Nashville Bar Journal | April 2012

Nashville Bar Journal April 2012 - VOL 12, NO. 3

If You Can't Agree on What the Problem Is… Quality of Indigent Criminal Defense Services in Davidson County by:

Bob Mendes

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Surviving an AOC Audit Everett Parrish

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Domesticating Judgments: Overview of the Federal Judgment Registration Statute Daniel H. Puryear

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Law Day Registration

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ACCESS

TO

JUSTICE

Event Date: Thursday, May 10, 2012 NEW Location: Nashville Golf & Athletic Club in Brentwood Times: 12:00 pm - Range Balls Available 1:30 pm Shotgun Start

2012 NBA Annual Golf Tournament

Following Play:

We will have a Cookout and Prizes at the conclusion of Play

May 10, 2012

The 2012 NBA Golf Tournament is set for Thursday, May 10, 2012 at the Nashville Golf & Athletic Club in Brentwood. This year we will be playing at the private NGAC golf course, featuring a breath-taking panorama of the beautiful countryside and hills of Tennessee, representing a lovely series of opportunities for today's golfers. Range balls will be available at noon with a shotgun start at 1:30 p.m. We will have a cookout and prizes at the conclusion of play. There will be team prizes and individual contests (longest drive, longest putt, closest to pin, etc.)

Please use the form below to register yourself or a team. You can also register online at www.nashvillebar.org Late fees apply after Thursday, May 3, 2012. If you have any questions, you can contact Traci Hollandsworth at the NBA (242-9272 or traci.hollandsworth@nashvillebar.org

---------------------------------------------------------------------Principal Player Information:

What Does That Attorney Look Like Who You Only Communicate With Via Email?

Name: BPR#

Phone:

Need to find the New Address of an Old Law Parnter? ******************************************* Find Out In The New 2012 NBA Attorney Directory!

Email: FOURSOME:

1.

Handicap

2.

Handicap

3.

Handicap

Handicap 4.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------Entry Fees: (Price includes greens fee, cart, lunch, snacks, beverages and

range fees) NBA Members on or before May 3: $140.00*; Non-NBA mem-

bers on or before May 3: $160.00* Card Type: Visa MasterCard Discover

Send check to: Nashville Bar Association 150 4th Ave., N., Suite 1050 Nashville, TN 37219

Credit Card Number:

Exp Date:

CVC Code:

--- or ---

Register Online at www.nashvillebar.org --- or ---

Fax to: 615.255.3026 Phone in: 615.242.9272

ORDER YOUR 2012 DIRECTORY ONLINE TODAY @ WWW.NASHVILLEBAR.ORG

Signature:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------• Attorney Listings For All Davidson County & Surrounding Communities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------• Over 500 New Member Photos ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------• Comprehensive Court Listings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------• Field of Practice Listings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------• Firm Listings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------• Listings For All NBA Boards & Officers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------• Committee Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------• NBA By-Laws & More -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NASHVILLE BAR ASSOCIATION

150 4th Avenue North, 10th Floor, Nashville, TN 37219 (615) 242-9272 Fax:(615) 255-3026 www.nashvillebar.org

Nashville Bar Journal A Monthly Publication of the Nashville Bar Association

www.nashvillebar.org

If You Can't Agree on What the Problem Is…

April 6 NBA OFFICE CLOSED

PAGE 6

April 10 - 11:30 am.

L.A.W. Meeting

Bob Mendes

April 12 - 11:30 am.

CLE Committee Meeting

Surviving an AOC Audit PAGE 8

Everett Parrish

FROM THE PRESIDENT "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

PAGE 2

April 16 - 11:30 am.

Probate Committee Meeting April 17 - 12:00 p.m.

Ethics Committee Meeting April 19 - 12:00 p.m.

NBF Trustees Meeting

April 25 - 27 Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference Lexington, Kentucky April 30 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Law Day Luncheon @ Renaissance Hotel Senator Lamar Alexander Registration on page 20 May 10, 2012 NBA Golf Tournament @ Nashville Golf & Athletic Club in Brentwood, TN

April 25 - 12:00 p.m.

Business Transactions Committee Meeting

John Kitch _______________________________________________ 4 Communiqué • 2012 NBA Golf Tournament • Law Day • Minority High School Intern Program • Lawyers for Littles - Bowl for Kids Sake 2012 • Race Judicata Summary • Upcoming Events

_________________________________________________________ 10 Domesticating Judgments: Overview of the Federal Judgment Registration Statute Daniel H. Puryear _________________________________________________________ 12 Bill & Phil’s Gadget of the Month: Samsung Galaxy S II Epic Touch 4G Bill Ramsey, Neal & Harwell, PLC Phillip Hampton, LogicForce Consulting _________________________________________________________ CLE Information - Center Section _________________________________________________________ 14

View Full Calendar online at www.nashvillebar.org

-Golden Oldies-

Profile: Barbara Haynes

Bart Pickett _________________________________________________________ 15 Pro Bono Profile: Gareth Aden Victoria Webb _________________________________________________________ 20 LAW DAY REGISTRATION _________________________________________________________ 22

Disclosure - Announcements • Kudos • People on the Move • Firm News • In Memory _________________________________________________________ 24 Classified Listings _________________________________________________________

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Identify the individuals in the photo. Be the first to email the correct answer to nikki.gray@nashvillebar.org and your name (along with your correct entry) will appear in next month’s issue.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nashville Bar Journal A Monthly Publication of the Nashville Bar Association

www.nashvillebar.org

John Kitch, Publisher William T. Ramsey, Editor-in-Chief ramseywt@nealharwell.com

Eleanor Wetzel, Managing Editor

FROM THE PRESIDENT

by John Kitch

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."1

eleanorwetzel@jis.nashville.org

Journal Staff: Nikki Gray, Director of Communications nikki.gray@nashvillebar.org

Tina Ashford, Communications Coordinator tina.ashford@nashvillebar.org

Editorial Committee: Kelly L. Frey Kathleen Pohlid Tim Ishii Tracy Kane Rhett Parrish Bill Ramsey Rita Roberts-Turner Eleanor Wetzel David Winters Victoria Webb

Nashville Bar Association Staff Gigi Woodruff Executive Director ----------Tina R. Ashford Communications Coordinator Susan W. Blair Director, Continuing Legal Education Shirley Clay Finance Coordinator Wendy K. Cozby Lawyer Referral Service Coordinator Nikki R. Gray Director of Communications Traci L. Hollandsworth Programs & Events Coordinator Judy Phillips CLE Coordinator Vicki Shoulders Membership Coordinator/Office Manager The Nashville Bar Journal, ISSN 1548-7113, is published monthly by the Nashville Bar Association at 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 1050, Nashville, TN 37219, (615) 242-9272. Periodicals Postage Paid, Nashville, TN (USPS 021-962). Subscription price: $25 per year. Individual issues: $5 per copy.

POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to Nashville Bar Journal, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 1050, Nashville, TN 37219 No part of this publication may be reprinted without written permission of the Nashville Bar Journal Editorial Committee. The Nashville Bar Journal is not responsible for the return or loss of unsolicited manuscripts or for any damage or other injury to unsolicited manuscripts or artwork.

All Articles and Letters contained in this publication represent the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Nashville Bar Association.

Nashville Bar Association 150 Fourth Avenue North Suite 1050 Nashville, TN 37219 615-242-9272 Fax 615-255-3026 www.nashvillebar.org

2

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

Look at the newspaper, watch the news on T.V., or read complaints written in response to online articles. You will find people grousing about how unfair our divorce courts are to fathers who don’t get custody of their children or how criminals get set free because of technicalities. Where does the general public get most of its information about courts, lawyers, and the law itself? Well, Law and Order and its progeny teach that in the criminal justice system we can go from crime to arrest to conviction to appeal in an hour. My Cousin Vinny teaches that Southern judges and prosecutors are hicks and a person who isn’t even a licensed lawyer can win a murder trial. CSI teaches that all crime is solved in the lab. Ally McBeal – well, I’ll leave that one to you.

Much of the time a person’s first exposure to the legal system is when he or she has a problem. It may be a divorce, a landlord-tenant dispute, a criminal charge, a suit by a creditor, or a bankruptcy. Face it, at this point in time the individual is likely an unwilling participant in the legal system, doesn’t really understand what is happening, and in many cases has no idea as to who to turn to for help. This can lead to bad results for the individual, and I believe it’s our job to do what we can to help level the playing field.

We lawyers need to do a better job helping people understand, access and benefit from the legal system. I credit organizations like Legal Aid, the Nashville Pro Bono Program, the NBA’s Lawyer Referral Information Service, Dial-A-Lawyer, the Tennessee Justice Center and other similar groups with doing the best they can to educate, advise and help people in need. I credit our Supreme Court for creating the SCALES program and Access to Justice, developing pro se forms for unrepresented people, and establishing the Self Help section on the AOC website.

I also credit the Tennessee Judicial Conference and the Tennessee Bar Association for creating the GAVELS program, Gaining Access to Valuable Education about the Legal System. This is a speakers’ bureau to provide judges and lawyers to community groups, schools, and other organizations wishing to learn more about the legal system. The mediation system in the General Sessions courts is another great program.

All of this is well and good, but it seems to me that the hardest part is yet to come – getting information about law, lawyers, and legal resources to the public so laypeople are aware of the resources that are available. This is not a case of “If you build it they will come.” Many folks who need the information the most won’t know how to find these resources if they even have access to a computer.

There is some good news. Access to Justice is coordinating with public libraries and church groups to deliver information to those who need it and to provide the tools to reach legal information, such as the resources on the AOC website. DialA-Lawyer gets many phone calls from the public, and the small but dedicated band of lawyers who volunteer for the program answer general questions about the legal process. People are accessing Legal Aid and the Nashville Pro Bono programs in ever-increasing numbers, and those who fit those organizations’ criteria receive quality advice from talented lawyers who dedicate themselves to the service of those who need it the most.

2012 NBA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

It’s not enough. That self-same group of lawyers I have just mentioned turns away people because of a lack of adequate funding to do all that needs to be done to help the neediest in our society. We lawyers need to step up. Please join me in making a contribution to the 2012 Campaign for Legal Aid Society and Pro Bono Program of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. Volunteer for Dial-A-Lawyer. Sign up for the Nashville Bar Association Lawyer Referral and Information Service.

Go to a school and speak about the legal system to students. Take on another pro bono case. After all is said and done, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.” 

______________ 1

The Lorax.

John D. Kitch, President Tom Sherrard, President-Elect Hon. Randy Kennedy, First Vice President Hon. Marietta Shipley, Second Vice President Rebekah Shulman Secretary M. Bernadette Welch, Treasurer Trace Blankenship, Assistant Treasurer Gareth Aden, General Counsel Rebecca C. Blair Robert E. Boston C. Dewey Branstetter, Jr. C. Dawn Deaner Charles K. Grant Barbara D. Holmes Michele M. Johnson Edward D. Lanquist, Jr. John C. McLemore Jeffrey Mobley Patricia Head Moskal Maria M. Salas John R. Tarpley Overton Thompson, III Mandy Haynes Young

Got an Idea for an NBJ Article?

We want to hear about the topics and issues readers think should be covered in the magazine.

Send it to nikki.gray@nashvillebar.org

JANET LOGGED OUT BEFORE HER FORM SEARCH ENDED.

PICK UP THE PACE WITH WESTLAW FORM FINDER. Spare yourself long-drawn-out form searches. Westlaw® Form Finder, now on WestlawNext®, is precise and quick. It searches more than 600,000 official and lawyer-tested forms, clauses, and checklists, using sophisticated technology to refine search results. In minutes or less, you’ll be ready to download and edit the form you need.

Embrace the future with Westlaw Form Finder.

For more information, call 1-800-759-5418 or visit store.westlaw.com/formfinder.

© 2012 Thomson Reuters L-374378/2-12 Thomson Reuters and the Kinesis logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters.

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

3

communiqué

NBA NEWS n COMMITTEE INFORMATION

2012 NBA Golf Tournament Thursday, May 10, 2012 Nashville Golf & Athletic Club in Brentwood, TN This year we will be playing at the private NGAC golf course, featuring a breathtaking panorama of the beautiful countryside and hills of Tennessee, representing a lovely series of opportunities for today's golfers.

Contact Traci Hollandsworth at traci. hollandsworth@nashvillebar.org with any questions.

Registration on page 16 or online www.nashvillebar.org

Minority High School Summer Intern Program The 2012 NBA Minority High School Summer Intern program is expanding to include all schools in Davidson County.

Minority students who will graduate in May 2012, and also those who will enter the 12th grade in the Fall 2012, from Public & Private High Schools in Davidson County are eligible to apply.

Information about the program can be found at http://nashvillebar.org/Committee/MinorityOpps/ SummerInternship.html Contact Traci Hollandsworth at 615.242.9272 or traci.hollandsworth@nashvillebar.org.

-Golden Oldies-

James C. Hofstetter of Hofstetter & Hofstetter correctly identified the individuals in the April 2012 Golden Oldies photo.

Pictured are: Randy Kennedy, Alan Lancaster and Bert Haywood

4

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

n

SPECIAL EVENTS

n

NBA NEWS n COMMITTEE IN

Law Day Please join us for our annual Law Day Luncheon on April 30, 2012 at the Downtown Renaissance Hotel.

Senator Lamar Alexander will speak on the topic " No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom."

Register on page 20 or online at www.nashvillebar.org

NOTICE OF ELECTION

Notice is hereby given of the election of the Nashville Bar Association's Delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates.

The term of this position is two years from August 10, 2012 to the conclusion of the Annual Meeting in August 2014. The Delegate will represent the NBA before the ABA House of Delegates, which typically meets during February and August every year. The Delegate will be expected to report to the NBA on issues and policies coming before the ABA.

This position will be filled by election by a majority of the NBA Board of Directors at its meeting on June 5, 2012. Eligibility has been determined by the NBA Board of Directors to be a Member in good standing of the NBA, as well as a Member in good standing of the ABA, both at the time of the election and throughout the term of office.

Candidates shall file their Notice of intent to run for office by submitting any written declaration of intent to do so to NBA Executive Director Gigi Woodruff, Nashville Bar Association, 150 4th Avenue North, Suite 1050, Nashville, TN 37219, by 5:00 p.m. Monday, May 14, 2012. If you have any questions, or need any further information, please contact Gigi Woodruff at the address above, by calling 615.242.9272, or via e-mail at gigi.woodruff@gmail.com

This position is currently filled by Jackie Dixon, and Ms. Dixon is not eligible to run for re-election.

Lawyers for Littles Bowl for Kids' Sake 2012 Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee is hosting a bowling event for the legal profession, called "Lawyers for Littles," to raise money for the organization. The event will be April 19, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. at Nashville's Hillwood Strike and Spare, and will focus on attorneys, law firms, legal organizations, and legal vendors (but it is open to anyone). Five-person bowling teams will compete for the best bowling score, team name, costumes/ bowling shirts, and, most importantly, to raise the most money for Big Brothers Big Sisters. It promises to be a fun event and provides a great opportunity to network with colleagues while serving a great cause.

If you or your firm would be willing to form a team or to play on a team with other Bar members, please contact Tom Shumate at tom.shumate@kaygriffin. com or (615) 742-4800. You can learn more about the event at www.tnbowling.org, and you can register your team at that link under the "Lawyers for Littles" group.

NFORMATION

n

SPECIAL EVENTS

n

NBA NEWS n COMMITTEE INFORMATION

n

SPECIAL EVENTS

n

NBA NEWS n COMMITTEE INFORMATION

n

2012 Land Rover Race Judicata Celebrating its eighth year of fun and run, the YLD’s LAND ROVER RACE JUDICATA was another great success. On a beautiful February morning, over 500 race participants battled the hills of Percy Warner Park on the demanding 5K and 10K courses (Heartbreak Hill included). Some folks even ran both the 5K and the 10K! The event raised approximately $13,000 for First Steps, Inc. RACE VOLUNTEERS: The races would not have been possible without the assistance of the numerous volunteers, who gave up their Saturday morning to make this event a success. Thanks to all! A special thank you goes to the Land Rover Race Judicata Committee members: Will Parsons (Co-Chair), Patrick Cooper (Co-Chair), Russell Taber, Josh Phillips, Nicole Jumper, Steve Cavezza, Stephen Quinn, Becca Brinkley, and Whitney Frazier, as well as volunteers including Sara Reynolds, Robb Bigelow, Lauren Paxton Roberts, Ryan Levy, Justin Mcnaughton, Becca Barnett, Tara Presnell, Matt Haskell, Rachel Schaffer, and Steve Lund.

TO THE VICTOR BELONG THE SPOILS: After a little friendly competition among our bar members to win the much anticipated team competition among the law firms, Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC, a.k.a. “Team BBS,” prevailed as the victor for the third year in row. Congrats to Meredith Edwards, Brad Wood, and Riney Green, the members of the team.

SPONSORS: We are grateful to all of our sponsors: Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis; Neal & Harwell, PLC; Gullet, Sanford, Robinson & Martin, PLLC; Dickinson Wright; Burr & Forman, LLP; Walker, Tipps & Malone; Bradley Arant Boult Cummings; Riley, Warnock & Jacobson, PLC; Hall Booth Smith & Slover, P.C.; Fleet Feet Nashville; Special Counsel; Kraft CPAs; Sherrard & Roe; Bone McAllester Norton, PLLC; Counsel on Call; Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC; Tune, Entrekin & White; Westlaw; Document Solutions; Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz; Brentwood Court Reporting Services; Smith, Cashion & Orr; Bowen & Unger, PLC; Waddey & Patterson; The Everhart Law Firm; Adecco; VF Services; VF Imagewear; Smoothie King; Crystal Springs Water; ProMed EMS; Ryder Trucks; and The City Paper.

We are especially thankful for our title sponsor, Land Rover Nashville, for its generosity and continued support of the race.

Check out the race results and photos online at www.nashvillestriders.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS: Law Day Luncheon @ Renaissance Hotel April 30, 2012 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

(Please note early start time) No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom Speaker: Senator Lamar Alexander Registration on page 20 NBA Golf Tournament Nashville Golf & Athletic Club in Brentwood, TN Thursday, May 10, 2012 Registration on page 16

Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference - April 25 through 27 The Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee cordially invite you to attend the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference in Lexington, Kentucky from April 25 through 27. The Conference will feature a luncheon with the Honorable Elena Kagan, Associate Justice, the Supreme Court of the United States, and various social activities. On Friday morning, from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m., many of the District Court, Magistrate, and Bankruptcy judges for the Middle District will attend the breakout session for the Middle District to discuss topics such as electronic discovery, recent amendments to the rules regarding removal of cases, expert-witness practice and the judges’ practices and procedures. More information regarding the conference and registration information is available at the following webpage: http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/internet/judicial_conference/2012/index.html.

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

5

FEATURE

If You Can't Agree on What the Problem Is‌

Quality of Indigent Criminal Defense Services in Davidson County by:

Bob Mendes

For two years, a group of local lawyers has been working on ideas to improve the delivery of indigent criminal defense services in Davidson County. The group, led by Matt Sweeney, was formed as an ad hoc committee of the Harry Phillips American Inn of Court after its February 2010 program, Gideon v. Wainwright: Then and Now. In addition to Sweeney, the committee includes Jodie Bell, Sam Bowman, Public Defender Dawn Deaner, Judge Mark Fishburn, Patrick Frogge, Brad MacLean, Rich McGee, and me.

The quality of indigent criminal defense services is a complex issue where it is difficult to get people even to agree about the nature of the problem, let alone what to do about it. I would like to tell you about one of the ideas coming from our group, and ask for your help. In the end, I am going to ask civil lawyers to help deliver quality legal services to indigent defendants in criminal cases.

A Threshold Issue, And An Analogy Before getting started, I want to identify a dynamic that gets in the way of finding solutions. The dynamic is that, objectively, our criminal defense system is difficult to discuss. To be blunt, it is hard to pin down a vocabulary that allows a wide range of people to talk about indigent criminal defense questions without straying into politics. For example, any discussion of improving indigent defense services could be mistaken as criticizing the lawyers that provide those services. The same discussion also could be mistaken as politically charged criticism of the level of funding provided by the State of Tennessee.

I am going to do my best to be neutral in my vocabulary; I do not intend a policy debate here.

6

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

Also, here is a useful analogy to consider. The problems facing the delivery of indigent criminal defense services are like the problems facing public education. Everyone agrees that public education is important and could use improvement.

Everyone agrees that there are lots of tremendous education professionals in the field already. Everyone agrees that it is hard to start a serious conversation about improving public education without it quickly devolving into an unpleasant political argument. Everyone agrees that a comprehensive, magic wand solution probably does not exist. Yet, well-intentioned people are able to find starting places; small experiments to see if there is a better way forward.

As an example, think about programs like the PENCIL Foundation or the recent trend toward "innovation clusters" in Nashville. When business and community leaders are able to approach Metro with a spirit of humility and cooperation, and Metro keeps an open mind, good things can happen. I am not sure that many people think that any one of these programs can completely "fix" our public schools. But, the important players seem to have decided that they are worthy experiments; ones where the goal is to be able to rearrange the pieces of the public school puzzle in a way that delivers better results.

Compared to talking about public schools, addressing how our profession provides indigent criminal defense services hits closer to home for most of us. But, the forces at work are the same. We ought to be able to agree that the system could use improvement. Well-intentioned people should be able at least to create and run experiments looking for ways that the system might be improved. We should not spend so much time arguing over a comprehensive solution that we fail to take any action at all.

What Are The Problems Anyway?

In Davidson County, like jurisdictions across the country, we are blessed with a core of excellent criminal defense lawyers. Most of them learned their craft at the Metro Public Defender's Office.

Setting aside politics, there is universal agreement that criminal defense lawyers play a critical role in protecting the rights of individuals under our state and federal constitutions. With our criminal defense bar as an asset, what is the problem?

The reality is that there are multiple factors that together act to overwhelm the criminal justice system. First, it is a fact that society has dramatically increased the prison population over the last 30 years. In 1980, the total number of persons incarcerated in the United States was about 500,000. By 2009, the number was over 2.3 million. Most criminal defendants cannot afford to hire an attorney. Most of those are represented by a public defender. When the public defender cannot represent an indigent defendant due to a conflict of interest or otherwise, courts appoint private counsel who are paid by the state.

During this time, funding for the criminal defense system has not kept pace. For example, in fiscal year 2005, it is estimated that the State of Tennessee spent at least $130 million on the prosecution function in indigent cases while spending approximately $56.4 million on the defense function. I promised earlier to keep politics out of this article. So, I will let you draw your own conclusions about what these facts demonstrate.

Any way you look at these statistics, though, a reality is that funding equals staffing. Like any professional services operation, the biggest cost for a public defender's office is people. A public defender's office can only hire as many lawyers, support staff, and investigators as its funding will allow. Also, a public defender's office has limited ability to control its caseload. Specifically, since

the number of potential clients per year is whatever society makes it be, and staffing levels are dictated by government funding, caseload per lawyer can change unexpectedly.

This raises the question of whether staffing is adequate for the indigent criminal defense function. There are national workload standards. They were established by the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals in 1973. These standards suggest that a public defender's caseload should not exceed 150 felony cases, or 400 misdemeanors, per year. There is also a recommended standard for Tennessee. In 1999, in a report to the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, The Spangenberg Group recommended that caseloads for a Tennessee public defender not exceed 233 felony cases, or 500 misdemeanors, per year. At this level, if a lawyer were to work 10 hours per day, 6 days per week, for 52 weeks per year, she would have approximately 13.4 hours for each felony representation.

Our system, however, is not meeting either the accepted national standard or the recommendations for Tennessee.

By 2010, Tennessee's public defenders had caseloads that averaged 150% of the recommended levels.

In addition to these issues, politics often get in the way. People argue about whether there should be more funding for public defenders' offices, and about the rates to be paid to private lawyers representing indigent defendants, and about what if any training requirements should exist for lawyers to be appointed to represent indigent criminal defendants. The list goes on and on. Nearly always, the result of any attempt at a comprehensive conversation is that nothing happens.

A Small Experiment The working group that I mentioned earlier was formed to consider several opportunities to increase the pool of well-trained private attorneys who will

take appointed cases. While pursuing other broader initiatives, the group has concluded that, at least initially, our ideas will need to be modest and manageable. If for no other reason, this is because we have no power to force any particular result. We are just a few lawyers trying to have an honest conversation about the problems. Our hope is to improve the participation of the private bar, as well as increase the overall training of those who take appointed cases.

Given the magnitude of the issues, we have tried to get a handle on what tools we have available; what are the strengths of our bar? Two are readily apparent. First, there are many magnificent criminal defense lawyers in Nashville. Second, we have lots of civil lawyers in Nashville. In total, there are nearly 3,000 members of the Nashville Bar Association. After identifying these assets, the next step was to ask how we could use them to improve the system.

Our idea is simple. To the extent that the problem is that there are too many cases for our existing criminal defense bar to dispose of properly, we should be able to address that. If some civil attorneys were willing to learn, and some criminal defense attorneys were willing to teach, then we should be able to attack the problem of too much volume in the system.

Let me take a detour back to my public schools analogy. Like in the analogy, the idea I am describing can be criticized as being way too little to make a serious dent in the problem. Also, like in the analogy, some will want to challenge the idea to a cost-benefit test. Time will tell, but my sense is that the cost of this experiment is low. And, since the price of trying is low, there is likely only upside; and any size of a dent in the problem would be worth it.

The experiment we have designed is to have civil lawyers receive some criminal Continued on Page 18 ďƒœ

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

7

FEATURE

Surviving an AOC Audit by:

Everett Parrish

Court-appointed attorneys in Tennessee who provide criminal defense and other indigent representation rely on the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)1 for final payment of their rendered legal services and expenses. Once a court determines a client is indigent, it then appoints an attorney who is paid by the State of Tennessee according to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 13.

In a perfect world, rules would be followed uniformly by every attorney and judge. Records would be meticulously kept by attorneys. Bills would be properly submitted through the online system. State coffers would never run dry, and the voting public would find indigent representation an important right to financially support, increasingly fund, and sustain.

Welcome instead, to any given American state, even here on heaven’s front-porch – Tennessee.

For attorneys not entirely familiar with the indigent appointment process, here is a basic overview: 1. A person appears in court and fills out a simple financial statement as a sworn affidavit; 2. The judge reviews the form, asks questions, and – in this example – declares the person indigent. A private (court-appointed) attorney is chosen to represent the person (that is, only when the state-employed public defender has a conflict of interest in the matter, or, at other times in certain courts, when dockets or caseloads require such to “move things along”); 3. This court-appointed attorney follows first his or her ethical, moral, and constitutional duties of zealous2 representation for the new client, and then follows the guidelines in Rule 13 to get paid;

8

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

4. The attorney submits the legal invoice (fee claim) online through the AOC website (“ICE”)3 along with scanned and uploaded documents justifying allowed expenses and waits to get paid; 5. The judge electronically reviews, edits, and approves or denies the fee claim in ICE for the AOC to review; 6. The AOC reviews, edits, and either approves or denies the judge’s approval for payment; 7. Several weeks later (yes, often times several months later), a payment is direct-deposited into the attorney’s bank account, but not always for the same amount submitted; 8. A PDF is emailed to the attorney from the AOC (usually the day of the deposit) showing the amount paid, the date, and the name of the defendant, but no other details; 9. A mailed letter usually follows a day or two later from the State with a “sort of” check stub (“remittance advice”) showing the amount paid and draft number, but not the client’s name, and again, no detailed information on any itemized portion of the bill; 10. When the billed amounts do not match the paid amounts, the attorney, then, must go back into the online system to see what the judge declined to be billed, print it out, compare it with the emailed PDF and the mailed check stub, and if that does not match up, call or email the AOC to find out which expenses were struck from the claim, in addition to the judge’s deductions, and why the AOC elected not to pay; or 11. The attorney graciously accepts any payment received and continues plying his trade, not calling anything into question.

one of these thresholds will be exceeded, that attorney is to inform the AOC, online through ICE or in writing, of the particular details of that one especially busy day and explain why so much time was needed within that one twenty-four hour period.

That notification is to be done before or at the same time as the fee claim submission.

The above payment plotline is an accurate account of a successful transaction between attorney and State from “services assigned” to “services paid,” and this entire transaction is usually not the subject of any audit by the AOC. An AOC audit occurs when the attorney’s bill is not paid at all. At some point, months after the fee claim is submitted online, a letter or email from the AOC is sent to the attorney identifying specifically that something in a certain fee claim (or a collection of fee claims) is amiss and requires an explanation.

o

When this occurs, an AOC audit has officially been initiated.

Here are helpful tips to successfully enter into, experience, and emerge from this relationship: • Print, read, re-read, highlight, mark-up, and intimately understand Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 13.4 (Note: if this had done by the attorney before taking appointments, the audit would likely not have happened.)

• Review case file notes and calendar entries. Compare them to what was submitted to the AOC and look for the following audit triggers – o

Reporting more that twelve hours out-of-court time (or eight hours of in-court time) in a single day.5 The AOC combines in a database, every entry made on every submitted claim, and this hourly threshold applies not to just a single case, but throughout the sum-total of all cases ever submitted, past, present, and future. The Supreme Court has directed the AOC to question any single day that exceeds these thresholds.

According to David Byrne, Assistant General Counsel of the AOC, any time an attorney knows in advance that

o

Single entries of large blocks of time. If the attorney leaves the office at 8:30 a.m., then represents the client in court, and returns back to the office at 11:42 a.m., that is NOT to be entered as “3.2 hours.”

Instead, it must be entered into ICE as follows: Travel to Court/0.5hrs, Docket Call/0.1hrs, Wait Time During Docket Call/0.6hrs, Confer with DA/0.4hrs, Confer with Client/0.5hrs, Draft Plea/0.4hrs, Enter Plea/0.2hrs, Travel from Court/0.5hrs. Each entry is to be created on a separate spreadsheet row in ICE.

Short, vague descriptions of work performed. An entry of “Motion Documents” is not descriptive enough to enable an unquestioned payment.

Each entry in ICE must be explained in detail, such as, “Drafted, Revised, Proofread, Printed, Signed, and Mailed Three Copies of Motion to Suppress.”

• Avoid rapid-fire emails with the AOC auditor. The written word is rarely received as pleasant, accommodating, and neutral when it’s the first thing out of one’s head via fingertip tapping onto a handheld device submitted for instant delivery. Reserve sending emails for

transmitting attachments, confirming appointments, acknowledging receipt of documents, etc.6 • Speak on the phone to the auditor, ask questions, listen, give details, and do so with respect, civility, and calmness. Auditors respond very positively to solid facts, and very negatively to unchecked emotions. Temper your temper. A lawyer’s passion is a most effective and powerful ally when reserved for advocating justice, not verbally assaulting the paymaster.

• Welcome a face-to-face interview, but be prepared. Before the audit appointment, be sure the scope of inquiry has been narrowed and be ready to discuss or explain those specific cases or fee claims in question. Have each case file organized with explanations ready to factually support every entry submitted for payment. Expect the auditors to follow Rule 13 narrowly and to interpret it as if the Tennessee taxpayers were conducting the audit and were guarding the limited amount of funds available each year for paying the fee claims in question.7 Be aware of your obligations to not violate attorney-client privilege in the process.8 If an auditor requires proof that a letter was drafted, present it, but perhaps redact or mask the specific contents of the letter. Again, the AOC auditors are professional, highly trained state employees and are often accountants or attorneys themselves, so be respectful, listen, and learn from the process for the purpose of doing it the way they expect, so that future invoice submissions may be paid promptly without question.

• Prevail over the important things in life – and one of them is not the deduction of a few hundred (or thousand) dollars. What’s important is an attorney’s reputation over time as a reasoned and seasoned Continued on Page 17 

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

9

FEATURE

Domesticating Judgments: Overview of the Federal Judgment Registration Statute by:

Daniel H. Puryear

Most practitioners have at least a passing understanding of the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (UEFJA), enacted now in virtually every state, including Tennessee. The UEFJA provides a vehicle by which to “domesticate” the judgments of one state court in another state, pursuant to the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Fewer practitioners, though, are as familiar with the parallel statute for registering judgments for money or property within the federal court system (including the Court of International Trade) – The Federal Judgment Registration Statute, codified at 28 U.S.C. §1963 (hereinafter “Registration Statute”). In fact, perhaps due to a perception that sheriff’s deputies are more accustomed and willing to serve garnishments and otherwise execute on judgments than are U.S. Marshalls, some practitioners even “domesticate” their federal court judgments under the UEFJA simply to avoid having to execute on their judgments in the federal court system.1 However, there is no particular reason for practitioners to have any less comfort with the Registration Statute. Its procedures are even simpler to follow, the interpretations of it are quite liberal and broad,2 and in at least certain circumstances it provides advantages over the UEFJA to the judgment creditor. And while Tennessee has a paucity of decisions arising under the Registration Statute, the well-developed body of caselaw from other states provides a great deal of guidance for the Tennessee practitioner faced with the need to register a Tennessee federal court judgment elsewhere, or who is asked to register a “foreign” federal court judgment in Tennessee.

10

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

Types of Judgments Covered Under the Registration Statute Only judgments for money or property can be registered pursuant to the Registration Statute. Therefore, judgments containing relief in the form of more than mere damages or replevin (such as injunctive relief) may be registered only with regard to the monetary or replevin nature of the award, but not with regard to other relief awarded. That having been said, some courts appear to bend over backwards to characterize as a money judgment, for purposes of allowing registration, those judgments that fall into grey areas, such as injunctions and orders for declaratory relief that involve money.3 Therefore, an attorney thinking in advance toward future judgment registration in another district might be well served by spending a little time determining both how to characterize the relief sought, as well as for whose eyes that characterization should be crafted. That is, some courts have viewed attacks on the registrability of a judgment as being within the purview of the registering court,4 while in other cases the rendering court has decided the issue,5 and still others have taken a mixed approach, essentially holding that either court has jurisdiction to entertain such a motion, depending on the circumstances.6 Finality of Judgment Not Always an Absolute Requirement Interestingly, the Registration Act also allows registration of a judgment even before it is a “final judgment” if, in the judgment of the court that issued the judgment, there is “good cause shown.” What would constitute such “good cause”? The case law is divided. In at least a few cases, courts have held that “good cause” can be established simContinued on Page 16 

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

11

BILL AND PHIL’S GADGET OF THE MONTH CLUB By: Bill Ramsey of Neal & Harwell, PLC and Phillip Hampton of LogicForce Consulting

Samsung Galaxy S II Epic Touch 4G The “Samsung Galaxy S II Epic Touch 4G” Android smartphone may have the longest official name of any tech gadget that we know of. However, this super thin device also packs a long list of features into one of the sleekest physical designs on the smartphone market right now. When it comes to phone upgrades, let us go on record to say that we hate the 2-year carrier contract conundrum that we face every time we want to get a new phone (which is about every 6 months). So when Sprint agreed to let us buy out the remaining months on one of our existing contracts so we could get the upgrade price for the Epic Touch, we were ecstatic. Another two years bound to Sprint, and we were headed out the door with our new toy.

And we were not disappointed at all. Actually, the Epic 4G Touch in some ways exceeded expectations.

The Epic 4G Touch on the Sprint network is almost identical to the Galaxy S II models available on AT&T, T-Mobile, and US Cellular. However, the Sprint version sports an even larger Super AMOLED Plus display (4.5”) over the regular S II (4.3”). In fact, it was the brilliant and stunning display (covered with virtually indestructible Gorilla Glass) that caught our attention when we went phone shopping at the local retailer. Then when we picked up the Epic Touch, we found that its light weight (4.6 oz.) and incredibly thin physique (just 0.4” thick) made it an almost irresistible choice for our next smartphone. This phone made the iPhone 4S look a little pudgy. Yes, the phone is a little oversized as far as screen dimensions are concerned, but that is precisely what we were looking for. Many people like us get frustrated trying to do serious work on smaller and smaller screens. We finally said “enough already.” If we’re going to browse the web, read books, take notes, watch movies, etc. on our smartphone, we’re just going to have to have a display that is brilliant enough and large enough to make it enjoyable. The Epic 4G Touch fits that bill perfectly.

We previously had owned one of the predecessor Galaxy S models from Samsung and had often fretted over the sluggish response from the device and operating system. Thankfully, the Epic Touch runs an updated version of the Android operating system (2.3.4) and has a super-charged processor from Samsung. Responsiveness has improved dramatically. While the phone feels incredibly light in your hand, you get the feeling that you are harnessing the reins of a powerful computer when gesturing through the user interface. And, of course, as the “4G” appellation to the phone name indicates, the Epic Touch runs on Sprint’s expanding superfast 4G network as well as on the more widely available, but slower 3G network.

We know we’re suckers for looks, and certainly the thin and (dare we say) sexy design of this phone won our hearts from the start; but there is more to love about this phone once you get past the attractive outward appearance. The Epic Touch, of course, has a speedy 8-mp rear camera and a 2-mp front facing camera for video chats (like who has time for that). The video camera can record up to 1080p HD. Video playback on the super-sized display is a treat. Battery life is much improved on the Epic Touch compared to previous Galaxy S models. Samsung specs show the battery getting almost 9 hours of talk time and over 10 days of standby time. We have yet to use up the battery in a 24-hour period since we got the phone (which is much more than we can say for our iPhone 4S battery hog).

There are so many usability perks on the Epic Touch that continued to impress even after we had used the phone for a few days. Little things…like the swipe control on Samsung’s updated TouchWiz User Interface, that shows you if you have a new message, voicemail, or missed a phone call on a swipeable control on the screensaver that takes you directly to the source application. While the iPhone 4S has Siri, the Epic Touch comes bundled with Vlingo (branded as Samsung Voice) that allows you to interact with the phone via voice commands. It’s not as “fun” as Siri, but it keeps us from texting and driving. There are many things about the updated Android OS that we really like as well. The built-in calendar, for one, is a huge improvement; and we love the sneak preview feature as you touch each day on the monthly calendar layout.

There’s so much to love about the Epic Touch that it’s hard to see any flaws at all; but, alas, a pretty face can’t make up for everything. The Epic Touch is a CDMA/WiMAX phone and does not include GSM roaming capabilities. In other words, it is not a “world” phone and may not be the best choice for frequent international travelers. As far as we’re concerned though, we’re perfectly happy keeping the Epic 4G Touch closer to home. We’ve already heard a few catcalls… “what a good-lookin’ phone you have there.” It’s good to be envied.  See you next month, Bill & Phil 12

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

It's Your Move! Capital Campaign Contributors It is with sincere gratitude that we wish to acknowledge the pledges and contributions of the firms and individuals listed below*. It is because of your support that the Nashville Bar Association-Nashville Bar Foundation “It’s Your Move” Capital Campaign was a resounding success.

Thanks to you, we met our goal!

Visionaries

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC

Leaders

Bradley, Arant, Boult, Cummings LLP Miller & Martin PLLC Neal & Harwell, PLC Sherrard & Roe PLC Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP

Partners

Bone McAllester Norton PLLC Frost Brown Todd LLC NBA Young Lawyers Division Waddey & Patterson, P.C. Walker, Tipps & Malone PLC

Sustainers

Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings PLLC Burr & Forman Cornelius & Collins, LLP Manier & Herod MGLAW PLLC

Supporters

Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner, P.C. Weatherly McNally & Dixon LPC Contributors Barrett Johnston, LLC Sandra Braber-Grove Gullett, Sanford, Robinson & Martin, PLLC Mary LaGrone Leitner Williams Dooley & Napolitan, PLLC Lewis, King, Krieg & Waldrop, P.C. Bob Pope Rothschild & Ausbrooks PLLC Thrailkill Harris Wood & Boswell, PLLC Trauger & Tuke Tune, Entrekin & White, PC White & Reasor, PLC Tom White Friends Gareth S. Aden Gail Vaughn Ashworth Lee Barfield Law Office of Bart Durham Tim L. Bowden Steve Cobb Lew Conner Dickinson Wright PLLC Jim Doran Mitch Grissim William L. Harbison Aubrey B. Harwell, Jr. Trey Harwell

Hon. Thomas Higgins Howard Tate Sowell Wilson Leathers & Johnson, PLLC John D. Kitch Tom Lawless Mary A. Parker of Parker & Crofford Robert J. Mendes Paul Ney Nissan North America, Inc. Thomas H. Peebles III Alisa Childers Peters Daniel H. Puryear, Esq. William T. Ramsey Jack R. Robinson, Sr. Maria M. Salas/Salas Law Group Thomas J. Sherrard Emily A. Shouse W. Scott Sims John Tarpley The Mediation Group of Tennessee, LLC Elizabeth Tipping Bob Walker Phillip E. Walker Tom Wiseman Gigi Woodruff Edward M. Yarbrough Mandy Haynes Young & Stephen Young Young Mayden, LLC Associates Adams and Reese LLP Katherine Simpson Allen James (J.O.) Bass C. Dewees Berry IV Shirley Clay Hon. Frank Clement Garfinkle, McLemore & Young, PLLC Frank Grace Harris, Martin & Jones, P.A. Douglas Henry Jim Higgins Lela Hollabaugh John J. Hollins, Sr. Paul Toby Housch, Esq. Hughes & Coleman Kay, Griffin, Enkema & Colbert, PLLC Neal McBrayer Judge Gilbert S. Merritt Patricia Head Moskal A. Gregory Ramos Riley Warnock & Jacobson PLC Anne L. Russell Tracy Shaw Wilson Sims Smith Cashion & Orr, PLC Michael Sontag W. Lee Corbett, P.C. Charles H. Warfield Sheree Wright

180 Club Patrick Alexander Kimberly Allen Tina R. Ashford James L. Bass Richard Beeler Honorable Joe Binkley Susan W. Blair Zan Blue Robert Boston Martha Boyd & Rich Littlehale Judge Joe Brown Andrew W. Byrd Charles W. Cagle Kathryn S. Caudle Honorable Cornelia A. Clark Bill Cohen Stephen E. Cox Wendy Cozby In honor of Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey Maclin P. Davis Jr. Sherie Lea Edwards Mary Taylor Gallagher Larry H. Hagar David B. Herbert Judge Bill Higgins Traci Hollandsworth Lynda F. Jones Charles A. Leach Mary Frances Lyle Andy Maloney Peggy D. Mathes Amanda McClendon Chancellor Carol L. McCoy Richard McGee Gray McLeod W. Warner McNeilly Jr. Malinda Moseley Rachel Z. Odom Marc Overlock Cynthia N. Sellers Sonya R. Smith Culwell E. Ward Kent M. Weeks M. Bernadette Welch Jonathan F. Wing Fellows Ward DeWitt Jr. Nikki Gray Lawyers Association for Women Frank E. Lee Judy Phillips Arun Rattan Helen S. Rogers Vicki Shoulders Martin Sir Paul R. White

The NBA and NBF would also like to express our deep appreciation to the following individuals who volunteered their invaluable talents and countless hours toward making the new NBA/NBF headquarters a reality: Campaign Co-Chairs: Aubrey B. Harwell, Jr. and Aubrey B. (Trey) Harwell III 2011 NBA President and Facilities Committee Chair: Robert J. Mendes Facilities Committee Members: Anne Arney; William L. Harbison; Neal McBrayer; Patricia Head Moskal; William T. Ramsey; Tracy Shaw; Tom Sherrard; Elizabeth Tipping; and Phillip E. Walker Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

13

Profile

Judge Barbara Haynes of the Third Circuit Court of Davidson County served more than 29 years on the bench. Last November she announced her retirement.

Judge Barbara Haynes by:

Brandt McMillan

Judge Haynes is a Nashville native and a 1955 graduate of Isaac Litton High School. After studying a diverse curriculum at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, focusing to some degree on lab sciences, Judge Haynes graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1959 and considered going to medical school. While in Knoxville however, she met her future husband, Joe Haynes, now a longtime state senator. After graduating, they moved back to Nashville where Mr. Haynes took an engineering job with DuPont and attended law school at the Nashville School of Law. They started a family, and between 1960 and 1967, they had three children: Jeff, Scotty, and Mandy.

When Mr. Haynes started his law practice in 1967, Judge Haynes worked for free as his legal secretary.

Eventually, she decided to attend the Nashville School of Law and earned her law degree in 1976. She then became a partner at the law firm of Haynes and Haynes, which was located in poverty-stricken north Nashville. While in private practice, Judge Haynes represented clients on diverse issues, including felony criminal defense, domestic issues, contract and tort cases, and she was one of few attorneys certified to practice in tax court. However, many of her client’s legal problems centered on mental health issues.

Asked when she first decided to seek a judgeship, she quickly remembered a specific case wherein she represented a Vanderbilt student who had been charged with what was then a criminal offense, attempted suicide. She remembers being in court in front of a General Sessions Judge at the time who was less than professional to her and her client, as well as other minorities, women, and litigants afflicted with poor 14

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

mental health. After the case’s conclusion, she began being urged by members of the mental health community (and many lawyers and friends) to run against that judge in the 1982 election.

A woman had never run for Judge before in Nashville. In fact, there was only a handful of women practicing law here at that time. The phone kept ringing off the hook with encouraging calls though, and after being asked again and again, she resolved to run. And run she did. Having worked on a number of congressional campaigns and as a congressional legal assistant, she was no stranger to campaigning or the political process. To put it plain, she ran hard. She went to every fish fry, stood in front of every Kroger, met with every civic group she could connect with, and talked to as many voters as she could find.

During that first campaign, Judge Haynes even had some unlikely (and unsolicited) help from a notorious motorcycle gang—the Hell’s Angels. She had successfully represented a couple of Hell’s Angels members on criminal charges in the past, and when she ran for Judge, they approached her, acknowledging she would not want their public support, but telling her she couldn’t stop them from putting campaign posters in bars around town.

The election wasn’t close. She carried every ballot box in the county but four, and she won by a landslide to become the first woman elected as a General Sessions Judge in Tennessee. Two years later, Governor Lamar Alexander appointed her to chair the Tennessee Sentencing Commission, and she served in that capacity until 1994. Under her leadership, the commission largely rewrote the criminal code of Tennessee and saw it passed by the General Assembly.

PRO BONO PROFILE: Gareth Aden by:

While heading the sentencing commission, Judge Haynes considered taking an appoint as a criminal court Judge, but decided instead to diversify her judicial career and run for Circuit Court judge in 1990. With a broad base of support, she won again. And for the past 21 years, she has served continuously on the Third Circuit Court of Davidson County and has presided over thousands of cases. She has enjoyed her job most overseeing complex medical malpractice and products liability cases, but has also particularly enjoyed mediating complicated disputes.

Asked if she has noted any changes in the practice of law locally in her years on the bench, she laments a decline in civility and congeniality amongst members of the bar. She identified a lack of sufficient mentoring as one cause of the decline, and she would like to see more young attorneys being taught how to try cases and receiving specific feedback and critique from more experienced attorneys. She thinks lawyers could even benefit from being filmed trying cases, so the videos could be later reviewed with feedback from mentors, much like football players watching films to prepare for the next game. One lesson she would pass on to any attorney is that rudeness in the courtroom is not effective advocacy.

Jurors in her court were always given a five-page survey about their experience deciding a case, and she notes that the best lawyers always took the time to review those, and sometimes they learned surprising things.

Drawing on her substantial experience, Judge Haynes also has straightforward advice for her replacement: (1) hire an experienced staff who knows the courthouse; (2) never listen to rumors or gossip; and (3) thoroughly review every file—read everything—and stay current on the law. While on the bench, Judge Haynes prayed every morning that she would be wise, patient, and tolerant. She did her best, made the tough decisions, and resolved to never look back or second guess. She would encourage her successor to do the same.n Brandt McMillan practices at Farrar & Bates, LLP, primarily representing middle Tennessee local governments in state and federal courts in the areas of governmental tort liability, civil rights, and employment law. Before entering private practice, he clerked for Judges Alan E. Glenn and David H. Welles on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.

Victoria Webb

Imagine for a moment that because of reasons beyond your control you have to move to another country thousands of miles from your home where you know no one. You don't even speak the language there, but with hard work you learn to communicate in your adopted land and you become a legal permanent resident under their laws. You work hard and save money.

You have a dream of starting your own business. You hear of a company that will sell you a franchise for your own business; they will train you and then provide you with your first customer. All you have to do is give them something over $2,000, which is your life's savings. You are excited. You give this company the required amount and sign a contract that has provisions for getting your first customer within 180 days or your money will be returned. You purchase the required business license and you wait for the promised work opportunity.

You wait for the 180 days but no work comes. You contact the company to find that, because the original owner of the company has left, you will be required to go through the training again, which you are willing to do. You visit the company in person.

You even manage to write them a polite letter requesting return of the money due to no work assignment, but nothing happens.

Sound like a nightmare? Or the ultimate failure to communicate?

This is just the scenario that a young immigrant client presented at a Nashville Pro Bono legal advice clinic. There he luckily met with attorney Gareth Aden who had helped to gather five volunteer attorneys from Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin to staff the Program's second Tuesday evening clinic in December. Aden reviewed the client's long contract with this company and quickly drafted a demand letter. Within a few months, Aden reported back to Nashville Pro Bono that the matter was settled and the client was very happy.

Lawyers can find the same satisfaction in helping a client like this through the Nashville Pro Bono Program doing just what they do every day. The Program is a joint venture of the Legal Aid Society and the Nashville Bar Association. The client Gareth Aden helped is just one of the over 2,000 clients in Davidson and Williamson Counties the Program assisted within the last year. Contact the Pro Bono Program at nashvilleprobono@ las.org or call Lucinda Smith at 780‑7127 to join the hundreds of lawyers in Nashville who help clients like this every day. n Victoria Webb is the paralegal Project Coordinator with the Nashville Pro Bono Program. She has worked for the Program since 1986.

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

15

Domesticating Judgments: Overview of the Federal Judgment Registration Statute Continued from page 10

ply by an absence of assets in the judgment forum, coupled with the presence of substantial assets in the registration forum.7 And, in at least one of these cases, the court allowed the registration of the judgment during the pendency of an appeal and prior to even determining whether the defendant would exercise its option to post a supersedeas bond.8 Other courts have at least given the judgment debtor the opportunity to determine whether to post the supersedeas bond before determining whether “good cause” exists to warrant the registration of a judgment pending appeal. While different courts have used different language, the test for “good cause” appears to be facts and circumstances driven.

Not Merely Ministerial, the Registration Statute Can Create New Substantive Rights Key to understanding the liberal interpretation of this statute is evidenced by the fact that the statute permits registration of a judgment in courts having no personal jurisdiction over the judgment debtor, and in which rights to enforcement of the judgment might actually be greater than in the state which rendered the judgment. In one case, a defendant consented to a judgment in the state of Texas, which judgment was later registered in Ohio. Execution was attempted on the judgment in the state of registration after expiration of the period in which it could have been executed on in the state of rendition. The defendant argued that by so allowing execution on the judgment, the Registration Act was being used as more than a mere ministerial tool and was substantively affecting his rights. Without rebutting that argument – indeed while implicitly agreeing with it - the court noted that the act is not a mere ministerial act, and should be read as broadly as possible to assist creditors in collecting their debts.9 Likewise, The Sixth Circuit has even ruled that non-judgment execution specific statutes can be availed so as 16

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

to increase the executing judgment creditor’s rights in the registering forum. In one case, after registering its Missouri judgment in Michigan, a subcontractor commenced garnishments against a general contractor. When that contractor’s bank refused to remit the funds in the contractor’s account, the garnishing subcontractor availed itself of the particular remedies of the Michigan Building Contract Fund Act, which arguably prioritized its judgment lien over interests of certain other parties by virtue of the “trust fund” nature of the funds in question.10 As the court noted, the effect of the registration of the judgment is the equivalent of a new judgment, and the laws of the registering court apply with respect to how the judgment is executed upon, even where those laws are more beneficial to the executing judgment creditor than the available laws of execution in the rendering forum.

However, the Sixth Circuit also has been careful to note that, while the procedure for executing on such judgments is to be done entirely in accord with the law of the state of registration as though it had originally been a judgment of a court of the law of the state of registration, the creditor is still limited to the substantive relief granted in the rendering court state, and can not expand on that relief via the registration process.11 For that very reason, in fact, it has also been held that it is the law of the rendering court state, and not that of the registering court state, that determines the right to interest payable on the registered judgment.12 Observing the judgment execution and other laws of the registering state can cut both ways, though. At times the law of the registering state is distinctly unfriendly to the executing creditor.

The Sixth Circuit has also upheld, again in Michigan, a garnishee bank’s offset against the funds in the judgment debtor’s bank account. Noting that

under Michigan law, a garnishee bank may exercise its right of setoff against indebtedness which matures even after the garnishment writ is served, and that likewise under Michigan law the garnishor stands in the same position as the judgment debtor with respect to the garnishee, the bank prevailed against a garnishing creditor.13 Requirement that it be a “Valid and Subsisting Judgment”To be effective and enforceable, the registration must occur within the time frame of when, under the law of the registering state, the action would have to be either commenced or registered.14 Once a judgment has been properly registered, the subsequent expiration of the rendering court’s statute of limitations on enforcement of the judgment has no bearing.

Rather, the statute of limitations for execution of the judgment, to the extent that there is one, is thereafter governed by the substantive law of the state in which the registering court is located.15 Notification of the Judgment Debtor Not Required Unlike the UEFJA, which gives the judgment debtor a period of time after service of the judgment proposed for domestication to raise any attacks on the judgment as to jurisdiction or adequacy of service, the Registration Statute provides immediate relief to the registering creditor. Therefore, the judgment debtor is at a distinct disadvantage, as it may not learn of the registration in the new state until its assets have been seized or liened.

Therefore, to the extent that a debtor is believed to be moving assets around in an attempt to evade the judgment creditor’s grasp, it may well be to the creditor’s distinct tactical advantage to seek the initial judgment in federal court, if that is an option, precisely so that registration of the judgment does not tip off the debtor in the same way that domestication of a judgment under the

Surviving an AOC Audit Continued from page 9

UEFJA allows. The burden then shifts to the surprised judgment debtor to seek a stay on execution or other form of injunctive relief.

Conclusion The Registration Statute is contained, in its entirety, within one paragraph. However, as can be seen in this brief overview, there is a wealth of interpretive case law filling in the gaps. The circuits take different nuanced approaches to different issues. This article is not meant to be an exhaustive study of the Registration Act, but rather an introduction to it. n Daniel H. Puryear represents clients in State and Federal District and Bankruptcy Courts. He practices in the areas of commercial litigation, commercial collections, judgment recovery, creditors' rights in bankruptcy, and construction and surety litigation. He is certified as a Specialist in Creditors' Rights by the American Board of Certification and by the Tennessee Commission on C.L.E. and Specialization.

expert in law, as one who is honest and well-intentioned (although not without faults or occasional math errors).

Maintain your optimism always and use it to help comfort your indigent client. Build your practice for the long term, not for the quick buck. It’s only money – let it go.

And, the final tip: • Learn from your mistakes – this is always an expectant and helpful outcome from an AOC audit. AOC staff will consistently tell you that their role is to help every attorney who provides indigent services to get paid for every hour worked and every expense incurred according to the statutes and rules. Know those statutes9 and rules and bill accordingly. n Everette Parrish (attorney@law4tn.com) is an attorney in private practice with twenty years’ experience as a smallbusiness government contractor, and a regular contributing committee member of the Nashville Bar Journal. He is also a former welcomed audit guest at the AOC, maintaining his optimism and zeal as a court-appointed attorney in indigent cases.

(Endnotes)

(Endnotes)

See Stoll v. Gottlieb, 305 U.S. 165 (U.S. 1938). See also Hazen Research, Inc. v. Omega Minerals, Inc., 497 F.2d 151 (5th Cir. 1974); Thompson v.

D’Angelo, 320 A.2d 729 (Del. 1974); Bechtel v. Western Contracting Corp, 414 N.W.2d 130 (Iowa 1987); but see C.F. Puckett v. City of Emmett, 747 P.2d 48 (Idaho 1987).

1

http://www.tncourts.gov/administration.

2

TENN. CODE ANN. Sup. Ct. Rule 8[3].

1

2

Dichter v. Disco Corp., 606 F. Supp. 721 (S.D. Ohio 1984).

Cianbro Corp. v. George H. Dean, Inc., 749 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D. Me. 2010)(Attorney fee award entered by district court in suit for declaratory judgment that two vessels were not subject to maritime liens was, as distinguished from declaratory judgment itself, held a judgment for "recovery of money," of kind eligible for registration under federal registration statute); see also Pacific Reinsurance Management Corp. v. Fabe, 929 F.2d 1215 (7th Cir. 1991) (order in favor of an insurance pool manager, which required a member of the pool to pay into escrow its share of the pool's shortfall pending arbitration of a dispute about its financial responsibility, was a judgment that could be registered, even if it could be characterized as an injunction, since the California suit was an action for recovery of money); U.S. v. Palmer, 609 F.Supp. 544 (E.D.Tenn.1985)(holding that an award of stock is a judgment for money or property).

3

Pacific Reinsurance Management Corp. v. Fabe, 929 F.2d 1215 (7th Cir. 1991); Best in Sports, Inc. v. Olympiakos Basketball Club of Greece, 664 F.Supp.2d 846 (N.D. Ohio 2009).

4

5

Cianbro Corp. v. George H. Dean, Inc., 749 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D. Me. 2010).

United States for Use and Benefit of Mosher Steel Co. v. Fluor Corp., 436 F.2d 383 (2d Cir. 1970).

6

Spray Drift Task Force v. Burlington Bio-Medical Corp., 429 F.Supp.2d 49 (D.D.C. 2006).

7

https://eservices.tncourts.gov. also known as “ICE”, an acronym for “Indigent Claim Entry.”

3

The language of Rule 13 may be found on the AOC’s website. The direct URL is http://www.tncourts.gov/rules/supreme-court/13.

4

Currently, Rule 13 allows appointed counsel to be paid $40/hour for out-ofcourt time and $50/hour for in-court time.

5

One such example can be found at at http://webapp.indigentcounsel.com/ idc/rulechange/research/getfile.php?table=CONFIDENTIAL&filename=WrayArevaloEmail.pdf&field=Document&key1=57.

6

http://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/docs/aoc_indigent_defense_fund_ report.pdf.

7

See the Ethics opinion at http://webapp.indigentcounsel.com/idc/rulechange/ research/getfile.php?table=CONFIDENTIAL&filename=EthicsOpinion. pdf&field=Document&key1=56 for the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility’s response to Nashville attorney Brian Boyd’s question about attorney-client privilege and the AOC as of April 12, 2012.

8

9 TENN. CODE ANN. §§ 8-14-204 & 205; 8-14-211, 37-1-126 & 149; 40-14-102 & 103; 40-14-201, 202, 206, 207, 208 & 210; 40-30-115 & 205; and Tenn. Sup. Ct. Rules 1.7 & 13.

RWR Adver., Inc. v. Lexis Pharm., Inc., Civ A No. 88CIV6032, 1990 WL 172602 (S.D. N.Y. Oct. 23, 1990).

8

9

Dichter v. Disco Corp., 606 F.Supp. 721 (S.D. Ohio 1984).

10

Condaire, Inc. v. Allied Piping, Inc., 286 F.3d 353 (6th Cir. 2002).

11

Virgo v. Riviera Beach Assocs. LTD, 20 Fed.App 348 (6th Cir. 2001).

12

Knight v. Barnes, 182 F. Supp. 383 (S.D. Cal. 1960).

Carpenters S. California Admin. Corp. v. Mfrs. Nat. Bank of Detroit, 910 F.2d 1339 (6th Cir. 1990).

13

14

Stanford v. Utley, 341 F.2d 265 (8th Cir. 1965).

Home Port Rentals, Inc. v. Int’l. Yachting Group, Inc., 252 F.3d 399 (5th Cir. 2001).

15

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

17

If You Can't Agree on What the Problem Is… Continued from page 7

defense training, and then have an experienced mentor made available to them.

In exchange, the lawyers would be assigned to represent indigent criminal defendants where the Public Defender's Office has a conflict of interest (usually due to multiple indigent co-defendants in a case). We would like each civil lawyer to commit to handle 1-2 cases at a time for a period of at least two years.

The training will have two components. First, each civil lawyer needs to attend an all-day seminar provided by the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (TACDL). The program is given already twice per year and is a primer on the nuts and bolts of the criminal defense practice. Second, each civil lawyer must spend a two week period with the Public Defender's Office.

The lawyer will be assigned to one of the PD's teams and have a chance to see how things work both in General Sessions and the Criminal Courts.

Regarding the mentor component, it is important to understand that the criminal defense bar already is really good at this. For example, Rich McGee hosts a monthly "Round Table" meeting at his office where criminal defense lawyers have a chance to share ideas and best practices. This culture of helping other criminal defense lawyers is something that we want to use to try to make our experiment work. The bet is that, if the civil lawyers joining our experiment bring a sense of humility to the project, the criminal defense bar will share their expertise and experience for the benefit of the system and individual defendants.

A First Status Report On The Small Experiment Our group decided to get this project off the ground before publicizing it with this article. Our first volunteer was Mark Donnell, an attorney in my office. Donnell agreed to participate in the program for two reasons. He was looking for an interesting way to do pro bono work, and he wanted to get more courtroom experience. From his perspective, it was 18

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

important that he was going to receive some training, and not just be dumped into an unfamiliar practice area with no resources.

Donnell completed the two week training stint with the PD's office in February. He conducted two preliminary hearings during that time. He has had an indigent defense case assigned to him.

He appreciated the opportunity to get to know the professionals on the PD's team with which he worked. From my firm's perspective, this program is a win-win.

We are able to support Donnell's pro bono interests in a way that helps lighten the load in our Criminal Courts, even if just a little.

The second volunteer for the program will be a lawyer with Sherrard & Roe, Ryan Holt. There is at least one other firm that is considering having a lawyer participate in our experiment. Given that this article is the first formal announcement of this program, we are hopeful for success.

What You Can Do Think about the stated objectives of two of Nashville's legal organizations.

For the NBA, the goal is "improving the practice of law through education, service, and fellowship." For the Harry Phillips American Inn of Court, the mission is "to foster excellence in professionalism, ethics, civility, and legal skills…in order to perfect the quality, availability and efficiency of justice in the United States." In both cases, the argument is that the service, education and professionalism of individual lawyers can improve the practice of law, as well as the availability and efficiency of justice.

The message from both organizations is that you – and each of your colleagues – can make a difference in how justice is administered with your individual efforts.

Even if we could never all agree on exactly how to describe the problem, lawyers of all experience levels should consider this program. Accomplishing

even a little good immediately is better than waiting for a perfect solution that may never come. If you are interested in participating, please contact me (rjm@ mglaw.net), or Dawn Deaner (dawndeaner@jis.nashville.org).

Final Thoughts It would be fair for you to walk away from this article feeling like this program is a modest step indeed. After all, it seems certain that this program by itself cannot fully "fix" the problems at hand.

I want you to know that our group has other proposals that hopefully will be coming soon. We are pursuing ideas with broader application to expand and strengthen the pool of lawyers who take criminal appointments. If you have ideas that you would like to contribute, let us know.

Last, please understand that this program is not intended to diminish or divert civil pro bono efforts. In this era of government austerity, there are significant needs in the civil arena also. If you are not already doing civil pro bono work, you can learn more from the Nashville Pro Bono Program at http://www.las.org/ probono/npb. The new program I am describing is meant to stress the need for all lawyers to increase their commitment to serving the less fortunate. We simply are providing another avenue to fulfill that mission. * * * Many of the statistics and facts in this article are drawn from the February 2010 Harry Phillips American Inn of Court program, Gideon v. Wainwright: Then and Now, including presentations by Matt Sweeney and Mark Stephens. The materials from the program are available at http://www.harryphillipsaic.com/programs09-10.php. n Bob Mendes is a member of MGLAW, PLLC. You can contact him at rjm@mglaw.net, or follow him @bobmglaw.

The Nashville Bar Association 100% Club is a special category of membership that demonstrates a commitment to the legal profession and our community from legal organizations with more than three attorneys that enroll 100% of their Nashville attorneys as members of the NBA. Contact Vicki Shoulders at 615-242-9272 or vicki.shoulders@nashvillebar.org. Firms, law departments and legal organizations that join this Bar year will be recognized as such throughout the year.

Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP (164) Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP (103) Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC (85) Miller & Martin PLLC (49) Stites & Harbison, PLLC (46) Bone McAllester Norton PLLC (31) Neal & Harwell, PLC (30) Sherrard & Roe, PLC (30) Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner, P.C. (27) Gullett, Sanford, Robinson & Martin, PLLC (26) Dickinson Wright PLLC (24) Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan, PLLC (21) Ortale, Kelley, Herbert & Crawford (20) Riley Warnock & Jacobson, PLC (19) Cornelius & Collins, LLP (17) Brewer, Krause, Brooks, Chastain and Burrow, PLLC (16) Waddey & Patterson, P.C. (15) Walker, Tipps & Malone, PLC (15) Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings, PLLC (14) Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart (14) Tune, Entrekin & White, P.C. (14) Burr & Forman LLP (13) Smith Cashion & Orr, PLC (13) Parker, Lawrence, Cantrell & Smith (12) Frost Brown Todd LLC (11) Watkins & McNeilly, PLLC (11) Hall, Booth, Smith & Slover, P.C. (10) Kay, Griffin, Enkema & Colbert, PLLC (10) Spicer Rudstrom, PLLC (10) Taylor, Pigue, Apriletti & Mink PLLC (10) DHPM, PC (9)

Levine, Orr & Geracioti (9) White & Reasor, PLC (9) Farris Mathews Bobango, PLC (8) Jones Hawkins & Farmer, PLC (8) Buffaloe & Associates, PLC (7) Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella, P.C. (7) Evans, Jones & Reynolds, P.C. (7) Howard & Mobley , PLLC (7) Lassiter, Tidwell & Davis, PLLC (7) MGLAW, PLLC (7) Morgan & Akins, PLLC (7) American General Life and Accident Ins. Co. (6) Hollins, Raybin & Weissman, P.C. (6) Holton Blackstone & Mayberry, P.C. (6) Keller, Turner, Ruth, Andrews, Ghanem & Heller, PLLC (6) Leader, Bulso & Nolan, PLC (6) Loeb & Loeb, LLP (6) Reno & Cavanaugh PLLC (6) Barrett Johnston, LLC (5) Chaffin, Burnsed & Blackburn, PLLC (5) Haynes, Freeman & Bracey, PLC (5) Kinnard, Clayton & Beveridge (5) Littler Mendelson, P.C. (5) Luna Law Group, PLLC (5) Prochaska Thompson Quinn & Ferraro, P.C. (5) Rocky McElhaney Law Firm, PC (5) Shackelford, Zumwalt, Hayes, LLP (5) Trauger & Tuke (5) Dobbins, Venick, Kuhn & Byassee, PLLC (4) Garfinkle, McLemore & Young, PLLC (4) Hale & Hale, PLC (4)

Law Offices of John Day, P.C. (4) Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein (4) Moses Townsend & Russ, PLLC (4) Mudter & Patterson (4) Rutherford & DeMarco (4) Thrailkill, Harris, Wood & Boswell, PLC (4) Video Gaming Technologies, Inc. (4) Affinion Benefits Group, LLC (3) Baker, Campbell & Parsons (3) Barry Gammons, Attorney at Law (3) Cheadle Law (3) Cheatham, Palermo & Garrett (3) Glasgow & Veazey (3) Grissim & Hodges (3) Hix & Gray, PLC (3) IASIS Healthcare LLC (3) Larry R. Williams, PLLC (3) Marlowe Law Offices, PLLC (3) May & Ryan, PLC (3) McKenzie Laird, PLLC (3) Moseley & Moseley, Attorneys at Law (3) Nashville Electric Service (3) Norris & Norris, PLC (3) Puryear Law Group (3) Rogers, Kamm & Shea (3) Rothschild & Ausbrooks, PLLC (3) Sarah Cannon Research Institute (3) Smythe & Huff (3) Tennessee Justice Center (3) Weatherly, McNally & Dixon, PLC (3)

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

19

LAW DAY 2012 Monday, April 30, 2012 Downtown Renaissance Hotel Registration: 10:45 a.m.

Lunch: 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

No Courts No Justice No Freedom

PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THE EARLIER REGISTRATION & LUNCH TIME THIS YEAR! Open and accessible courts are the cornerstone of a free society.

The framers of our Constitution recognized the importance of the courts when they made the judiciary one of the three coequal branches of our government. The courts are where we go to have our rights protected, our injuries redressed and our disputes resolved. The 2012 Law Day theme, "No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom," underscores the importance of the courts and their role in ensuring access to justice for all Americans.

The NBA is privileged this year to have as our speaker Senator Lamar Alexander to tell us about one particular abuse of power and the steps taken to stop it. It is that remarkable event about which Senator Alexander will address us at the Law Day luncheon. In January 1979, with Governor Ray Blanton’s term coming to a close, the State's Pardon Board began to issue pardons that appeared to be purely political or the subject of bribery. This appearance of, and as it turned out actual, impropriety caused an outcry from both political parties. Leaders in the legislature hunted for a way to stop the carnage, and found it in the Tennessee Constitution. It was decided to swear in Governor-elect Alexander three days before the traditional inauguration day, and that was done. Lieutenant Governor John Wilder later referred to Blanton's early removal as "impeachment Tennessee-style.” At the Law Day Luncheon Senator Alexander will give us the inside story of the “impeachment” of Ray Blanton.

REGISTRATION - NBA LAW DAY LUNCHEON: 10:45 a.m. Check-in - Lunch at 11:15 - 12:15 pm.

Charge by Fax (615.255.3026) or Phone (615.242.9272)

NAME:

Card Type:

Visa

MasterCard

Discover

Credit Card#:__________________________ Exp. _________ BPR#:

PHONE #:

Signature: ___________________________________________ or

$________EARLY REGISTRATION Received on or before April 23 - $50 per person $________ REGULAR REGISTRATION Received after April 23 - $60 per person

$_________ LAW DAY SPONSOR Includes 10 tickets and recognition in program $475 on or before April 23; $575 after April 23

Send Check to: Nashville Bar Association 150 4th Avenue, Suite 1050 Nashville, TN 37219 or

Register Online www.nashvillebar.org

Additional Attendees:_______________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

20

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

21

Disclosure Stacy Miller has joined the District Attorney’s office. She has been an attorney for 21 years and was previously in private practice. Prior to that she served as General Counsel of the Legal Division of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.

Miller is a graduate of the Nashville School of Law. She received her Master’s Degree from San Francisco State University, and her Bachelor’s Degree from Northwestern University. Miller is assigned to the General Sessions Courts.

Grover Collins has joined the District Attorney’s office. He is assigned to the Davidson County General Sessions Courts. Prior to his move to Davidson County, Collins worked as a prosecutor in the 17th Judicial District Attorney General’s office, specializing in DUI and vehicular crimes. Collins received his law degree from the University of Memphis, and his undergraduate degree from Lipscomb University.

John C. McCauley, former Vanderbilt University Assistant Vice Chancellor of Risk and Insurance Management and Associate General Counsel, has joined Wiseman Ashworth Law Group, PLC as Of Counsel. McCauley will work with the firm’s attorneys on complex medical malpractice cases and advise its clients on risk management issues. McCauley was associated with Vanderbilt University from 1996 to 2011. McCauley is a J.D. graduate of Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. He holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Mount Saint Mary’s University, Emmitsburg, MD. Scott D. Smith has moved to the Nashville office of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC. Smith, who was previously located in Baker Donelson's Washington, D.C. office, is a member of its Tax Department and has more than 20 years of federal, state and local tax experience. He has extensive experience with the multistate taxation of businesses and high net worth individuals in the areas of 22

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

\Dis*clo”sure\ (n) The act of revealing, releasing or bringing to light relevant information concerning NBA Members & Staff. n Announcements n Kudos n People on the Move n Firm News n tax controversy and planning. He is a BNA Tax Management State Tax Advisory Board member, a member of the Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization, the American, Tennessee, District of Columbia and Ohio Bar Associations, and a frequent speaker on tax issues, including presentations before Georgetown University, New York University, SEATA, ABA Tax Section and the Council on State Taxation. Mr. Smith has authored more than 30 articles that have appeared in various national tax publications. He obtained his LL.M. degree in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.

Tom Russell has been elevated to member of Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin PLLC. He focuses his practice in the areas of appellate, general and business litigation. Russell joined GSRM in 2009 after serving as assistant attorney general in the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General where he managed litigation for its financial division. Tom received his law degree from Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University.

Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis has been named 2011 Employer of the Year by the Middle Tennessee Paralegal Association.

The Employer of the Year award is given annually to the firm that best demonstrates its commitment and support of the MTPA and the larger paralegal profession. Waller Lansden was recognized for having an active staff as well as for providing the conference space for the association’s monthly meetings.

Linda Edell Howard, a partner at Adams and Reese LLP, receives firm’s HUGS “Volunteer of the Year” award. The award is presented to one attorney or staff member who best demonstrates the spirit of charitable and pro bono giving. During 2011, Howard was instrumental in securing the talent, sponsorships and a Hoops for Heroes exhibition for the Rollin’ Round Robin Classic Wheelchair Basketball tournament at the Webb School in Bell Buckle to raise money for the Bell Buckle Park. She graciously donated her time to

support Dave Cummings and his quest to shoot 1 million baskets for his Hoops for Heroes campaign to raise money and awareness for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which provides support to those who have sacrificed for our country. Linda and her husband, music industry veteran, Doug Howard, are also proud supporters of the Tennessee Shakespeare Festival, sponsoring their own benefit Guitar Pull at the Walking Horse Hotel in Wartrace, Tennessee, for the organization. Howard worked with the widow of the legendary music row executive, Bill Hall, to resurrect the Bill Hall Scholarship at Belmont University.

In addition to these efforts, Howard volunteered her time to speak to the students of the Berklee College of Music, something she has done for years, as well as during the Billboard Country Music Summit and Leadership Music Digital Summit. She continues to remain involved in the American Federation of Talent and Recording Artist’s Special Manager and Attorney Committee to create and maintain fairness in recording contracts. Howard also worked behind the scenes to provide moral support to her Music Row colleagues and friends who have gone through death and other hardships, whether by sitting with them as they undergo chemotherapy treatments, visiting them in hospitals and hospice (bringing donuts for the nurses most times) and by taking care of special needs, such as lining up meal deliveries.

C. Dale Allen has joined Adams and Reese LLP as a partner. Practicing law since 1983, Dale is a corporate lawyer who concentrates his practice in transportation, government relations and regulatory law. He is a Partner on the Governmental Relations team and serves as legislative counsel to a number of businesses, trade associations and non profit organizations with interests before the Tennessee General Assembly. He received his J.D. from the Cumberland School of Law, Samford University, in 1983, and earned his B.S. from the University of Tennessee at Martin, in 1980.

Thomas Anthony Swafford has joined Adams and Reese LLP as a partner. Swafford concentrates his practice in complex

2012 NBA Premier Members INCLUDE: litigation including transportation, labor and employment law, ERISA/employee benefits, and disputes related to non-competition and trade secret issues. He earned his J.D. from Case Western University, in 1995, and received a B.S. in accounting from the University of Tennessee, in 1990.

Richard Slade Sevier, Jr. has joined Adams and Reese LLP as a Special Counsel.

He focuses his practice on litigation and contract negotiation related to construction, real estate development and general business.

In addition to general contract disputes, Slade’s litigation practice primarily involves representing owners (public and private), developers, tenants, contractors, subcontractors and designers in various types of construction and real estate related disputes. Slade is also a Patent attorney.

Prior to his legal career, Slade was a civil engineer with a local design firm.

Sally Ramsey joined Adams and Reese as Special Counsel. She is a member of the firm’s Special Business Services practice group with experience in labor and employment and transportation and logistics law. Ramsey earned her J.D., magna cum laude, at Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center in Huntington, New York, in 1997.

She was the associate editor for the Law Review. She received her B.A. in Psychology from the State University of New York at Old Westbury in 1993.

Kyle A. Young joined Adams and Reese in 2012 as an Associate. He concentrates his practice in labor and employment, as well as transportation and logistics. Young received his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law, in 2009, and earned his B.A. from Wake Forest University, in 2006.

Nashville Bar Association members may send Disclosure announcements via email to nikki.gray@nashvillebar.org Submissions are subject to editing.

Tara Aaron Gail Vaughn Ashworth Robert L. Ballow Kathryn E. Barnett Barbara Bennett Michael Weimar Binkley Charles W. Bone Jay S. Bowen C. Dewey Branstetter Jr. Teresa Rider Bult Joshua Burgener C. Mark Carver Robert Garry Chaffin Mark P. Chalos Jonathan Cole Lee Lawrence Coleman Dixie W. Cooper John A. Day Karl F. Dean David Clyde Downard Blair Durham John Franklin Floyd Mark Thomas Fraley Samuel P. Funk Barry James Gammons Angus Gillis III Benjamin Ealey Goldammer Charles K. Grant John J. Griffin Jr. Mitch Grissim Jr. William L. Harbison Marian F. Harrison Trey Harwell Barbara D. Holmes Paul T. Housch John D. Kitch William C. Koch Jr. Thomas W. Lawless

Richard Wesley Littlehale Leslie Stophel Maclellan Cheryl White Mason Richard McGee Rob McKinney John C. McLemore Robert J. Mendes Natasha K. Metcalf Jeffrey Mobley Elizabeth Enoch Moore Marlene Eskind Moses Patricia Head Moskal Michael I. Mossman Phillip L. North Robert J. Parker Katharine (Betsy) Elizabeth Phillips Tracy A. Powell Mark Bradley Reagan Edgar M. Rothschild III Thomas J. Sherrard III Marietta M. Shipley Emily A. Shouse James Gerard Stranch IV James G. Stranch III Robert T. Vaughn Irwin Bruce Venick Howard H. Vogel Henry Martin Walker Karl D. Warden James L. Weatherly Jr. Wesley Grant Weeks Peter Weiss Eleanor K. Wetzel Thomas V. White Larry R. Williams Nicholas S. Zeppos

NBA Premier Membership is a special category that recognizes our members who desire to demonstrate the utmost in commitment and support to the NBA Programs & Services.

Contact Vicki Shoulders (615.242.9272, vicki.shoulders@nashvillebar.org) for details.

WELCOME NEW NBA MEMBERS George B. Angelopoulos Erin H. Bennett Prochaska Thompson Quinn & Ferraro, P.C. Pretial Caston Andrew W. Coffman King & Ballow Jeffrey C. Coller Sophia B. Crawford Juvenile Court

Emily Emmons Elaine M. Gray Seth T. Humphrey Western Express Christopher Charles Jester Dollar General Corporation Blake L. Kelley The Law Office of Blake Kelley Sean Lyons

Seth T. Norman Sixth Circuit Court Brian L. Sims Bass, Berry & Sims PLC Wade K. Sims Earl Burton Tally III Regions Bank

* Belongs to a 100% Club firm

DIAL - A - LAWYER

Dial-A-Lawyer is held the first Tuesday of each month.

April Volunteers: Tom Lawless Helen Cornell Joe Rusnak Jamie Machamer Gina Crawley Doug Pierce Victoria Ferrero To volunteer your time, please contact Wendy Cozby, LRIS Coordinator at wendy.cozby@ nashvillebar.org or 242-9272. Pro Bono credit does apply and dinner will be provided.

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

23

Classifieds

Office Space Downtown Office condos for Lease or Sale. 500 to 2500 sq. feet. 501 Union Street, 5th floor. Near Legislative Plaza. Call Lynne at (615) 259-1550.

DOWNTOWN Law firm has office space to rent for two attorneys and assistants, if needed or option 2 attorney can sublease entire suit which will accommodate four to five attorneys and staff. Office is located in the Regions building downtown on the first floor with window view. Includes internet, all utilities, use of copy/fax/scanner, and postage machine. If interested, please e-mail rpnimmo@nimmolaw.com or contact Price Nimmo at 615-244-2244.

DOWNTOWN Prime, A++ office space with two conference rooms for lease in the 5th 3rd Bank Tower, Downtown Nashville. State of the art copier, scanner, fax, high speed internet access, digital phone system and receptionist all provided. Receptionist provided to answer your phone line and greet your clients. $1,750.00 per month. Contact: John Agee @ (615)256-5661 or (615)218-7131.

OFFICE SPACE

Accounting

Music Row Music Row law offices. Space for one or two lawyers and support. Prefer criminal and/ or civil litigation practice. No domestic work.

Contact Michael 293-7109 Terry & Gore.

Music Row Music Row law office – Entire 2nd floor – 4 very nice offices available, total 665 sq ft for $1,750/month, internet and utilities included and shared kitchen on 1st floor. Also, large reception area/office on 1st floor for $500/ month.

METROCENTER AREA LAW FIRM Established Nashville law firm has one office space immediately available. Includes receptionist services, cable internet, telephones and fax, conference room, kitchen, copiers, some LexisNexis subscription services, website advertising and more. Professional work environment. Free and convenient parking.

Contact Cynthia Bohn at (615) 252-8866 for details.

Advertising: Contact Tina Ashford at tina.ashford@nashvillebar.org or (615) 242-9272

Advertise your Office Space in the Nashville Bar Journal

CC

DOWNTOWN OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE NEAR COURTHOUSE Downtown office space available on the first floor in the historic Barristers Building at 329 Union Street in Nashville. Four offices, library, conference room, kitchen, secretary space and reception area available. One block from courthouse, banks and restaurants. Call Jonathan Williams, 615-256-8880.

Midtown Midtown : 682 square feet with beautiful view of Centennial Park; $19.15 per square foot with annual increases; available as is or with build-out cost to be prorated over term of sublease; space is newly carpeted and newly painted, with small kitchen area; covered parking; available immediately. Please call 615-321-5659.

Midtown-1900 Church Executive office suites for lease in Midtown Nashville located at 1900 Church, Suite 300.

Free covered parking, conference rooms, break room, color copier, and receptionist to greet your clients. Administrative support and flexible terms available. For more information, please call Cheryl Gunn at (615) 983-6935. green hills Established Green Hills law association has office and adjoining secretarial space available for immediate occupancy. Free parking, excellent on-line and hard-cover Tennessee library, conference rooms, receptionist, and voice mail available. Call 383-3332.

Nashville Bar Journal Classifieds Online at www.nashvillebar.org 24

Nashville Bar Journal - April 2012

Do You Need a Mediator? Meet One of Ours.

Are you trying to find a mediator for your next case but can’t seem to figure out which professional is best? Let the NBA help! The NBA has a panel of professional attorney mediators who are Rule 31 listed in both civil and family disputes. Don’t lose valuable time guessing about your next mediator selection. The NBA panel provides information on mediators who are Bar members and their professional and legal backgrounds.

Are you an attorney mediator? Call NBA LRIS (615-242-9272) today to join the mediator panel.

Contact: Wendy Cozby, LRIS Coordinator (615) 242-9272 wendy.cozby@nashvillebar.org

NEWS YOU CAN USE! New Workers’ Compensation Coverage

with a Dividend Plan

Lawyers’ Professional Liability Insurance with Very Competitive Rates

• Great rates

• Zero deductible available

• Opportunity for a dividend

• Choice of claims expenses — inside or outside the limits

• Easy, convenient claims reporting

• Competitive rates

• Loss control tools that may help reduce your losses

• Coverage available up to $20 million

• Endorsed by the Nashville Bar Association

• Endorsed by the Nashville Bar Association

Plus, if you are enrolled in the Workers’ Compensation Program, you can earn a 5% discount on the Business Owners policy with coverages tailored specifically for legal professionals.

IPSCO has provided professional liability insurance to attorneys since 1956. Our extensive experience, market access to thirteen admitted and several non-admitted carriers, plus very competitive rates make IPSCO a great choice.

Contact Us Today Call: 615.460.1654

Email: lawyers@assoc-admin.com

Visit: IPSCOlawyers.com

IPSCO Superior Service • Superior Solutions Insurance Planning & Service Company, Inc. • 2301 21st Avenue South • Nashville, TN 37212

Elder Law Practice of Timothy L. Takacs

My client’s problem isn’t paying for the care his Mom needs.

It’s finding it.

Long-term illness and disability raise tough questions for your clients. n n n n

How can we keep Mom in familiar surroundings for as long as possible?

How do we find the services she needs, including the right nursing home when the time comes?

What will we do if there are problems?

How do we get the best care for Mom, spend her money wisely, and honor her wishes to leave a legacy for her family?

Elder Law Practice of Timothy L. Takacs has the answers. As Tennessee’s most respected elder law firm, we do more than just help the elderly qualify for public benefits. We empower families to make the right decisions during every step of the long-term care journey.

When your clients are facing long-term illness or disability, point them in the right direction.

Call Elder Law Practice of Timothy L. Takacs.

Middle Tennessee: (615) 824-2571 Cumberland Plateau: (931) 268-5761 Toll-Free: (866) 222-3127 Family Website: www.tn-elderlaw.com Professional Education Website: www.elderlaweducation.com

Life Care Planning Elder Law Estate Planning Care Coordination