Memphis Lawyer Volume 33, Issue 4

Memphis Lawyer Issue... the magazine of the Memphis Bar Association

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Vol. 33, Issue 4

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GOLF TOURNAMENT

THIS ISSUE:

Headlines

Team MBA: Running for Kids Like Julia 5 Things Family Lawyers Should Know About Drug Testing

w kn them

Demystifying Legal Project Management

Tennessee’s Workers’ Compensation Law has Changed . . . Again

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Volume 33, Issue 4

FEATURES 8

Team MBA: Running for Kids Like Julia

BY MARY MASON AND EARLE SCHWARZ

10 Tennessee’s Amended Data Breach Notification Law Serves as a Reminder

to Assess Your Firm’s Cyber Readiness

BY JUSTIN N. JOY

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2016 Bench Bar Schedule

14

5 Things Family Lawyers Should Know About Drug Testing

16

Law School Desk to Law Firm Desk: My Journey

18

Tips for Using Microsoft Word – Building Blocks

20

Demystifying Legal Project Management

26

Tennessee’s Workers’ Compensation Law has Changed . . . Again

BY MILES MASON, SR. AND LAURA VALADE

BY JACOB D. STRAWN

BY SEAN HUNT

BY JAY BRENNER

BY JARED RENFROE, SPICER RUDSTROM

COLUMNS 6

President’s Column

25

Memphis Bar Foundation in Action: Just City

30

CLC, the opportunity to serve is an opportunity to change someone's life

32

The World has gone Crazy, but MALS is making a Difference

BY SHEA SISK WELLFORD

BY JOSH SPICKLER

BY ERICA R. TAMARIZ

BY JOHN J. HEFLIN

DEPARTMENTS 19

Memphis Bar Happenings

22

The Court Report

24

The Court Report-United States District

34 38

People in the News Classified Advertisements

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MEMPHIS LAWYER

2016 MBA Officers

the magazine of the Memphis Bar Association

MBA Publications Committee Stephen R. Leffler, Chair Karen Campbell Dean DeCandia Nicole Grida Sean Hunt Laura Martin Gigi Gaerig McGown Harrison McIver Jared Renfroe Ellen Vergos Mary Wagner Mason Wilson

Shea Sisk Wellford President

Dean DeCandia Vice President

Earle Schwarz

Secretary/Treasurer

Thomas L. Parker Past President

2016 Board of Directors Mike Adams Jeremy Alpert Megan Arthur Lara Butler Betsy Chance Annie Christoff Jennifer Hagerman Doug Halijan Jonathan Hancock Maureen Holland Earl Houston Carrie Kerley Andre Mathis

Gigi Gaerig McGown Asia Diggs Meador Elijah Noel, Jr. Lisa Overall Jill Steinberg Section Representatives Imad Abdullah Stuart Canale Maggie Cooper Anne Davis Sean Hunt Toni Parker

ABA Delgate Danny Van Horn AWA Representative Jodi Runger NBA Representative Felisa Cox Law School Representative Elizabeth Rudolph YLD President Jonathan May

MBA STAFF

The Memphis Lawyer is a publication of the Memphis Bar Association, Inc. that publishes six times each year. The publication has a circulation of 2,200. If you are interested in submitting an article for publication or advertising in an upcoming issue, contact Anne Fritz at 527.3575; afritz@memphisbar.org The MBA reserves the right to reject any advertisement or article submitted for publication.

Anne Fritz

Executive Director

Lesia Beach

CLE/Sections Director

Charlotte Gean

Executive Assistant/ Membership Coordinator

Katherine Newsom Communications and Membership Director

Changes to Tennessee Rules of Procedure These amendments to the Rules above will take effect July 1, 2016.

The Memphis Bar Association 145 Court Ave. Suite 301 Memphis, TN 38103 Phone: (901) 527-3573 Fax: (901) 527-3582

www.memphisbar.org

The amendments and revisions to the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure (Senate Resolution No. 82, Adopted February 22, 2016; House Resolution No. 144, Adopted January 5, 2016), Rules of Civil Procedure (Senate Resolution No. 81, Adopted February 22, 2016; House Resolution No. 143, Adopted January 5, 2016), Rules of Criminal Procedure (Senate Resolution No. 80, Adopted February 22, 2016; House Resolution No. 147, Adopted January 5, 2016), and Rules of Juvenile Procedure (Senate Resolution No. 78, Adopted February 22, 2016, Senate Resolution No. 79, Adopted February 22, 2016; House Resolution No. 145, Adopted January 5, 2016, House Resolution 146, Adopted January 5, 2016) have been ratified and approved by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee.

To view the changes, please visit the “Build Your Practice� section on our website.

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PRESIDENT'S COLUMN

by SHEA SISK WELLFORD

On July 7, 2016, 53 students received certificates and a $500 stipend for their successful completion of the Memphis Bar Association’s Summer Law Intern Program, which places high school students from minority groups in legal workplaces, with the long-term goal of increasing diversity in the profession.

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hese young people, many of whom had never met an attorney, each spent 60 hours interacting with attorneys and learning what it means to work in a professional environment. To prepare them for their experience, Judge Gina Higgins led an orientation (as she has done for a number of years) where she covered topics ranging from timeliness to cell phones to dress codes. By the end of orientation, she had the students so engaged with the details of what it meant to be a successful participant in the program, that when she asked what time they should show up for a 9.00 am meeting, the students shouted in unison: 8:45!

Judge Higgins took the time to focus on the details.

She made sure that each individual student understood what it meant to be a part of the program. The immediate result was a meaningful and productive experience for the students and those who interacted with them.

Hopefully, the longer-lasting results will include a better understanding of our neighbors and more diversity in our workplaces.

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As I am writing this column, our community and the world is learning that three officers were shot in Baton Rouge. We are still processing the news of the attack in Nice, and of the previous shootings in Minnesota, Dallas, and Baton Rouge. In our geographical community, recent events resulted in a protest and a meeting to talk about the issues. When engaging in conversations about what is going on in Memphis, it is sometimes easier to paint these events in broad strokes and, to our detriment, lose sight of the details. For example, I had a client call last week to ask if it was still safe to stay downtown after he had heard that “Memphis was protesting.” One of my law partners who was out of town said that he had heard that Memphis “was in turmoil” in the days following the protest. The characterization of events as my client and law partner heard them ignored what was truly happening here and focused instead on the events through a lens of apprehension instead of opportunity.

Many in our community became fearful about what might happen next. There were many ways to respond

to the situation – why should the default response of so many be fear?

or food. The outcome was life changing, extraordinary, and made the news worldwide.

If we take the time to focus on the details, a different picture emerges of recent events in our city: one of a forceful yet peaceful demonstration, followed by a continuing, passionate dialogue between members of the community and our city’s leaders.

I do not know the answers to the questions raised by recent events, but I do know that we must focus on the details and resist overly simplistic characterizations.

We can learn some lessons from our Summer Law Intern Program, which focuses on the details and creates opportunities for our community to interact in a positive way. As lawyers, we are trained to seek out and make sense of the details. During this time, let us put those skills to use, and reflect on how we may influence our community’s reaction for the good of Memphis. What are the details that we cannot afford to overlook? t

Focusing on the details allowed another recent encounter in Memphis to unexpectedly unfold in a positive and lasting way. A white shopper at Kroger at Poplar and Highland was approached by a black teenager who asked if he could carry his groceries to the car in exchange for some food. The shopper could have walked away and recounted to his friends that he had been harassed inside the grocery store while shopping. But instead, the shopper chose to focus on the details. What did this young man want to eat? Why was he hungry and asking strangers for food? By seeking the details, the shopper was able to learn the truth – this teenager lived with his disabled grandmother in a home without a bed

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Team MBA:

Running for Kids Like Julia Mary Masonworks in the accounting department at Baker Donelson. Her daughter, Julia, is a patient at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and an inspiration for Team MBA. This is their story:

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hen your child is diagnosed with cancer your goals and dreams for the future are suddenly very simple and you literally learn to take life one day at a time. My goal for Julia is for her to go back to school in the fall where she'll be a seventh grader. Our story starts out like so many others. Julia had an MRI in April 2015 because she was experiencing a lot of pain in her left arm. She was a very active girl - lots of gymnastics, soccer, roller-blading etc.

I was expecting the doctor to deliver the bad news that her arm was broken and she'd be in a cast for the remainder of fifth grade. Instead he gently said that it wasn’t a fracture. It was a tumor. It was probably Ewing Sarcoma. We were going to St. Jude the following morning.

I've lived in the mid-south for over twenty-five years so of course I knew about St. Jude. I watched the Marlo Thomas narrated specials on television. I sent in a donation from time to time. I knew it was a special place. I never thought it would become our second home. Our first few days at St. Jude felt like starting a new job complete with an orientation and a new employee handbook. Fighting cancer became our full time job. The doctors at St. Jude wasted no time getting started and Julia's life became a series of steps and goals. First: get through the numerous MRI's, bone scans, pet scans, biopsies. Next steps: surgery to insert her subcutaneous port, begin chemotherapy, shave my daughter's head, more chemotherapy. Next up: limb saving surgery, recovery and rehabilitation, more chemotherapy, more scans, and finally a bone marrow transplant. When we look back on everything she's been through it's pretty amazing. St. Jude makes it happen.

Our life isn't all cancer all the time. She's had some fun times at St. Jude, too. It is after all sometimes referred to as the best place you'll never want to be. St. Jude has a terrific child life team that’s there for Julia to walk her through the tough moments like preparing for major surgery or just hang out and do crafts. She talks superhero movies with her primary oncologist. While waiting for clinic visits you can almost always find some kind of activity taking place in the hospital. St. Jude throws great 8

parties. Halloween is spectacular. She's met her favorite author there. Twice.

There are some truly special, wonderful people working at St. Jude. Julia loves the team who takes care of her. From the surgeons who performed the eight-hour procedure to save her arm to the pca who brought her nail polish and gave manicures while Julia was staying inpatient for chemo. There are too many to mention. All of them are amazing. Our friend Jordan is just one example.

He was the first nurse to administer chemo to Julia. He's been there for her from the start whether she needed chemo, or a blood transfusion or the time she was running a fever at 11:00 pm on a Sunday and we had to make an emergency trip to the hospital.

He's also there for her when she just wants to drop by and talk. His wife Dawn also works at St. Jude and was part of Julia's bone marrow transplant

team, and they formed a special bond as well.

This June, while Julia was completing her treatment, Jordan and Dawn climbed Mt. Rainier in Washington state and placed a banner at the top that listed the names of special people who could not climb a mountain now, but might someday. Julia's name is on that banner.

There is a lot of hope at St. Jude. It's the reason why we still have Julia with us and I’m eternally grateful to everyone there. We're proud to be part of the St. Jude family and I'm proud that this amazing place is in Memphis. Thanks to all of the doctors, nurses and staff at St. Jude my list of goals, hopes and dreams for Julia has expanded: Go back to school this fall, attend college, start a career, have a family of her own. Climb a mountain. t

It was last December that Earle Schwarz started thinking about what is today Team MBA: As I was waddling along the river, I wondered why the Memphis Bar Association hadn’t supported the St. Jude Marathon weekend in an organized way.

There are a lot of reasons we should do so. St. Jude is the most visible non-profit in Memphis; we, attorneys, should support it and be associated with it. There are members of our legal community, like Mary Mason and her family, who have been touched

by St. Jude and would be grateful for our help. Every dollar raised is important.

You will benefit from the experience far more profoundly than you could ever imagine or I could ever describe. Join the Memphis Bar Association’s St. Jude team. You can participate in an event, you can make a donation or you can volunteer. Just don’t miss out on the experience.

To register or donate, go to bit.ly/mbastjude. See you at the finish line.

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Tennessee’s Amended Data Breach Notification Law Serves as a Reminder to Assess Your Firm’s Cyber Readiness

By JUSTIN N. JOY, CIPP/US

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s illustrated by recent headlines, law firms of all sizes are squarely in the crosshairs of hackers. The consensus among data security professionals is there are now two types of organizations: those that have been hacked and those that will be hacked (or perhaps those that have already been hacked and just don’t know it yet!). With the recent amendment to Tennessee’s data breach notification law, now is a great time to assess your law firm’s data security practices as well as your readiness to respond when hit with a cyber incident.

Clients want to know: Who’s watching our data?

Maintaining the confidentiality of client information is a “fundamental principle in the client-lawyer relationship.”1 To fulfill this obligation, “[a] lawyer must act competently to safeguard information relating to the representation of a client against inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure by the lawyer or other persons who are participating in the representation of the client.”2 A decade or two ago, this could have been accomplished by simply locking the office at night and keeping files tucked away. Today, safeguarding client information is a significantly more complex challenge.

Reasonableness, not perfection, is the measure but clients and prospective clients are inquiring with increasing levels of specificity and depth about law firms’ security measures and practices.

Your firm needs a data security policy. If your firm already has a security policy, it needs to be reviewed regularly—at least once a year—as security technology and practices are constantly evolving. If a client has not asked whether your firm has a security policy in place, that day will come soon. Corporate clients go to great lengths to protect their customers’ information. There is a growing expectation among clients that, when they hand their information over to their law firm, it will be just as protected. With data security, law firms have been regarded as a soft underbelly for far too long.

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Additionally, if your firm has client information covered by data protection statutes or regulations, such as HIPAA, your firm is likely legally obligated to protect information either by law or by contract.3 Regulators are taking notice. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights recently announced a $650,000 settlement with a business associate for a HIPAA violation, reportedly the first such action taken directly against a business associate.4 Another consideration in protecting client data is knowing how and where is it stored. As cloud storage becomes ubiquitous, lawyers should know the considerations involved in storing data in the cloud. The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility issued a formal ethics opinion addressing the question “May an attorney ethically store confidential client information or material in ‘the cloud’?”5 The answer is yes, so long as the lawyer takes reasonable care that the data remains confidential and that reasonable safeguards are employed to protect the information from breaches and other loss. When was the last time you reviewed your service agreement with your cloud storage vendor? Does it cover safeguards?

Be breach ready—Tennessee’s data breach notification law now requires a prompt response

Even with reasonable (or great) data security, law firms should be ready to respond to and recover from a data breach. Chances are, your firm will experience some type of data incident. Your firm should have an incident response plan in place. Like your firm’s security policy, it needs to be reviewed often. Better yet, the response plan needs to be rehearsed often to see if it works and where there may be holes, either internally or externally.

Earlier this year, Tennessee amended its data breach notification law. For breaches occurring after July 1, 2016, which require notification, law firms have only 45 days to notify those affected. The new law provides that notification “shall be made immediately” but, in any instance, no later than 45 days from discovery of the breach.6 While 45 days may seem like more than sufficient time to provide notification, a law firm caught flat-footed and unprepared to address a data breach may have a difficult time complying with the new timeline. Can your firm comply with this new requirement?

program. Creating a security aware culture within a law firm is just as if not more important than spending considerable sums on cybersecurity technology. Regular security awareness training for your firm’s employees (including you) goes a long way to preventing data breaches.

Would your firm survive a data breach?

If your firm hasn’t considered its cybersecurity risks and you don’t know where to start, resources are available. Likewise, in my experience, organizations who have had data security policies in place for years often need just as much help as those just starting to consider their cyber risk. After all, policies become dated, begin to overlap and may even conflict with other polices.

With the new data breach notification time limit in Tennessee, now is a great time to reassess—or perhaps assess for the first time—your firm’s cyber readiness.

Your firm’s ability to comply with Tennessee’s breach notification law and respond to, if not simply survive, a data incident may depend upon it. t

Fires, floods and hacks Just like any other casualty risk such as a fire or flood facing your law firm, cyber liability must be considered and managed. One way of managing this risk is obtaining a cyber liability insurance policy.

Chances are, a loss caused by a data breach is not going to be covered under a professional liability or general commercial liability policy. A policy covering specific risks associated with cyber liability may not only provide indemnification in the event of an actual loss but, depending upon the policy, may also provide coverage for things like ransomware attacks and breach notification expenses.

1

Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, RPC 1.6 cmt. 2.

2

Id. cmt. 15.

For information on law firms as HIPAA business associates, see Leslie R. Isaacman, The HIPAApotamus in the Room, 33:3 Memphis Lawyer 12– 14 (2016).

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4 Press Release, U.S. Dep’t Health & Human Servs., Office for Civil Rights, Business Associate’s Failure to Safeguard Nursing Home Residents’ PHI Leads to $650,000 HIPAA Settlement (June 29, 2016), http://www.hhs. gov/hipaa/for-professionals/compliance-enforcement/agreements/catholichealth-care-services/index.html.

Tenn. Bd. Prof ’l Responsibility, Formal Ethics Op. 2015-F-159 (2015) (addressing storing client information in the cloud).

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2016 Tenn. Pub. Acts 692 § 3 (March 24, 2016).

As security technology continues to improve and become more accessible, fraudsters are now focusing their attention on the network components that continue to be most susceptible to their schemes: humans. Whether it is a weak password, clicking on a link or attachment in a bad email, or other action creating a vulnerability to a network, the human element must be part of any cyber risk management 11

40th Annual

BENCH BAR The Conference · September 1-4 Come celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Bench Bar Conference at Tops'l Beach Resort September 1 - 4, 2016! You can get an entire year of CLE credit - 15 hours including 3 hours of ethics and professionalism credit - while interacting with your colleagues at the beach or by the pool.

Register and learn more: memphisbar.org/cle/bench-bar-conference

Conference Schedule | 15 CLE Credit Hours Thursday, September 1 6:00 – 8:00 pm | Poolside Kick-off Reception

Friday, September 2

7 CLE HOURS

8:15 – 9:15 am | Legal Threats to Amateurism in College Sports

Speakers: Michael McLaren, Butler Snow, LLP and Lynda Black, University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law

9:30 – 10:30 am | Concurrent Sessions Discovery Disputes in Federal Court and the Impact of the New Rules Speaker: Rusty Reviere, Rainey Kizer Reviere & Bell, PLC

Juvenile Court Update

Speaker: Judge Sheldon McCall, Juvenile Court of Memphis & Shelby County

Strategies to Overcome the Stereotypes of Mediation Speaker: Minton Mayer, Wiseman Ashworth Law Group, PLC

10:45 am – 12:15 pm | Dialogue with the Bench

Speakers: Judge Sheryl Lipman, Judge John Campbell and Judge Valerie Smith

12:30 – 1:30 pm | Concurrent Sessions Memphis CHiLD Medical-Legal Partnership

Speaker: Janet Goode, University of Memphis Cecil H. Humphreys School of Law and director of the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic

Wage & Hour Laws in 2016 (That Even Apply to Lawyers & Law Firms): Change is in the Air Speakers: Billy Ryan, Donati Law PLLC and O. John Norris III, Jackson Lewis PC

Wait….Can I Do That?

Speakers: Judge Valerie Smith, Circuit Court and Adam Johnson, Nahon Saharovich & Trotz, PLC

1:45 – 2:45 pm | Concurrent Sessions The Effect of Obergefell on Family and Employment Issues Speaker: Maureen Holland, Holland & Associates, PC

When a Lawyer Needs a Lawyer

Speakers: Jef Feibelman, Burch Porter & Johnson, PLLC and Sandy Garrett, Chief Disciplinary Counsel, Board of Professional Responsibility

Cybersecurity: The Bad Guys Can't Get That, Can They?

Speakers: Randall D. Noel, Butler Snow, LLP

6:00 – 7:30 pm | YLD Sunset CLE: Finding Joy in Your Law Practice - Poolside by the Tides Speakers: Dan Norwood, Norwood & Atchley and Debra Norwood, Norwood & Atchley Everyone is welcome to enjoy complimentary beer and wine poolside at the Tides.

7:45 pm | Judges’ Roundtable Dinner at the Ocean Club Enjoy dinner in a small group setting of six people with one of our judges.

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Saturday, September 3

4.5 CLE HOURS

8:00 – 9:00 am | Concurrent Sessions

Communicating with the Media (for Lawyers and Clients)

Speakers: Darrell Phillips, Pietrangelo Cook PLC; Tammy Phillips, WMC-TV; Michael Kapellas, Bass Berry & Sims, PLC

Understanding the Tennessee Workers' Compensation Reform Act Speaker: Nicole Grida, Law Office of Lauren L. Holloway

9:15 – 10:15 am | Concurrent Sessions Preparing for Your Family Law Mediation Speaker: Linda Warren Seely

Mental Health Issues in Employment Law: The Balance between FMLA and ADA Speakers: Bryce W. Ashby, Donati Law PLLC and Jeremy Ireland, Fedex

Tennessee Criminal Case Law Update Speaker: Judge Mark Ward, Criminal Court

10:30 am – 12:00 pm | Concurrent Sessions Gang Violence: Prevention, Intervention, Prosecution

Speaker: Ray Lepone, Magistrate, Juvenile Court, and Jennifer Nichols, Deputy District Attorney General, Shelby County

How the Courts Address Mental Health Issues

Speakers: Judge Gerald Skahan, General Sessions Criminal Court and Judge Kathy Gomes, Probate Court

12:15 – 1:15 pm | Ethics and Social Media: Lawyers (Still) Behaving Badly

Speaker: Jennifer Hagerman, Burch Porter & Johnson, PLLC and Gary Peeples, Burch Porter & Johnson, PLLC

2:00 pm – | Beach Volleyball Tournament and Fun Run & Walk | Tailgate Party | Beach Carnival

Sunday, September 4

3.5 CLE HOURS

9:00 – 10:30 am | Post-Game Brunch at the Ocean Club and Plenary Session: Mindfulness in the Law Speaker: Judge Robert L. Childers, Circuit Court

10:45 – 11:45 am | Concurrent Sessions Judge Recusal in Federal and State Court Speaker: Judge Chris Craft, Criminal Court

Title IX-Sexual Misconduct on College Campuses Speaker: Jon Lakey, Pietrangelo Cook PLC

Navigating the Administrative Processes for Employment and Labor Claims

Speakers: Thomas L. Henderson, Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart and Stephen L. Shields, Jackson Shields Yeiser & Holt

12:00 – 1:00 pm | Expert Testimony

Speakers: Eugene Gaerig and Gigi McGown, International Paper

3:00 – 5:00 pm | Paddle Boarding

THANKS TO THE CONFERENCE SPONSORS:

Alpha Reporting | Argent Trust Company | BankTennessee | Brewer Detective Counsel On Call | IPSCO| Marston Group | Morgan & Morgan | Ocean Club University of Memphis Law School & Law Alumni Association U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee 13

5 Things

Family Lawyers Should Know About Drug Testing

By MILES MASON, SR., Miles Mason Family Law Group and LAURA VALADE, principal of Valade Law PLC

*Note: This article has been edited for length, to read it in full, visit memphisbar.org/news-publications/memphis-lawyer-magazine

1. Family Lawyers Should Know Drug Test Statistics

• Nearly 68% of all adult illegal drug users are employed, as are most adult binge drinkers and heavy alcohol users.

• 1 out of every 6 workers has a drug problem.

• Absenteeism among workers who abuse drugs is 16 times higher.

• Workers who abuse drugs are 1/3 less productive.

• Among children: »» 7% of 8th graders and 35.1% of 12th graders used marijuana/hashish in the past year. »» 8% of 12th graders used Vicodin for nonmedical purposes in 2014. »» 8% of 12th graders reported using synthetic cannabinoids.

If one of every six workers has a drug problem and over 35% of high school seniors use marijuana or hashish, then every family lawyer must be prepared to handle drug-related issues and drug testing during client representation.

2. Family Lawyers Should Know Why Drug Tests Are Used in Court

Grounds for Divorce: In Tennessee divorce law, abuse of narcotic drugs is grounds for divorce. Allegations in the Complaint of a spouse’s substance abuse may necessitate drug testing to prove or disprove those allegations.

Grandparent Visitation: When the grandparent with an abuse problem seeks visitation, the court may order supervised visitation, drug testing, or both.

Child Custody Proceedings: A parent’s drug abuse is a child custody factor for the court to consider in determining legal decision making authority, parenting time, and primary residential parent status. The court may consider drug addiction or abuse as creating an unsafe environment.

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Children are affected by their parents’ divorce and may seek refuge in drugs or alcohol. Clients should be prepared for this possibility and potential need for counseling coupled with drug testing.

3. F amily Lawyers Should Know Drug Test Experts

Finding the right expert witness may be crucial to the client’s case. In the courts of Shelby County and elsewhere, Kelly Dobbins (MA, R-CPCT, BAT), president of Mid-South Drug Testing, Inc. is well known as one such expert witness.

Know which drug tests are preferable in certain situations. Saliva collection may be best for a child, whereas urine collection may be best for an adult. Lawyers should also know drug detection tests, methodology, and length of time a particular drug will test positive.

Know the facility’s capacity. Learn enough about the categories of drugs to ensure the facility can test for an array of drugs.

Know the limitations of each test. Hair testing can provide a 90-day detection window. The amount of hair needed can vary: “If you’re doing a five panel drug test, or if you’re testing for 16 drugs, it’s going to make a difference.” Test labs “don’t use all the hair on the initial screen,” Dobbins notes. “Understand that whatever they’ve tested is destroyed in the process, so if they have a positive sample they will keep that hair on file for a year.”

“Urine testing is still the cheapest,” she says. Urine tests can be used to detect several drugs. Some tests can detect multiple, others detect only one or two.

It’s very technical, which is why every family lawyer needs to know someone in drug testing. And new drugs require new tests. “Every time you turn around there’s a new drug,” she says. “It takes us a couple years to catch up to the new drug.” Synthetics aren’t the same as the parent drug. For example, “synthetic cannabinoids don’t test positive for THC at all.”

“Saliva is the newest methodology,” continues Dobbins, and is “your shortest window of detection.”

If the instant test is positive, then it has to be sent to the lab. Saliva may be used for on-site drug testing of common illicit drugs.

Know the longest window of drug detection needed, especially if results could be used as evidence.

“There are reasons to use different tests,” reminds Dobbins, “it depends on what you want to know, how much you want to know.” The more information you have, the more helpful it’ll be for the facility.

To establish a long-term pattern of drug abuse, then hair testing may detect a pattern for up to 90 days. Hair grows by about ½ inch per month. By cutting a sample at the scalp and testing the first 1½ inches from the root end, the period tested is 90 days.

Testing can be a tool as part of a parenting plan: say a parent isn’t supposed to drink around the children and can’t have parenting time on weekends if he or she’s consuming alcohol. There’s a urine test with a three-day to four-day window, which can establish the parent’s compliance. In court cases, mostly trying to prove or dispel allegations that the person’s a drug user, it may be best to combine different tests to cover different periods of time. Saliva testing, Dobbins sees used most often when the concern is “what are they doing right now.”

Random drug testing of a client’s child is possible.

Random drug tests falls under the reasonable suspicion or reasonable cause standard. The school need only have reasonable grounds to suspect that the drug test will evidence a violation of school policy. A search warrant isn’t needed if the student’s at school or event.

For testing to be useful, lawyers need to know what drug’s being used and how the person is using it. “You can’t be generic with drug testing, you have to be very specific,” says Dobbins. What are you trying to prove?

Then choose an appropriate test or test combination.

With video evidence of a spouse smoking a joint, for instance, “we don’t know if he’s smoking marijuana or not.

With synthetic marijuana, you have to specifically ask for that test” and it can get expensive. Dobbins describes, “in hair, if the person is an occasional marijuana smoker, more than likely it’s not going to show up.” But in urine, a joint smoked two to four weeks ago could still be in the person’s system.

4. Family Lawyers Should Know How Drug Abuse Can Affect Finances

Child support, alimony, payment of debts following divorce, can be negatively affected by one spouse’s drug or alcohol problem. Unless the parent or spouse receives treatment and counseling along with drug testing, the lawyer can probably count on it.

Drug testing at the Workplace: Many employers have workplace require drug testing as a term of employment. Substance abuse can mean missed raises, poor work performance, suspension, and termination.

The person’s ability to make alimony payments, pay child support timely, and pay the debts allocated in divorce may be foiled.

Alimony Awards: A spouse’s narcotic drug abuse is grounds for divorce. It’s also marital misconduct, a factor for the court to consider in awarding alimony.

The spouse seeking alimony may find the award reduced because of drug abuse with drug testing made a condition of continuing alimony (for example, drug testing as a condition of rehabilitative alimony).

Property Division in Divorce: One spouse’s drug addiction often results in dissipation of marital assets.

In the division of property in divorce, waste could result in the innocent spouse exiting the divorce with more property than the drug-addicted spouse. There are always exceptions, but family lawyers should be ready for marital waste to be factored into the division of assets and debts in divorce.

5. F amily Lawyers Should Know Drug Testing in Cases of Domestic Violence

Lastly, drug abuse is often a culprit in domestic violence and child abuse. Family lawyers should always be ready to direct clients who are victims of domestic violence to area services. The lawyer should explain how an order of protection’s obtained and where to get safe shelter information. Once out of danger, discussion may commence about the possibility of drug-testing the other parent as a condition of parenting time, along with counseling and rehab. t Miles Mason, Sr. JD, CPA, is author of the Forensic Accounting Deskbook, published by the ABA Family Law Section.

Laura A. Valade, Esq., principal of Valade Law PLC, graduated from Wayne State University Law School and is licensed in Arizona and Michigan.

15

Law School Desk to

Law Firm Desk

My Journey

L

by JACOB D. STRAWN, Law Student

aw School has had quite the knack for helping me unlock my complete emotional range. Whether it was that twinge of anxiety thanks to the Socratic Method, that rush of excitement as I walked towards the podium ready to deliver my tirelessly worded (and re-worded), three pronged opening statement, that flood of relief as I turned in the final draft of my appellate brief, that feeling of accomplishment as I staggered out of my final threehour exam, or that all too familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach when I received the “Decedent’s Estates’ grades are up” text, law school rarely allowed time for worry-free living. In fact, as I write this, I am currently buried away in a corner on the fourth floor of Cecil C. studying for the bar exam. Even after graduation, I still cannot seem to let go of this place.

That being said, I’m having to face the fact that my time here in the law school will be coming to a close in less than a month. These three years have come and gone in a flash. In that time, I’ve had the opportunity to learn from some incredible professors, I’ve read countless court decisions, and I’ve tried to fill every last available space in my brain with innumerable three-part tests, and of course, exceptions to those tests. As I reflect on my time here in law school, I cannot help but wonder how the next few years will compare to the season of life I am leaving behind. Sure, I have been taught how to think like a lawyer and approach challenging problems like a lawyer, but do I know how to actually walk and talk like a lawyer?

Fortunately, going into my second year of law school, I was given the opportunity to work as a law clerk for 16

Spicer Rudstrom—I always knew that I would like to practice in the civil defense area, and thanks to Spicer Rudstrom, I get to make civil litigation my primary practice area! Of course, looking back, at the time I started, I was not really sure what practicing law actually looked like. Yes, I knew the legal standard required for a typical civil complaint, but did I know how to put the pen to paper and successfully file a meritorious law suit? No way. Thankfully, with some practice, and a lot of patience from my mentor attorneys and fellow staff, I have been exposed to the daily grit-n-grind of a practicing attorney in Memphis.

To me, that’s the beauty of our legal education system: I don’t look at law school as lacking practicality. Instead, I see it as the tool that equips our minds to actually be successful attorneys.

No attorney would last one day in the hustle and bustle of a law farm without the grounding, theoretical legal framework that comes with law school.

I anxiously await the day where I am able to fully transition from part-time law clerk/student to fullblown practicing attorney. Soon, I’ll be putting real-world, concrete experience behind the legal theories that I learned in law school. I’m thankful for my time spent at Cecil C., but I’m ready to hit the ground running! I feel confident that the Memphis legal community is the place I am meant to be. There are countless opportunities for young attorneys to get plugged in here, and I look forward to being a part of them on the other side of the Bar! t

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Tips for Using Microsoft Word!

Building Blocks

by SEAN ANTONE HUNT

S

ince most of us use Microsoft Word at some point, it simply makes sense to use the program to its fullest. But, most of us only use a small portion of its capabilities, not realizing what it can actually do. In the next few issues I’ll give you some tips on how you might consider using Microsoft Word and some of the features available. Some of these tips will be quite simple and others will be advanced.

One of the best places to start when creating a document is the “building blocks” section. By using these, you can shortcut a lot of the formatting of your documents including the formatting for letters, the style of a case, the preamble of a contract and more. In the example below, I show you how to save the style of the case for use later on.

First, open a blank document. Depending upon what version you use, this is likely to be under the ribbon under “open” on the “file” menu. Note, I am

18

using the latest version of Microsoft Word, i.e., Word 2016. Your version might differ somewhat from this.

Then, create the style of the case as you normally would. I prefer to use a table with two columns. I usually then turn off the borders except for the top border, middle border and the bottom border. But, whichever way you prefer, create your style.

See my example to the right.

You may even want to put some language at the bottom – language that you use all the time. Personally, I put my starting statement, my signature line and the

certificate of service all on the same document. But the choice is yours as to what you want to save.

name is to type in that name, i.e., “STY1” and then press “F3” and your saved building block will appear.

Once you have it created, then press “CTRL-A” to highlight everything in the document. While everything is still selected, find the “Insert” tab and click on it to open its ribbon of menu items. Then locate the menu item that’s called “Quick Parts” which looks like this:

Note that you can use this for anything that is the same in every document or only requires minor changes. In the next tip, we will talk about using fields to help replace routine information or automatically insert some other information. t

Lastly, all you need to do is click on “Save Selection to Quick Parts Gallery” and then give your new building block a name. I suggest a short name that is descriptive such as “STY1”. You will see why and a moment.

In the “Create New Building Block” dialog box, choose whatever gallery you want it to be located.

I suggest leaving it in the “Quick Parts” gallery. But for later purposes, you may want to create a new gallery and a new category to make this easier to find.

Put in a description and make sure to save it in the building blocks template, i.e., “Building Blocks.dotx” document shown is the default. Under options, you want to “Insert content only.” Then, click okay and you have created your building block.

Now that you have it created, there are several ways that you can use it. First, you can always go to the Insert tab and click on Quick Parts and locate it in the gallery.

But, an easier way, since you used a short descriptive

HAPPENINGS August 18 MBA Trivia Night September 1-4 Bench Bar Conference September 23 YLD Golf Tournament September 28 Law School for Journalists 19

Demystifying Legal Project Management

by JAY BRENNER, Counsel On Call

Cobbler, stick to thy last.

If you’re like me, when you first noticed the term “Legal Project Management”, you had a moment of cynicism at the idea that consultant jargon had infiltrated the legal profession.

After all, we’re attorneys, not MBAs. Spare us the scalable paradigm shifting solutions designed to synergize our learnings and enhance the optics of our deliverables all while operationalizing and leveraging our value propositions across our core competencies.

We just want to practice law.

Perhaps your cynicism still lingers despite the fierce competition and commoditization taking place throughout the legal industry.

Maybe you’ve comforted yourself with the idea that your essential skills – research, critical thought, writing, personal charm, sheer determination – will be enough to sustain your practice in the face of technological advancements and better resourced rivals.

This is all natural. After all, lawyers are often stubborn.

Obstinacy can be a useful attribute in advocacy. Yet, when it comes to being a successful attorney, one must be willing to learn new technologies and new processes.

In that spirit, understanding the world of Legal Project Management (LPM) is essential.

You are already a project manager.

Let us take a moment to demystify LPM – this is not complex.

A project is any collaborative enterprise that is carefully planned and designed to achieve a particular aim. Management refers to the process of dealing with or controlling things or people.

By that measure litigators, if not all practicing attorneys, are per se project managers. In a broader sense, we all assume the role of project manager at some point in our personal lives. If you’ve ever bought a house, planned a party, or organized a fishing trip, you’ve been a project manager.

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Are you any good at it?

Pause for a moment to assess yourself as a project manager in your work life, in your practice, and in your personal life. Are your projects chaotic? Do you become angry? Are you constantly in conflict? Do your projects meet expectations?

In terms of expectations, LPM can be boiled down to 3 areas: scope / quality, time and cost. If we establish and meet objectives in these categories, our projects will be a success. Obviously, this is an over-simplification, but you get the idea.

In the legal industry, the more complex the practice area, the more essential LPM becomes. The more competitive the practice area, the more LPM can be a distinguishing factor. So what separates effective LPM from the competition? How can we improve even if our projects seem relatively straightforward?

A fish rots from the head down.

Having spent the bulk of my professional career involved in large scale E-discovery and due diligence projects, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of LPM and had some realizations about what conditions create a successful project.

It starts with leadership and flows from there.

Poor leadership results in a stressful environment.

Emotions run high, but deadlines usually aren’t met and the quality of the work suffers. Nobody goes home happy.

The leader of a collaborative project must set the tone for his or her colleagues. As lawyers, stressful situations become the norm – tight deadlines and high stakes for our clients. Additional stress from the leader never helps.

We must meet the challenge of the situation with a calm determination. We must plan and be deliberate with a fact-based approach and transparent communication.

Rather than utilization of anger, we instead rely on metrics, reporting, feedback and a repeatable process.

One of the first large scale litigation projects I was a part of involved hundreds of attorneys working together to defend a major corporate client in multidistrict litigation. The leader was a Senior Partner at a law firm, and he was essentially responsible for dozens of associates

and paralegals, multiple vendors including a technology partner.

As a PM, this Partner was transparent and professional in his communications. He was courteous to everyone. He was well organized and had an excellent, complimentary team around him. In short, he created the culture and a vision for the project and everything flowed from there.

High quality work was completed in a timely fashion.

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When millions of dollars, careers and lives are a stake – we simply can’t afford to not utilize basic project management techniques.

Sometimes Clichés are true.

While perusing a marketing piece, I recently came across what appeared to be a clichéd manifesto for LPM. It read something like this: The world of business is moving fast and gets more complex by the day. The competition is relentless, so you can’t afford to rest on your laurels. To stay ahead, you must work faster and more efficiently for less money.

As I glanced at the banal statement, what jumped out at me was its essential truth. Whatever your practice area, someone is out there scheming how to do your job better, how to better assist your clients. Someone is currently leveraging technology and resources to achieve a better position. The key to growth is better project management.

In our projects, we need to have a vision established and a detailed checklist designed to get us there. Planning, transparent communication with stakeholders, budgeting, and definition of scope are all crucial. We can thrive in a changing environment if we possess the willingness to learn and grow. Those who are willing to assimilate new information and technology stand out. The best project managers I’ve been around live in facts, not emotions.

They respect and coach their teams, they don’t rule over them. A lawyer’s skills – zealous advocacy, preparedness, knowledge of the law – are precious. Yet we all know that sometimes those qualities don’t necessarily overlap with the essential skills of LPM. Do yourself a favor and open your mind to LPM – your projects will thank you later. t

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21

COURT REPORT

THE

by DEAN DECANDIA

CRIMINAL COURT—Covers the weeks of May 16 to July 11, 2016 COURT

JUDGE

DIV. I

SKAHAN

VERDICT 1. STATE V. DEANDREY PETERSON: Trial from Jun 20 to 22. Indicted for Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Burglary, Employment of Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony. Verdict: Not guilty. Prosecution: Abby Wallace.

Defense: Billy Gilchrist.

2. STATE V. DARYL ROBINSON: Trial from Jun 28 to 29. Indicted for Aggravated Robbery, Convicted Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Verdict: Guilty as indicted. Prosecution: Carla Taylor. Defense Jim Hale.

3. STATE V. GARRY DRUMMONDS: Trial from July 11 to 14. Indicted for 3 counts of Aggravated Child Abuse or Neglect.

One count nolle prosequied during trial. Found not guilty of remaining counts at trial. Prosecution: Jessica Shurson, Cavett Ostner. Defense: Mark Mesler.

DIV. II

WRIGHT

1. STATE V. TAKILA HAMPTON: Trial from May 23 to 24. Indicted for Aggravated Assault. Verdict: Not guilty.

Prosecution: Muriel Malone. Defense: Juni Ganguli.

2. STATE V. JUSTIN ONYIEGO: Trial from May 30 to Jun 2. Indicted for 2 counts of Aggravated Rape. Verdict: Guilty as indicted. Prosecution: Abby Wallace, Sam Winning. Defense: Eran Julian.

3. STATE V. BRYAN WILSON: Trial from Jun 20 to 22. Indicted for Aggravated Statutory Rape. Verdict: Not guilty.

Prosecution: Jessica Shurson. Defense: Leslie Ballin.

4. STATE V. CORTEZ ROBINSON: Trial from July 12 to 13. Indicted for 2 counts of Aggravated Robbery. Verdict: Not guilty. Prosecution: Sam Winnig. Defense: Brett Stein.

DIV. III

CARTER

1. STATE V. DONALD GWIN: Trial from May 16 to 18. Indicted for Aggravated Rape, Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Burglary, Aggravated Assault. Verdict: Guilty as indicted. Prosecution: Abby Wallace, Cavett Ostner. Defense: Eric Mogy 2. STATE V. MICHAEL RICHARDSON: Trial from May 23 to 25. Indicted for Aggravated Rape. Verdict: Guilty as indicted. Prosecution: Josh Corman. Defense: Jeff Woods.

3. STATE V. DEANGELO NORTON: Trial from Jun 20 to 24. Indicted for Criminal Attempt: Rape of a Child, Aggravated Sexual Battery. Verdict: Guilty as indicted. Prosecution: Josh Corman. Defense: Tom Leith.

4. STATE V. KENNETH HOLMES: Trial from Jun 28 to 29. Indicted for Aggravated Robbery. Guilty plea during trial to Theft of Property ≤ $500. Prosecution: Dru Carpenter. Defense: Rob Felkner.

5. STATE V. DWAYNE JONES: Trial from July 11 to 14. Indicted for Rape of a Child, Incest, Aggravated Sexual Battery.

Verdict: Guilty as indicted. Prosecution: Carrie Shelton, Kenya Smith. Defense: John Dolan.

DIV. IV

BLACKETT

DIV. V

LAMMEY

1. STATE V. CLEAVON STIGGER: Trial from Jun 6 to 9. Indicted for Aggravated Sexual Battery. Guilty plea as indicted during trial. Prosecution: Josh Corman. Defense: Sam Perkins.

1. STATE V. JAMES RATLIFF: Trial from May 23 to 25. Indicted for 2 counts of Aggravated Rape, 2 counts of Aggravated Kidnapping. Verdict: Not guilty. Prosecution: Abby Wallace, Gavin Smith. Defense: Genna Lutz.

2. STATE V. ANTONIO DURHAM: Trial from Jun 20 to 22. Indicted for Criminal Attempt: Rape, Sexual Battery. Verdict: Guilty as indicted. Prosecution: Tyler Parks, Gavin Smith. Defense: Sam Christian, Constance Barnes.

DIV. VI

CAMPBELL

1. STATE V. ELVIS HESTER: Trial from May 16 to 18. Indicted for Introducing Contraband into a Penal Facility, Possession of Contraband in a Penal Facility, Possession of Controlled Substance (felony 4th offense). Verdict: Guilty of Possession of a Controlled Substance (felony 4th offense). Prosecution: Jose Leon. Defense: Lauren Pasley.

2. STATE V. ROBERT TYMS: Trial from Jun 27 to 30. Indicted for 2 counts of Aggravated Robbery, 2 counts of Aggravated Assault. Verdict: Not guilty. Prosecution: Nicole Germain, Tara Brown. Defense: Glover Wright.

3. STATE V. DARNAE CHRISTON: Trial from Jun 20 to 24. Indicted for 1st Degree Premditated Murder, Employment of a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony. Verdict: Guilty of Voluntary Manslaughter, Employment of a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony. Prosecution: Kirby May, Leslie Byrd. Defense: Paul Springer.

4. STATE V. TIMOTHY WARE: Trial from Jul 11 to 14. Indicted for Aggravated Sexual Battery. Verdict: Guilty as indicted.

Prosecution: Lessie Rainey. Defense: Robert Felkner.

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CRIMINAL COURT—Covers the weeks of May 16 to July 11, 2016 COURT

JUDGE

DIV. VII

COFFEE

VERDICT 1. STATE V. RAY ARMSTRONG: Trial from May 16 to 20. Indicted for Possession of Controlled Substance with Intent to Sell/Deliver in a school zone (4 alternative counts), Tampering with Evidence, Resisting Official Detention. Verdict: Guilty as indicted. Prosecution: Stacy McEndree. Defense: Paul Pera.

2. STATE V. ALFORD ROBINSON: Trial from Jun 27 to Jul 1. Indicted for Criminal Attempt: 1st Degree Murder, Employment of a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony, Convicted Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

Verdict: Not guilty. Prosecution: Karen Cook. Defense: Coleman Garrett.

3. STATE V. COREY JONES: Trial from July 11 to 15. Indicted for Especially Aggravated Kidnapping, Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Burglary, Employment of a Firearm, Theft of Property $1,000 to $9,999. Verdict: Guilty of Aggravated Kidnapping, Robbery, Aggravated Burglary, Theft of Property $1,000 to $9,999. Prosecution: Stacy McEndree. Defense: Mark Renken.

DIV. VIII

CRAFT

1. STATE V. DEDRICK WIGGINS: Trial from May 16 to 20. Indicted for 1st Degree Premeditated Murder and Murder During the Perpetration of a Felony, 2 counts of Convicted Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Verdict: Guilty of 2d Degree Murder, guilty plea to both counts of felon in possession of a firearm. Prosecution: Lora Fowler, Reggie Henderson. Defense: Handel Durham, Jonathan Mosley.

2. STATE V. EDWARD BUSBY: Trial from May 23 to 25. Indicted for Burglary of a Building, Vandalism $501 ≥ $999.

Verdict: Not guilty. Prosecution: Carla Taylor. Defense: Jim Hale.

3. STATE V. DERRELL WILSON: Trial from May 31 to Jun 2. Indicted for Aggravated Assault, Domestic Assault. Verdict: Not guilty. Prosecution: Meghan Fowler, Jamie Kidd. Defenae: Kathryn DeRossitt.

4. STATE V. ELIJAH BUTLER: Trial from Jun 20 to 23. Indicted for Aggravated Assault, Domestic Assault, Escape from Misdemeanor Incarceration, Evading Arrest. Verdict: Guilty of Escape from Misdemeanor Incarceration, Evading Arrest.

Prosecution: Dru Carpenter, Jamie Kidd. Defense: Johnny Pritchard.

5. STATE V. EDDIE HARRIS: Trial from Jun 27 to Jul 1. Indicted for 2 counts of 1st Degree Premeditated Murder, 2 alternative counts of Murder During the Perpetration of a Felony. Verdict: Guilty as indicted. Prosecution: Paul Hagerman, Vanessa Murtaugh. Defense: Juni Ganguli, Laurie Hall.

DIV. IX

WARD

DIV. X

BEASLEY

NO JURY TRIALS THIS PERIOD. 1. STATE V. GILBERT ARMSTRONG: Trial from Jun 6 to 7. Indicted for Domestic Assault. Verdict: Not guilty.

Prosecution: Jamie Kidd. Defense: John Holton.

23

COURT REPORT

United States District

by DEAN DECANDIA

Covers January to June 2016 ANDERSON NO JURY TRIALS THIS PERIOD.

FOWLKES 1. USA v. Geremy Atkins: Trial from Jan 11 to 13. Indicted for Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Verdict: Guilty as indicted. Prosecution: Doug Carriker, Libby Rogers.

Defense: Peter Oh, Tyrone Paylor.

2. USA v. Kevin Taylor: Trial from Jan 19 to 21. Indicted for Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Verdict: Guilty as indicted. Prosecution: Doug Carriker, Kevin Whitmore.

Defense: Mary Cay Robinson.

3. USA v. Marlon Boyd: Trial from Jan 25 to 28.

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Indicted for Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Hung Jury. Prosecution: Marques Young, Dean DeCandia.

Defense: Mary Cay Robinson, Ned Germany.

4. USA v. Marlon Boyd (re-trial): Apr 11 to 13. Verdict: Guilty as indicted. Prosecution: Marques Young, Dean DeCandia. Defense: Mary Cay Robinson, Ned Germany.

5. USA v. Daniel Scott: Trial from May 9 to 13. Indicted for Conspiracy to Possess Cocaine (5 kg or more) with Intent to Distribute, Conspiracy to Engage in Money Laundering, Violation of Animal Welfare Act. Guilty plea before trial to Violation of Animal Welfare Act, found guilty on remaining counts at trial. Prosecution: Michelle Parks, Sam Stringfellow. Defense: Andre Wharton.

LIPMAN 1. Robert Wilson v. Greyhound Lines, Inc. and ASAP Security Staffing and Training, LLC: Complaint against Greyhound for Negligence and Breach of Contract; Complaint against ASAP for Negligent Hiring and Retention. Defense verdict as to both Defendants.

Plaintiff: Robert Collins, Brandon Miller, Matthew Wright. Defense: Lee Piovarcy and John Lewis Wardlaw for Greyhound; Danny Richardson for ASAP.

MAYS (SENIOR STATUS) 1. USA v. Harold Davis: Trial from Mar 29 to Apr 5.

Indicted for Sex Trafficking of a Minor, Use of Internet to Conduct Unlawful Activity. Verdict: Guilty as indicted.

Prosecution: Deb Ireland, Kasey Weiland. Defense: Mary Cay Robinson, Randy Alden.

MCCALLA (SENIOR STATUS) 6260 Poplar Avenue | (901) 683-8766 Memphis, TN 38119 | attycpa1040@gmail.com www.jerryhschwartz.com

24

1. USA v. Preston Byrd: Trial from Mar 21 to 24. Indicted for 3 counts of Wire Fraud, 3 counts of Money Laundering. Verdict: Guilty as indicted. Prosecution: Carroll Andre. Defense: Steffen Schreiner, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Greg Allen.

Memphis Bar Foundation in Action

Just City

by JOSH SPICKLER

M

attie approached the Just City sign-in table just before our event a few weeks ago. She explained that she was on duty, working for the venue we had reserved, and she couldn’t attend our event. But Mattie made it very clear, however, that she supported our work.

It was a nice gesture, and as we continued to chat with her, we discovered the job she was working was new to her.

Steady work and a good job had always been out of reach because of a single contact with the criminal justice system years ago. During our short conversation, it was clear that a job like this one was something Mattie could only have dreamt of one year ago.

Just City itself was also mostly a dream a little more than a year ago. We launched in late July of 2015 with a series of public events featuring stories, music and visual art. We tried to create a place for people to hear from those like Mattie, who have been permanently branded by the criminal justice system, and we challenged this community to consider the impact of the criminal justice system on all of us - victims, accused, families, neighbors. Over the past year, our commitment to public defenders, a smaller criminal justice system, and second chances has attracted supporters near and far. We didn’t know it at the time, but it was what brought Mattie to our registration table that day.

By far, our most popular and effective work has been around expungement - the act of permanently sealing a criminal record. When we began to plan our agenda and develop projects for Just City’s first year, we knew we wanted to incorporate the expungement work that the Shelby County Public Defender’s Office had begun three years before. As part of the Memphis Bar Foundation’s annual grant program, the Public Defender’s Office had been awarded two $5,000 grants and were using the money to pay for expungement fees. Just City was a natural partner for this work, and building on the foundation of two grants and a few dozen successful expungements, we expanded the Clean Slate Fund significantly over the past year. As of this summer, we’ve raised more than $56,000 and provided expungements and fresh starts to more than 100 people.

None of this would have happened without the generosity of Memphis lawyers and the work of the Memphis Bar Foundation. Specifically, dozens of Memphis Bar Foundation Fellows contribute more than $35,000 each year to many unique and deserving local projects.

They seeded the Clean Slate Fund more than three years ago and laid the groundwork for it to become the most successful fund of its kind in the state.

More than that, the Clean Slate Fund has given rise to awareness by the community of the need for broader and more accessible expungement in Tennessee. It was the catalyst for legislation this year that would have reduced Tennessee’s $450 expungement fee, one of the highest in the nation. That bill failed this year, but the Clean Slate Fund will continue to generate data and support a stronger legislative push for expungement reform in Tennessee next year.

Perhaps most importantly, the fund has inspired dozens of Memphians to give so that strangers can have a better opportunity to get back to work, get an education and find safe, stable housing. This is the power of supporting a good idea with even a small amount of money -- it can take hold, grow and change lives.

This is exactly what we’ve tried to do at Just City during our first year -- take good ideas, start small and grow them into meaningful work that has the potential to change lives, improve a broken system and move our community forward.

As we celebrate our first fast-paced, year as a criminal justice reform organization, we are setting our sights even higher for the next year. And the year after that. Powerful, lasting reform takes persistence, creativity and resources.

At Just City, we believe that in order for justice to mean anything to anyone, it must mean eve rything to everyone.

Consider supporting our work and the work of the Memphis Bar Foundation. We’ve got lots of good ideas.

As for Mattie, it turns out she recognized Just City so immediately because she was one of the dozens of people we helped get an expungement this year. She had a single, 16-year old conviction that repeatedly stood between her and a good, steady job.

She was overjoyed that day at our event. She took a few minutes and thanked us, and then... she got back to work. t Just City was founded in 2015 by a group of activists, attorneys, and civic leaders. Our mission is to advance policies and programs in Shelby County and the State of Tennessee that strengthen the right to counsel and mitigate the damage caused to families and neighborhoods as a result of contact with the criminal justice system.

Just City is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For more information and to support us visit www.justcity.org.

25

Tennessee’s Workers’ Compensation Law has Changed . . . Again

by JARED RENFROE, Spicer Rudstrom

A

nyone who regularly practices workers’ compensation law knows that Tennessee’s Workers’ Compensation Act was completely revamped in 2014 for injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2014. In 2016, the 109th General Assembly passed some laws that changed Tennessee’s Workers’ Compensation Act, again, and this article highlights and summaries some of these changes that are important to attorneys, claims representatives, employers, and injured workers in Tennessee.

1) S hortening of Time Period for Injured Workers to give Notice of Injury Under law existing prior to July 1, 2016, injured workers were required to provide notice of their injury to their employer within 30 days of the injury. However, under the newly passed law, which amends Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-201(a) and (b), this 30 day period has been shortened to 15 days, which appears to express an intention to give more teeth to the notice defense that has not traditionally been a strong defense in workers’ compensation cases. This amendment is effective as of July 1, 2016 for injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2016.

2) M aximum and Minimum Compensation Benefit Changes The recent amendment also updates the minimum and maximum weekly benefit rates for injuries occurring between July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017 as follows: • Temporary Disability Benefits – The maximum weekly benefit rate is $976.80, an increase from $943.80.

• Permanent Disability Benefits – The maximum weekly benefit rate $888.00, an increase from $858.00.

• Minimum Weekly Benefit – The minimum weekly benefit rate for both temporary and permanent disability benefits is $133.20, a change from $128.70.

3) R evisions to Law that Allow for Reasonable Attorneys’ Fees in Certain Circumstances Public Chapter 1056 (SB2582/HB2416), which is subject to a 2 year sunset provision meaning that it applies to injuries only occurring between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2018, amends Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-626

226(d) allows the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims to award reasonable attorney fees and reasonable costs, including reasonable court reporter fees and expert witness fees, for depositions and trials incurred when the employer: • Fails to furnish appropriate medical, surgical, and dental treatment or care, medicine, medical and surgical supplies, crutches, artificial members, and other apparatus to an employee provided for in a settlement, expedited hearing order, compensation order, or judgment; or • Wrongfully denies a claim by failure to timely initiate any of the benefits to which the employee is entitled, including medical benefits under Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-204 or temporary or permanent disability benefits under Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-207, if the workers’ compensation judge makes a finding that such benefits were owed at an expedited hearing or compensation hearing.

However, it is important to note that the term “wrongfully” has not been defined, so we will have to wait on future guidance from the legislature or case law to determine the parameters of this term, including if the term “wrongfully” will require an element of bad faith on the part of the employer.

4) D rug Free Workplace law amendments The new law amends Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-9101(a) by adding a sentence allowing employers who obtain certification as a drug-free workplace to renew this certification annually without repeated annual training of existing employees, if the employer certifies that all existing employees have undergone training at least once and have acknowledged annually in writing the existence

of the employer's drug-free workplace policy.

Additionally, the law amends Tenn. Code Ann. § 509-11(d) to not require an employer to provide annual education or awareness training for each employee if all existing employees have undergone such training at least once and have acknowledged annually in writing the existence of the employer's drug-free workplace policy.

5) A llows for Obudsmen Who Are Licensed Attorneys to Provide Limited Legal Advice The new law amends Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-216(e)(3) for injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2016, to allow ombudsmen who are licensed attorneys to provide “limited legal advice” but prohibits them from representing any party as their attorney and from making attorney referrals. However, the term “limited legal advice” is not defined in the amendment, so it will be interesting to see how this phrase is interpreted.

6) S unset/expiration date found in Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-242(a) was removed.

Public Chapter 816, signed into law by Governor Haslam on April 14, 2016, and effective on April 14, 2016, made additional minor changes to Tennessee’s Workers’ Compensation Act. In the author’s opinion, the most significant amendment is that the sunset/ expiration date found in Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-242(a) was removed. This section allows workers’ compensation judges to award additional benefits in extraordinary cases.

Almost everyone that I have personally spoken with about the 2014 changes to the Workers’ Compensation Law expected some uncertainty and suspense about how the changes would affect their practice. The “new law” has now been effective for 2 years, and I have heard mixed results from attorneys (both for injured workers and employers), injured workers, claims representatives, and mediators, and what they think about the “new law.” As I expected, many of the comments were very negative and critical of the changes, while others were positive and accepting of the changes.

The new changes described above will surely bring about more criticism and comments, although not likely to the extent that it was for the widespread changes that 2014 brought to the law. t

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“With the CLC, the opportunity to serve is an opportunity to change someone's life”

by ERICA R. TAMARIZ, Associate Attorney; Darker & Associates, PLLC

I

recently had the privilege of joining the Board of Directors for the Community Legal Center, but my history with this organization begins a few years earlier, when I interned with the CLC’s Immigrant Justice Program (“IJP”) while a student at the University of Memphis School of Law. The IJP is still very special to me, and I have enjoyed watching it grow.

There is a huge need for pro bono and “low bono” immigration legal services, so the IJP offers a broad range of services. Some encounters with clients are brief, while others span years. But the ability to have a positive impact on our clients’ lives is always present.

In my time at the CLC, we helped scores of young immigrants apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”). These young people have been able to obtain work authorization, social security numbers, driver’s licenses, and the chance to go about their lives without fear of being removed from the U.S., the only country many of them remember.

As the needs of the immigrant community have shifted, the IJP has risen to the challenge.

Two summers ago, the U.S. saw a record number of unaccompanied children arriving at the border. A large portion of these children were eligible for a special form of immigration relief called Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Despite the overwhelming demand for service, the attorneys at the CLC’s IJP worked to adapt to providing this previously uncommon form of relief. Since then, the CLC has helped numerous children obtain lawful permanent residency in the U.S. 30

While some clients come for brief advice, the cases that leave the biggest impression on staff are those that stay with the CLC for years. One case in particular stands out, that of Ana* and her family. Years ago, Ana was the victim of a violent crime. Many undocumented crime victims fear calling police, but Ana did not let this fear stop her from seeking justice. She aided law enforcement and later turned to the CLC for help. The CLC prepared her application for a U Visa, which is a temporary visa for immigrants who are victims of certain crimes and assist law enforcement. She and her family received this temporary status and could finally live without the fear of losing the lives they had built in the U.S. Still, Ana longed to visit her home country Mexico, which she had not been able to do for many years. After three years with U Visa status, Ana returned to the CLC, where attorneys helped her apply for her green card. Ana and her family members are now permanent residents of the United States. They were recently able to visit Mexico and see Ana’s extended family, and the gratitude they showed the CLC was moving.

While these immigration cases represent only part of what the CLC does, they powerfully illustrate the enormous difference you can make by contributing your time and resources. t *Name changed to protect client’s privacy.

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MALS

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The World has gone Crazy, but MALS is making a Difference

by JOHN J. HEFLIN, Campaign for Equal Justice 2016 Chair

A

s I write this brief article, Dallas is burying five police officers murdered as revenge for police killings of black men in two U.S. cities days before.

I can’t recall a week this year that has not been marred by a report of a mass shooting or explosion killing innocent people in the U.S. or abroad. It is easy to be shocked and to merely hope and pray that such events will not reach those we love, but the fact is that we are all directly impacted, by such consequences as how many people in our community now carry weapons, by how we travel, by where we are willing to travel, and by the attention we give to identifying the nearest exit when we attend large gatherings. We have no choice but for each of us personally to do all we can to heal the divisions in our community, and to support the organizations that do more than we can do alone.

Memphis Area Legal Services deserves our support because of the vital work it performs addressing desperate situations and injustices for those who have no other place to turn. Recently, a lady came to MALS and explained that she had no money because she was unemployed as she was a stay at home mom taking care of her children full time. Unfortunately, her husband had become physically abusive and had even tried to set their marital home on fire while she and their children were sleeping. MALS’ staff not only obtained an Order of Protection for her, but they are representing her in her divorce, and she was able to enter the MALS’ Opportunity Plus Program which led to her obtaining a job so that she could afford her own place to live with her children. In another recent case, MALS assisted a lady in obtaining custody of her special needs grandson who 32

could no longer be cared for by his mother who shortly thereafter died of cancer.

The 2016 Campaign for Equal Justice is underway, seeking to raise funds to enhance MALS’ ability to deliver these sorts of civil legal services to members of the Memphis area community lacking other resources. MALS’ staff members, including 17 lawyers complemented with hundreds of volunteer lawyers, paralegals, law students and other students, work every day to provide eligible applicants with legal information, advice, referrals and representation. However, MALS is able to provide legal services to only 30% of the more than 20,000 requests for assistance that it receives each year. This year’s Campaign for Equal Justice has a goal to support MALS by raising $360,000 through mass mailings, emails and fundraising events.

The ongoing support of law firms and individual lawyers is critical to the campaign. Law firms have the opportunity to be recognized for their participation at the Difference Maker level by contributing $350 or more per lawyer. Last year, Gatti Keltner Bienvenu & Montesi, Morgan & Morgan, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, and Morton & Germany joined the list of Difference Makers. Firm members, please make sure your firm is on the list for 2016. Solo practitioners, government and corporate lawyers, please recognize your support is equally vital.

In addition to financial support, please join us for one of our many fundraising events. The YLD team, led by Sarah Pazar, threw a terrific party at the Rec Room at the end of June netting several thousand dollars for MALS,

and has a bowling party (A Motion to Strike - Seersucker Edition) set for July 28th at the Billy Hardwick Lanes on White Station. On August 5, A Cocktails for a Cause will benefit MALS with Justice Janice Holder promising to demonstrate her bartending skills. Finally but most spectacularly, on October 15, the inaugural Justice for All Ball at the newly-opened Halloran Center will offer an evening of great food and lively entertainment. Pick which event appeals to you most, or join us for all of them.

The Campaign for Equal Justice is led by the hard work of its committees. I want to recognize and thank each of those committees. The Large Law Firm committee is led by John Golwen, assisted by Shep Tate, Amy Pepke, Lucie Brackin and Kristine Roberts. The Solo Firm committee is led by Earle Schwarz, assisted

by Shannon Toon and Sean Hunt. The Small/Medium Firm committee is led by Harris Quinn, supported by Justice Holder, Lang Wiseman, Will Gibbons, Jason Saloman and Frank Cantrell. The Government Lawyers committee is chaired by Felisa Cox, assisted by Marlinee Iverson, Harrison McIver and Rita Gibson. The Young Lawyers committee is chaired by Sarah Pazar, assisted by Sam Strantz, Jack Heflin and Blair Chilton. The Judiciary committee is co-chaired by Judges William Anderson and Charmaine Claxton. The Corporate committee is chaired

by Andy Branham, assisted by Gigi McGown, Colleen Hitch Wilson and John Pekar. The Law School Attorneys committee is chaired by Elizabeth Rudolph, with Grant Kehler coordinating for the Student Bar Association. The Great Knights committee is co-chaired by Susan Callison and Bruce Smith. The Rural Attorneys chair is Charles Brasfield. I want to especially recognize the resourceful and hard-working Special Events committee responsible for the upcoming Justice for All Ball: Keating Lowery, Lauran Stimac, Justice Holder, Marlinee Iverson, Kristine Roberts, Annie Christoff, Angela Copeland, Autumn Chastain and Gigi McGown. Finally, Linda Seely oversees it all. Thank you all.

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Count on us!

By summer’s end, every licensed attorney in Shelby, Tipton, Fayette and Lauderdale counties will have received at least one solicitation letter from the campaign, plus invitations to attend the upcoming fundraisers. Please don’t throw that letter away or ignore our invitation.

Make a difference by supporting and giving generously to Memphis Area Legal Services. t 33

WESLEY FOX has joined family law firm Shea Moskovitz & McGhee PLC as an associate attorney. Fox earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 2014 and previously served as a Title IV-D attorney for Shelby County.

Glankler Brown, PLLC has been selected as a “leading U.S. firm” in the area of Real Estate in the Chambers USA 2016 guide. Attorneys R. HUNTER HUMPHREYS, B. DOUGLAS EARTHMAN and J. WILLIAM PIERCE, JR. are listed as leading U.S. attorneys in the area of real estate and secured lending, ARNOLD E. PERL is listed as a leader in labor and employment law, SAUL C. BELZ and MICHAEL P. COURY are listed as leaders in litigation, and RANDALL B. WOMACK is listed as a leader in environmental law.

SHINE CHEN SCHATTGEN has joined the Memphis office of Bass, Berry & Sims LLP as an associate in the law firm’s health care group. Schattgen, who previously practiced in the Boston office of Ropes & Gray LLP, counsels health care clients on a range of operational, regulatory and transactional matters.

ANDREW RITTENHOUSE has joined the Memphis office of Bass, Berry & Sims PLC as an associate. Rittenhouse counsels companies in all phases of intellectual property law, including litigation, interferences, prosecution, licensing and settlement agreements, and the defense of matters before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board. He earned his law degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 2015.

RICHARD MATTERN has joined the Memphis office of Bass, Berry & Sims LLP as a member of the Corporate Practice Group in the firm’s Memphis office. Previously, he was a shareholder in the Memphis office of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz. He received his law degree from Emory University School of Law and represents private and public companies in a variety of corporate and securities law matters.

Morgan & Morgan-Memphis is pleased to announce that EMILY B. BRAGG has joined the firm’s Memphis office as an associate attorney. She is a graduate of the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law where she received a Certificate in Health Law and was a founder of the Health Law Society and member of the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. She was part of the inaugural Anti-Blight Clinic at Cecil C. Humphreys and gained valuable experience practicing as a student-attorney in Judge Larry Potter’s Environmental Court. She works in the Workers’ Compensation department of the Memphis office.

The Tennessee Bar Foundation has added LINDA WARREN SEELY as a West Tennessee representative on its Board of Trustees. Seely spent many years as director of pro bono projects, first at West Tennessee Legal Services, in Jackson and

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If you are a MBA member in good standing and you’ve moved, been promoted, hired an associate, taken on a partner, or received an award, we’d like to hear from you. Talks, speeches, CLE presentations and political announcements are not accepted. In addition, we will not print notices of honors determined by other publications (e.g., Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers). Notices must be submitted in writing and limited to 100 words; they are printed at no cost to members and are subject to editing. E-mail your notice and hi-resolution photo (300 dpi) to sklarson@memphisbar.org.

34

the surrounding counties, and then at Memphis Area Legal Services. During that time, she served as president of the Memphis Bar Association and on the Board of Governors of the Tennessee Bar Association. She is currently the CEO of the West Tennessee chapter of the “A Step Ahead” Foundation.

Seely received her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Memphis.

In the ABA's Health Law Section, HAAVI MORREIM, JD, PhD has just been named Chair of the Task Force on ADR and Conflict Management (formerly Vice-Chair). Separately in the ABA's Dispute Resolution Section, Prof. Morreim is Co-Chair of the Healthcare Committee.

BUTLER, SEVIER, HINSLEY & REID, PLLC is relocating from Downtown to the Oak Court Office Building.

The law firm has moved move from 6,883 square feet at 88 Union Ave. to 7,704 square feet at the East Memphis office building, 530 Oak Court Drive.

JOHN “JACK” IRVINE has joined the firm of Shea Moskovitz & McGhee. A graduate of the University of Memphis School of Law, Irvine is a former Assistant District Attorney whose practice encompasses civil and criminal matters in state and federal courts, including representing plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death actions, policyholders in and insurance disputes, and commercial litigation.

ANGIE DAVIS is the 2016 recipient of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC’s Work-Life Warrior Award. The award honors an attorney in the firm who demonstrates an ongoing commitment to excellence in maintaining a healthy work-life balance or has advocated on behalf of work-life balance issues for the benefit of others. A shareholder in the firm’s Memphis office, Davis practices in the area of employment law.

JEFFREY C. SMITH has joined Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP as a partner in the firm’s Memphis office. Previously a partner in the Memphis office of Adams and Reese LLP, Smith represents companies across a wide range of industries in commercial, construction and employment disputes as well as corporate, contractual and employment matters.

after law school. Hoyt graduated magna cum laude from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and then served as a law clerk for Judge Sheryl Lipman of the U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee. Prior to joining Ogletree Deakins, he was an Assistant County Attorney for Shelby County, TN. Memphis trial attorney THOMAS GREER was elected president of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association at its annual convention held recently in Florida. A partner in the Memphis law firm Bailey & Greer, he graduated magna cum laude from the University of Memphis School of Law in 2005 and has extensive trial experience in state and federal court. In addition to Greer, the TTLA Executive Committee includes Memphis attorneys Cameron Jehl, vice president of the West region of the state, and Miranda Rhoads, who is parliamentarian. Members voted to change the name of the organization back to TTLA; it had been operating under the name, Tennessee Association for Justice. t

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