October 2014 | Volume 35 | Issue 5 The Official Newsletter of the Lafayette Bar Association Judicial & District Attorney Elections 2014 PAGE 2 the President’s Message “Ladder Down” The 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (July 2, 2014) has allowed the country some self-reflection. While the acts and sacrifices of many have allowed minority groups to advance in this country, the movement to guarantee certain liberties continues. The perception of certain rights as personal rights has historically been intertwined with the 2013-2014 LBA President concept of legal rights. The legal profession has been on both sides of various Tricia R. Pierre, Attorney at Law issues, and ongoing challenges to what a person is entitled represent a new era of movement. This will affect each of us in some way or another and is the commencement of the oral history project, so I wish to thank the prompts me to reflect on what the lessons of the past should teach me about committee members involved in that effort. LBA’s goal is to memorialize inclusion of others in the legal profession and in my personal dealing with the accomplishments of past presidents and giants in the legal profession. I others, even throughout my volunteer bar service. The idea of extending a want to also thank the Promulgator Editorial Board for bringing you great ladder down to lift others up, as pioneers of the civil rights movement did, editions of the Promulgator. All LBA programming could not be made seems fitting as a professional and personal goal. possible if not for the LBA staff. I thank each of the staff for their hard work As this is my last article as LBA President and as I conclude my term, and dedication. I encourage each of you to also “ladder down” professionally and in your Love LBA. Live Service. Je vous remercie de l’opportunité! Trish volunteer service -- since this is crucial to who we are as attorneys. Strive to be activists in including and uplifting each other in all aspects of your professional and personal life. Have you extended the ladder and reached down to someone who needs to be pulled up? Have you mentored a young attorney, extended advice, assisted an inexperienced attorney in court, spoke up or acted on behalf of someone when you recognized an injustice, or went out of your way to make sure someone who is different from you feels included? Have you reflected on what inclusion really means? I hope that this article ignites the “ladder down” spark in you. Much of what we do in this profession is about seeking justice for others. However, we must not forget to uplift each other in our own profession. For those of you who attended the LBA Hall of Fame event, I thank you, and I truly felt privileged to be among attorneys who spent their careers not only seeking justice for others, but also spent their careers assisting others in their profession, through bar service and in the community. Each person who spoke about an honoree, stressed how each honoree inspired them and uplifted others throughout their careers. It is wonderful to know that these individuals represent this legal community. The path that they have carved inspires me to continue to strive to reach down and pull the next person up. I would like to thank the LBA Board of Directors for their tireless work in providing LBA members with programming that adds value to what we do as attorneys. I wish to extend a special thank you to each LBA Committee chair, co-chair, and member for the countless hours of their volunteer time that they poured into each program. One of my final goals as president PAGE 3 the Executive Director’s Message to Tiger Stadium, and the day I proudly handed over my i.d. to prove that I was indeed old enough to buy that bottle of (terribly cheap) wine. With it being election season, that day at the Acadia Parish courthouse has come to mind so much more often lately but was never more poignant than when I LBA Executive DIrector had the honor of attending the ceremony at the Federal Josette Abshire Courthouse commemorating the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act. There are those Growing up, I was the quirky kid who watched the more eloquent, esteemed, and influential than I who news every night and would go school the next day have written volumes regarding the sacrosanct nature talking about things like what would happen to the Soviet of exercising one’s right to vote, but I believe it can be Union now that Yuri Andropov was dead. I watched with simply summed up as this: friends don’t let friends stay rapt fascination when Geraldine Ferraro was selected as home on Election Day. See you at the polls! the first female candidate to represent a major political party on a presidential ticket, and I can probably rattle “To vote is like the payment off the winner and loser of every Louisiana gubernatorial of a debt, a duty never to be election since Treen defeated Lambert in 1979. As such, neglected if its performance is it should come as no great surprise that I remember the p o s s i bl e .” day I registered to vote with as much clarity as many of -Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President of the United States the other milestone moments of my youth: my first day of high school, getting my driver’s license, my first trip Committee & Section Chairs Officers Tricia Pierre Danielle Cromwell Acadiana Legal Service Corporation Louis A. Martinet Society Candace Breaux Karen King President Secretary/Treasurer Kyle Gideon Blake David Bench Bar Maritime CLE President-Elect Immediate Past President Missy Theriot Chuck Mouton & Doug Truxillo Board of Directors CLE By-the-Hour Membership Candace Breaux Karen King Steven Ramos Steven Ramos Donnie O’Pry Bianca Chretien Cliff LaCour Maggie Simar Family Law Section Miscellaneous CLE Jeff Coreil Steve Lanza Cynthia Simon Maggie Simar Cynthia Simon Jean-Paul Coussan John Mouton, III William Stagg Paul Gibson Donovan O’Pry, II Melissa Theriot Lafayette Young Lawyers Promulgator Trey Hightower Jill Wade & Bianca Chretien LBA Staff Josette Abshire, Tammy Derouen, Lafayette Volunteers Lawyers Real Estate Section Executive Director LVL Program Director Jeff Coreil Jean Paul Coussan Shaneal Jones Claire Prejean Marketing Coordinator Member Services Coordinator PAGE 4 Table of Contents President’s Message................................3 2014 Elections...................................... 12-16 Executive Director’s Message..........4 ABC Social...................................................18 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Solo/Small Firm CLE..............................19 Civil Rights Act & Criminal Justice Legal Lagniappe........................................19 Act............... ....................................................5 Lawyers in Libraries...............................21 LVL Bowling Tournament ............8-9 Search Engine Optimization: What LYLA President’s Message.....................8 Really Works for Law Firms?..........22 LYLA Installation Banquet................9 Classified.....................................................23 Bryson Law Firm Offers Pro Bono Grapevine.....................................................23 Tax Advice....................................................10 Upcoming Events.....................................23 Hall of Fame Banquet...........................11 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Civil Rights Act & Criminal Justice Act The Civil Rights Act and Criminal Justice Northside High School Mock Trial Team Act forever changed America. It transformed our reenacted portions of the Brown v. Board of Education understanding of justice, equality, and democracy. trial of 1954. They took on roles of witnesses and On September 3rd, at the Western District of Louisiana Courthouse, the Lafayette-Acadiana Chapter of the Federal Bar Association held a seminar to commemorate the Civil Rights Act and Criminal Justice Act. Speakers: Freddie Pitcher, Jr., Chancellor of Southern University Law Center and retired 19th Judicial District Court and First Circuit Court of Appeal Judge, Stephanie A. Finley, United States Attorney, and G. Paul Marx, District Public Defender- Supervisor of the 15th Judicial District Court of Louisiana, Lafayette Parish, recounted the events that transpired during the passage of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act and their importance to changing history. PAGE 5 LVL Bowling Tournament Once Upon A Time The Lafayette Parish Bar Foundation hosted its annual LVL Bowling Tournament at Lafayette Lanes on Friday, August 1st. The night was filled with laughter and drink as participants from local Signature firms and businesses arrived decked out in costumes portraying their favorite fairytale characters in celebration of the bowling tournament’s Sponsors theme “Once Upon a Time.” Participants could be spotted dressed as everything from the Three Little Pigs to Disney princesses, all joining NeunerPate to support a good cause. Proceeds from the event benefit Lafayette Bar Foundation’s Lafayette Volunteer Lawyers section, a program in which local attorneys are given the chance to give back to their community by Barczyk Chiropractic Group offering pro-bono legal services for the underprivileged. HomeBank Committee to Re-Elect Judge Susan Theall Committee to Elect Charlie Fitzgerald PAGE 6 LVL Bowling Tournament Door Prize Sponsors Marcellos Lafayette Junior League Chris Rainey & Associates The Glenn Armentor Law Corporation Rebekah Huggins Kaigler Consulting Service, Inc. Andrus, Boudreaux, Landry & Coussan Marianna Broussard PAGE 7 LYLA