Memphis Lawyer 2023 Vol. 40 Issue 1

FEATURES

6 Do You or Someone You Know Need Help?

BY BUDDY STOCKWELL

BY SKKYE MORENO

BY MAYOR LEE HARRIS AND KELLY ROBERTS

BY TIMOTHY S. HUEBNER

MEMPHIS LAWYER

the magazine of the Memphis Bar Association

Memphis Bar Association Publications Committee

Amber Floyd, Co-Chair

Nicole Grida, Co-Chair

Audrey Calkins

Maureen Holland

Taylor Flake Lawson

Skkye Moreno

The Memphis Lawyer is a quarterly publication of the Memphis Bar Association, Inc. with a circulation of 2,000. If you are interested in submitting an article for publication or advertising in an upcoming issue, contact info@memphisbar.org. The MBA reserves the right to reject any advertisement or article submitted for publication.

MBA STAFF

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

www.memphisbar.org

Mary Ann Upchurch Executive Director

Lauren Gooch Membership & CLE Director

Kelly Swan Communications Director

COLUMN PRESIDENT'S

By JENNIFER SINK, MBA 2023 President

April is National Alcohol Awareness month, and is it any surprise that April is also National Stress Awareness Month. While many think of alcohol as a relief from anxiety and stress, alcohol is known to increase feelings of anxiety, creating a vicious cycle.

As lawyers and law students, we are perhaps some of the more vulnerable people susceptible to turning to substances to cope. Our profession, while incredibly rewarding, is also incredibly stressful, and many people drawn to it are inherently high-performing, competitive, Type-A perfectionists. It is no wonder that TLAP reports that a whopping 18% of lawyers suffer from alcoholism and addiction and 33% of lawyers suffer from significant mental health issues.

We all know people who have turned to alcohol to cope with feelings of anxiety, stress, depression, and feeling overwhelmed. In too many instances, this outlet to blow off steam turns into a deep dependency and addiction. I personally know people whose alcohol addiction led to so many losses – jobs, law licenses, homes, loved ones, and their own lives. To lose our fellow colleagues in this way is tragic beyond words, and in and of itself, traumatic.

Our community has suffered through some truly stressful and traumatic events even in recent months, from the devastating school shooting in Nashville, concerns (or experience) with crime, and severe weather events destroying nearby cities and leaving some people without power for days. Just to name a few.

The daily deluge of bad news and traumatic personal experiences chips away at our mental health, and it is only natural to seek solace and comfort and reprieve. Nearly two years ago, I made the decision to stop drinking. I was not an addict, or even alcohol-dependent, but in a life increasingly filled with stress, I found it too easy of an answer. This choice worked for me, but is by no means the only solution.

At the Memphis Bar Association, we try to create a community amongst our lawyers. We want the MBA to serve as a place for both professional and personal resources. We recognize that lawyers need more than just learning about the latest and greatest rules on bankruptcy.

Our Wellness Committee is one of the most successful committees, an encouraging sign that we are finding better ways to address our very stressful lives. Giving in service to others can be a great outlet, such as volunteering at the Second Saturday Free Legal Aid Clinic (2SLAC), mentoring a high school student through our SLIP program, or teaching young law students invaluable professional skills through our Leadership Scholars Program.

Stress and anxiety are inevitable. If you are struggling, know that there are resources available to help you at MBA. For those suffering from addiction and mental health issues, the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program is an invaluable resource.

Be Well!

Do You or Someone You Know Need Help?

By BUDDY STOCKWELL

It’s no secret that the legal profession is at much greater risk for developing issues with alcohol than are members of the general population. All of us are well aware of the 2016 ABA Study “The Prevalence of Substance Use and other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys” and its findings that there is roughly a 20% rate of problem drinking in our profession, and a truly startling 30% hazardous drinking rate among lawyers under the age of 30. As such alcohol awareness is a very important topic to consider in the practice of law.

Of course, the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) has been providing highly specialized assistance to the profession since 1999, and just last year its monitoring

participants enjoyed an 85% no-relapse success rate in alcohol and addiction cases. TLAP is delivering “gold standard” support and monitoring services to the lawyers, judges, and law students of Tennessee.

And while we all need to be aware of the perils of abusing alcohol, and the impairment that can result, one of the most challenging aspects of helping legal professionals in trouble with alcohol is detecting that they need help. In many cases, our peers are able to continue functioning and effectively hide their alcohol issues for quite some time. As judges and lawyers, we often exhibit various personality traits that help us succeed as law students and legal professionals thereafter.

To illustrate this point, please take a moment to review the following list of traits to see whether or not you recognize any of the following in yourself or others you know in the legal profession:

1. outgoing and gregarious personality;

2. strong ability to function in “survival mode”;

3. exceptional “people skills”;

4. desire to make others happy;

5. need to prove themselves;

6. high level of physical energy;

7. meticulous work ethic;

8. very likable;

Believe it or not, the above list does not delineate successful traits of legal professionals. Instead, it is a list of traits that are common among High Functioning Alcoholics (HFAs). That’s not to say that these traits automatically make someone an alcoholic, but it is interesting to learn that some of the traits that propel legal professionals toward success can also disguise the disease of alcoholism.

9. physically strong;

10. desire to succeed materially;

11. competitive nature;

12. high professional/academic standards;

13. ability to compartmentalize professional and or academic life from personal life;

14. attachment to external success; and

15. desire to exceed parental levels of success.

In the U.S., 18 million people meet the criteria for Substance Use Disorders and up to 50% of diagnosable alcoholics are HFAs. A mere 9% of alcoholics are stereotypically drinking cheap booze from a bottle in a paper bag. In reality, a huge number of alcoholics are found on the job each day, appearing to successfully manage their professional and public lives despite their ongoing drinking problems that, in their mind, are compartmentalized and under control.

HFAs may not admit it, but their drinking negatively impacts their work performance at times and they simply get away with it. Many HFAs are professionals who are not closely supervised and have loyal support staff members who cover up mistakes and clean up messes. The HFA’s alcoholism progresses undetected as a result. Also, hefty professional salaries often provide HFAs with ample resources to hide or “fix” damages caused by the HFA’s continued problem drinking.

As for the HFA’s personal view, excessive alcohol use is often considered an appropriate reward. The catchphrase “work hard, play hard” is often employed by HFAs to rationalize problem drinking. Further, to try and normalize problem drinking, HFAs often befriend other heavy drinkers who also “play hard.” Unsuccessful at alcohol moderation, HFAs often engage in mind games by claiming the alcohol content of their drinks is not that high or by drinking expensive alcoholic beverages so as to aver they are connoisseurs, not problem drinkers. All while HFAs expend great effort to appear normal, many secretly suffer painful personal distress: shame and remorse from drunken behavior; frustration over failed attempts to control drinking; and the pain of abstaining for months or years only to “fall off the wagon” and become a problem drinker again.

Early in the HFA conversation, someone always asks: if the person is successful despite problem drinking, why not leave them alone? In answering that question, it is paramount to first understand that despite an HFA’s best efforts to contain alcoholism within his or her personal life, if left untreated alcoholism will eventually impact the person’s professional performance and public life. By that time, however, the person’s private life is often in shambles.

As time marches on, family members, friends and coworkers often ignore and minimize the HFAs problem drinking because they feel that they “have no proof” that the person is really an alcoholic. They may also feel that because the person is still functioning at the moment “it must not be that bad.” In truth, it is very bad because the disease worsens over time. HFAs may be successful in delaying consequences but they rarely escape them. Alcoholism is chronic, progressive, and if left untreated, a potentially fatal disease. The HFA’s ability to compartmentalize drinking, combined with others’ hesitation to address the HFA’s drinking, often makes matters worse for HFAs because the problem often

grows until an overwhelming avalanche of consequences comes crashing down.

The results can range from severely damaging to deadly. Approximately one third of people who attempt and complete suicide meet diagnosable criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence. That statistic combined with the legal profession’s already high rates of substance abuse and suicides places those of us in the legal profession at very high risk. By reaching out to TLAP you can tap into valuable resources that literally save lives. 

If you have a problem, call TLAP! If you know someone with a problem, call TLAP! Your call is confidential as a matter of law and you do not have to give your name. TLAP can be reached at (615) 7413238, tlap@tncourts.gov, or visit us on the web at www.tlap.org.

Buddy Stockwell was appointed as the Executive Director of the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) by the Tennessee Supreme Court on July 1, 2020. He is a Certified Clinical Interventionist through “Love First” training at the Betty Ford Center and has personally been in recovery from alcoholism for over 38 years. Over the years, he has supported hundreds of bar members, bar applicants, and family members of the bar with a wide range of substance use disorders and mental health issues.

Bar Scene

In case you missed it, the Grizzlies Exclusive CLE: How Sports and Law Intersect was a success.

We would like to thank the Memphis Grizzlies for providing this exclusive opportunity to our members. A special thanks goes out to Jason Wexler, Sal Romanello, and Kandace Stewart for serving as our panelists and giving us a behind the scenes tour of the FedEx Forum.

An Ode to Memphis Law: A Perspective of a Graduating 3L

By SKKYE MORENO

Iam not from Memphis, but I have never been to Graceland. The question I most frequently get asked as an out-of-towner is why I came all the way to Tennessee to go to law school. I am not sure if it’s the way the sun sets over the Mississippi, or the rumblings of the town after a big Grizzlies win, but there is spirit in this city.

I am a student ambassador for Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, so I frequently give tours of the law school. My volunteer position as a student ambassador is one of my favorite leadership positions within the law school. As a law student it is easy to become consumed by class readings and it is difficult to overcome imposter syndrome. But for one hour on each day of a tour, I am reminded of the privilege to be a part of the Cecil C. Humphreys cohort. I have the responsibility of sharing with prospective students and their families the unique facts about Memphis and the building that our law school adopted. From the old post office mailbox divots in the floor, to the before and after photos of the historic courtroom, I am honored to boast about the accomplishments of the Moot Court teams, published Law Review articles, the status of our writing program, and all the distinguished faculty.

Nevertheless, none of these things are my favorite part of the tour. My favorite part of the tour is when I share my journey to Memphis Law. Memphis Law stands out for reasons much more important than the view from the Fourth Floor Reading Room. Anyone that has graduated from Cecil C. Humphreys recognizes that the Memphis legal community embodies something that cannot be measured in the U.S. News rankings: Camaraderie. Grit. Spirit.

I am an only child, raised by a single mother, and a first-generation college graduate. While I have known for a long time that law school was the destination and criminal justice was my passion, it wasn’t always clear how I would get here. While I was a kid, my mom worked

multiple jobs to make ends meet. When it came time to apply to college, we weren’t even sure how to afford my undergraduate degree, let alone consider law school. I was fortunate to have a phenomenal support system of family and school resources to help me apply for scholarships and financial aid. I was fortunate enough for my school to offer me a full ride for the first two years of college, including a meal plan and a work-study position at a local junior college. The next two years of school, I worked at a local barbeque restaurant, and when I wasn’t working there, I was babysitting. At one point, I took a job at a local dairy farm helping milk cows because the hours were so early; it was the only time of the day that I was not in school or at one of my other two jobs. A time or two I slept through my 8:00 a.m. class because I was so tired. Like many others, I took out student loans to help pay for tuition, especially because my mom was unable to help me with additional expenses like rent, textbooks, gas, or food. Nevertheless, I was determined to reach my goal, no matter what it took. My family helped me finance a study abroad program so I could study criminal justice in Prague, Czech Republic for a summer.

While I worked hard on my own, I received a lot of support from my family to get to where I am today. I have had mentors, teachers, family, and friends; all who have constantly supported me.

When I first picked Memphis to go to law school, I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I had already packed my things, drove over a thousand miles across the country, was living in a new apartment, and I still was unsure of my future. I spoke with Dean McClellan many

times, and she assured me that she would help me figure this opportunity out. She did. I applied to law school in early 2020. While the rest of the world was consumed with adapting to COVID-19, and rightfully so, Memphis Law Admissions was working diligently on connecting me with other students online so I would feel at home. I met two students before I committed to Memphis Law that were quick to convince me of all the amazing benefits that the law school and legal community offered. Instantaneously, my two new friends were willing and able to make me feel at home. Camaraderie.

My first semester of 1L year was tough, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t shed a tear or two. I had a professor tell us that he memorized his outline during law school. He stressed that law school was tough, but doable if we put in the work. That same professor met with me week after week to work through hypotheticals and help me build my writing skills under timed conditions. Granted, this is not a stand-alone example. All our professors work tirelessly to help us succeed. Grit.

Professor Smith is the first to stop in the halls and ask anyone how they are doing, or how their trip back home was. He always meets his 8:00 a.m. class with a smile and an inner light that can make the most cynical 3L happy. When our moot court travel team was preparing to travel to our national competition, we were flooded with warm regards, good lucks, and go get-em Tigers! Spirit.

I am hopeful to pursue a career in criminal appellate law upon graduation. My passion has always been giving back to the community, and I have already begun to serve the community that has given me so much by obtaining almost 300 hours of pro bono service. My dream is to work with the Tennessee Innocence Project. I am thankful I chose Memphis Law to call home for the past three years. The legal community is certainly unmatched. Thank you to all my professors, mentors, coaches, and friends.

Skkye Moreno is originally from Durango, Colorado. She received her Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science and Criminal Justice from Colorado State University. She has a special interest in sports and entertainment law. Upon graduating from Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Skkye hopes to work in criminal appeals.

Headshot Credit: Kaitlyn Flint, 2L at Memphis Law, and owner of Kaitlyn Flint Photo.

Shelby County Bus Pass Program: Help Your Clients Get to Court and Avoid a Cascade of Challenges

By MAYOR LEE HARRIS AND KELLY ROBERTS

Part of the work of good lawyering is protecting and guiding our clients through the legal system including making sure they get to court. As lawyers, every time we protect and pursue our client’s best interests, as we take an oath to do, we uphold their humanity under an adversary system.

While we cannot take away every burden an arrest and the subsequent legal journey cause our client, we can make sure they know about available resources that can aid them in navigating the legal process with fewer burdens. One such resource is a new Shelby County program, launched by our administration, that helps to remove the common burden of transportation.

You may have noticed signs around the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center advertising Shelby County’s Bus Pass Program. It’s a pilot program administered through Pretrial Services to provide free bus passes to your clients who need to get to and from court. It is our hope that by making transportation available at no cost, we can not only assist those who may struggle to find a ride, but we can also help save County resources in the long run.

Our administration understands that when an individual misses court, bench warrants may be issued. This can lead to arrests and jail time, all of which can be costly. Of course, the costs are not just borne by the County; the individuals also suffer when they are held in jail on these warrants. This time away can lead to lost jobs, missed rent, and the terrible effects that follow for people and their loved ones. Studies have shown that reliable transportation can lift people out of poverty and allow for stable and meaningful employment. We feel access to reliable transportation while going through the criminal justice system can do the same. Being able to attend all necessary appointments can help maintain stability in your client’s life and avoid the cascade of challenges a missed court appearance could cause. Therefore, we are

doing what we see as the compassionate and commonsense thing to do to help get your clients to court.

This pilot program will work in tandem with our very successful text reminder program. That program sends text reminders to those who sign up about upcoming court dates. Before Pretrial Services’ texting initiative, only 73% of those eligible for the program showed up for their court date. However, since the text reminder

program’s inception, we are happy to say 97% of those enrolled are appearing for their court dates. We are hopeful we will see similar results, and just like the text reminder program, be able to continue and expand the bus pass pilot program.

Now, we would like you to help amplify the availability of these bus passes. Through your work with your clients, you have the best ability to reach those in need of this service. The bus passes are available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Shelby County Pretrial Services’ main office located on the eighth floor at 201 Poplar or on the lower level. They are also available at Jail East Women’s Facility. Your client would only need to provide their name so the information can be logged into Odyssey.

Your work is helping to make our criminal justice system more equitable and fair. Thank you in advance for working in the best interest of your client and spreading the word about this program. 

Lee Harris (@MayorLeeHarris) is the Mayor of Shelby County and Kelly Roberts is his communications specialist.

Bar Scene

In February, members of the MBA’s Bankruptcy Section enjoyed a Meet & Greet at the MBA Office.

Bar Scene

Thanks to Hobson Realtors, the Probate and Estate Planning Section and the Real Estate Section were able to have a CLE on stage at the Orpheum Theatre.

Dobbs and the Ascendance of Originalism

By TIMOTHY S. HUEBNER

The last term of the U.S. Supreme Court was one of the most significant in recent history. In addition to landmark decisions relating to gun rights and climate change, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the Court struck down Roe v. Wade (1973), a nearly fiftyyear-old precedent that had generated fierce debate while simultaneously weaving itself into the fabric of American life. The decision, written by Justice Samuel Alito, represents the pinnacle of “originalism,” a theory of constitutional jurisprudence that emerged in response to the liberal judicial outcomes of the mid twentieth century.

During the 1950s and 1960s, under Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Court committed itself to an expansive view of judicial power and a broad reading of the constitutional text in the pursuit of justice and the expansion of rights. In a series of landmark decisions, the Warren Court used the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to end legal segregation in public schools, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to apply portions of the Bill of Rights to the states, and the Commerce Clause of Article I to uphold the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And it read a right of privacy into the constitutional text in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), arguing that—although not explicitly stated—the notion was implied in the “penumbras” of the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments, as they applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. Despite opposition to these rulings at the time, for the most part these decisions endured, and a few of them—Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and Miranda v. Arizona (1966) are the best examples—even attained iconic constitutional status.

After Warren’s retirement, for the next three and a half decades, the Court under the leadership of Chief Justice Warren Burger (1969-1986) and Chief Justice William Rehnquist (1986-2005) saw few substantive changes to the constitutional order that the Warren Court had established. A leading study of the Burger Court, for example, published in the early 1980s, was aptly subtitled “the Counter-Revolution that Wasn’t.” It’s worth noting that it was under Burger—not Warren—that the Court built on the Warren’s Court privacy decision to establish a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy during the

first trimester in Roe v. Wade. Justice Harry Blackmun, the author of the majority opinion in Roe, was a Nixon appointee.

Nevertheless, grassroots conservative opposition to the legacy of the Warren era remained, and during the 1980s, the theory of originalism emerged in conservative legal circles. A way of approaching the Constitution that privileged the text’s original meaning at the time of its drafting, originalism had the potential—if applied vigorously—to undermine much of the work of the Warren and Burger Courts. Originalism and its corollary, textualism (an emphasis on a close reading of the words of Constitution), particularly took root within the Reagan Justice Department as a way of challenging the reigning liberal legal orthodoxy, including Roe. In 1986, President Reagan appointed Justice Antonin Scalia, a champion of originalism and textualist principles.

In the short term, originalism seemed not to have much of an impact, and Justice Scalia usually found himself in dissent. Not even a series of Republican appointees to the Supreme Court could dislodge Roe. Nine of the thirteen justices who took seats on the Court between Roe and the end of the Obama presidency owed their appointments to Republican presidents, but Roe withstood a series of challenges. Most famously, in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), five Republicanappointed justices (Blackmun, John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony Kennedy, and David Souter) upheld the landmark abortion decision. Although the justices modified Roe somewhat by establishing guidelines for when states could (and could not) restrict abortions, the core holding in Roe—prohibiting state interference with pre-viability abortions—remained intact. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the opinion in Casey was the majority’s emphasis on stare decisis. If forced to make a choice between a theory of originalism that narrowly interpreted constitutional rights and an established precedent that relied on an expansive reading of the text, it seemed, the majority chose stare decisis.

Not until the twenty-first century, under Chief Justice John Roberts, has there been a significant erosion of Warrenera jurisprudence. A conservative institutionalist appointed

in 2005, he has balanced his own originalist assumptions with his commitment to upholding the reputation of the Court. With a deep knowledge and appreciation of the work of the Court’s most famous chief justice, John Marshall, Chief Justice Roberts believes that respect for the Court relies upon a careful approach to constitutional change, one that values stability and precedent. In his key vote in support of the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, for example, he joined with four liberal justices in upholding the federal statute, mostly because he hesitated to strike down a law that had been passed through the democratic process. In areas where the Court has moved in a clearly conservative direction, such as in the definition of religious freedom under the First Amendment and the expansion of gun rights under the Second Amendment, the Roberts Court has done so in an incremental manner, one decision at a time.

During the past few years, a marked shift in the membership of the Court has accelerated the pace of constitutional change. In 2016, candidate Donald Trump broke with political precedent when he announced that, if elected, he would only nominate Supreme Court justices from a list of nominees that had been pre-approved by the Federalist Society, an organization committed to originalist principles. The subsequent nominations and confirmations of Justice Neil Gorsuch (2017), Justice Brett Kavanaugh (2018), and Justice Amy Coney Barrett (2020) have, in a few years’ time, given a decidedly originalist tilt to the Court. The three appointees joined long-serving Justices Clarence Thomas and Alito and the Chief Justice to make up a formidable conservative majority. The clash between Chief Justice Roberts’ incremental conservatism and the more ideological version of his judicial peers, especially Justice Thomas and Justice Alito, was most clearly on display in Dobbs. The Chief Justice wrote a concurrence advocating judicial restraint, expressing his desire to uphold the Mississippi state restricting abortion without completely overturning Roe. Justice Alito and the new originalist majority, however, won the day.

The majority opinion embodied the essence of the conservative legal movement of the past forty years. Focusing squarely on the original meaning of the constitutional text, Justice Alito denied that any right to an abortion existed. “When the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted, three quarters of the States made abortion a crime at all stages of pregnancy.” Therefore, he reasoned, the right to an abortion was not a deeply rooted right that could be implied in the text. The fact that so many states at the time of the ratification of the Fourteenth

Amendment, in 1868, had outlawed abortion seemed to answer the question of whether the Amendment could be used to justify such a right. As for precedent, Justice Alito and the majority dismissed the choice their Republicannominated colleagues had made three decades before. “Stare decisis, the doctrine on which Casey’s controlling opinion was based, does not compel unending adherence to Roe’s abuse of judicial authority,” he wrote. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start.”

Apart from overturning the nationwide right to previability abortions, Justice Alito’s reliance upon originalist principles in Dobbs raises other questions. If originalism is the dominant mode of jurisprudence, will other rights established by the Court over the past several decades be endangered or overturned? Specifically, the Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) decision upholding gay marriage relied upon a broad reading of both the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Because gay marriage had not been legal in any state at the time of the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, the application of originalist principles would surely pose a threat to this right. (Sensing this, Congress recently passed bipartisan legislation protecting gay marriage.) Moreover, the Warren Court’s reasoning in the Griswold opinion upholding a right to privacy would likely also be subject to future originalist scrutiny. Justice Thomas said as much in his concurring opinion in Dobbs. Finally, the Warren Court’s unanimous opinion in Brown v. Board had deemed irrelevant to its analysis the question of whether segregation had been dominant in state law at the time of the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. But this was the very way the Court framed the question in examining the right to abortion in Dobbs. Does that mean that even Brown will be subject to judicial re-examination?

We may be entering a new era in the history of the Court and the Constitution. It remains to be seen in the years ahead whether it will be the Roberts Court—or Alito’s Court.

Timothy S. Huebner, the Sternberg Professor of History at Rhodes College, is the author of Liberty and Union: The Civil War Era and American Constitutionalism. He serves as Editor of the Journal of Supreme Court History, published three times a year by the Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C.

MALS Corner: Finding Innovative Ways to Meet the Growing Need for Legal Services

By CINDY COLE ETTINGOFF, CEO and General Counsel, Memphis Area Legal Services, Inc.

The last year has been incredibly difficult for our city. That difficulty has highlighted areas of need and opportunities for improvement and growth. Demand for the services of Memphis Area Legal Services, Inc. (MALS) is at an all-time high and grant funding alone is insufficient to provide for the needed services. The goal is to attain more staff and increase the use of technology to enable MALS to meet more of the legal needs of our community. More staff and increased technology requires funding – both grant dollars and dollars from our annual fundraising campaign, the Campaign for Equal Justice.

MALS had the good fortune of having the 2022 Campaign for Equal Justice led by Sharon Ryan, championed and assisted by retired Magistrate Judge Diane Vescovo, Magistrate Judge Annie Christoff, Mike McLaren, Danny Schaffzin, J.B. Smiley, Jr., Laquita Stokes, Shepherd Tate, and numerous others. Due to their efforts, the generosity of the legal community, and as a result of other donations and grant funding, MALS is in the position to implement some long needed and hoped for improvements after three years of concentrated efforts.

In addition to the necessary fundraising needed for operations, MALS is focused on alternative means of providing services, including partnerships. For example, domestic violence victims represent one of the areas of greatest need for legal services as Memphis ranks 4th or 5th in the nation in domestic violence, and more than half of the violent crime in Memphis is considered to be domestic violence. Although MALS’ representation of victims of domestic violence is partially funded by several grants, the amount of support offered by those grants is decreasing at the same time that the level of need is increasing. As a result, MALS is continually seeking assistance from private individuals and partnering with

other organizations to provide domestic violence victims with legal assistance.

Through legal clinics recently instituted by MALS’ Memphis Fair Housing Center, attorneys provide renters with information about their rights and obligations to prevent evictions. The Memphis Fair Housing Center provides representation in virtually all aspects of housing, including HUD rental housing issues, mortgage refinancing, tax sale repurchases, and unlawful evictions. During the week of February 15, 2023 alone, there were 356 evictions filed in Shelby County General Sessions Court with many, if not most, of those tenants facing eviction having no place to go. Additionally, HUD recently removed the Peppertree Apartment from its list of HUD properties causing a surge in calls from residents who did not want to move because they cannot find a place to live that would accept a HUD voucher, and who were at a loss as to what to do. To meet this need, MALS started a weekly clinic at the nearby Whitehaven Library, which provides these displaced residents with much needed legal advice.

Moreover, improvement and growth remain at the forefront of MALS’ short-term and long-term plans

and its ongoing efforts to continually improve the level of service and the number of individuals served. MALS is currently able to serve approximately half of those individuals who contact us seeking legal representation. Among the goals for 2023 is to decrease the number of people we have to turn away due to lack of staff. Advice and counsel clinics, such as those conducted by MALS’ Memphis Fair Housing Center, is one way of serving some community members for whom we would otherwise be able to provide assistance. MALS also offers low-income taxpayer clinics, pro se divorce clinics, wills clinics, consumer clinics, and the newest expungement clinic that will be held at the HUB each month.

Although clinics can help clients with an immediate need for legal information and legal advice, it does not solve the problem of clients who need legal representation. Most clients are not able to represent themselves in court. MALS is seeking to be able to represent those who, absent representation, would lose a case they should win. Two ways to accomplish this goal include (1) increasing the number of MALS’ attorneys and support staff; and (2) employing new ways to streamline intake procedures and automate processes thereby freeing additional attorney time. Of course, MALS will also continue to rely upon private attorney volunteers to provide legal representation by filling these gaps.

Some improvements have already commenced –for example, a year ago, MALS made the decision to decrease its office footprint and to use the dollars that would otherwise have gone for rent to hire more staff. That move was accomplished in July of 2022. We have now turned to decreasing the period of time between application, intake, and the commencement of legal services. MALS is in the process of implementing a new case management system that will not only enable more rapid intake of clients, it can also provide clients with access to information concerning the status of their cases. Additionally, MALS is working to secure funding to make it possible for many of our clients to submit an application for services, check the status of their application, and check the status of their cases via our website.

The plan for improvements extends to MALS’ internal operations as well. As the result of LSC funding cuts, many positions had to be eliminated resulting in the CEO role being forced to take on a good amount of administrative work including grant writing,

communications, compliance, human resources, and fundraising. While necessary for MALS to be able to weather the economic storm and focus its dollars on staff who could provide direct services to clients, having one person performing all of those roles has resulted in daily efforts to defy the laws of physics and create a thirtyhour day. Believing that a better product can result from additional help, MALS has recently added a deputy director and is exploring creative means of outsourcing some of those administrative tasks.

Moving forward, MALS will be engaging in strategic planning to better meet the immediate needs of our community and to be able to address the anticipated future needs of our community. With the support of donor funding and grant dollars, MALS will be able to function at a higher level and provide greater service to the community.

Cole Ettingoff is the CEO and General Counsel for Memphis Area Legal Services, Inc. A long time legal services volunteer and supporter, Cindy joined MALS after thirty years of practicing law. In private practice, Ms. Ettingoff represented employers, employees, and unions in litigation, contract negotiations, arbitrations, and mediations.

Cindy

CLC Corner:

The Community Legal Center

Continues to Help Afgans and Ukrainians Seek Asylum

By JOANNA K. WADDELL

Hundreds of people from Ukraine and Afghanistan have resettled in Tennessee, fleeing from their home countries, which have become unstable and violent. The U.S. government has allowed many to enter with “parole” status – a temporary legal immigration status valid for one to two years. Parole status allows them to work, but provides no permanent status, such as a “green card” or citizenship. If they do nothing, they risk deportation when their parole status runs out.

Most Afghans and Ukrainians qualify for asylum, a form of immigration relief based on the risk of persecution in their home country. Asylum was born from international law and is designed to give shelter to persons who would be persecuted based on certain characteristics they cannot or should not have to change, such as their race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or “membership in a particular social group.”

In Afghanistan, no one is safe from the Taliban and ISIS. Both groups target anyone of any religion other than their own extremist version of Islam, as well as anyone of a minority ethnic group, and anyone who assisted Americans or the former Afghan government. Women’s rights are non-existent.

In Ukraine, no one is safe from the Russian military, which is targeting civilians, especially those who practice any religion other than Russian Orthodox. The majority religion in Ukraine is Ukrainian Orthodox. All other religions are the minority, and subject to such

systematic and constant discrimination, even from other Ukrainians, that it amounts to persecution. Conditions were much worse for followers of minority religions under Soviet rule and have become worse again in areas under Russian control.

The Ukrainian nationals for whom the CLC is advocating were in the process of emigrating from Ukraine when Russia invaded. They were forced to flee for their lives and eventually requested asylum at the Mexican border. Their asylum cases are based on religious persecution that has plagued their families for generations, as well as their Ukrainian nationality, for which Russia would kill them, even if they are civilians, pacifists, or children.

Building an asylum case requires hours of conversation between attorney and client, almost always through an interpreter. We talk about their stories of trauma and persecution. While this is an emotional and difficult process, I have found my clients to be admirable in their strength and resilience. Some managed to escape unscathed – other than the trauma of fleeing from their home. All face great danger if they return.

The Community Legal Center is working with our sister organizations, Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Memphis Immigration Advocates, under the umbrella organization “Welcome South.” Together, we are assisting more than fifty (50) Afghan asylum seekers in the Memphis area alone, and many more in Nashville,

entirely pro bono. We have received two approvals to date, and no denials. This is consistent with national statistics, which have seen nearly a 100% approval rate for Afghan asylum seekers.

A generous donation from Providence Haven Mission in Cleveland, Tennessee, has allowed the Community Legal Center to assist twenty five (25) Ukrainian nationals in their asylum cases. Providence is assisting Ukrainian refugees as they re-establish their lives and homes. If you would like to make a monetary donation, or a donation of furniture, clothing, or the like, please visit their website at providencehavenmission.org.

If you would like to contribute toward assisting evacuees from Afghanistan, or if you know any evacuees from Afghanistan who have not yet received legal assistance but would like it, please feel free to contact the Community Legal Center at 901-543-3395. You can also make donations or find additional information through our website, at https://clcmemphis.org/ 

Joanna Waddell is an attorney with the Immigrant Justice Program at the Community Legal Center. She received her law degree from The University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Before joining the CLC, she served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Robert Benham, Judge of the Shelby County Probate Court, Division I and spent several years in private practice, focusing primarily in Estate Planning. Joanna holds an undergraduate degree in Spanish, and a Master of Arts in Romance Languages. Before law school, she taught Spanish in the United States and English as a Second Language in Ecuador. She also spent time volunteering in Ecuador, Belize, and Spain. Joanna has found that immigration law is the perfect mix of languages and cultures, law, and helping others.

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New Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee

On January 20, 2023, the Honorable Sheryl H. Lipman assumed the duties of Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. She replaces District Judge S. Thomas Anderson, who completed his tenure as Chief Judge.

Wendy Oliver Sworn In As Clerk of Court for the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee

The District Judges of the Western District of Tennessee selected Wendy Oliver to become the Clerk of Court for the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee following the retirement of Tom Gould at the end of January, 2023. Ms. Oliver was sworn into her new position as the Clerk of Court for the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee by Chief District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman in a public ceremony that took place on February 7, 2023. Ms. Oliver has devoted her entire adult career to the District Court and the District Judges believe she is uniquely qualified to fill this very important and demanding position.

Hon. Tim Dwyer Receives Award

Congratulations to the Honorable Tim Dwyer for receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Tennessee General Sessions Court Judges Conference. Dwyer was the presiding judge over the Shelby County Drug Treatment Court from 1997 until his retirement on September 1, 2022.

Butler Snow Attorneys Named Tennessee Rule 31 Mediators

Butler Snow LLP is pleased to announce that two of the firm’s attorneys, Will Perry and Brent E. Siler, have been listed as Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 General Civil Mediators.

The court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission (ADRC) administers the procedure for training and approving mediators for use by the courts under Rule 31, which established court-based alternative dispute resolution on a state-wide basis. The Rule, promulgated in 1996, was set up to assist courts in obtaining mediators and other neutrals and also established the ADRC.

Glankler Brown, PLLC is pleased to announce that Greer Bryant has joined the firm as an Associate. Bryant concentrates her practice in the area of real estate law.

She received her undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University and her law degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law, where she was an Associate Member of the Board of Advocates and Community Service Chair of the Women’s Law Student Association. She previously worked at Gardner Miller in Jonesboro, Arkansas after graduating law school.

Spicer Rudstrom Announces New Equity Member

Jared S. Renfroe has been named an equity member of Spicer Rudstrom, PLLC.

Jared joined the firm’s Memphis Office in 2015. His practice is primarily concentrated in representing employers and insurance carriers in the areas of workers’ compensation defense, premises liability defense, and commercial litigation.

Stites & Harbison Promotes Attorney

Stites & Harbison, PLLC recently promoted Andrew Battle Sanders to member (partner). Sanders is part of the firm's Business Litigation Service Group and represents parties in business law and litigation, probate, and estate planning. He regularly advises regional and national clients on matters regarding general business, financial services, and commercial real estate.

Will Perry

Brent E. Siler

Evans Petree PC Admits New Shareholders

On February 15, 2023, Evans Petree announced that Jack F. Heflin, Regan S. Steepleton, and Tyler G. Tollison had been admitted as shareholders. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to admit each of them to shareholder. They have distinguished themselves by achieving a high level of professional accomplishment and their addition as shareholders will strengthen our firm,” said Joe Getz, President of Evans Petree PC.

Heflin is an experienced attorney whose practice focuses on litigation, business transactions and planning, commercial arbitration, and estate planning and administration.

Steepleton focuses her practice on construction, commercial litigation, probate and estate, and business law.

Tollison focuses his practice on real estate, corporate law, and business transactions. His practice areas include commercial real estate, commercial lending, commercial leasing, mergers and acquisitions, corporate formation, and general corporate law.

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If you are an 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. We will not print notices of honors determined by other publications (e.g., Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers). Notices are 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 kswan@memphisbar.org.

Tyler G. Tollison

Regan S. Steepleton

Jack F. Heflin