General Practice and Trial Section State Bar of Georgia Vol. XXII Special Edition No. 1 Q

Judges Dax Lopez, Bonnie Chessher Oliver and Rusty Smith answer questions from the bench

A See article on pages 6 -12 INSIDE FRONT COVER BLANK General Practice and Trial Section State Bar of Georgia Vol. XXII Special Issue No. 1 “Georgia’s Largest Law Firm”

Editor David A. Sleppy Articles Executive Director n Chairman’s Corner Betty Simms Kristine Orr Brown 2 2016/2017 Officers Kristine Orr Brown n Editor’s Corner Chairman David A. Sleppy 4 Paul W. Painter, III Chairman-Elect Robert S. Register n Questions & Answers Secretary/Treasurer Judges Dax Lopez, Bonnie Chessher Oliver and Rusty Smith 6 William F. “Trey” Underwood, III Immediate Past Chair

2016/2017 Board Members n Motions in Limine in Civil Litigation Carl R. Varendoe Rebecca A. Payne 11 Amy Purvis Holbrook Ivy Cadle n Board Members and Terms Jennifer Riley Dawn M. Jones June 2017-2019 22 Judge Chris Edwards Thomas E. Cauthorn Senator Judge Chan Caudell Ray J. Doumar Chandler Bridges Danny Griffin James “Wick” Cauthorn Kenneth L. Shigley Robert O. Bozeman William Parker Sanders Zahra Karinshak

Trustees Albert Fendig, Jr. William F. Underwood, Jr. Paul M. Hawkins Joe A. Weeks John C. Bell, Jr. Mark Dehler John T. Laney, III John W. Timmons Robert P. Wilson Sally Akins Thomas Wm. Malone Cathy Harris Helms Paul D. Hermann Jefferson “Cal” Callier Rudolph Patterson S. Lester Tate, III James B. Pilcher Wright Gammon John E. James Myles Eastwood Verlyn C. Baker Mary A. Prebula Calendar Call is the official publication of the General Practice and Trial Section Paul W. Painter, Jr. Adam Malone of the State Bar of Georgia. Statements and opinions expressed in the editorials Joel O. Wooten, Jr. William P. Langdale,III and articles are not necessarily those of the Section of the Bar. Calendar J. Sherrod Taylor Joseph A. Roseborough John M. Hyatt Darren W. Penn Call welcomes the submission of articles on topics of interest to the Section. James H. Webb, Jr. Laura Austin Submissions should be doublespaced, typewritten on letter-size paper, with the Judge Bonnie Oliver Nicholas J. Pieschel article on disk or sent via e-mail together with a bio and picture of the author William L. Lundy, Jr. and forwarded to Editor: David A. Sleppy, 649 Irvin St., P.O. Box #689, Cornelia, GA 30531, [email protected]. Published by Appleby & Associates, Winston, Georgia.

1 Kristine Orr Brown Chairman’s Corner Section Chair

It was an honor and plea- and select which question(s) they assessment of almost $4 per sure to serve as Chairman of answer. Volunteer attorneys are member for each section. the General Practice and Trial covered by the program’s mal- Some important Section events Section (“GPTS”) last year. I practice insurance. We hope that remained the same. The Traditions would like to begin by thanking members will take advantage of in Excellence Award Breakfast Executive Director Betty Simms this pro bono opportunity. which was held during the State for all of her work during the We conducted a membership Bar Annual Convention. We were year. She truly keeps the Section survey concerning our annual privileged to hear from the 2017 in order, and her institutional Trial Institute. We received feed- award recipients Judge Alvin T. knowledge is invaluable. I am back concerning dates, loca- Wong (judicial recipient), Phillip pleased that she is continuing tions, and topics. Given the feed- C. Henry (plaintiff recipient), with the Section for another year. back, we are exploring a vari- Thomas G. Sampson (defense Thank you also to Immediate ety of options for the 2018 Trial recipient), and Laura E. Austin Past Chairman Trey Underwood Institute. We are awaiting pricing (general practice recipient) who for planning and chairing the information from the State Bar. all gave memorable presenta- 2017 Trial Institute. The Institute Once received, I look forward to tions and provided inspiration to was a great success with an announcing the dates and loca- the membership regarding sac- esteemed group of presenters tion for the 2018 Trial Institute. rifice, dedication, humility, and who offered excellent trial strat- We reintroduced the section being better lawyers. Not only egies, legal authority, and war listserv. We hope this service will was it rewarding to hear from the stories. Survey results also indi- be helpful to the membership by recipients themselves, but also the cated that the St. Simons location providing a method for notifica- individuals who introduced the was favored by the membership. tion of GPTS events and allowing recipients. The introductions pro- The Section made some sig- the membership to communicate vided insight into the recipients’ nificant changes in the last year. on a variety of matters. I person- lives and the recipients’ impact on We transitioned from the Ask- ally found it helpful recently others that evidenced exactly why A-Lawyer Day in which attor- when I needed to refer a poten- they were receiving the award. I neys volunteered to meet with tial client to a zoning attorney in encourage all members to attend pro bono clients one day a year a particular town. I emailed the this breakfast in the future. to participation in Georgia Legal listserv requesting recommen- Additionally, the Section again Services’ new program http:// dations and received numerous presented numerous ICLE semi- georgia.freelegalanswers.org responses. nars. The Section presented more in which clients submit legal Membership dues increased than 20 programs, with such questions and volunteer attor- by $5 from $35 to $40. Dues have broad ranging topics as Jury neys respond to those questions. not increased in at least 15 years. Trials, E-Discovery, Criminal Volunteer attorneys can log in The board approved the increase Law and Procedure, Personal whenever/wherever they choose given the State Bar’s increased Injury (in various types of cases),

2 Milich on Evidence, Advanced section betters one’s law prac- already benefit my law practice. Cross Examination, and more. tice. Attending numerous GPTS I look forward to supporting In closing, I would like to events during the course of current chairman Paul Painter. thank all of you for allowing the year allowed me to meet so I know from his board involve- me to serve as Chairman. It many attorneys from around the ment over the years that he will was a great experience. I truly State who I otherwise would not be an excellent chairman. believe that involvement in this have met. These new friendships

GENERAL PRACTICE AND TRIAL SECTION SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 2017-2018

09/1-2/17 URGENT LEGAL MATTERS – KING AND PRINCE HOTEL, ST. SIMONS ISLAND 09/07/17 SECRETS TO SUCCESSFUL PERSONAL INJURY CASE, BAR CENTER 09/14/17 DRAM SHOP, BAR CENTER 09/15/17 SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE LAW, BAR CENTER 10/27/17 TRIAL ADVOCACY, GPT-TV 11/01/17 MILICH ON CRIMINAL EVIDENCE, BAR CENTER 11/10/17 KEEP IT SHORT AND SIMPLE BAR CENTER 11/10/17 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS, GPT-TV 12/07/17 HEALTH FRAUD INSTITUTE, BAR CENTER 12/15/17 CARLSON ON EVIDENCE, BAR CENTER 01/4-6/18 STATE BAR MID-YEAR MEETING, WESTIN PERIMETER NORTH 01/07/18 SECTION LUNCHEON, WESTIN ATLANTA PERIMETER NORTH 01/12/18 JURY TRIALS, GPB-TV 01/19/18 DEFENSE OF A PERSONAL INJURY CASE, BAR CENTER 02/23/18 PLAINTIFF’S PERSONAL INJURY, GPT-TV 03/02/18 TRUCK WRECK CASES BAR CENTER 03/09/18 MILICH ON EVIDENCE, BAR CENTER 05/04/18 DUI UPDATE, BAR CENTER TBA GENERAL RACTICE AND TRIAL INSTITUTE 06/07-10/18 STATE BAR ANNUAL MEETING, OMNI AMELIA ISLAND, FL. 06/08/18 TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE BREAKFAST AND RECEPTION

3 Editor’s Corner David A. Sleppy Editor

After practicing law for several • It’s only when the tide goes out, you discover who is decades - and being alive for several swimming naked. Warren Buffett more - I have found that it is often useful to have a quote available to • It is not enough just to have a good mind; the main