11 minute read
A message from Andrew S. Nix, the 2020 Birmingham Bar Association President
We know COVID-19 challenged each of our members in unique and unprecedented ways. In the face of the new hurdles, many of you embraced opportunities to be of service to others who were experiencing more acute hardships.
For this issue of the Bulletin, we highlight two members who helped others through the COVID-19 crisis. Nicole King is the City Attorney for the City of Birmingham and leads a team of 44 attorneys. During the crisis, she and her team supported the city in its implementation of a response to COVID-19 and its initiatives to help citizens and small businesses. Rip Andrews is a partner at Marsh, Rickard & Bryan where he strives to make a tangible impact on people’s lives. In response to the crisis, he started the Win-Win-Win program.
Nicole King
Q. Please talk about some of the work you did to support the city’s response to COVID-19.
A. As the City Attorney for the City of Birmingham, my highest responsibility is to ensure effective and efficient legal representation for the Mayor, City Council, 32 departments and their divisions and manage the staff of 44 employees who handle all contracts, ordinances, and civil and criminal legal matters for the city.
Members Who Motivate Us
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Randall Woodfin has maintained a strong and steady approach to protecting small businesses, residents of the city and city employees. My team and I were on the front line of the mayor’s and the city’s response to COVID-19. Immediately after the first case was identified in Alabama, I led a team of attorneys in my office in identifying legal authority for the City of Birmingham to take measures to control the spread of disease. This work enabled Mayor Woodfin’s March 16 proclamation, declaring a state of emergency for the city, adopting CDC guidelines and limiting the size of gatherings to reduce the spread and impact of COVID-19. Ours was the first such mayoral action in the state.
My team and I also worked closely with Mayor Woodfin on the introduction of a shelter-in-place ordinance and a second mayoral proclamation that reinforced the Jefferson County Health Officer’s order
closing all non-essential businesses in the city and further limiting gatherings. The joint efforts of the City Council and the mayor resulted in the first shelter-in-place ordinance in the state, which was later extended and readopted. Each of these proclamations and ordinances required legal research and advice from me and my team to guide the mayor and council. We drafted each of the proclamations and ordinances in response to the changing needs of the city
Above: City Attorney Nicole King at a Birmingham City Council meeting.
to manage public health concerns. I also directly advised the City Council on Gov. Kay Ivey’s emergency proclamation relating to open meetings, including matters that can or cannot be considered in a virtual meeting.
Our attorneys and I also supported in the implementation of the Birmingham Strong Fund spearheaded by Dr. Josh Carpenter. We drafted the contracts and resolutions for consideration and approval by the council.
Q. The mayor and the entire city government worked tirelessly to respond to the crisis. Is there a certain initiative that you are particularly proud of?
A. I am particularly proud of the Birmingham Strong Fund. The Office of Innovation and Economic Opportunity quickly created a process that ensured
Above: Nicole with Kerri Page Parker and Jequette Noland. Right: Nicole with her husband and two children.
the viability of businesses. More than 245 businesses completed the application for funds, resulting in the creation of 1,412 jobs. It is estimated that the $1.2 million from city dollars and $1.2 million from private dollars helped to stabilize businesses that represent 712 jobs in the local community, while at the same time stimulating the local economy.
My office worked with the Birmingham Business Resource Center (BBRC), an entity that has operated for over 200 years to serve as a lender to small businesses in Birmingham. The BBRC — in a competitive process — reviewed applications and selected businesses to award loans.
Q. You lost two family members during the crisis. Could you share some of the experiences of that tragedy?
A. Due to COVID-19, I lost two cherished members of my family. Both were my mother’s siblings: my aunt, Clarita Stone, and my uncle, Frank Nelson. Both, due to COVID-19, had to be rushed to the hospital unexpectedly. They died within two days of each other. The loss was unimaginable, but not being able to attend their funeral in Mobile due to the social distancing requirements was an absolute nightmare. I was fortunate to be able to view the funeral by Zoom. It was so sad watching through a computer screen the 10 family members who were able to attend, wearing
their masks and sitting 6 feet apart. It is a memory that will forever be etched into my heart.
A. One of my important strategies is maintaining a spiritual balance through prayer. Running for dear life on my treadmill has also helped me to maintain my sanity.
Q. How did you stay connected to family and friends during the time of social distancing?
A. Zoom has become my best friend during this pandemic. My family is all over: Detroit, Texas, Germany. Zoom has allowed me to see my family all in one place and share in laughter and memories that keep me comforted during this difficult time. My close friends and I also check in weekly through phone calls and text messaging. I plan to make this a habit even after sheltering in place is over.
Q. What were some of the routine things in your life that you found to be challenging because of social distancing?
A. I have found teleworking and not being
with my team every day to be a challenge. Also challenging is balancing working from home with taking care of my 1-yearold son and 3-year-old daughter. Thank goodness for my wonderful husband who is also working from home and has cared for the kids when I do go into City Hall for emergency matters and to attend weekly City Council meetings. It has been an entertaining adjustment for him as well.
Not being able to take my children to malls, restaurants or the park has been quite somber. However, being at home with them every day and to see them blossom has been a great joy. I am very creative with coming up with new games to play outside with them, and it has been really awesome to see the imagination and abilities that they have.
A. One of my favorite podcasts is "Magic City Mondays" about exciting things taking place within the City of Birmingham. Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to complete any good books, but I have been reading educational books to my children to help with their time away from daycare. To date, the only television shows that I have watched are "Peppa Pig," "Paw Patrol" and the Baby First Learning Channel.
Q. Tell us about the Win-Win-Win Project that you launched at the onset of COVID-19.
A. The Win-Win-Win project is a way to get good, healthy food to our brave health care workers while supporting Birmingham’s beloved local restaurants.
It works like this: First, a health care team leader signs up to request a specific number of meals on a certain date and at a certain mealtime. Then, we locate a local restaurant that can supply the meals and post the restaurant name and total cost on our site. Finally, a generous sponsor signs up and promises to pay for the meal, feeling good about themselves and garnering good will with some health care workers and restaurants. It really is a winwin-win for everyone!
Q. What prompted you to start this great project?
A. I am really close with the same group of friends that I’ve had since I was very little, and we keep in touch over WhatsApp. When this crisis began, one of my friends sent us a link to a program like the Win-Win-Win project that’s happening in San Francisco, and we got to talking about how great a program like that would work here.
We wanted health care workers to have good, local food that was easily accessible that they didn’t have to pay for, and at the same time help support local small businesses who have been hit hard by all this. One of my closest friends from the group, Will Baker, and I both have connections in the health care and restaurant industries, so we began to plan the project. One of the primary ways I got the hospitals involved was through attorneys who represent hospitals that my law firm has previously faced in court. I’m pretty good friends with a lot of them, and there were so many who were excited to help.
When we got our first sign-ups in March — St. Vincent’s and Watkins Branch, a restaurant in Mountain Brook — we weren’t sure if it was going to run out of steam in a few days or really take off. But
Above left: Rip shares his love of fishing. Above right: Rip poses with his daughters outside of the family's camper. Below: Health care workers at St. Vincent's say thank you for their meals.
since then, we’ve had lots of sponsors, a lot of appreciative hospital staff and restaurants continuing to sign up. As of late April, we had provided about 2,500 meals to health care workers, and sponsors have raised nearly $40,000 to cover the cost.
A. My wife and I have property on Lake Mitchell. We got a camper when this all started and for a large part have been living out of our camper at the lake.
It has been a very odd experience. This crisis is such an awful tragedy for a lot of people economically and health-wise, but because my family has been able to avoid the health consequences, we have been doing well. My workload is lighter. I’ve been fishing at the lake. I just finished a novel, and it’s the first I’ve finished since my girls, who are now 6 and 7, were 2 and 3.
My counselor is doing online sessions, and I should probably schedule one because I probably don’t realize exactly what kind of negative effects this is having on me. For now, though, I’m grateful to be spending more time with my family and on other pursuits.
My buddies and I had a conversation about this experience that led us to go from the point of “Here’s an idea,” to “Maybe we can actually do this,” which led to the Win-Win-Win Project. In a weird way, a lot of our day-to-day lives are better because of this, so we are doing something to help the folks who are on the front lines and those who are suffering during this time.
Q. How was your work challenged, and what did you do to overcome those challenges?
A. I’m working from home 99% of the time. We do have people going into the office here and there, but we’re trying to avoid that as much as possible. Marsh Rickard is a litigation firm; courts are physically closed, but the judges are doing a great job keeping things moving as best they can. It’s been nearly impossible to
Rip poses with his catch.
have mediations and depositions, so my overall workload has reduced by 80%. For now, that’s fine because it’s giving me more time to spend with family and to keep the kids entertained.
Q. What has it been like to have your children at home with you full-time?
A. It’s hard. I’ve always had a very healthy respect for teachers. My wife is a part-time college professor, so I knew this was going to be hard, just because of how hard teaching is. If they were a little older it would be a different story, but with kindergartners you have to really hold their hands.
The girls have been having a magical time at Lake Mitchell. They’re able to do things at the lake that they wouldn’t be able to do otherwise in a suburban home. There’s a bald eagle living in a tree near our dock. The girls can see stars and recognize the Big Dipper. I think, oddly enough, because they’re so young and can’t really understand what’s going on, that they’ll look back on this time with fondness.
A. I just finished "The Immortalists" by Chloe Benjamin and am currently reading "Pachinko" by Min Jin Lee.
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