclosure good moral character, had a positive repu- 2, 2018, a KLC employee faxed a letter of because she was out of town, but that she tation and was remorseful. The State Bar authority for third-party authorization to had completed and attached an Emer- filed a response consenting to Paxton’s pe- the client’s mortgagee so that Paxton could gency Chapter 13 Bankruptcy petition, tition but submitted the aggravating factor speak to the mortgagee about loan modifi- which she informed him he needed to file of ‘vulnerability of victim.” l cation. On May 10, a KLC employee con- by the morning of Sept. 4. The client was tacted the mortgagee and learned it would unable to print the petition and therefore not consider loan modification for the cli- filled out his own pro se petition and filed Jessica Oglesby ent because he had already modified his it on Sept. 5. The client’s home was sold Clerk, State Disciplinary Boards loan three times, but that he would qualify at the scheduled foreclosure sale on Sept. State Bar of Georgia for a repayment plan. Paxton failed to in- 4. On Oct. 18, 2018, the client contacted [email protected] form the client that he did not qualify for a Atlanta Legal Aid, and a legal aid attor-
66 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Ethics dilemma?
Lawyers who would like to discuss an ethics dilemma with a member of the Office of the General Counsel staff should contact the Ethics Helpline at 404-527-8741 or toll free at 800-682-9806, or log in to www.gabar.org and submit your question by email. GBJ | Legal Tech Tips
Legal Tech TIPS
BY MIKE MONAHAN
GETTYIMAGES.COM/PEOPLEIMAGES
Ruby Receptionist TechSmith 1www.ruby.com 2www.techsmith.com Need a receptionist fast? Vacations, staff We’ve covered Jing before. Jing is now illness or covering a vacancy can be very TechSmith Capture and worth a revisit. problematic. A for-fee service like Ruby TechSmith allows you to record your Receptionist can save the day and your screen and share it with others. Use it business. Ruby Receptionist is essentially to send instructions to your client or to a call center where you can have your of- walk your client though a case scenario fice calls forwarded. A live person—a re- or forms. Your client can also use it to Eastgate Tinderbox ceptionist—answers and follows a script record a text message thread and share it 4www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox you provide. You purchase blocks of with you. Only available only in iOS. I’m always searching for ways to organize minutes for the time slots or period you my work. Check out Eastgate Tinderbox need to have covered. Ruby Receptionist (no, not related to a dating service). The is available via website and app—Android Fingerprint Security for-fee Tinderbox documents and visuals and iOS. Check out other examples like 3Here’s a useful life and tech hack. adapt to your work style and grow with Lex and Posh and compare. Many of us use the fingerprint security your understanding. Tinderbox can help feature on our smartphones. Occasion- keep your data organized and complete, ally something—like an injury or medi- automatically supplying routine meta- cal treatment—affects your fingerprint, data and discretely reminding you of gaps leaving you to recall all your logins for and errors. Tinderbox can even remind perhaps a dozen or more phone apps to you if you repeat the same words too of- pay bills, work or communicate via social ten. Tinderbox AI automatically recog- media. You may have to switch fingers, nizes addresses and gets their geographi- so just use the Biometrics feature of your cal location for you. It finds names and phone to add a second fingerprint as a organizations mentioned in your notes, backup. Best not to wait. helping your agents to tag and organize your work, freeing you to concentrate on what matters most.
68 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Data Breach 5haveibeenpwned.com In prior Tech Tips, I have mentioned that you ought to Google yourself and your firm. First, doing so gives you an idea of where and how your identity is showing up on the web, but it also could alert you to potential and actual misuses of your identity. You should also regular- ly check if your email or phone is in a data breach. We all have one or more email addresses associated with our financial accounts, social media and work—and of- ten our phone numbers are captured by businesses we deal with and are used to identify us. Go to haveibeenpwned.com and input your email addresses (personal and work) and then check your phone Mental Well-Being iTimeKeep numbers (personal and work). 7guardians.media.mit.edu 8www.aderant.com/itimekeep/ Guardians Unite the Realms is a new Attorney time tracking doesn’t have to be mobile game developed in the Affective a hassle. Keep time consistently, effort- Search Syntax Computing Group of the MIT Media lessly, accurately and securely, regardless 6Up your Google Search skills: Use Lab that provides immediate and grati- of device, operating system, location or Search Syntax. Most of us go directly to fying rewards for using a therapeutic time of day. Built by attorneys, for attor- Google and type in key words and then technique known as behavioral activa- neys because it’s our goal to create better refine the key words. For example, you tion. Behavioral activation is a therapy timekeepers. With iTimekeep, it’s ridic- can exclude words from your search. that asks people to choose and perform a ulously easy to enter your time. Put a dash (–) in front of the word you meaningful and positive task, then reflect want to leave out, for example, search on it. The Guardians utilizes the psycho- jaguar speed –car. Also you can demand logical techniques of mobile games to re- an entire phrase by putting the phrase ward and encourage healthy habit forma- in quotes in the search field. Go to the tion and teach skills that are invaluable Google Help Center for a lengthy list of toward fighting depression. Available in syntax ideas to help improve your search. iOS and Android. #lawyerslivingwell
GETTYIMAGES.COM/BLUE PLANET STUDIO
2021 AUGUST 69 GBJ | Pro Bono
Volunteering and Happiness
What? Volunteering will make you happier? That’s right. Multiple studies have shown that volunteering on a regular basis can give a boost to a person’s happiness. So, what are you waiting for? Get happy. Do pro bono. BY SARAH J. ANDERSON
So here it is. Another article about why you should be taking pro bono cases. But this isn’t the typical article on why it’s good to donate your legal talents to pro- grams like Georgia Legal Services Pro- gram. This article is not about Bar Rule 6.1, which states that we should aspire to provide at least 50 hours of pro bono ser- vice a year. This article is not about the fact that every year more than 800,000 cases involve self-represented litigants, or the fact that those litigants have dif- ficulty understanding the court process. Self-represented litigants miss deadlines, resulting in dismissed cases, and often feel at a disadvantage in negotiations and in the courtroom when there is an attorney on the other side. This article is also not going to talk about all the professional benefits attor- neys get out of taking pro bono cases. There will be no talk about how pro bono cases can help you sharpen litigation skills, give you the opportunity to appear before judges in a variety of cases or im- prove your client/case management skills. No, this article is about a benefit you might not have considered before: the health benefits of volunteering. Especial- ly, the connection between volunteering
GETTYIMAGES.COM/PHOTOTECHNO and happiness.
70 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL What? Volunteering will make you ers found that volunteering was “sig- last accesseed June 10, 2021. happier? That’s right. Multiple studies nificantly predictive of better mental and 6. Jane Allyn Piliavin & Erica Siegl, Health have shown that volunteering on a regu- physical health, life satisfaction, self-es- Benefits of Volunteering in the Wisconsin lar basis can give a boost to a person’s hap- teem, happiness, lower depressive symp- Longitudinal Study; J. Health and Social piness. A 2004 study found a connection toms psychological distress, and mortality Behavior, Vol. 48 (Dec.): 450-464 between volunteering and happiness.1 and functional inability.”12 (2007). This longitudinal study began People who did not volunteer reported There’s also some evidence that vol- with over 10,000 Wisconsin adults in 1957. Follow up surveys were conducted the lowest scores for happiness.2 Those unteering can act as a protective factor in 1964, 1975, 1992, and 2004. who volunteered weekly or monthly re- in aging. As people grow older, they 7. Francesca Borgonovi, Doing well by 3 ported the highest. Most interesting was lose major role-identities as marital, pa- doing good. The relationship between formal that volunteers all reported high happi- rental and employment statuses change. volunteering and self-reported health and ness levels regardless of the original moti- This loss of identity for older adults happiness; Social Science & Med., Vol. 6: vation behind volunteering.4 That means often results in lessened psychological 2321-2334 (2008). This study used the that whether you volunteer simply be- well-being. In 2004, researchers found Social Capital Community Benchmark cause you enjoy helping people or because that formal volunteering allowed older Survey containing samples from 41 you see volunteering as an investment in individuals to regain role-identity and communities across 29 states. The your career, you will still experience an thereby improve well-being.13 The study survey is used extensively in studies of increase in happiness. concluded that “(v)olunteering might the relationship between individuals and health and happiness. When volunteering, you can’t get too not prevent us from feeling dysphoric, 8. Id. at 2331. much of a good thing. A 2007 longitudi- but it might help us to feel cheerful and 9. Id. 14 nal study following Wisconsin volunteers happy in later adulthood.” 10. Id. at 2326. for decades found that volunteering has a In addition to happiness, studies 11. Id. positive effect on a person’s sense of well- have shown that people who volunteer 12. Jerf W.K. Yeung, Zhuoni Zhang & being5 over several years, stating, “There have reduced risk of depression, stress, Tae Yeun Kim, Volunteering and health is never a decrease in the impact of volun- anxiety and live longer than those who benefits in general adults: cumulative teering as the amount increases.”6 don’t volunteer.15 effects and forms, BMX Pub. Health Volunteering not only improved over- So, what are you waiting for? Get hap- 18:8 (2018). This study followed 1504 all well-being, but research also showed py. Do pro bono. l “community-dwelling” Texas adults. that the more frequently a person volun- 13. Emily A. Greenfield & Nadine F. Marks, Formal Volunteering as a Protective factor teered the more likely they were to re- for Older Adults’ Psychological Well- port being healthy and happy.7 In 2008, Sarah J. Anderson Being, The Gerontological Society of researchers found that volunteering was Pro Bono Project Staff Attorney— America, Vol. 59B, No. 5 S258-S264 associated with greater happiness than Georgia Legal Services Program (2004). This study used a subsample other altruistic behaviors, such as mon- [email protected] of the National Survey of Midlife etary donations or donating blood.8 They Development in the United States. The concluded that “(t)he process of volun- survey includes 3,032 adults between the age of 25 and 74. The subsample teering itself ... might reinforce satisfac- Endnotes tion for what one has rather than dissat- consisted of 373 adults between the age 1. Stephan Meier & Alois Stutzer, Is 9 of 65 and 74. isfaction for what she lacks. ...” Volunteering Rewarding in Itself?, IAZ Money can’t buy happiness, but vol- 14. Id. at S263. Discussion Papers, No. 1045, Institute for 15. Mayo Clinic Health System, Helping unteering can. The rise in well-being the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn (2004). people, changing lives: The 6 health from volunteering monthly is similar to This study was conducted between 1985- benefits of volunteering; May 18, 2017; that seen with people whose incomes 1999 and involved approximately 22,000
2021 AUGUST 71 GBJ | Law Practice Management
#KnowYourBar: Law Practice Management Program
The State Bar of Georgia and the Law Practice Management Program are continually working to provide our members with benefits that can help both professionally and personally. This article provides a brief overview/ introduction to a number of services that are always available to you. BY KIM HENRY
The Law Practice Management Pro- Resource Library discount. Just ask for Georgia’s ABA book gram (LPM) is one of the Bar’s most pop- Boasting more than 1,500 items, the pro- discount code. Other external resources in- ular offerings for members. Read on for gram’s resource library is arguably the clude legal podcasts, blogs, periodicals and an overview of some of the many services largest in the country, containing books, even business management consultants LPM provides and be sure to take advan- DVDs and periodicals covering a wide for business development and coaching. tage of this member benefit. range of practice management and busi- The list of products and services expands ness topics related to law office manage- almost daily. From resources for opening ment and technology. We love to recom- a new practice mid-career to guidance for Law Office Start-Up Resources/ mend resources that can help members newly-minted lawyers fresh out of law Office Start-Up Kit with their individual business decisions. school and from managing the day-to-day LPM continues to provide free copies of The library has a large number of busi- activities of a thriving practice to closing the start-up kit, “Guide to Starting Your ness-focused titles, including: “The Law- down and retiring, the LPM’s Resource Georgia Law Practice,” to members. In yer’s Guide to Creating a Business Plan”; Library is an invaluable tool for success. fact, we have found that the kit is not “Law Office Policy & Procedures Manual”; Members, their staff and law students only beneficial to lawyers looking to start “Legal Upheaval: A Guide to Creativity, may access the LPM resource library on- a law practice, but it has also been helpful Collaboration, and Innovation in Law”; line through the Bar’s website, or con- with general business planning for those “Law Practice Strategy: Creating a New tact Latashia Hughes at 404-527-8772/ members who have already established Business Model for Solos and Small Firms”; [email protected] or Kim Henry at 404- an office. The contents include thoughts “Getting Clients: For Lawyers Starting 526-8621/[email protected] for assistance. on hanging out a shingle, choice of en- Out or Starting Over”; “Automating Le- tity selection, marketing, office automa- gal Services: Justice through Technology”; tion, trust accounting, social media and “Building a Better Law Practice: Become Consulting more. The kit is available via in-person a Better Lawyer in Five Minutes a Day”; LPM also continues to assist members pick up and mail delivery. To request “Advising the Small Business: Forms and with the nitty-gritty issues of operating a a copy via mail, log in to your member Advice for the Legal Practitioner”; “Trust law practice through its general manage- account, navigate to the store and select Accounting in One Hour for Lawyers”; ment consultations. Do you need help the product. Mailed copies require a $5 “The Lawyer’s Guide to Marketing on the with trust account and/or financial man- postage fee. Questions? Contact Latashia Internet”; and “The Solo and Small Firm agement? Aren’t sure what software or Hughes at 404-527-8772 for more infor- Legal Technology Guide” to name a few. hardware to invest in, or even just how to mation or to set up an office visit for ad- Many of the library items mentioned use what you already have? We regularly ditional business planning and advice on are available from ABA Publishing and assist many firms via our low-cost, onsite best practices. can be purchased by Georgia lawyers at a consultations. Consultations are generally
72 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL GETTYIMAGES.COM/ZHAOJIANKANG limited to one day (approximately eight of law office closing situations. Located at knowing what benefits are available can hours) and are reasonably priced, based on www.gabar.org/closingalawpractice, the be a resource for your business. Con- the size of your firm. webpage features information covering tact Sheila Baldwin at 404-526-8618 or situations where users are closing prac- [email protected] for help with any tices voluntarily and involuntarily. With member benefits issue. Sample Forms and Checklists the focus on making sure clients’ interests The services of LPM are in place to as- If you want to get your policies and pro- are protected, the information provided is sist you with everyday practice issues, and cedures in writing, then you should re- available to download for adaptation by LPM staff continue to be provide help view the downloadable practice forms and those responsible for closing the law office. via phone or email. If you have questions checklists available at www.gabar.org/ about your daily law practice operations lpmforms. While most are not practice- or want to take advantage of LPM’s many area specific, they will ensure you have Member Benefits Programs: resources or services, please contact Kim what you need in terms of practice opera- Fastcase, CloudLawyers, Henry, resource advisor, kimh@gabar. tions. If you can’t find the form you need, Member Benefits, Inc., and the org, 404-526-8621; Sheila Baldwin, mem- please contact us. Online Vendor Directory ber benefits coordinator, sheilab@gabar. The State Bar of Georgia is continually org, 404-526-8618; and Latashia Hughes, working to provide our members with administrative assistant, latashiah@gabar. Solo and Small Firm Resources benefits that can help both professionally org, 404-527-8772. This resource is devoted to Bar members and personally. To that end, you should Please let us know if there is ever a pro- who practice in solo and small firms, and know what your Bar is doing for you to gram, topic or service you feel can benefit includes a discussion board where mem- help you reach your business goals effec- you and your practice. We are happy to bers can discuss daily issues and concerns tively. Three of our most visible member work on developing resources and ser- of running solo and small firms, office benefits include: Fastcase, free online vices for a better and more efficient prac- start-up information and more. Access legal research; Member Benefits, Inc., a tice. We are here to help you stay on top to this resource is available through your comprehensive insurance brokerage ser- of your practice! l member account. vice; and CloudLawyers, the enhanced membership directory that helps the pub- lic find a lawyer. Kim Henry Online Closing a Law Practice Vendors who provide other benefits Guides to our members can be located through Resource Advisor State Bar of Georgia The program has created a series of online the Online Vendor Directory or by talk- guides, checklists and forms for a variety ing with a LPM staff member. Simply [email protected]
2021 AUGUST 73 GBJ | Member Benefits
1
Fastcase Tricks and Tips
Free online research is available to all Bar members. Learn how to effectively use and navigate Fastcase. In-person sessions are currently not being offered, but 2 you may still sign up for a webinar hosted by Fastcase at www.fastcase. com/webinars. BY SHEILA BALDWIN
Fastcase brings big data analytics, visualization and workflow tools to on- line legal research, enabling attorneys to quickly identify the most important cases and reduce time wasted on repetitive tasks. In September 2020, Fastcase users transitioned to the newly updated version of Fastcase, and on the heels of the recent Casemaker and Fastcase merger, you will see even more improvements. In this arti- cle, I’ll share some tips on how you can use shortcuts and settings to save time; how 3 to take advantage of the intuitive features and brilliant design; and how to customize your searches. Fastcase is a full text database enhanced with artificial intelligence, which makes searches more logical and relevant, and easier for users to get the best results. The integrated single search finds documents using case and statute citations or parts of them. For example, if searching Georgia cases concerning child custody and visita- tion governed by O.C.G.A. § 19-9-3, use only the numbers “19-9-3”. In this way,
74 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL you minimize typing or formatting errors case to find each mention of it in context. helpful to know the history and dispo- with the idea that less is more. This search A term not highlighted by color (looks sition of an assigned judge. If you can will bring up 231 cases that directly cite gray) indicates that it is not mentioned in determine the familiarity that a judge to O.C.G.A. § 19-9-3. If you use the wild the case, which may help eliminate less rel- has with the issues of your case, you can card operator, the asterisk, in place of the evant results. The page icon displayed to avoid including lengthy background in- subsection 3 to search “19-9-*” the results the left of the color-coded terms takes you formation and get right to the point of expand to 472 results, including cases that to the most relevant paragraph, eliminat- your argument. By viewing the judge’s cite to any of the subsections of this code. ing the time it takes to scroll and search. rulings and written opinions you can Tip: Set “Georgia Cases and Statutes” as A panel to the left of the case contains the prepare yourself to make the best pos- your default setting by clicking on the entire list of results in order with the most sible argument. Fastcase finds cases using star under the search box and save time relevant paragraph of the case displayed. the name of the judge and relative terms (see fig 1). Tip: Adjust your screen size to see a differ- to identify a specific type of case that suits Fastcase has intuitive searching ca- ent view of the results page—if it’s set too your objective. For example, (judge or pability with its type-ahead feature large, some of the text and extra features justice) /3 Smith and (search and seiz*) built into the search query box, which won’t be visible. should bring cases where Judge Smith finishes typing the name or full citation Frequent users will want to devise ruled on cases that concerned warrantless in a predictive manner and even adding ways to customize the research. If you searches. Try this strategy: enter (judge other suggested terms. Find more sug- are interested in creating a digest of all re- or justice) w/3 “smith p.j.” to narrow to gested terms in the results screen at the cent cases coming out of Georgia courts, cases that the judge is presiding. Tip: Set bottom of the far left panel. This feature you can select the jurisdiction “Ga Cases” your search filter to relevance to weed will help you think of terms you may and use the date (july w/2 2021) to find out random cases. have overlooked with the added conve- all cases that reference July 2021. Set the Learn best practices by attending a nience of numbering how many cases results filter to “Most Recent” to isolate CLE-approved Fastcase 7 webinar offered use the terms. Choose the plus sign or cases that reference the date within the by Fastcase. The schedule and registration the minus sign before the terms to add text but were not heard in July 2021. You page are located at www.fastcase.com/ or delete them from your query. To view can also pinpoint topics such as child blog/free-fastcase-webinars/. You can also the results, click on the blue number to support or child custody by using these reach out to me at [email protected] or the right. terms ((child and (custody or support)) 404-526-8618 to learn how to better use The results page was cleverly designed and (july w/2 2021)) and filter to “Most this resource. And you can always reach to display the maximum information on Recent.” Tip: Stay on top of new cases by out to [email protected]. l one screen (see fig. 2). When you open a having them automatically emailed to you case, the text of the case along with vari- throughout the month. Set an alert from ous methods to help you analyze and fil- the drop down feature at the right side of Sheila Baldwin ter the data will be visible. All the search the search box where your terms were en- Member Benefits Coordinator terms you used will appear in color at the tered (see fig. 3). State Bar of Georgia upper left corner of the case. By tapping on Fastcase is a valuable tool to use when [email protected] a term, you are able to “jump” through the preparing for a case. For instance, it’s
DID YOU KNOW? CONTACT BAR Fastcase is a comprehensive Sheila Baldwin, national law library on your Member Benefits Coordinator computer/tablet/smartphone, 404.526.8618 | [email protected] BENEFITS with online access to cases, Fastcase Reference Attorney statutes, regulations, court 866.773.2782 Fastcase Legal Research rules and Bar publications. Apps and mobile sync aid mobility in regard to legal research.
2021 AUGUST 75 GBJ | Attorney Wellness
The Power of Connection and Perspective
Our thoughts are powerful; the things we know have a way of manifesting themselves in our real lives. The good news is that if you also have struggled with pessimistic lenses, you do not have to change all of the world. Rather, you only have to change the way you perceive it to free yourself. BY SAM SKELTON
Disconnected. I see that now. I was influences the other significantly. Emo- spiritual wellness. Since one may find it only 30, but I had already disconnected— tional well-being relates primarily to difficult to, by oneself, be plugged in to from friends, coworkers and even my “identify[ing] and manag[ing] ... emotions something greater than oneself, positive family. Addiction is a disease of isolation. to support mental health, achieve goals, interaction with others is a key to spiri- Addicts do not need friends. That is how and inform decision-making.”1 Recogniz- tual well-being.4 Being socially active is they feel, anyway. They have drugs. ing the importance of emotions is a key to being spiritually active. Social support Attorneys are charged with bearing emotional wellness, as is seeking help for has its own proven effects on wellness, others’ burdens. This leads many in the mental health issues when needed.2 Spiri- like enhanced mental health and reduced legal profession to yearn for disconnec- tual well-being is “developing a sense of impact of stress. And, while many so- tion. Being continuously connected to meaningfulness and purpose in all aspects cial groups are specifically focused on such negative emotions is painful. Over of life.”3 The word “religion” comes from spirituality (places of worship, Alcohol- time, though, distance from others may the Latin word ligare, meaning “to join, ics Anonymous, etc.), sociality, in and of lead to a distance from reality. Denial is or link,” and truly, spirituality represents itself, helps us develop meaning and pur- the state addicts are in because ... well, if one’s connection to everything. pose. By getting to know individuals bet- they were not in denial, they would not be My emotional journey has indeed ter, you are simply connecting with other addicts. They would have recognized the related to my spiritual path, which had components of the whole, of all that is. warning signs and adjusted accordingly. been, for much of my life—and is now Just as interpersonal interaction is a I have been to that place, the island again—a well of strength. But, for a sea- key of spiritual well-being, reframing is of denial, far from the mainland with its son of my life, I was spiritually disorient- a key of emotional wellness. Reframing harsh realities. I am grateful now, though, ed, searching and wrestling with difficult has to do with changing your vantage for my experiences struggling with men- questions about the purpose of existence. point. If you do not think that your van- tal health and addiction because, through During that time, I utilized chemicals to tage point can affect your emotions, you them, I have gained the perspective to feel “okay.” Drugs were, in essence, my have not watched a Braves game—live, provide insight to others who may be “God,” as they are for many others. in the ballpark—seated miles from home struggling. I now have the privilege of do- A critical component of spiritual well- plate. Instead of visually changing our ing that here, in this article, by expound- being is engaging with others or, more sightline, though, which would be help- ing on the elements of spiritual and emo- specifically, engaging with others in a ful during those games, we change the tional well-being in the life of an attorney. positive way. Berating your co-workers way we perceive. Optimistic thinking is Spiritual and emotional wellness, al- or opposing counsel is, after all, engaging so transformative that it can change the though distinct, go hand in hand, as each with others, but it is less likely to lead to brain itself, physiologically.
76 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL GETTYIMAGES.COM/FIRN At the peak of my emotional turmoil, I was the loved one’s death anniversary? We are all human, we are all broken was working as an assistant district attor- Or, more importantly, what if the person and we all need love. l ney, and I was overwhelmed at work. My knew that it was going to be a day of great wife and I went from having one son to joy and celebration of the loved one’s life? two, so we were overwhelmed at home. Our thoughts are powerful; the things Sam Skelton lives with his When I look back now, though, I see that we know have a way of manifesting wife, Samantha, and two almost all the weight that I was carrying themselves in our real lives. The good sons, Grady (7), Jackson (9) was self-imposed guilt, shame, feelings news is that if you also have struggled and Theo (newborn) in Hart County, Georgia. He currently of inadequacy and more, of which no with pessimistic lenses, you do not have performs a wide range of freelance one else was even aware. The traumatic to change all of the world. Rather, you legal research and writing services, as events of my childhood—the pain of abuse only have to change the way you perceive well as document drafting services, for and neglect—created in me a baseline of it to free yourself. attorneys in small and mid-sized functioning, in which the world was not a As a final observation, there is still sig- firms. He can be reached at safe or kind place.5 If you think the world nificant stigma around all discussions of [email protected]. is a dangerous place, you do not feel com- wellness in the legal profession, which is fortable in the world, but the origin of at least in part, I believe, because many feel Endnotes your discomfort is your thinking. cultivating sensitivity may dull lawyers’ 1. See
2021 AUGUST 77 GBJ | Writing Matters
You Keep Using That Word: I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means
As careful as legal writers can be, even the most diligent of writers can become tangled with these commonly confused words. Budget time for proofreading to minimize the likelihood that you confuse the reader by confusing these words. BY DAVID HRICIK AND KAREN J. SNEDDON
The title of this installment of “Writ- Homonyms are two words that have the ing Matters” is just one of many famous same pronunciation, and often the same lines from “The Princess Bride.” This spelling, but have different meanings. installment of “Writing Matters” shares For example, the word tire can refer to 20 commonly confused, and so misused, a wheel on a car or to fatigue. Homo- words. It addresses confused words or phones are two words that have the same expressions, including those caused by pronunciation but different spellings— autocorrection, easily-missed typographi- and different meanings. For example, the cal errors and writer error, which should word here sounds like the word hear, but help you avoid using the wrong word they are spelled differently and have very from the start. different meanings. The need to quickly create a docu- ment can lead to typographical mistakes, some of which may accidentally alter the Accept v. Except meaning of a sentence or render it non- 1The word accept is a verb that means sensical. Consider how the inclusion or to receive something, such as a job offer, omission of an apostrophe can alter the a check or a gift. The word except is typi- meaning of its versus it’s. And, we’ve all cally used as a preposition that means to experienced autocorrect fails, particu- exclude something. The buyer accepted larly when using all capitalized words, the contract, which was perfect except shown by the use of “the Unites States” for a typo on page three. Also, be careful instead of “the United States” in the re- not to unintentionally type expect when cent Senate impeachment proceedings, you mean except. for example. User and computer error aren’t the only sources of the problems we discuss Advise v. Advice here. The complexity of the English lan- 2The word advise is a verb that means guage also creates confusion, particularly to provide counsel or advice. In contrast,
because of homonyms and homophones. the word advice is a noun that refers to GETTYIMAGES.COM/BARISONAL
78 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL an opinion or recommendation. A lawyer occupied by a legislative body. The word advises a client by providing advice. capital has a wider range of meanings and can be used as either a noun or an adjec- tive. As a noun, the word capital can refer Affect v. Effect to the city that is the center of a govern- 3Affect and effect are often identified mental body, such as a state capital. Capi- as the two most misused words in the tal, still used as a noun, can also refer to English language. Not only do they have money, net worth or even advantage. As similar meaning, but they can be both an adjective, capital can mean important verbs and nouns, depending upon the or valuable. Various buildings in the capi- context. The word affect is typically used tol need capital improvements, which will as a verb that means to act. The pandemic require a lot of capital. affected housing prices. The word effect is typically used as a noun that refers to a change when something is done. The Compliment v. Complement statute goes into effect on Oct. 1, 2021. 7This pair of confused words demon- strates that one letter can create confu- sion. The word compliment can be used Appraise v. Apprise as a noun to mean an expression of praise. 4This confusion may relate to a typo- The word compliment can be used as a graphical error of including (or exclud- verb to mean the act of expressing praise. ing) the letter “a,” or letting auto-correct Complement can be used as a verb to add or delete that letter. The word ap- mean to enhance something. Spell check praise is a verb that means to evaluate or complements the editing process; people value something. Remove the second “a” will compliment your writing if you use and the word becomes the verb apprise, it well. which means to inform or to tell. The law- yer apprised the seller of the buyer’s offer, which was higher than expected because Council v. Counsel the house had appraised at a higher value. 8The word council is a noun that re- fers to a group of people or an entity that has rule making authority, such as a city Bare v. Bear council. The word counsel can be used 5As a noun, the word bear is a large as a verb or a noun. As a verb, counsel mammal, but the word bear also has an- means a person or entity that provided other meaning when used as a verb. Bear, advice. Also a noun, counsel means advice as verb, usually means to carry, support or recommendation. The lawyer provided or give birth. I can’t bear another Zoom sound counsel when the lawyer explained meeting. The word bare is also a verb, the consequences of the plea agreement. but it means to uncover, reveal or expose The word counsel can also serve as a noun something. The neighbor’s dog bares her to refer to the person or entity provid- teeth when she is startled. ing the advice. The city council’s lawyer counseled it to consider the argument of the applicant’s counsel’s carefully. Today, Capitol v. Capital instead of counsel, the word counselor is 6The word capitol is a noun that refers often used to refer to the person provid- to a government building that is typically ing the advice.
2021 AUGUST 79 Elicit v. Illicit in moot court. As an adjective, the word Their v. There v. They’re 9The words elicit and illicit are near- mute means refraining from sound. As 18The word their is a possessive homophones. The words sound similar a verb, mute means to muffle or soften pronoun that can sometimes be autocor- but are not pronounced exactly the same. the sound. “You are muted” has become a rected to there. The word there can be The word elicit is a verb that means to common phrase. an adjective, noun or adverb. The word draw out or gather information. The they’re is a contraction of they and are. word illicit is an adjective meaning ille- They’re never going to take their parents gal. The unexpected disturbance in the Principal v. Principle there again. courtroom did not elicit a response from 14You may remember the phrase the defendant. “the principal is your pal” to distinguish between the words principal and prin- Your v. You’re ciple. As a noun, principal refers to a per- 19The word your is a possessive ad- Insure v. Ensure son in a leading position, such as a head jective. The word you’re is a contraction of 10The word insure is a verb that re- of a school or lead performer. Principal the words you and are. Your lawyer will ex- fers to the act of taking precautions. The can also be an adjective, and in that con- plain this to you. You’re lucky to have her. word ensure is a verb refers guaranteeing text means important. Principle is a noun an outcome. To ensure that your property that refers to a governing rule, concept or is protected, be sure to insure the prop- policy. The principal value of the opinion Whether v. Weather erty at fair market value. involves the articulation of the principle 20The word whether is a conjunc- of fairness. tion that is similar in meaning to the word if. Be careful with your spelling It’s v. Its and with autocorrect: wether is a word 11The two functions of the apostro- Proceed v. Precede and refers to a castrated ram or goat. The phe create this word confusion. Apostro- 15The word precede is a verb that word weather when used as a noun means phes are used to show contractions, like means to go before or be in front of. The something related to air or sky. As a verb, we will becomes we’ll. Apostrophes are ceremony preceded the reception. The the word weather refers to the act of ex- also used to show possession or owner- word proceed is also a verb, but it means posing something to, or having been af- ship, like Isabel’s brief. Thus, it’s reflects to carry on or go forward. The lawyer fected by, the weather. Whether we can the contraction of the words it is. In asked, “May I proceed?” hike to see the weathered lighthouse de- contrast, without the apostrophe—its— pends on the weather. reflects the possession or ownership. It’s effective because Isabel’s brief leads with Role v. Roll its strongest argument. 16The word role is a noun that refers Conclusion to the function or job that a person has. As careful as legal writers can be, even The lawyer’s role includes that of advo- the most diligent of writers can become Lose v. Loose cate, counselor and evaluator. The word tangled with these commonly confused 12The word lose is a verb that means roll as a noun refers to type of bread or words. Budget time for proofreading to to fail or not to win. Lose is exclusively a list of individuals. But roll can also be minimize the likelihood that you confuse a verb. In contrast, the word loose can verb that refers to rotation or bundling. the reader by confusing these words. l be used as an adjective, verb, adverb and The role of the teacher included rolling even a noun. The more common use of the class roll into a ball to throw away. loose is as an adjective—when it means David Hricik is a professor not tight—or as a verb—when it means of law at Mercer University to free from restraint. I often lose my car Site v. Sight v. Cite School of Law who has keys because the fastener on the keychain The word site refers to a place or written several books and 17 more than a dozen articles. is loose. location. The word sight may be a noun The Legal Writing Program at Mercer or a verb and refers to the act of seeing. continues to be recognized as one of The word cite is the abbreviation of the the nation’s top legal writing programs. Moot v. Mute word citation and can be used as a noun. 13Both words can be used as adjec- Cite can also be used as a verb to mean Karen J. Sneddon is a tives, verbs or nouns. Lawyers often use make a reference or give attribution. The professor of law at Mercer the word moot to refer to a dispute that mistake was easy to sight: the brief had University School of Law. is or has become purely hypothetical, as incorrectly cited the opinion.
80 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Wherever you are, stay updated at gabar.org.
Visit gabar.org for the most up-to-date information on committees, members, courts and rules.
RESOURCE CENTER
The State Bar of Georgia can help you do pro bono! • Law practice management support on pro bono issues • Professional liability insurance coverage • Free or reduced-cost CLE programs and webinars • Web-based training and support for pro bono cases • Honor roll and pro bono incentives
Visit www.gabar.org / www.GeorgiaAdvocates.org. GBJ | Professionalism Page
You Matter
As lawyers and judges, we specialize in helping people with problems. We mask the fact that we have our own problems. It is okay to ask others if they need help. It is okay to ask for help. Your life matters. You matter. BY KARLISE Y. GRIER
“I did not think anyone would care if I was here or not,” shared Dr. Mark Sw- ancutt, a panelist at the Suicide Awareness Program convened by the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism on April 30. Dr. Swancutt then shared how wrong he was, as evidenced by the outpouring of support he received when he was hos- pitalized for an illness. His powerful tes- timony was not unique. Throughout the Suicide Awareness Program, which had as one of its goals making the case that suicide is preventable, we heard many times how people often feel their family, friends and colleagues would be better off without them. We also learned during the program that it is untrue when believe that we don’t matter.
Your Life Matters. You Matter. Suicide is a difficult topic, and even more so when it is something that you have per- sonal experience with. A number of the program’s speakers and panelists shared these experiences with those participat- ing as this extremely important dialogue began. Moderator Sally Yates shared the impact that her father’s death had on her
life. J. Kelley Quillian, a former judge of WIELE GETTYIMAGES.COM/JODY
82 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL the Court of Appeals of Georgia, died by suicide in 1986.1 State Bar Attorney Well- Chief Justice’s Commission on ness Committee Chair R. Javoyne Hicks spoke about the challenges she faced as a Professionalism Suicide and Awareness single parent after her children lost their Program Resources father, attorney Charles Hicks, to suicide. And it was those unique experiences that Access all of the resources and materials compiled for the played a large part in Hicks’ role helping Suicide Awareness Program via the QR Codes below: to launch the State Bar’s Attorney Well- ness Program—Lawyers Living Well.2 State Bar Past President Robin Frazer Clark and Hon. Bill Reinhardt highlighted the tremendous professional and personal contributions made by some of our col- leagues who died by suicide, including 2004-05 State Bar President Rob Reinhardt. Theirs lives mattered—as does each of our lives. And because we all matter, one of Clark’s initiatives during her year as presi- dent was to launch the State Bar of Georgia’s Suicide Awareness Prevention Campaign. Suicide is preventable, and we as a legal SUICIDE AWARENESS PROGRAM SUICIDE AWARENESS PROGRAM RESOURCES community can each play a role in creating an environment that makes it less likely that another colleague will die by suicide. In professionalism parlance, I would say, “To my colleagues in the practice of law, I offer concern for your welfare. I will strive to make our association a professional friendship.”3 As a practical matter, I would offer these suggestions gleaned from the Suicide Awareness Program.
Be Lovingly Present Attorney Lynn Garson shared in a paper STATE BAR OF GEORGIA she wrote for the program: LAWYERS LIVING WELL
“Recognizing that depression is a disease of isolation, others can try to spend time with the person or check if it does, you will have gained some Colleagues, friends and family in by phone if in person is not possible. ground. If the person wants to talk, don’t have to have a solution, The calls and visits from my friends listen. Don’t listen so that you can re- just have referral numbers in propped me up enough to stay alive spond and fix it (which you can’t and your phone. until I got the help I needed. If I had will make you both miserable). Listen While we as lawyers and judges may be thought that no one cared, I wouldn’t to be present to that person’s distress. hard-wired to solve problems, being pres- have made it through. If you see any Don’t hide from it, don’t dramatize it ent for colleagues, friends or family who spark of interest or liveliness, do your and don’t inject your own pain or ex- may need help doesn’t mean we are the best to fan the flame. Given the per- perience into the conversation unless ones who are best equipped to provide that son’s low state, it may not work, but invited. Just be lovingly present.”4 help. Rachael Holloman, suicide preven-
2021 AUGUST 83 tion director for the Georgia Department He did not initially understand that this He received help from the Employee As- of Behavioral Health and Developmental condition warranted treatment; that it sistance Program of his then-employ- Disabilities, made this clear when she dis- was treatable. er—a large Atlanta law firm. Tailor also cussed the QPR program. QPR stands for Other people may not always recog- shared that he has taken advantage of the Question, Persuade and Refer, three steps nize that they need help. Psychiatrist and State Bar of Georgia’s #UseYour6 ses- anyone can learn to help prevent suicide. program panelist Dr. Ben Hunter, medi- sions.7 All Georgia lawyers have access Just like CPR, QPR is an emergency re- cal director of outpatient services at Sky- to six free counseling sessions each year sponse to someone in crisis and can save land Trail in Atlanta, recommended that through the State Bar of Georgia’s Law- lives. Asking someone about the presence if an individual regularly thinks about yer Assistance Program. of suicidal thoughts and feelings opens up a death by suicide, or if an individual has a Joe Chancey, the Managing Partner at conversation that may lead to a referral for family history of depression or death by Drew Eckl & Farnham LLP and a mem- help. There are numerous resources avail- suicide, that person should seek profes- ber of the Planning Team for the Sui- able to help those in crisis (both lawyers sional counseling. In Georgia, one place cide Awareness Program, contributed a and non-lawyers) including the National to begin—just to talk to someone and start paper entitled “Talking To Employees Suicide Prevention Lifeline by phone a conversation—is the Georgia Crisis and About Mental Health—Can I? Should I? at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or by chat Access Line (GCAL), 1-800-715-4225. Must I? Navigating The Medical Privacy at suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/.5 GCAL is available 24/7 to both lawyers Maze In Georgia,” to assist law firms in Holloman reminded the audience that and non-lawyers. Reading the article navigating the legal issues related to sup- everyone can do this one thing—put the “Help Is Out There” by Lynn Garson and porting the mental health of attorneys.8 referral numbers for resources discussed “Choosing A Therapist” by Plamen Rus- Another Drew Eckl Partner, Taylor S. during the program into their phones. sev is also a good first step.6 Poncz, also shared her experiences after losing a colleague to death by suicide in “Attorney Mental Health & Wellness— If You Have Suicidal Thoughts, Employee Assistance Programs, A Personal Essay on Why I Believe We Ask for Help #UseYour6 and a Helpline for Have an Ethical Obligation to Act on it in Attorney Eric Lang stressed self-aware- Judges Can Help Save Lives the Workplace.”9 ness in his panelist remarks. He shared Judge Wes Tailor shared the challenges Judge Shondeana Crews Morris, an- that before getting the appropriate treat- he experienced as an attorney after being other member of the Suicide Awareness ment, he believed that most people reg- in New York City and near ground zero Planning Team, responded to a ques- ularly thought about death by suicide. when the Word Trade Center collapsed. tion about resources solely for judges.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The planning team for the Suicide Awareness Program, with staff support from the Commission and the program co-sponsors, began working on the program in May 2019, after learning of the death by suicide of an associate at Drew Eckl Farnham, LLP. The Commission is grateful to everyone who contributed in any manner to the Suicide Awareness Program.
PLANNING TEAM MEMBERS PROGRAM CO-SPONSORS SOLACE Committee Co-Chair Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Hon. Clyde L. Reese III, Court of Appeals Developmental Disabilities of Georgia Judicial Council of Georgia/Administrative Office SOLACE Committee Co-Chair of the Courts Hon. Render M. Heard, Tifton Circuit State Bar of Georgia Attorney Wellness Committee Juvenile Court State Bar of Georgia Suicide Awareness and Suicide Prevention Committee Prevention Committee Program Chair Hon. Shondeana Crews Morris, DeKalb County SPECIAL RECOGNITION Superior Court The Suicide Awareness Program took place under the leadership of then-Chief Justice Harold D. Partner Joe Chancey, Drew Eckl Farnham13 Melton in his role as Commission chair. We thank him for his work in bring this program to light.
84 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Need help but don’t know where to start? Contact the Georgia Crisis and Access Line (GCAL) at 800-715-4225 and begin a conversation. GCAL is available 24/7 to both lawyers and non-lawyers.
She told the audience that the American As lawyers and judges, we specialize 5. A resource page from the Suicide Bar Association has a National Helpline in helping people with problems. Law- Awareness Program is available at the link for Judges Helping Judges available at yers help craft creative solutions to as- here: http://cjcpga.org/suicide-awareness- 1-800-219-6474.10 sist people in solving their problems. program-resources-qr-code-page/. See Judges make decisions—sometimes life 6. http://cjcpga.org/wp-content/ uploads/2021/04/Help-Is-Out-There- and death—that resolve the problems of by-Lynn-Garson.pdf. Take Care of Yourself and One those in conflict. We mask the fact that 7. #UseYour6 is the informal name for the Another we have our own problems. We some- State Bar of Georgia’s Lawyer Assistance Dr. Alex Crosby, senior medical advi- times don’t know how to check in on Program. For more information, visit sor, Division of Injury Prevention for others we may be worried about. It is https://www.gabar.org/wellness/ the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- okay to ask others if they need help. It is upload/Use-Your-6.pdf. vention, closed by reiterating that death okay to ask for help. 8. See http://cjcpga.org/wp-content/ by suicide is preventable and that we as Your life matters. You matter. l uploads/2021/04/Drew-Eckl-Farnham- a community of professionals each have from-Joe-Chancey-Suicide-Awareness- a role to play in prevention. Not every- Employee-Privacy-Branded.pdf. See one can perform the same role, but we Karlise Y. Grier 9. http://cjcpga.org/wp-content/ uploads/2021/04/DRI-For-Life- can all do something, including checking Executive Director Article-Mental-Health-and-Awareness- on others and taking care of ourselves. Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism Branded.pdf. Dr. Crosby shared a variety of ways that [email protected] 10. See also https://www.americanbar.org/ individuals can consider when determin- groups/lawyer_assistance/articles_and_ ing how they can best help to prevent info/resources_for_judges/ 11 death by suicide. Hicks then reminded Endnotes 11. See http://cjcpga.org/wp-content/ the audience that we don’t have to wait uploads/2021/07/Alex-Crosby- 1. You can read more about Yates’ 06-28-21-Cleared-Slides- until we feel like we are in crisis to get experience with her father’s battle StateBarGeorMentHlthPromo_ help. She encouraged everyone to be pro- with depression at: https://www.cnn. June2021shrtA.pdf. active in taking care of themselves before com/2018/06/11/opinions/when-my- 12. See Note 2, supra. sharing the many ways that the State Bar dad-lost-his-struggle-with-depression- 13. Staff support was provided by Karlise Y. of Georgia Attorney Wellness Committee sally-yates. Grier, executive director, Chief Justice’s 12 2. Learn more about Lawyers Living Well is helping lawyers to live well. Commission on Professionalism and at https://www.gabar.org/wellness/. Layne Bridges (State Bar of Georgia 3. See A Lawyer’s Creed and the Aspirational South Georgia Office, on behalf of the Statement on Professionalism at: Available Resources State Bar of Georgia SOLACE Program). http://cjcpga.org/wp-content/ The Commission compiled numerous Previous staff support was provided by uploads/2019/07/2-Lawyers- resources to help you help yourself and Bonne Cella. The Administrative Office CreedAspStatement-v-2013-Line- of the Courts, under the leadership of others. The resources highlighted in this Number-with-new-logo-and- Cynthia Clanton, provided assistance article are only some of the information seal-v07-25-19.pdf. with webinar logistics and support, that you can find as our legal community 4. You may read the complete essay by provided by Michelle Barclay, Noelle works to prevent death by suicide. Use Lynn Garson, Everything I Know About Lagueux-Alvarez, Bruce Shaw and the QR Codes on page 83 to access all of Suicide, at the link here: http://cjcpga.org/ Latoinna Lawrence. Amber Rikard wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Updated- the resources and materials compiled for provided graphic design support on v-04-27-21-Everything-I-Know-about- the Suicide Awareness Program, or visit behalf of the State Bar of Georgia’s Suicide-4813-4438-5509-v.3.pdf cjcpga.org/suicide-awareness-program/. Attorney Wellness Committee.
2021 AUGUST 85 GBJ | In Memoriam
In Memoriam honors those MARISSA MCCALL JEFFREY G. GILLEY JOHNNY SHANON members of the State Bar of DODSON Summerville, Georgia MAYFIELD Georgia who have passed Atlanta, Georgia University of Georgia Athens, Georgia away. As we reflect upon the Louisiana State University School of Law (1983) University of Georgia memory of these members, we Paul M. Hebert Law Center Admitted 1983 School of Law (1994) are mindful of the contribu- (2008) June 2021 Admitted 1995 Admitted 2008 Died December 2020 tions they made to the Bar. Died May 2021 DON L. HARTMAN Each generation of lawyers is Lookout Mountain, Georgia CLAUYE C. MCCRANIE indebted to the one that MICHAEL MCCAHAN Emory University School Ocilla, Georgia precedes it. Each of us is the DOWNES of Law (1967) Atlanta Law School (1972) recipient of the benefits of the Martinez, Georgia Admitted 1967 Admitted 1974 learning, dedication, zeal and University of Georgia Died May 2021 Died May 2021 standard of professional School of Law (1959) responsibility that those who Admitted 1962 JEFFERY DAVID HIPP BRADY STEWART MCFALLS have gone before us have Died May 2021 Roswell, Georgia Reston, Virginia contributed to the practice of University of Alabama University of Virginia law. We are saddened that they ALBERT G. DUGAN JR. School of Law (1996) School of Law (2001) are no longer in our midst, but Marietta, Georgia Admitted 1997 Admitted 2001 Penn State Dickinson Law Died February 2021 privileged to have known them Died December 2020 (1985) and to have shared their Admitted 2000 PETER KELLY KINTZ HUGH BROWN MCNATT friendship over the years. Died January 2021 Atlanta, Georgia Vidalia, Georgia Washington and Lee Mercer University Walter COREY TOMAS FANNIN University School of Law F. George School of Law BAYLOR B. BANKS Lexington, Kentucky (1969) (1972) Atlanta, Georgia University of Kentucky J. Admitted 1971 Admitted 1972 University of Georgia David Rosenberg College Died May 2021 Died June 2021 School of Law (1984) of Law (2007) Admitted 1984 Admitted 2015 RICHARD STEPHENS LAIRD WILLIAM OWEN MILLER Died July 2021 Died December 2020 Atlanta, Georgia Morris, Georgia University of Kentucky George Washington LINDSAY H. BENNETT JR. BETTY FIVEASH-HARRIS J. David Rosenberg University Law School Rossville, Georgia Atlanta, Georgia College of Law (1996) (1949) University of Georgia Emory University School Admitted 1996 Admitted 1949 School of Law (1959) of Law (1966) Died June 2021 Died June 2021 Admitted 1960 Admitted 1968 Died April 2021 Died May 2021 DON A. LANGHAM JOHN GREGORY ODOM Atlanta, Georgia New Orleans, Louisiana CAROLEE BERASI RICHARD C. FLEMING Wayne State University University of Virginia Columbia, South Carolina Bellevue, Washington Law School (1959) School of Law (1978) Duquesne University William & Mary Law Admitted 1969 Admitted 1978 School of Law (1988) School (1979) Died May 2021 Died May 2021 Admitted 2005 Admitted 1979 Died April 2021 Died October 2020 CLAY C. LONG ROBERT S. OGLETREE Atlanta, Georgia Rome, Georgia GERALD L. BURROWS RICHARD CRAWFORD Harvard Law School (1962) Samford University Waycross, Georgia FOSTER Admitted 1964 Cumberland School University of Georgia Atlanta, Georgia Died May 2021 of Law (1977) School of Law (1961) Mercer University Walter Admitted 1977 Admitted 1962 F. George School of Law BILLY R. MATTHEWS Died January 2021 Died February 2021 (1995) Woodstock, Georgia Admitted 1995 Woodrow Wilson College CALVIN WINTON PARRISH SUSAN A. CHIAPETTA Died April 2021 of Law (1962) Woodland, Georgia Atlanta, Georgia Admitted 1963 Emory University School Atlanta Law School (1981) Died May 2021 of Law (1962) Admitted 1982 Admitted 1963 Died May 2021 Died January 2021
86 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL 2021 AUGUST 87 GEORGE B. PETERS JR. MICHAEL J. SLOAN Athens, Georgia Kennesaw, Georgia University of Georgia Emory University School School of Law (1982) of Law (1980) Admitted 1984 Admitted 1984 Died March 2021 Died May 2021 Memorial MELISSA DIANE ROBERT J. THOMAS ROBICHAUD Lilburn, Georgia Peachtree City, Georgia Columbia Law School Georgia State University (1965) Gifts College of Law (1997) Admitted 1969 Admitted 1997 Died May 2021 Memorial Gifts are a meaningful way to honor a Died July 2021 loved one. The Georgia Bar Foundation furnishes CHARLES VORNDRAN MILLER PETERSON Atlanta, Georgia the Georgia Bar Journal with memorials to honor ROBINSON SMU Dedman School of deceased members of the State Bar of Georgia. Atlanta, Georgia Law (2000) Memorial contributions may be sent to the Mercer University Walter Admitted 2000 Georgia Bar Foundation, 104 Marietta St. NW, F. George School of Law Died May 2021 Suite 610, Atlanta, GA 30303, stating in whose (1980) Admitted 1980 MICHAEL SCOTT WALDROP memory they are made. Died July 2021 Conyers, Georgia Georgia State University The Foundation will notify the family of the PAUL ANTHONY ROGERS College of Law (1988) deceased of the gift and the name of the donor. Atlanta, Georgia Admitted 1988 Contributions are tax deductible. Unless University of Nebraska Died June 2021 College of Law (2002) otherwise directed by the donor, In Memoriam Admitted 2002 MARGARET GERRY WALSH contributions will be used for Fellows programs Died May 2021 Dunwoody, Georgia of the Georgia Bar Foundation. Atlanta’s John Marshall EMORY A. SCHWALL Law School (1972) Atlanta, Georgia Admitted 1973 Emory University School Died February 2021 of Law (1952) Admitted 1950 Died June 2021
R. PERRY SENTELL JR. Athens, Georgia Harvard Law School (1958) Admitted 1957 Died January 2021
86 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL 2021 AUGUST 87 OBITUARIES
Hugh Brown McNatt of Vidalia died June 1. state. He was well known and respected by the federal and state He was a trial lawyer for more than 50 years, an judiciary throughout Georgia. effective advocate who could express intricate mat- Working to better the community, McNatt started Kids’ ters in a way all could understand. Chance, Inc., a charity that provides scholarships to children McNatt was born on June 23, 1946, in Uvalda, whose parents were killed or catastrophically injured in workers’ Georgia, to the late Lillian Sanders and Hugh Brown compensation accidents. Each year, Hugh hosted the “Bird Sup- McNatt. He grew up in Uvalda and attended Montgomery Coun- per” at the Trolley Barn on Edgewood Avenue in Atlanta where ty public schools. Following his father’s death, McNatt moved to he served fried quail, grits and gumbo to raise money for Kids’ Atlanta and attended Druid Hills High School, followed by Mer- Chance. The Bird Supper became and remains a major event in cer University and Mercer University School of Law. He flour- the legal and political community. ished in law school, excelling in academics and was an editor of McNatt received many awards during his career, including The the Mercer Law Review. Upon graduation from law school, McNatt Tradition of Excellence Award and the Thomas O. Marshall Pro- began practicing law in Lyons with his mentor and cousin, the late fessionalism Award from the State Bar of Georgia. He was a mem- T. Malone Sharpe. ber of many organizations including the American College of Trial He honed his trial skills practicing law in South Georgia, de- Lawyers of which he served as president, the American Board of veloping a national reputation as a trial lawyer. His proudest mo- Trial Advocates and the International Society of Barristers. l ments were representing the electric utility industry across the
Professor R. Perry Sentell Jr. of Athens died on and Law of Legislative Government and published nearly 30 Jan. 28. A 1958 University of Georgia law school books. Among his law school honors are a bust in the Alexan- alumnus, he retired in 2004 after 46 years of teach- der Campbell King Law Library, the law school’s Distinguished ing and service at the University of Georgia. Service Scroll Award and an endowed scholarship fund named Sentell was a titan in the legal academy and a in his honor. demanding instructor who set high expectations Sentell earned both his Bachelor’s and Law degrees from the had with a warm heart for his students. Famous for his annual University of Georgia. He later earned a Master of Laws degree Palsgraf lecture, Sentell taught Torts, Municipal Corporations from Harvard University. l
In Memory of George T. Bagby In Memory of David Gambrell Bagby Law Office PC Robert M. Brinson Sr.
In Memoriam In Memory of James B. Blackburn Jr. In Memory of Hugh McNatt Contributions to Weiner, Shearouse, Weitz, Greenberg & Shaw LLP Robert M. Brinson Sr. the Georgia Bar In Memory of Maggie Brinson In Memory of Robert Ogletree Foundation Denny & Peggy Galis Robert M. Brinson Sr. In Memory of Bobby Lee Cook In Memory of Anchel S. Samuels Robert M. Brinson Sr. Weiner, Shearouse, Weitz, Greenberg & Shaw LLP
In Memory of Margaret N. Dyal In Memory of Richard M. Shafritz *Unless otherwise directed R. Chris Phelps Melinda E. Lehrer by the donor, In Memoriam contributions will be used for In Memory of Dorothy Fletcher In Memory of Terry Sullivan the Fellows program of the Denny & Peggy Galis Edenfield, Cox, & Bruce Georgia Bar Foundation. In Memory of H. Lehman Franklin Jr. In Memory of John Sweet Weiner, Shearouse, Weitz, Greenberg & Shaw LLP Melinda E. Lehrer
88 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL We all have to start somewhere.
The State Bar of Georgia values wellness in the legal profession, and we offer a variety of resources to help lawyers in their lives and practices. Visit lawyerslivingwell.org to read articles on wellness and access discounts to gym memberships and classes. Plus, learn about the following programs:
Lawyer Assistance Program Lawyers Helping Lawyers Suicide Awareness Campaign SOLACE #UseYour6
lawyerslivingwell.org
Questions? Please contact one of our Welllness Committee members, listed at gabar.org/committees under Attorney Wellness. GBJ | ICLE
Seeking Inspiration? ICLE Has You Covered!
As we embark upon a new Bar year, know that ICLE continues its work to inspire members and add value. BY MICHELLE E. WEST
Are you looking for inspiration? It judges and lawyers talk about these top- seems that so many people are given the ics with such vulnerability and human- conditions over the past year or so. This ity. Not addressed nearly enough.” Yet has been a unique and challenging time, another viewer remarked, “There was a leaving many searching for motivation, lot of useful information. ... I have never vision, stimulation and change. ICLE attended a CLE on this subject but I plan programs provide a solution for those to in the future and will recommend this pursuing a fresh and interesting perspec- CLE to other attorneys.” tive. Our programs break the monotony The Professionalism, Ethics & by fostering awareness of various topics Malpractice program yielded the follow- surrounding the practice of law. ing impressions: However, don’t just take my word for l “All presentations were among the it. Recent attendees have expressed the best I have ever heard on the topics, following regarding programs that are and more importantly were also of currently available in the webcast library. great practical significance.” One viewer of the Living Well to Prac- l tice Well livestream hailed the program “Excellent program materials and as, “One of the best CLE’s I have attend- exceptional presenters.” ed.” Another was excited to experience l “The preparation of materials and the diversity in programming and opined, presenters was top notch.” “I like the uniqueness of this program! I Workers’ Compensation for the Gen- also appreciate that the State Bar of Geor- eral Practitioner received great feedback gia is taking proactive steps to educate from both seasoned and newer attorneys. its members about physical, mental and One novice expressed, “It covered a wide emotional awareness.” A third attendee variety of ‘nuts and bolts’ topics useful to noted that it was “truly incredible to hear me as a practitioner with limited workers’
90 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL ICLE WEBCASTS Below is a list of webcasts that correspond with programs ICLE typically administers in the summer and early. You can view these titles online now, along with all available webcasts at www.gabar.org/webcasts.
Banking Law Not Your Everyday Custody Case Basic Fiduciary Law 101 Nuts and Bolts of Family Law Basic Fiduciary Law 201 Recent Developments Family Law Seminar Restrictive Covenants and Trade Secrets in Georgia Georgia Auto Insurance Claims Law Trial Advocacy Handling Big Cases Trial and Error Jury Trial Trial of Leo Frank Jury Trials in Divorce War Stories XVIII Negotiated Corporate Acquisitions
#STAYWELL 2021 AUGUST 91 The ICLE team is excited to collaborate with Bar members to bring new programs to fruition and eager to assist those who are in Get published. search of inspirational programming. Earn CLE credit.
compensation experience.” Another attor- month by logging into your member ac- ney new to the practice area stated, “This count, registering for one 6-credit hour topic was all new to me. The agenda and webcast program of your choice and se- the presenters’ approach to the material ef- lecting the Bar Anniversary ticket. fectively maintained approachability for the As the year progresses, we remain com- novice, while providing useful information mitted to providing additional added value. for more seasoned practitioners. The back The ICLE team is excited to collaborate and forth between the panelists was great.” with Bar members to bring new programs Numerous attendees were impressed by to fruition and eager to assist those who are the overall program, saying that the virtual in search of inspirational programming. We format was helpful, and the materials were hope you find inspiration in our upcoming clear and useful. The presenters were well programs listed below and the offerings prepared, as were the presentations. available in the ICLE webcast library. These comments are just a glimpse into the impact of ICLE programming. We were also afforded the opportunity to Register Now or Save the Date hear from the ICLE Board and gain their l Truck Accident Claims | Aug. 25 | perspective on the value ICLE provides to www.gabar.org/truck-claims Bar members. (registration now open) The consensus of our dedicated Board l was that ICLE sets the gold standard in Medical Malpractice Boot Camp | the state, providing lawyers access to Sept. 17 | www.gabar.org/med-mal (registration now open) quality legal education. The materials and The Editorial Board of the Georgia l Workers’ Compensation Law Bar Journal is in regular need of substantive documents are superior and scholarly legal articles to print in the topics diverse. The consistent quality Institute | Oct. 7-9 | www.gabar.org/ the Journal. Earn CLE credit, see and breadth of the programs provide the workers-comp your name in print and help the opportunity for attorneys to be exposed (registration now open) legal community by submitting an to many different areas of the law. ICLE l Criminal Practice | Oct. 13 article today. programs provide access to subject matter l Construction Law for the General experts for the various practice areas. For Practitioner | Oct. 15 Submit articles to Jennifer R. Mason: many attorneys, ICLE programs serve as Director of Communications an introduction to the go to authorities l Punitive Damages | Nov. 3 [email protected] for questions on specific areas of the law. l Family Law Seminar | Dec. 10 404-527-8761 There is significant value in identifying the 104 Marietta St. NW, Suite 100, experts in your practice area and inspira- Atlanta 30303 tion in discovering new areas of interest. Michelle E. West As we embark upon a new Bar year, know that ICLE continues its work to Director, Institute of Continuing Legal Education inspire members and add value. ICLE State Bar of Georgia kicks off its second year of the Bar an- [email protected] niversary discount. You can access this promotion during your Bar admittance
92 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL presents The Rural Georgia Justice and Poverty Summit A Virtual Event Friday, September 17, 2021 • 9AM - 2PM part of GLSP's 50th Anniversary Celebration
TTooppiiccss IInncclluuddee::
PPuubblliicc BBeenneeffiittss •• HHeeaalltthh •• EEdduuccaattiioonn HHoouussiinngg •• RRaaccee EEqquuiittyy •• PPrroo BBoonnoo LLaaww FFaammiilliieess aanndd DDoommeessttiicc VViioolleennccee CCLLEEss aavvaaiillaabbllee KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Stacey Abrams For information and tickets, visit glsp.org/50years Early Bird by 9/1/21 - $35; Regular $50 Sponsorships start at $2,500, contact Amy Crowell at [email protected] or 770.609.7188 Thank You to Our Sponsors!
GOLD SILVER SPECIALTY IN-KIND GBJ | Notice
Notice of and Opportunity for Comment on Amendments to the Rules of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2071(b), notice and opportunity for be obtained without charge from the Office of the Clerk, U.S. comment is hereby given of proposed amendments to the Rules Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 56 Forsyth St. NW, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Atlanta, Georgia 30303 (phone: 404-335-6100). The public comment period is from Aug. 4 to Sept. 3, 2021. Comments on the proposed amendments may be submitted A copy of the proposed amendments may be obtained on in writing to the Clerk at the above address, or electronically at and after August 4, 2021, from the court’s website at www. http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/rules/proposed-revisions, by ca11.uscourts.gov/rules/proposed-revisions. A copy may also 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Sept. 3, 2021.
Serve the Bar. Earn CLE credit.
2 Volunteer and complete online 3 Coach a team or judge a trial 6 Earn up to six CLE credits for training to be a peer in the for the High School Mock Trial having your legal article published Georgia Lawyers Helping Lawyers program and receive up to three in the Georgia Bar Journal. Contact program and earn up to two CLE hours of CLE credit. Contact [email protected] to learn more. hours during your training. Visit [email protected] for more www.georgiaLHL.org to learn more. information and to volunteer.
94 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL GBJ | Classified Resources
PROPERTY/RENTALS/OFFICE SPACE Prime downtown Atlanta location with office space available to rent in the State Bar of Georgia building. Space available is from 5,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet. Will subdivide for your needs. Prefer law-related tenant. Space is Are you attracting available immediately. Building is technology-equipped. The rent includes all taxes, standard utility costs and common area the right audience maintenance costs as well. Guaranteed parking based upon amount of space occupied. Additional non-guaranteed parking for your services? available at predetermined rates. Easy access to: federal, state and local government offices; State Farm Arena; CNN; and Mercedes Benz Stadium. Contact Steve at [email protected]. Advertisers are discovering a fact well known to Georgia lawyers. If you have something to communicate to the lawyers in the state, be sure PRACTICE FOR SALE that it is published in the Georgia Bar Journal. A well-established Business Immigration Law practice (20+ years) in metro-Atlanta area offered for sale. Prospec- Contact Ashley Stollar at 404-527-8792 tive buyer is either a larger firm seeking to add immigration or [email protected]. practice or a business immigration practice expanding its client base. Serious inquiries only and no brokers. Please send contact details to [email protected].
POSITION WANTED Fox Rothschild’s Atlanta office is looking for an associate in our Taxation and Wealth Planning department. The ideal can- didate must have 4-6 years of tax litigation experience. Master’s Degree from an LLM Taxation program and tax court experi- ence required. Experience with civil and criminal tax contro- versy, whistleblower claims and voluntary offshore disclosures preferred. The candidate must be licensed to practice law in the state of Georgia. Apply online at www.foxrothschild.com.
McLain & Merritt, a well-established, mid-size firm, seeks litigation attorneys for its Buckhead office to defend per- sonal injury cases. Attorneys of all experience levels are needed, including experienced litigators with trial experience. If you want to handle interesting and challenging cases in a collegial and collaborative environment, this is a great opportunity. Pay commensurate with experience and excellent benefits. Send cover letter with resume to [email protected].
Savage Turner Pinckney & Savage, Savannah, GA. Our firm is seeking to hire an associate attorney to join our liti- gation practice. Experience in depositions and good writing skills are important. We are looking for someone to handle a diverse personal injury and civil litigation caseload who has the ability to work well without supervision. Georgia Bar re- quired. Please send cover letter, resume with references to [email protected].
2021 AUGUST 95 GBJ | Classified Resources
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Licensed professional counselor Krystyna W. Wilson, MS, Advertisers LAPC, counseling professionals seeking harmony, stress or an- ger management skills, or substance abuse assistance. Synergy Index Counseling, LLC, 404-518-0102, [email protected]. 1 ALPS 13 LawPay Community Law Resource Center—3L law students, with over 25 years combined experience in drafting legal documents. IFC Member Benefits, Inc. We offer the following services to attorneys and consumers: 63 Warren R. Hinds, P.C. demand/drafting, negotiations of medical liens, personal in- jury and criminal research, all immigration documentation and attorney referrals. We offer a 24-48 hour demand turn- around, depending on requests. Give us a call at 678-403-8934. 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., M-F.
The time to act is now.
Suicide Awareness & Prevention The State Bar of Georgia’s suicide awareness campaign has a dual purpose, directed toward lawyers and judges who are suffering from anxiety and depression and may be at risk for suicide, as well as all Bar members, who need to recognize the severity of the problem and be able to identify warning signs among our colleagues.
If you or someone you know are contemplating suicide, call 800-327-9631 today.
Learn more at gabar.org/ suicideawareness.
96 GEORGIA BAR JOURNAL Wherever you are, stay updated at gabar.org. You’re not alone.
We care about your well-being. Take advantage of the free services provided to all Georgia attorneys by the State Bar of Georgia. We are here for you.
LAWYER LAWYERS SUICIDE LAWYERS ASSISTANCE HELPING AWARENESS LIVING WELL PROGRAM LAWYERS CAMPAIGN PODCAST
#UseYour6: Six Confidential, If you are thinking A podcast created to pre-paid counseling peer-to-peer about suicide or be a resource for all sessions per program for worried for a friend, things wellness, just calendar year. lawyers, by lawyers. call the LAP Hotline: for lawyers. gabar.org/lap GeorgiaLHL.org 1-800-327-9631 lawyerslivingwell.org