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Episode NotesSpeakers: Sean Fitzpatrick, after working for a few years as a prosecutor litigating felony and misdemeanor cases, started his firm FitzPatrick Law, LLC in 2016. FitzPatrick's current practice area is civil litigation focusing on insurance and injury law. FitzPatrick served on the Young Lawyers Division board for years as director and chair prior to his current term on the New Mexico Board of Bar Commissioners. FitzPatrick is also the current Chair of the New Mexico State Bar Well Being Committee and serves on the Uniform Civil Jury Instruction Committee. He believes a healthy work life balance makes better lawyers and you can find FitzPatrick running, biking, or participating in other Type 2 fun activities with his wife Eva and their son Liam when not practicing law.Noell Huffmyer is a civil litigator. She currently serves as in-house counsel at Acadia Healthcare. Prior to joining Acadia, Noell spent several years at the Rodey Law Firm and previously clerked for Judge William Johnson at the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. Noell is a proud graduate of the UNM School of Law. Upon graduation, Noell was honored by the law school's faculty with their Faculty Award and, in 2024, the law school's alumni association recognized her with its Alumni Promise Award. Noell is an active member of the New Mexico legal community, acting as adjunct faculty at the law school as well as serving on the Albuquerque Bar Association's Board of Directors. Steve Scholl loves being a trial lawyer and helping others learn and perfect the art and science of trial practice. Steve is a 1989 graduate of UNMSOL and describes himself as a “36L” because he's never really left Bratton Hall. He can be found almost any time roaming its hallways with a Rules of Evidence book in hand. Steve keeps his life in balance. Away from the office and law school, he and his wife of 46 years, Chris and their hound, Winnie the Pooch, will be found with their kids and grandkids on “the lake” on their boat Time Flies; driving one of their old vintage cars around in pursuit of the perfect huevos rancheros; camping in one of their restored 1950's canned-ham campers; traveling to some far off land; or, just hanging out or having a party at home. Steve is a member of Dixon Scholl Carrillo, PA and represents both plaintiffs and defendants in civil cases.Disclaimer: Thank you for listening! This episode was produced by the State Bar of New Mexico's Well-Being Committee and the New Mexico Lawyer Assistance Program. All editing and sound mixing was done by the State Bar of New Mexico and/or the State Bar Foundation. Intro music is by Gil Flores. The views of the presenters are that of their own and are not endorsed by the State Bar of New Mexico. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment or legal advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and not intended as statements on behalf of their employers.
Speakers: Sean Fitzpatrick, after working for a few years as a prosecutor litigating felony and misdemeanor cases, started his firm FitzPatrick Law, LLC in 2016. FitzPatrick's current practice area is civil litigation focusing on insurance and injury law. FitzPatrick served on the Young Lawyers Division board for years as director and chair prior to his current term on the New Mexico Board of Bar Commissioners. FitzPatrick is also the current Chair of the New Mexico State Bar Well Being Committee and serves on the Uniform Civil Jury Instruction Committee. He believes a healthy work life balance makes better lawyers and you can find FitzPatrick running, biking, or participating in other Type 2 fun activities with his wife Eva and their son Liam when not practicing law.Noell Huffmyer is a civil litigator. She currently serves as in-house counsel at Acadia Healthcare. Prior to joining Acadia, Noell spent several years at the Rodey Law Firm and previously clerked for Judge William Johnson at the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. Noell is a proud graduate of the UNM School of Law. Upon graduation, Noell was honored by the law school's faculty with their Faculty Award and, in 2024, the law school's alumni association recognized her with its Alumni Promise Award. Noell is an active member of the New Mexico legal community, acting as adjunct faculty at the law school as well as serving on the Albuquerque Bar Association's Board of Directors. Steve Scholl loves being a trial lawyer and helping others learn and perfect the art and science of trial practice. Steve is a 1989 graduate of UNMSOL and describes himself as a “36L” because he's never really left Bratton Hall. He can be found almost any time roaming its hallways with a Rules of Evidence book in hand. Steve keeps his life in balance. Away from the office and law school, he and his wife of 46 years, Chris and their hound, Winnie the Pooch, will be found with their kids and grandkids on “the lake” on their boat Time Flies; driving one of their old vintage cars around in pursuit of the perfect huevos rancheros; camping in one of their restored 1950's canned-ham campers; traveling to some far off land; or, just hanging out or having a party at home. Steve is a member of Dixon Scholl Carrillo, PA and represents both plaintiffs and defendants in civil cases.Disclaimer: Thank you for listening! This episode was produced by the State Bar of New Mexico's Well-Being Committee and the New Mexico Lawyer Assistance Program. All editing and sound mixing was done by the State Bar of New Mexico and/or the State Bar Foundation. Intro music is by Gil Flores. The views of the presenters are that of their own and are not endorsed by the State Bar of New Mexico. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment or legal advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and not intended as statements on behalf of their employers.
In this mini episode of ALPS In Brief, our Bar & Affinity Partner Strategist Rio Peterson sits down with Bob Paolini, Executive Director at the Vermont Bar Association to discuss the importance of bar partnerships, how they create value for members, and the pivotal role bars play in the legal community. — Transcript: Rio Laine: All right. Hello, everybody. This is Rio Laine here, coming to you from ALPS for this installment of kind of a mini In Brief episode that we are doing. And so I am here today with Bob Paolini from the Vermont Bar Association. Hello, Bob. Thanks for joining us. Bob Paolini: Good morning, Rio. Thanks for having me. Rio Laine: Yeah, it's great to have you here. So you are the executive director of the Vermont Bar Association? Bob Paolini: I am, Rio Laine: Yeah. Want to tell me a little bit about your background and how you ended up at the bar? Bob Paolini: Sure. Well, I'm a lawyer. I practiced in Vermont. I was admitted to the bar in 1973. Rio Laine: Wow. Yeah. Bob Paolini: I became executive director of the bar in February of 1996. Rio Laine: Wow. Yeah. Bob Paolini: So I've been in practice for 22 years. During that time, I served in the Vermont House of Representatives for a couple of terms, and then left that position, just went back to practice. And then I saw that this position of ED of the Vermont Bar opened up, and one of the pieces of the qualifications that they were looking for was policymaking work, and I really enjoyed the legislative process when I was a member of the House. It's a part-time legislature. It's really hard to integrate that service with the practice of law at the same time. So I ended up not running for reelection after a couple of terms. When this position opened up and there was the opportunity to go back into the legislature representing the profession, I applied and I was hired, and I served in that job for 20 years. I left in the spring ... I think it was June of 2016. My successor, who I think you know, Teri Corsones, became executive director. At the beginning she didn't have any legislative experience and I worked part-time with the bar, doing some of that work during our session and helping her get acclimated to that kind of work. And then I stopped doing that. And then six years later, she left to become Vermont State Court Administrator, so I was asked to come back on an interim basis two years ago this month actually. And after about five months in that position, the board asked me to stay on, which I was happy to do. So, 20 years, six years away, now two years back. That's how I got here. Rio Laine: Yeah. Well, that's fantastic. So 22 years kind of in total. Yeah. You obviously really enjoy the bar and working with the bar. What's something that you really like about your work and the Bar Association in general? Bob Paolini: We are a small bar, as you know. Maybe we have about 2,300 members of our association. Even though I've had a six-year break, I still know most of those people. Sure, there are a lot of new young lawyers, a lot of lawyers who have moved into Vermont that I don't know, but it's a small group. It's a close-knit group. The staff of six people, half of whom I've hired, half I did not hire, are great. I love working with them. And I really like our board of managers, who really has the welfare of our members at heart. They're really looking to help members improve their practices, improve their lives, and it's just great to work for them and try to represent them. One of the questions that I was asked in my first interview going back to 1996 was, "Taking this administrative job is going to be so different than practicing law. How do you feel about that?" And I said, "It's not all that different. I mean, yeah, I've got clients now, but now I will have just one client, and that's our profession." And that's worked out for me, and I think for them too. Rio Laine: Yeah, that's a really interesting way to think about it, too. I was wondering about the board, and would you say that it's really important to have a board that is invested in the welfare of your members? Would you say that that is a requirement to running things well? Bob Paolini: That's a requirement, yes. Yeah, it is. We need the direction. In our case, we have 17 voices, all of whom are in different types of practice. One of whom is a judge, by the way, because we always have a judge on the board, but they all have different perspectives on what the legal profession is about today. We meet 11 times a year, and I try to get up to date on, "What are you folks seeing? What should we be addressing? What challenges are new?" So as long as we're all dedicated to helping our members and helping protect the profession, as well as helping to protect the public, I think we're doing the right thing. Rio Laine: Yeah. What kinds of things are you hearing from the board or even members about challenges that are coming up that they're having to navigate? Bob Paolini: Well, clearly in this current climate, the rule of law is a challenge that we all have to address I think. Respect for the law, respect for the court system is something that I think every state bar needs to address. In Vermont's case, as I said, we're a small bar, but we are a graying bar. Vermont's surrounded by cities like Boston and New York, not literally surrounded, but we're close to those cities, Hartford, Connecticut, Boston, New York City, places where there are greater opportunities for newly minted lawyers. Asking them to come to Vermont, especially if they have a bunch of education debt, is difficult. So the number of new lawyers we have is diminishing. As the bar ages, we lose to retirement every year a handful or more than a handful of lawyers. So the shrinking bar is a real challenge I think for us. Actually this morning I engaged in a conversation with our board about the small number of lawyers who were applying for an open judgeship in Vermont, and everybody's concerned about that. There's an email chain going back and forth for the last two hours about what are we going to do about this? How do we get qualified people to be judges? So here's another topic for our board meeting next Friday. Rio Laine: Right, absolutely. And it seems that the graying bar situation, I mean, it's something that a lot of the bars are dealing with now. There certainly seems to be a larger number of lawyers transitioning out of practice, retiring, than there is coming in to the profession, absolutely. Bob Paolini: Yeah. I don't think Vermont's unique in that respect at all. There's technology challenges, where things went to online filing and different things. That drove some of the older members into retirement. I remember when that started and I would get phone calls or emails from our members saying, "I can't learn this whole new system now. I'm done. December 31st I'm retiring." So yeah, there's that, there's the pandemic, and how many people that drove out of the profession. Rio Laine: Oh, 100%. Because I mean, never mind even the technology adoption required for the pandemic, but also just navigating the entire situation. It's a lot. And if you've been practicing for a long time, it's just easier probably to call it in. Bob Paolini: I know. As opposed to relearn everything and start over. Rio Laine: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah. Would you say that that's similar to the difficulty getting lawyers to practice in rural areas as well, along the same lines, it's just difficult finding people to fill those gaps? Bob Paolini: We are definitely seeing that in some of our more remote places in our state. Our state's not big, but there are counties that are not big, but they only have one or two lawyers. And we know and we try to say to new lawyers, "Look, if you want to make the sacrifice and go there, you're going to be it. You're going to be that town's lawyer." It's sort of like thinking back 50 years or more, the local town lawyer, there are towns that that local town lawyer has passed away or has retired, and there's nobody there to take over. So yeah, we're trying to match those new lawyers with the senior lawyers, I have them spend some time together, and then one retires and one takes over that. But it's a challenge, again, because of college and law school debt, and the fact that salaries are not that high in those rural communities. Rio Laine: Yeah, yeah. Fair enough. And for the new members that you do have coming in, are you finding that they're looking for more from the bar than maybe the members that are aging out, they're looking for different types of engagement? Are you finding you're having to adapt or navigate that? Bob Paolini: They are definitely looking for something different. And I have to give credit to our Young Lawyers Division because they're great about reaching out, not only to newly minted lawyers, but to law students. And we have one law school in the state, so working with that law school and trying to integrate those folks into the bar. Yes, their needs now are very different than what I experienced when I started. There was that whole process back then. There's one judge, now retired, who used to say that when he started his first year was carrying the briefcase for his partner. Going to court, just sitting there, but doing that for a year or whatever. That doesn't happen anymore. People don't have the resources to do that like they used to. So there's part of that education, that apprenticeship thing if you want, that's now missing. Rio Laine: Got it. Got it. That kind of mentorship piece. Yeah. And I've heard that that is a challenge for young lawyers, and I mean, you're getting into this new profession, it really helps to have some guidance and having to go without makes things much more difficult than they need to be. Yeah. Yeah. There's definitely lots of things that are needing to be rethought and navigated, but that's always the way it is. There's always going to be something that is a challenge, and then we have to figure it out together, so yeah. Bob Paolini: Which makes this position so much fun to be in. Rio Laine: Yes, yes. Bob Paolini: You got to meet those challenges, there are new things every day. Really, there are new things every day. Rio Laine: Yeah. Do you like solving problems? Bob Paolini: I do like solving problems. Yeah. Rio Laine: Yeah. Yeah, that's fantastic. I think that's a really good way to think about it too, is rising to those challenges every day. And it makes you really a good person to be leading the bar then, because members will need to know that they have somebody who has their interests at heart and wants to help them navigate those things. Bob Paolini: Right. right. Rio Laine: Yeah. I also love a job that's different every day too. Yeah, it's fantastic. S I want to shift a little bit and talk a little bit about partnerships. Now, I know that the Vermont Bar has partnerships with different vendors, different groups and organizations, kind of like ALPS, for example. How do those partnerships impact the bar or your memberships? Do you feel like they support the Bar Association? Bob Paolini: Well, let's talk about ALPS first. Rio Laine: Yeah, okay. Yeah. Bob Paolini: ALPS has been a great partner, and I think our most important partner since I started working at the bar 28 ... 6 years, whatever it is, 1996. Since 28 years ago. This company has always reached out to the Vermont Bar Association and offered help, offered education, offered support. And frankly, even now, if I'm faced with an issue or a question, I call somebody at ALPS and say, "Have you seen this anywhere else? How did that state deal with it? Are there resources there that I can steal from there to help us deal with it?" Yeah, it's been excellent. Rio Laine: That's wonderful. Bob Paolini: It's been an excellent rapport with this company. Rio Laine: Wonderful. Oh, that's really fantastic. And obviously we want that to continue because it's important to us that we're able to support you. Bob Paolini: We have working relationships with other associations. I mean, I work closely in Vermont with the Vermont Bankers Association, with the Vermont Realtors Association, with the Teachers Union, in terms of public education and some of the legislative stuff that we need to do that we need support from these other groups that are affected. So we have lots of different partnerships, but the relationship with ALPS is different because they support educating the profession, protecting the profession, and making sure that we have what we need to have in order to not make mistakes. Rio Laine: Right, right. Yes. Oh, wonderful. I love to hear that. I guess in a general sense, what types of things do you look for in other partners, other strategic or vendor partners? Is it a willingness to offer that support, to collaborate? Bob Paolini: Yeah, it's one thing to endorse a business or a service and tell our members, "Yeah, we've endorsed them. Go contact them." The difference between just doing that and working with a partner such as ALPS, is that we do more than that, and ALPS does more than that. ALPS comes to Vermont and runs classes for us. They provide us information that we probably wouldn't otherwise have. They've helped us with our new lawyers. We run an incubator program where we bring in lawyers who really want to go out on their own, sometimes right out of law school. And ALPS has a program that helps them get their first-year insurance. And we actually have this incubator program where we meet with these folks in terms of staff conversations once a week for an hour, an hour and a half. And ALPS has appeared remotely at those meetings and answered questions about insurance, and letters of engagement, and just lots of little helpful hints. Yeah, I think we can't do that on our own. We don't have that expertise. We're a small group of seven employees at our office. But yeah, ALPS really has filled in with the needs that we really probably couldn't meet us in any other way. Rio Laine: Oh, that's fantastic. That makes me really happy to hear that. And no pressure because we're at the ALPS office or anything, but oh, that's fantastic. Oh, well, yeah. I'm really, really happy to hear that. I guess we'll have just a couple more minutes and we'll wrap things up, but what do you see on the horizon for the bar? What are you looking forward to? What's coming down the pipeline? What do you anticipate? Anything really. Bob Paolini: Oh, I think we need to look ... I'm not going to be doing this forever. Rio Laine: What? Bob Paolini: I'm not. Rio Laine: I don't know. Bob Paolini: So I think we need to ... Let me start over. We have a staff of seven and four of us have been there for 15 years or more. So I think internally we need to prepare for some changes. Not only my position, but my associate executive director's position, a legal services coordinator, and another staff member who does our CLEs, who you know, Laura Rio Laine: Laura? Laura, yeah. Bob Paolini: Laura, yes. There's a lot of us there that are in sort of almost retirement mode. Of course, I came back from retirement, as I like to say, the board unretired me two years ago. But yeah, I think we need to, and we already have started to prepare succession plans and transition plans. Yeah, so that's going to be just an internal challenge to our staffing, and it doesn't really affect the profession. It's going to involve the board more in terms of a little bit of management as opposed to just setting policy. They're going to be faced with the challenges of making certain decisions, maybe restructuring, maybe not, but certainly having to hire my successor and then he or she needs to overlap with these other folks who are looking towards retirement. Yeah, so I think we've got some challenges internally. Rio Laine: Yeah. A little bit of organizational change. Yeah. Yeah. And that's definitely the way it goes, right? Bob Paolini: Exactly. Rio Laine: Yeah. If you're not changing, you're not evolving. Bob Paolini: [inaudible 00:18:57]. Rio Laine: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Wonderful. Well, thank you so much, Bob. Thanks for taking the time to sit down and chat with me. Really appreciate getting to [inaudible 00:19:05]. Bob Paolini: Thanks for having me. It's great to be here again. Rio Laine: Yes. Well, we're so excited to have you, and we are going to be enjoying our Bar Leaders Retreat the next few days. So yeah, looking forward to get to chat with you more. Bob Paolini: I'm sure you will. Rio Laine: Yeah, yeah. Great. Bob Paolini: Yeah, me too. Thank you. Rio Laine: Yeah, thank you so much. All right, everybody that wraps it up for today. You will hear from me later more.
Send us a textlovethylawyer.comA transcript of this podcast is available at lovethylawyer.com.Joshua Brumleyhttps://brumleylawfirm.com/about-us/ Joshua is a Washington State native, raised in the Tacoma area. After graduating from the University of Washington, he earned his MBA at Jacksonville University and completed his law degree at Florida Coastal School of Law. Joshua has practiced as an attorney with the Washington State Bar Association since 2015. He has served as a pro-tem Judge and is the owner of Brumley Law Firm whose mission is to empower our community by providing client-focused service, one car crash at a time.Community involvement in the South Sound region is important to Joshua. In addition to serving on the board of directors for the Pierce County Center for Dispute Resolution, he is a member of the Puyallup Tribal Bar, Tulalip Tribal Bar, South King County Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, and has served two terms as President of the Young Lawyers Division of the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association. He has served as a barrister member of American Inns of Court and he is dedicated to promoting the highest levels of professionalism in the practice of law.As the managing attorney at Brumley Law Firm, Joshua works daily to ensure that our team delivers the most professional and supportive legal services in Western Washington. This dedication is among the many reasons his peers recognized him in the select group of Rising Stars of the 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 Super Lawyers survey. Please subscribe and listen. Then tell us who you want to hear and what areas of interest you'd like us to cover. Louis Goodman www.louisgoodman.comhttps://www.lovethylawyer.com/510.582.9090Music: Joel Katz, Seaside Recording, MauiTech: Bryan Matheson, Skyline Studios, OaklandAudiograms: Paul Roberts louis@lovethylawyer.com
This Day in Legal History: Camp David AccordsOn September 11, 1978, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat reached a historic agreement at Camp David, laying the foundation for peace between Israel and Egypt. The Camp David Accords, brokered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter, marked the first time an Arab nation had agreed to recognize Israel, a significant diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East. The accords outlined a framework for peace that included the eventual return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, which had been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War, and the establishment of normalized diplomatic and economic relations.The agreement was formalized in the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty, signed in 1979. This peace treaty not only ended decades of conflict between the two nations but also set a precedent for future Arab-Israeli negotiations. The accords earned Sadat and Begin the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978, though Sadat's willingness to make peace with Israel led to his assassination in 1981 by Egyptian extremists. Despite challenges, the treaty has endured, making Egypt the first Arab country to formally make peace with Israel, reshaping geopolitics in the region and establishing the U.S. as a key mediator in Middle East peace efforts.A recent American Bar Association (ABA) survey reveals that financial stress and anxiety affect two-thirds of young lawyers, with student loan debt significantly shaping their career and life choices. The survey, conducted by the ABA's Young Lawyers Division and AccessLex Institute, found that 68% of respondents with student loans felt stressed or anxious due to their debt, while 67% of all young lawyers, regardless of loans, reported financial stress. Many respondents, particularly those owing $100,000 or more, said their debt led to feelings of depression or hopelessness. The survey also showed that student debt delays major life events like marriage and homeownership for 76% of participants. Most respondents borrowed for law school, with a median debt of $137,500. Additionally, 27% reported owing more now than at graduation due to income-based repayment plans. Despite financial challenges, 74% of young lawyers would still pursue a law degree, and 65% would attend the same law school. Public service loan forgiveness programs and Biden administration debt relief efforts have provided some support, though many obstacles remain.Financial stress and anxiety plagues two-thirds of young lawyers, ABA survey finds | ReutersThe U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on a six-month stopgap funding bill proposed by Republican Speaker Mike Johnson, aimed at preventing a government shutdown before the fiscal year ends on September 30. The bill faces opposition from Democrats, primarily due to a provision that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, a measure seen as politically charged ahead of the November elections. Former President Donald Trump has urged Republicans to pass this voting measure. However, some Republicans oppose the stopgap due to spending concerns, and two Republicans joined Democrats in blocking a procedural vote to advance the bill.If passed in the House, the bill faces an uphill battle in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the proposal as overly partisan, while the White House has indicated President Biden would veto the bill. Biden's administration is pushing for a shorter funding extension and more disaster relief funding. Additionally, Congress faces a critical January 1 deadline to address the nation's debt ceiling, risking default if no action is taken.US House set to vote on Republican-backed stopgap funding measure | ReutersThree former Memphis police officers are standing trial in federal court for their involvement in the January 2023 death of Tyre Nichols, a Black motorist whose brutal beating by police officers led to widespread outrage and police reform. Video footage showed five officers kicking, punching, and using pepper spray and a baton on Nichols, who died three days later in a hospital. Two of the five officers have pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges, leaving three facing trial, where they could face life in prison if convicted.The incident reignited concerns about racism and police brutality in the U.S., prompting reforms in Memphis, such as disbanding the specialized police unit involved in the incident and implementing stricter traffic stop protocols. The officers also face second-degree murder charges in a separate state case, which has been postponed until after the federal trial. Nichols' family has filed a $550 million lawsuit against the city, seeking damages to push for further changes in police practices nationwide.In response to the assault, additional officers were either fired or suspended, and several fire department employees involved in the incident were also dismissed.Three Memphis police officers go on trial in death of Tyre Nichols | ReutersThe Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has filed a civil rights complaint on behalf of University of Georgia students, alleging discrimination against individuals of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim descent. The complaint, filed with the U.S. Department of Education, claims the university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination by institutions receiving federal funding. According to CAIR, pro-Palestinian students faced harassment following the escalation of conflict in Gaza, and the university failed to adequately address or prevent this discrimination.The University of Georgia responded by emphasizing its support for free speech and non-discrimination policies, while also maintaining that it enforces rules against policy violations. The complaint comes amid widespread protests across U.S. campuses concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which have seen instances of both antisemitic and Islamophobic rhetoric. The conflict has led to heightened tensions and a broader discussion on human rights, discrimination, and free speech in academic settings.Muslim advocacy group files civil rights complaint against University of Georgia | Reuters This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe
In this podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Jessica Childress about how to report workplace misconduct, including discrimination, harassment, and bullying. Award-winning attorney Jessica Childress (https://www.linkedin.com/in/childressjessica/) is the author of Peace: Leaving a Toxic Workplace on Your Own Terms. Ms. Childress has practiced employment law for over eleven years, representing organizations of all sizes and individuals in employment law matters. She is the Managing Attorney of the Childress Firm PLLC, a boutique employment law firm, based in Washington, D.C. Ms. Childress holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government and African American Studies from the University of Virginia and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law. Ms. Childress graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with High Distinction from the University of Virginia in 2007. Prior to launching the Childress Firm PLLC, Ms. Childress served as an associate at two global law firms and as an attorney at the United States Department of Justice. Ms. Childress has litigated retaliation, discrimination, sexual harassment, non-competition, trade secret, unfair labor practice, and whistleblower cases before various tribunals. She serves clients in general business transactions with employees and independent contractors. Ms. Childress drafts agreements such as employment agreements, consulting agreements, severance agreements, and confidentiality agreements. Ms. Childress is admitted to practice in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. She is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. Ms. Childress has held leadership roles in the National Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division and the Washington Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division. Ms. Childress is a member of the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association and the National Employment Lawyers Association. She has been the recipient of several honors, including the National Bar Association's 2018 Young Lawyer of the Year Award, the Washington Bar Association's 2017-2018 Young Lawyer of the Year Award, the National Bar Association's 40 under 40 Best Advocates Award, the Kim Keenan Leadership & Advocacy Award, the Greater Washington Area Chapter of the National Bar Association's Rising Star Award, and recognition by the National Black Lawyers as one of the top 100 black attorneys. In 2022, Ms. Childress received the Women Owned Law organization's Woman Legal Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Ms. Childress has been named to the 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers Rising Stars lists. Only 2.5% of practicing attorneys in Washington, D.C. are selected to receive this honor. Ms. Childress is a 2022 graduate of the Aspen Institute's Justice and Society program. Ms. Childress serves as a contributor for Arianna Huffington's international media outlet, Thrive Global. She has been featured in numerous publications, including Forbes, Essence, the Huffington Post, Success, and Entrepreneur. Check out all of the podcasts in the HCI Podcast Network! Check out the HCI Academy: Courses, Micro-Credentials, and Certificates to Upskill and Reskill for the Future of Work! Check out the LinkedIn Alchemizing Human Capital Newsletter. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Future Leader. Check out Dr. Westover's book, 'Bluer than Indigo' Leadership. Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Alchemy of Truly Remarkable Leadership. Check out the latest issue of the Human Capital Leadership magazine. Each HCI Podcast episode (Program, ID No. 655967) has been approved for 0.50 HR (General) recertification credit hours toward aPHR™, aPHRi™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™ recertification through HR Certification Institute® (HRCI®). Each HCI Podcast episode (Program ID: 24-DP529) has been approved for 0.50 HR (General) SHRM Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCPHR recertification through SHRM, as part of the knowledge and competency programs related to the SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge™ (the SHRM BASK™). Human Capital Innovations has been pre-approved by the ATD Certification Institute to offer educational programs that can be used towards initial eligibility and recertification of the Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) and Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD) credentials. Each HCI Podcast episode qualifies for a maximum of 0.50 points.
Alex Mitchell, a distinguished NC Tax Lawyer with Cumberland Law Group, has been named Chair-Elect for the National Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. This prestigious appointment highlights Mitchell's exceptional contributions and dedication to the legal community in Charlotte and Raleigh. Cumberland Law Group, LLC City: Charlotte Address: 6201 Fairview Rd Suite 200 Website: https://cumberlandlawatlanta.com/tax-attorney-charlotte-nc/ Phone: +1 980 202 4010 Email: info@cumberlandlawatlanta.com
GDP Script/ Top Stories for June 28th Publish Date: June 28th From the Ingles Studio Welcome to the Gwinnett Daily Post Podcast. Today is Friday, June 28th and Happy 49th Birthday to actor Toby Maguire. ***06.28.24 – BIRTHDAY – TOBEY MACGUIRE*** I'm Bruce Jenkins and here are your top stories presented by Gwinnett KIA Mall of Georgia. Gwinnett police: People in moving van were not trafficking victims Ousted Gwinnett School Board Member Criticizes Runoff System Biden, Trump swap barbs in no-holds barred debate All of this and more is coming up on the Gwinnett Daily Post podcast, and if you are looking for community news, we encourage you to listen daily and subscribe! Break 1: MOG STORY 1: Gwinnett police: People in moving van were not trafficking victims A viral video on social media this week showed people inside a Budget Rental moving van, sparking concerns of human trafficking as the original poster claimed they were tied up. The incident occurred on Interstate 85 north from midtown Atlanta until Gwinnett police intervened. However, Gwinnett County Police Sergeant Collin Flynn clarified that the individuals were not trafficking victims but were two families relocating with their belongings. They were healthy and not in distress, heading from Alabama to Maryland for new job opportunities. Despite no evidence of trafficking, police cited the driver for Georgia's seat belt law violation as the occupants were riding in the van without seat belts. The group was safely dropped off to find an alternate means to continue their journey to Maryland. STORY 2: Ousted Gwinnett School Board Member Criticizes Runoff System Karen Watkins, Vice Chairman of the Gwinnett County school board, has decided not to seek a recount after narrowly losing to Rachel Stone in last week's runoff election. Stone won by 17 votes, securing less than a 0.5% margin over Watkins. Although Watkins could have requested a recount under state law, she opted not to, criticizing Georgia's runoff election system instead. Watkins highlighted concerns that requiring candidates to surpass 50% of the vote in a runoff can suppress voter turnout and dilute the impact of voters. In the primary election, Watkins led with 41.8% of the vote, leading to the runoff with Stone who garnered 30.6%. The runoff saw significantly lower turnout compared to the primary, with only 3,719 votes cast. Watkins' campaign labeled the runoff system as voter suppression, emphasizing its costliness and potential to diminish voter participation. STORY 3: Biden, Trump swap barbs in no-holds barred debate In Atlanta, a 90-minute presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, moderated by CNN with no live audience, aimed for civility with microphones turned off when not speaking. Despite this, both candidates traded accusations, blaming each other for inflation and trading personal attacks. Trump faced legal challenges, including indictments in Georgia and a recent New York conviction. He attributed these to Biden targeting him politically. Biden criticized Trump's inaction during the Capitol riot and highlighted Trump's legal troubles and personal scandals. Both called for the other's imprisonment, Trump for legal issues and Biden for immigration policies. We have opportunities for sponsors to get great engagement on these shows. Call 770.874.3200 for more info. We'll be right back. Break 2: TOM WAGES STORY 4: Lawrenceville names new dog park for former Police K-9 Lawrenceville has dedicated HYRO Park in memory of K9 Officer Hyro, who served the police department from 2016 until his passing in July 2023. The 0.41-acre urban dog park, set to open on August 9, honors Hyro's service in law enforcement, where he contributed to 233 missions, resulting in 87 arrests and the seizure of significant quantities of drugs. The park, under construction next to Lawrenceville Lawn, aims to unite the community through dog-friendly activities. City officials, including Hyro's handler Officer Sean O'Brien, unveiled a plaque during the dedication ceremony, emphasizing Hyro's legacy of "Love Loyalty Obedience." STORY 5: GET OUT THERE: 5 things to do this weekend in Gwinnett County—June 28-30 Welcome to the weekend! We've curated a list of five exciting events happening right in your area. Whether you're into live music, family fun, horticulture, or comedy, we've got something for you. First up, get ready to rock out with Guardians of the Jukebox this Saturday at 7 p.m. at Peachtree Corners Town Center. Enjoy a free '80s music experience and bring some delicious food from local restaurants to the Town Green. Check out more details at peachtreecornersga.gov. For the train enthusiasts, don't miss Model Railroad Days at the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth. Happening Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., it's a family-friendly event with model train layouts, train rides, and sales. Learn more at train-museum.org. If you're looking for a lively night out, head to StillFire Brewing in Suwanee for Dueling Pianos this Saturday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. The Andrews Brothers bring you an adult-friendly music and comedy show. Seating is first-come, first-served. More info at stillfirebrewing.com. Plant lovers, you're in for a treat at the Southeast Plant Show this Saturday and Sunday at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds in Lawrenceville. Explore a variety of plants, attend workshops, and enjoy giveaways. Details at southeastplantshow.com. Wrapping up the weekend, don't miss The Fine Colombians—a Steely Dan Tribute—this Saturday at 8 p.m. at Eddie Owen Presents @ Red Clay Music Foundry in Duluth. Enjoy top-notch musicianship and a great tribute performance. Find out more at eddieowenpresents.freshtix.com. We'll be back in a moment Break 3: INGLES 9 STORY 6: Mary Lynn Paulson Honored by State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division Mary Lynn Paulson, an attorney from Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. in Duluth, was recognized by the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia at their Annual Meeting on June 7. She received the Award of Achievement for Service to the Public. The award highlights her significant contributions and dedication to serving the community through her legal work. Paulson's recognition underscores her commitment to public service within the legal profession, marking her as a standout among her peers in the field of law in Georgia. STORY 7: Cirque du Soleil's ‘Corteo' Coming to Gwinnett's Gas South Arena This August, Cirque du Soleil's latest production "Corteo" will perform at Gas South Arena in Duluth for six shows only, from August 15 to August 18. Originally premiered in Montreal in 2005, "Corteo" translates from Italian as "cortege," depicting a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show promises a blend of fun, music, comedy, and spontaneity set in a mystical realm between heaven and earth. Notably, the arena's unique staging places the audience on opposite sides of a central stage, offering a distinct perspective and interaction with performers. Cirque du Soleil, founded in 1984, has entertained over 370 million people globally and employs over 4,000 individuals, including artists from 80 different countries. Tickets are available exclusively to Club Cirque members initially, with general sales open at www.cirquedusoleil.com/corteo. We'll have final thoughts after this. Break 4: INGLES Signoff – Thanks again for hanging out with us on today's Gwinnett Daily Post Podcast. If you enjoy these shows, we encourage you to check out our other offerings, like the Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast, the Marietta Daily Journal, or the Community Podcast for Rockdale Newton and Morgan Counties. Read more about all our stories and get other great content at gwinnettdailypost.com Did you know over 50% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly? Giving you important news about our community and telling great stories are what we do. Make sure you join us for our next episode and be sure to share this podcast on social media with your friends and family. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home Briefing and be sure to like, follow, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. 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Joshua is a Washington State native, raised in the Tacoma area. After graduating from the University of Washington, he earned his MBA at Jacksonville University and completed his law degree at Florida Coastal School of Law. Joshua has practiced as an attorney with the Washington State Bar Association since 2015. He has served as a pro-tem Judge and is the owner of Brumley Law Firm whose mission is to empower our community by providing client-focused service, one car crash at a time. Community involvement in the South Sound region is important to Joshua. In addition to serving on the board of directors for the Pierce County Center for Dispute Resolution, he is a member of the Puyallup Tribal Bar, Tulalip Tribal Bar, South King County Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, and has served two terms as President of the Young Lawyers Division of the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association. He has served as a barrister member of American Inns of Court and he is dedicated to promoting the highest levels of professionalism in the practice of law. As the managing attorney at Brumley Law Firm, Joshua works daily to ensure that our team delivers the most professional and supportive legal services in Western Washington. This dedication is among the many reasons his peers recognized him in the select group of Rising Stars of the 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 Super Lawyers survey. Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabrumley/ Brumley Law Firm: https://brumleylawfirm.com/ Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://legal.emotiontrac.com/
Joshua is a Washington State native, raised in the Tacoma area. After graduating from the University of Washington, he earned his MBA at Jacksonville University and completed his law degree at Florida Coastal School of Law. Joshua has practiced as an attorney with the Washington State Bar Association since 2015. He has served as a pro-tem Judge and is the owner of Brumley Law Firm whose mission is to empower our community by providing client-focused service, one car crash at a time. Community involvement in the South Sound region is important to Joshua. In addition to serving on the board of directors for the Pierce County Center for Dispute Resolution, he is a member of the Puyallup Tribal Bar, Tulalip Tribal Bar, South King County Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, and has served two terms as President of the Young Lawyers Division of the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association. He has served as a barrister member of American Inns of Court and he is dedicated to promoting the highest levels of professionalism in the practice of law. As the managing attorney at Brumley Law Firm, Joshua works daily to ensure that our team delivers the most professional and supportive legal services in Western Washington. This dedication is among the many reasons his peers recognized him in the select group of Rising Stars of the 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 Super Lawyers survey. Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabrumley/ Brumley Law Firm: https://brumleylawfirm.com/ Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://legal.emotiontrac.com/
Tim Henshaw, a Chattanooga native, has spent 12+ years helping people in GA and TN. He has recovered over $24M for wronged individuals and assists other attorneys in complex litigation. Tim focuses on civil litigation, including industrial accidents, car crashes, and truck crashes. He holds a Bachelor's (with honors) and Law Degree (with honors), with awards in oral appellate argument, brief writing, trial advocacy, and complex litigation. Tim served as an Associate Research Editor for the Georgia State Law Review and serves on the Chattanooga Bar's Young Lawyers Division council. Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-henshaw-a4360671/ Alexander Shunnarah: https://shunnarah.com/ Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://legal.emotiontrac.com/
Tim Henshaw, a Chattanooga native, has spent 12+ years helping people in GA and TN. He has recovered over $24M for wronged individuals and assists other attorneys in complex litigation. Tim focuses on civil litigation, including industrial accidents, car crashes, and truck crashes. He holds a Bachelor's (with honors) and Law Degree (with honors), with awards in oral appellate argument, brief writing, trial advocacy, and complex litigation. Tim served as an Associate Research Editor for the Georgia State Law Review and serves on the Chattanooga Bar's Young Lawyers Division council. Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-henshaw-a4360671/ Alexander Shunnarah: https://shunnarah.com/ Learn more about EmotionTrac and our AI-driven Emotional Intelligence Platform: https://legal.emotiontrac.com/
Elissa Haynes joins Sports ‘N Torts for Episode 104. A former co-worker of mine, Elissa is a defense attorney and Partner in Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP’s Atlanta office, where she is Co-Chair of the firm’s National Appellate Advocacy section. Elissa’s trial and appellate practice is focused on civil cases and her background as a former plaintiff’s personal injury attorney provides her with a unique perspective and leverage to successfully resolve even the most complex cases.As for her appellate practice, Elissa has argued before the Georgia Supreme Court and Georgia Court of Appeals and was part of the first group of attorneys to argue at the Georgia Supreme Court remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. She talks about preparing for arguments and how she approaches her presentations. Elissa routinely consults on appellate matters and often begins her involvement at the trial court level to perfect the record and maximize chances of an advantageous result in any subsequent appeal. Elissa is often at trial making sure the rules of evidence are followed and she has put in a ton of work to learn trial procedure. We talk about professionalism and how plaintiffs lawyers and defense attorneys should get along – me and Elissa certainly do. We even both give our definitions of “Fighting For Justice” for our particular clients. Outside of the firm, Elissa serves as Immediate Past President of the State Bar of Georgia’s Young Lawyers Division (“YLD”) and on the State Bar’s Executive Committee. She also serves on the State Bar’s State Disciplinary Review Board, Indigent Defense Committee, Children and the Courts Committee, and Personnel...
Go to www.thejasoncavnessexperience.com for the full episode and other episodes of The Jason Cavness Experience on your favorite platforms. Sponsor CavnessHR delivers HR companies with 49 or fewer people with our HR platform and by providing you access to your own HRBP. www.CavnessHR.com Joshua's Bio Joshua is a Washington State native, raised in the Tacoma area. After graduating from the University of Washington, he earned his MBA at Jacksonville University and completed his law degree at Florida Coastal School of Law. Joshua has practiced as an attorney with the Washington State Bar Association since 2015. He has served as pro-tem. Judge and is the owner of Brumley Law Firm whose mission is to empower our community by providing client focused service, one car crash at a time. As the managing attorney at Brumley Law Firm, Joshua works daily to ensure that the team delivers the most professional and supportive legal services in Western Washington. This dedication is among the many reasons his peers recognized him in the select group of Rising Stars of the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Super Lawyers survey. Community involvement in the South Sound region is important to Joshua. In addition to serving on the board of directors for the Pierce County Center for Dispute Resolution, he is a member of the Puyallup Tribal Bar, Tulalip Tribal Bar, South King County Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, and has served two terms as President of the Young Lawyers Division of the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association. He has served as a barrister member of American Inns of Court, and he is dedicated to promoting the highest levels of professionalism in the practice of law. In his free time, Joshua enjoys skateboarding, playing bass guitar and spending time at the dog park with his Goldendoodle, Gilbert. We talked about the following and other items Business, leadership, and personal interests with Josh Bromley. Music scene in Seattle and personal experiences with playing music. Punk music, live shows, and running a nonprofit music venue. Veganism and its impact on health and lifestyle. Animal treatment and ethics in agriculture. Food industry, nutrition, and ethics. Healthy eating habits and lifestyle. Mike Tyson's upcoming fight and past controversies. Personal injury cases and insurance tactics. Personal injury law and insurance claims. Insurance company GEICO's negotiation tactics and litigiousness. Personal injury law and social media privacy. Insurance claims and negotiation strategies. Personal injury claims and representation. Insurance claims and representation. Charity work and humanitarian efforts in Haiti. The importance of lawyers and community engagement. Becoming a lawyer and its challenges. Law school, work ethic, and public speaking. Legal strategies and judicial dynamics. Career choices and job satisfaction. HR policies and laws for small businesses. HR policies and laws for businesses. Employee performance and retention strategies. Workload management and case handling in a personal injury law firm. Employee rights and pay in the US. Employment law and workplace harassment. Attracting and retaining top talent in a small business. Employee motivation and loyalty. Effective management and leadership techniques. Workplace communication and morale. Employee promotions and management. Managing and motivating employees in a small business. Hiring and retention strategies for small businesses. Managing employees and work-life balance. Employee performance reviews and salary negotiations. Remote work, pay, and expectations in the workplace. Remote work policies and win loss rate in legal industry. Legal ethics and professional conduct in law. Becoming a lawyer and licensing requirements. Starting a law firm, tattoos, and growth vision. Joshua's Social Media Joshua's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabrumley/ Website: https://brumleylawfirm.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brumleylawfirm/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrumleyLawFirm Joshua's Advice I think being a business owner is incredibly difficult. Remember that these people depend on you to set a good example for what this business is and to not be an absent business owner. You can't be involved as, as a leader, as a manager, as an owner of business. If you're not physically present. If you don't understand what your staff is doing, you have to know that job as well as they know it, to be able to manage them. If you don't know it, you need to hire someone to manage them, who does
In this episode of ALPS In Brief, our Bar Partnerships Strategist Rio Peterson sits down with Tamara Nash, Director of Experiential Learning and lecturer at the University of South Dakota School of Law and Chair of the ABA's Young Lawyer Division. They dive into her upcoming initiatives for the year ahead and discuss the inspiration behind her focus on empowering and motivating new and aspiring lawyers. Lastly Tamara, a first-generation lawyer herself, shares her plans to reach more young lawyers by organizing the ABA's inaugural first-generation summit in April 2024. — Rio Peterson: Hello everybody and welcome to episode 81 of the In Brief podcast. I'm your host today Rio Peterson, coming to you live from Chicago. And as we all know, I am the bar partnership strategist here at ALPS and one of your new hosts for the podcast. So today I am sitting down with the fantastic and fabulous Tamara Nash. Hello. Tamara Nash: Hi. Rio Peterson: How are you? Tamara Nash: I'm great. How are you today? Rio Peterson: Good, I'm fantastic. Better that I get to sit here and chat with you. So we are both attending BLI, the Bar Leader Institute conference here in Chicago. And so we thought this would be a great time to sit down and talk about a lot of, well, all of, or as many as we can, the exciting things that Tam is doing because you do all the things. So yeah, happy to have you. Thanks for joining me. Tamara Nash: Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be here. Rio Peterson: Fantastic. All right, so let's get started. I would love to hear a little bit more about you. I mean, obviously I know a little bit about you, but our listeners don't. So why don't you tell me a little bit about who you are, what you do, and yeah, we'll go from there. Tamara Nash: Yeah, I would love to. So those kind of questions always strike a chord of panic. Who are you? It's like, "Well, let me encapsulate my life in this one sentence." I always like to start that with I'm a proud first-generation attorney, born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, and then transplant to South Dakota, a proud South Dakota young lawyer, but I can only say that for one more year and then I'll be aging out. So I'll go kicking and screaming to veteran attorney status. Rio Peterson: Yes. Tamara Nash: O I guess a quasi veteran attorney status, but... Rio Peterson: Young veteran attorney. Tamara Nash: Young veteran attorney. Yes, I like that. We'll bring that term into use. I am the oldest sibling of three. I'm very close with my siblings. I have a brand new nephew and I have a niece. I'm quite obsessed with them. I bring them up any chance that I can get. I was a prosecutor for about eight years and then recently made a transition into academia. I currently have the joy of serving as the director of experiential learning and a lecturer at the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law. And I am kind of a serial joiner. I really like bar service, so I do quite a bit in the South Dakota State Bar as well as the American Bar Association and the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and just try to squeeze in time to read and bake when I'm not doing all of those things. Rio Peterson: I do all of the things when I'm not doing all of them. Tamara Nash: Basically, yeah. Rio Peterson: Yeah. And so I think it's incredible that you do all those things. It really just shows that you're so passionate about what you do. And so something I would really love to hear is a little bit about your origin story because I know you mentioned that you're a first-generation lawyer, so that's a really, I think, exciting thing when somebody in your family takes that next step. So I'd love to know more about what inspired you to become a lawyer. Tamara Nash: Yeah. So I love telling this story. It's something I'm super proud about and something that has always followed me. It's always like a little seed or flower I carry with me everywhere. So I think I come from a family of helpers, a family of people who always want to improve the world, make the world better and have done that in kind of their own little way. But no one in my family ever really went to professional school, ever did anything like this. I mean, my grandfather had a third grade education and started his own business. So I mean, so amazing feat from that, a Black man from Mississippi. Rio Peterson: Yeah. Tamara Nash: So extraordinary journey and path that he lived. But my kind of story was inspired by an amazing teacher. My sixth grade teacher let us create a mini society. So we had our own money, we had our own name, we had our own businesses, and one of our classmates had a hot dog stand, which beside the point of how weird and creepy that is, that sixth-graders were selling hot dogs to other sixth-graders, we had a mini society day where some of us were selling... I had a supply store with my friends, they had their hot dog stand, but apparently my friend's classmates thought he wasn't pulling his end of the labor. And so they fired him. And my teacher said, "Well, you can do something about that." So our class had a wrongful termination lawsuit and some of us were jury members, some of us served as attorneys. I was his attorney. One of us was a judge. And it just changed something inside of me. It was the coolest thing I've ever done. And my teacher was like, "You seemed to really enjoy that." And so he brought in three Black women to talk to me about what it meant to be a lawyer and what they did every day. And I sat with them in the school cafeteria during the school day and just learned about it. And it planted the seed inside of me of what I could do and what my life could be. And I kind of had ups and downs through school. I didn't do very well the whole time. But when I got to college, that dream came to fruition. I took the LSAT, the law school admissions test and was like, "I can do this, and went to law school. And so I went to University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law and the dream of following in the footsteps of helpers and my family kind of came to life. So it all started with a hot dog stand. Rio Peterson: Did you win? Did you win the case? Tamara Nash: We did. We did. Yes. But really we were all winners. We were all winners. Rio Peterson: That's really incredible. It's really a testament to the power that education and certain adults in your life can have to influence and inspire the direction you go. And do you still keep in touch with that teacher? Tamara Nash: I do. So his name is Mr. Summit. We keep in contact periodically on Facebook. And I very much believe that my journey and my life has been influenced and my trajectory has been changed by people who have intervened and got involved and influenced me in these monumental ways. And he's just one of the several examples of people who've changed my life. And so yeah, I'm so appreciative of him for something that he probably thought was no big deal, but literally changed the course of my life. Rio Peterson: Yeah, absolutely. And I love too that he thought to bring three women that you could relate to and connect with as a woman of color and show you," Hey, this is what you can do." Tamara Nash: Absolutely. Rio Peterson: That's amazing. Tamara Nash: Yeah. Rio Peterson: Yeah. Tamara Nash: It's so powerful. I mean, you have to see it to believe it, and that's what he did. And it just planted the seed that took years to blossom, but when it did, it came with a vengeance. So it's really cool Rio Peterson: Oh, I love that. That's fantastic. That's a great origin story. Tamara Nash: Thanks. Rio Peterson: Was there anyone during your journey through law school and as a young lawyer who also inspired you in that way or pushed you forward? Tamara Nash: Yeah. So I mean, sincerely mean it when I say I've had amazing mentors who've been pivotal in my life. As a young lawyer, I've had a few mentors who have just been wonderful, who've taught me how to be a young lawyer, how to navigate the profession, how to have empathy, how to have compassion, how to be a professional. I had one mentor in particular, I remember it's the summer between second year and third year, everyone's interviewing for jobs. And I remember walking out of that interview and I thought to myself, "Whatever I got to do to work for this person, I'll do it." Just you connect with a person and you just know this is who I am supposed to learn from. And fate aligned that I got that internship and it was with the US Attorney's Office in South Dakota. Rio Peterson: Oh, wow. Tamara Nash: And it changed life. And I'm still mentee with that person, and I still call on them when I want to know what to do in life or what decisions to make. And the coolest thing about it is that person ended up becoming a judge and then I ended up becoming their clerk by happenstance. We both kind of got the same job the next year. And so our lives kind of tracked for a couple paces after that. And so that person has been such a pivotal mentor and role model and encourager and champion in my life. And I think that's one thing that makes the South Dakota Bar so amazing is that it's such a close-knit community that I don't know a single young lawyer who hasn't been impacted by an amazing mentor, someone who's been a champion to them, cheered them on, encouraged them, provided opportunities. And I am so fortunate to be not at all from South Dakota, but benefiting from an amazing bar and amazing mentors. Rio Peterson: Yeah, absolutely. And really the role of mentorship is so important, especially when you're new at something. I mean, whether you're coming into the profession as a young person or even maybe a bit later in life, it can be a very daunting and intimidating thing to be surrounded by all these very intelligent people who know what's going on. So it's really fantastic to know that it is understood that that is such an important thing for people to have that support when they're trying to figure out who they are and where they're going to end up in this profession. Tamara Nash: Absolutely. And especially as a first-generation attorney where you don't have a parent who came before you who can tell you, "This is what you do when you go golfing," or, "This is how you interact at this fancy lunch." And for someone to just sit you down and tell you these unspoken rules or just to encourage you and remind you, you are here for a reason. Rio Peterson: You belong here. Tamara Nash: You belong. Exactly. Rio Peterson: Yeah. Tamara Nash: And then just the power of someone saying your name in rooms you're not in, and to help you seek opportunities and achieve and push yourself, it is so powerful and it means so much. So it's really exciting. Rio Peterson: Yeah. And I think there's kind of a theme that I keep hearing when I get to speak to incredible legal professionals. It's that a lot of the legal community is of the opinion that success is not a zero-sum game. There's enough opportunity for everyone, there's enough success, and if we just work together and bring each other up, we're all going to do well. And... Tamara Nash: Absolutely. Rio Peterson: ... the world I think in general will do well from that. Tamara Nash: Oh, yes. Absolutely. Rio Peterson: Yeah. Tamara Nash: Yeah, our whole profession succeeds. One of the cool things is there's a session here at BLI, the Bar Leadership Institute, leadership is a team sport. We all succeed when one of us succeeds. We don't take away from any of us or any one of us. And I believe sincerely that when we dig in and work together to do our joint mission, whether that's serving justice, whether that's a strategic plan, whatever the goal is, we all come out enriched for whatever that is. And that's how my mentors taught me. Rio Peterson: Yes, yes. And so in your role as a teacher and a lecturer, is mentorship something that you speak about with your students and encourage? Tamara Nash: It is. Mentorship is such an amorphous topic to teach, though. It's so hard to say, "Mentor, find one." Rio Peterson: [inaudible 00:12:38] right now with somebody. Tamara Nash: Yeah, exactly. But I do, and I try to bring in folks to come in and guest lecture and different guest speakers and bring in my mentors to demonstrate how important it is. And I talk and try to be open and vulnerable about how I've benefited from mentorship and why it matters and how to find mentors and how to engage with your mentor and how to give back to your mentors because it's not a one-way street either. It's not someone you just call up like, "Hey, Bob, need a job, what you got for me," kind of thing." So yeah, we talk about it. And I think it's one of those things that as you grow in the profession, you understand what it means, kind of like I understood the opportunity that my sixth grade teacher gave me much more as I got older. And so I think it's one of those pieces as well. But I think the students really enjoy meeting professionals, understanding what they do and understanding how those connections can continue to be cultivated as they grow in their three years as law students and then much more beyond as lawyers. Rio Peterson: Right. Yeah, absolutely. That's fantastic. So you teach, but you were also a prosecutor for eight years? Tamara Nash: Yeah, about eight years. Rio Peterson: Was that in South Dakota? Tamara Nash: Yes. Yeah. Rio Peterson: Okay. How did you like it? Tamara Nash: I loved it. It was very challenging, very stressful, but I loved it. I loved my office and the mission and just the pursuit of justice, it mattered, and it was a very meaningful job to have. Rio Peterson: Right. Got it. And so then after your time as a prosecutor, you've now segued into, you work with the South Dakota Bar, you do work with the ABA ,and you teach. What are some of the things that you do with the South Dakota Bar? Tamara Nash: Yeah, so I have been fortunate enough that as soon as I was licensed, I had folks say, "Come to bar service. Welcome. Welcome." And so I've been involved in the South Dakota State Bar and the American Bar Association pretty much since the time I've had a license. And so with the South Dakota State Bar, I've been on the Young Lawyers Board of Directors. I've been fortunate enough to serve as our South Dakota Young Lawyer Section President. And with the South Dakota State Bar, I am our young lawyer delegate to the ABA House of Delegates. I serve on a few different committees within our state bar, with our law school committee. I also this year serve as chair of our diversity, equity, and inclusion committee. And it's just been really cool to be a part of a state bar and to serve and lead in a state bar that has given me so much and really has been the reason I have a career. So it's been really rewarding. I enjoy it. Rio Peterson: Yeah. And they recognize, they're like, "This woman gets things done. We need her to join the [inaudible 00:15:32]." Yeah, we know obviously ALPS works with the South Dakota Bar, and they're a fantastic group of people. So yeah, it's wonderful to hear too the impact that a bar and participating in your bar can have as well. And, oh, excuse me. Yeah, just the positive impact that can have in helping to push your career forward as well. Tamara Nash: Absolutely. Rio Peterson: And helping you to connect with people. And I think also focusing on your passion. It sounds like you're very passionate about supporting young lawyers and helping them navigate the world, the legal profession, and becoming lawyers. I know... I mean, I think it's clear based on your work as well with the ABA, because you are the chair of the Young Lawyer Division this year for the ABA as well, right? Tamara Nash: I am. Rio Peterson: Yeah. How did that come about? Tamara Nash: Oh, that's a windy, twisty turn of fate, truly a fate. And it's been such a remarkable just journey of kind of finding a home in the ABA. I attended my first ABA conference back in 2016 as a member of the board of directors for South Dakota, our young lawyer section. And I say this in all sincerity, although it sounds like a Hallmark card, knew I had found my home and found my people in my first meeting. And so instantly signed up for everything I could and tried to join all the things. And then someone was like, "All right, we'll need to narrow it down. So tell us one thing you want to do." And so I applied to become a scholar, which is a leadership development program at the Young Lawyers Division does each year. 16 young lawyers are selected to participate. And that we kind of lovingly and appropriately call a springboard into leadership. Rio Peterson: Great. Tamara Nash: And so that was kind of the first opportunity or segue into the Young Lawyers Division that I did. And after that held different positions as a director and committee leader and on different teams and on different boards. And everything that I did, I just kind of fell in love with the division more and lovingly call the division home, where I've made amazing, amazing friends that have kind of helped guide me through hard life stuff that we all live challenges, career changes, encouraged me as I'm negotiating new jobs, celebrating fun wins in life, and it's just kind of become this professional home that means so very much to me. And so I decided in 2019 to run a campaign, a year-long campaign to be secretary of the division and the successful candidate for that ascends to chair. And so that was four years ago... Rio Peterson: Got it. Tamara Nash: ... which leads us to today... Rio Peterson: Got it. Tamara Nash: ... serving as chair. Rio Peterson: Well, I would buy that Hallmark card. Yeah, I love that you found that community. You just instantly were like, "Yes, this is where I need to be." And it really shows through all the work that you've done. And I know a project that you have coming up is a summit for first-generation lawyers, which we're very, very excited about. Do you want to tell us a bit about that? Tamara Nash: Yeah. So I'm so very proud, very excited to be a part of the first-generation summit that we're able to put on. So kind of context of stepping back, we as the Young Lawyers Division have a first-generation initiative. Something that we are incredibly proud of is creating community for first-generation law students and young lawyers. It was a gap that we had that we didn't have a place where we could say, "Hey, this is who I am and this is something I'm proud of, and here are resources to support me." And that is a gap that we filled last year, last bar year. Rio Peterson: Yes. Tamara Nash: And a part of that is creating space where we can come together and be proud of who we are, to bring mentors into the space, to provide resources. And so on April 26th of this year, 2024, we'll be meeting in Houston, Texas to have a summit and really just celebrate that shared identity that I think we've all, a lot of first-generation, I should say, have gone through this transition of it used to be something that you felt, I wouldn't say embarrassed, but maybe felt like it used to be a barrier or a challenge. And now it's a badge of honor. To be a first-generation is synonymous with grit and tenacity and to be someone who perseveres. And we'll come together and celebrate that identity and that label. And we'll have high-schoolers there, we'll have college students there, law students, members of the judiciary and young lawyers, and just kind of celebrate that shared identity, build community and have some programming, have some networking breakfast, networking lunch, and really just celebrate who we are and that first-gen status. And we have some amazing partners, one of which is ALPS. We have the AccessLex Institute. And we have some of the Texas Bar Associations that have been fantastic partners, and South Texas College of Law has been a wonderful partner. And so we're just really excited to say, "We're here and we're proud of who we are and how can we help." Rio Peterson: Yes. And I really love that you've included high school students in that as well. And I mean, giving them an opportunity to see the law as something that is viable and it is something they should be considering and that is open to them. And I know you've done work in the past with I think it's Project Destination, right? Tamara Nash: Yes. Yeah. Rio Peterson: Yeah. So I love that because I think it's, especially for someone who doesn't come from a family of lawyers, even thinking about being a lawyer is maybe something they wouldn't be considering without someone being like, "Oh, actually you should." Tamara Nash: Yeah, 100% Rio Peterson: "You can do this. This could be you." Tamara Nash: Yeah. Yeah. I think it's the profound ability to see yourself in someone who looks like you, to say, "I did it. You can do it." And to plant that seed that we know that sometimes can take years to blossom. I'm the example of that, that someone took the time to plant a seed in me, and it took years for me to even think back on that. But once I did, and once life happened and the universe aligned, that seed blossomed. And it's just to take the time to pour into someone, pour life into someone, invest in them and believe in them, and for them to remember to believe in themselves as well. Rio Peterson: Yeah, absolutely. And I think seizing the opportunity to create visibility around, I mean, particularly women of color and showing other young girls of color like, "Hey, this is something that you can do." I mean, I think about media and stuff, it's not often that you see that representation. Tamara Nash: Absolutely. Rio Peterson: So connecting with that is so important, even if you don't realize it in the moment. Looking back, just like you said with, as you've gotten older, understanding the opportunity that was presented when you met the those women lawyers. Yeah. It's amazing growing the gardens of tomorrow today. Tamara Nash: Yes, exactly. It's so cool. And I always think even if students never become a lawyer, the impact that you can have is profound. And the ripple effect of the generations you impact afterwards are amazing. And there's a quote that I love of, "You plant seeds today so that generations can live in the shade tomorrow." Something like that, the quote, not precisely. But it's so cool that someone years from now can live the benefit because you put on a 40-minute panel. Rio Peterson: Yes. Tamara Nash: And so it's really so cool and so truly just moving to know that you can change the course of someone's life. And I say that in a way of not like I'm important, but in a way that I've lived it. It has changed my life. And so I know the impact that it can have. Rio Peterson: Yeah, absolutely. And I love that generational element as well. I mean, maybe if a high-schooler comes to the summit and they don't become a lawyer, but maybe their kid does and maybe their kid becomes president because of it and changes the world. You never know. Tamara Nash: Exactly. Rio Peterson: You never know. Tamara Nash: Or someone becomes a court reporter or they go into law enforcement and then the next generation does something. It can just be so cool. Rio Peterson: Yeah, absolutely. Well, that's very, very exciting. And so that's on April 26th. Tamara Nash: April 26th. Rio Peterson: At the Houston? Tamara Nash: South Texas College of Law in Houston. Rio Peterson: South Texas. Yes, in Houston. Okay. Fantastic. And we'll talk in a minute about how people can get connected with that. Tamara Nash: Sounds good. Rio Peterson: So something I want to ask because I think this is really a theme and overarching theme about what we've been talking about is just inspiring youth and creating and opening those opportunities. So what is some advice that you would give your younger self? I know this is a question you like to ask. Well, I'm asking you, Tam. Tamara Nash: All right. A piece of advice I would give my younger self is to stay rooted in your passion and your dreams and to trust the process and trust the journey. I think we get very convinced that success looks one way and that the path has to be one way. And we get so rigid and so distracted by other people's definition of success that sometimes we lose sight of our own passion, our own dream, and our own wants for our life. And so I would just remind my younger self that it will work out just as it should and that you can define success for yourself. Rio Peterson: Oh, I love that. I feel like that's going to be the title of this episode. I imagine your family's really proud of you, hey. Tamara Nash: I hope they are. Rio Peterson: Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's great. I love that. I love that advice. And it is so true. I mean, we definitely get wrapped up in this idea that it has to be a certain thing. But that's the great thing about success in this life is that you really get to decide for yourself what is important and how that looks and where you want to take it. And that's a really powerful thing to know. Tamara Nash: Yeah. Rio Peterson: Yeah. And I mean, obviously it takes time to learn that, but once you do. Tamara Nash: It's liberating. Rio Peterson: Yes, it absolutely is. It's like, "Oh, I don't have to fit in this box. That's really awesome." Tamara Nash: Yeah. Rio Peterson: Yeah. Oh, I love that. That's great advice. So tell us how can people find out about the summit? Tamara Nash: Yes. So easiest way to find out about the summit is reach out to me directly. You can email me at tamarapnash1@gamil, tamarapnash1@gmail.com. And I would love, love, love to get you connected to get you there and to get you all the information you might need. Rio Peterson: Perfect. And we will make sure to put that in the show notes so that it's easy to find and everyone can connect with you. And yeah, we're really looking forward to the summit and I think it's going to be a fantastic success. Tamara Nash: Thank you. We're excited and we are appreciative of your partnership. Rio Peterson: Yeah, absolutely. Anytime. We love young lawyers. Yeah, so thank you so much for chatting with me today. This was fantastic. I really enjoyed our conversation. Tamara Nash: Me too. Thanks for having me. Rio Peterson: Yeah, absolutely. Anytime. You come back anytime. Tamara Nash: All right, be careful. Rio Peterson: This is just going to be our new show. And then they did a spinoff and it was great. Tamara Nash: And It kept going. Rio Peterson: Right. Well, thank you everybody for tuning in. We'll talk to you next time. Have a wonderful day.
About Our GuestAlyssa D. Honickman is the owner and operator of a boutique law firm that focuses on meeting clients' needs in Family Law and domestic violence cases in South Florida. Ms. Honickman is an experienced trial attorney and will fight for her clients' rights throughout the litigation process. She encourages settlement of her cases without court intervention but is prepared to litigate her cases at trial in the event settlement is impossible. Ms. Honickman's patience and ability to effectively communicate with her clients and opposing counsel put her clients at ease during the difficult process of family litigation. Alyssa Honickman was born and raised in Ocala, Florida and attended Florida schools for education. Ms. Honickman graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology Summa Cum Laude from the University of Florida. She continued her studies at Stetson College of Law and graduated Cum Laude with her Juris Doctorate with a concentration in Trial Advocacy. She began her legal career working as an Assistant State Attorney for the Broward County State Attorney's Office. Ms. Honickman has tried over 150 jury trials including misdemeanors, felonies, and domestic violence cases and has tried over 80 family law trials. Alyssa Honickman is an active member of her community. She is a member of the Broward County Bar Association's Family Law Section and Broward County Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division. Ms. Honickman currently is an active member of the Florida Bar Family Law Section. She is actively involved with the Florida Bar and participates in their annual and semi-annual conventions. Notable Links: Official website: https://honickmanlaw.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063680598564Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Alyssa_honickman/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/law-offices-of-alyssa-d.-honickman-p.a./about/ ********** "Women Winning Divorce" is a radio show and podcast hosted by Heather Quick: Attorney, Entrepreneur, Author and Founder of Florida Women's Law Group, the only divorce firm for women, by women. Each week Heather sits down with innovative professionals and leaders who are focused on how you can be your best self, before, during or after divorce. In these conversations, we are looking at how women can win at life. With our guests, we enjoy the opportunity to explore ways all women can win and enhance their life, no matter where they are in their journey, because divorce is just point in life, not the end and not what defines you, rather it can be a catalyst for growth. Come join the conversation on social media, and join our Facebook group, Women Winning Divorce and send comments and suggestions, we want to bring you content that helps move your life forward.Women Winning Divorce Podcast Series https://www.womenwinningdivorce.com/Women Winning Divorce Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/685277376560289Florida Women's Law Grouphttps://www.floridawomenslawgroup.com/Divorce 101 Online Course: https://heather-quick.mykajabi.com/ Thank you for listening. Please share the podcast with your friends and colleagues. Send your questions, comments, and feedback to marketing@4womenlaw.com Women Winning Divorce is supported by Florida Women's Law Group Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not an advertisement for legal services. The information provided on this podcast is not intended to be legal advice. You should not rely on what you hear on this podcast as legal advice. If you have a legal issue, please contact a lawyer. The views and opinions expressed by the hosts and guests are solely those of the individuals and do not represent the views or opinions of the firms or organizations with which they are affiliated or the views or opinions of this podcast's advertisers. This podcast is available for private, non-commercial use only. Any editing, reproduction, or redistribution of this podcast for commercial use or monetary gain without the expressed, written consent of the podcast's creator is prohibited.
In this podcast episode, Gary interviews Emily Stedman, a partner at a major Midwest law firm, who shares her path to partnership and her dedication to helping lawyers manage stress and achieve a balanced life. She discusses overcoming self-doubt, anxiety, and imposter syndrome and stresses the importance of mental health practices like therapy and meditation. Emily advocates for open dialogue on well-being in the legal community and underscores the need for law firms to support mental health initiatives. The episode offers insights into maintaining professional and personal well-being in the demanding field of law. Born and raised outside of Atlanta, Georgia, Emily Logan Stedman has called Milwaukee home since June 2013. She obtained her B.A. cum laude (Spanish and History) in 2008 from Wake Forest University. Next, she taught 5th Grade in Buckeye, Arizona, as a 2008 corps member with Teach for America. In 2010, she enrolled at the University of Mississippi School of Law, graduating in 2013 magna cum laude and having served as Editor-in-Chief of the Mississippi Law Journal. From 2013-2016, Emily clerked for Judge Pamela Pepper, now Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. In 2016, she joined Midwest Big Law as an associate at Quarles & Brady. Since November 2020, she has worked at Husch Blackwell, where she is a commercial litigation partner within the technology, manufacturing, and transportation strategic business unit. It was joining Big Law that brought on an increase in anxiety and low mood in Emily. After seeking solace with colleagues, therapy, and meditation, she began talking more openly about the need to improve well-being in the law. This started with programming while president of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Wisconsin, then as a committee chair for the Wisconsin Taskforce on Lawyer Well-Being. Most recently, she has built a platform on LinkedIn and now Twitter/X, where she posts regularly on the realities of being a Big Law attorney and the need to destigmatize lawyer well-being. Would you like to learn more about Breaking Free or order your own copy? https://www.garymiles.net/break-free Overcoming obstacles and self-doubt (00:02:16) Emily talks about the obstacles, self-doubt, and second choices she encountered in her academic and professional journey. Managing self-doubt and anxiety (00:06:01) Emily and Gary discuss strategies for managing self-doubt and anxiety, including therapy, meditation, and self-compassion. Finding alignment and fulfillment (00:11:42) The conversation focuses on aligning legal practice with personal values, making career decisions, and the importance of being true to oneself. Maintaining mental health and balance (00:20:06) Emily discusses effective strategies for maintaining mental health, including therapy, meditation, organization, and time management. Systems and Routines (00:24:07) Emily discusses the need for systems and routines to manage workload and pressure, emphasizing the importance of flexibility. Maintaining Mental Health (00:26:20) The impact of mental health on individual and client performance, and the negative effects of stress and anxiety in the legal profession. Coping Strategies (00:29:32) Emily shares coping strategies for overwhelmed lawyers, including taking breaks, prioritizing tasks, and regrouping to find peace and balance. Handling High-Stress Cases (00:31:29) Emily discusses managing stress in commercial litigation, dealing with difficult opposing counsel, and maintaining a reasonable posture and position. Community and Mentorship (00:35:02) The critical role of mentorship and community in supporting lawyers through the stresses of the legal profession.
In this episode, we pass the mic to Lorna Brown-Burton to discuss pursuing service through bar associations, both voluntary and mandatory. Lorna E. Brown-Burton is an “AV” rated attorney who is licensed to practice law in the State of Florida since 1987 and the Southern District of Florida since 1990. Ms. Brown-Burton's primary area of practice is workers' compensation defense representing Employers/Self-Insureds/Carriers for over 30 years and also has experience in the area of Labor and Employment and Social Security Disability as well as representing individuals in Chapters 7 & 13 bankruptcy matters. Ms. Brown-Burton is a past adjunct professor at Broward College in the Paralegal Degree Program. Prior to joining Lubell | Rosen as a Partner managing the Workers' Compensation department, she owned and operated her own firm, which was certified as an MWBE/SBE from February of 2004 to August 31, 2014 and from September 1, 2014 to July 31, 2018 Ms. Brown-Burton merged her firm with The DeMicco Law Firm, P.A. where she co-founded the firm, Brown-Burton & DeMicco, PLLC. She was an active member of the Legal Aid Board of Directors and has held several officer positions which, included President. Ms. Brown-Burton is a member of the Workers' Compensation Section of The Florida Bar, a prior elected member of The Florida Bar Board of Governors, Young Lawyers Division, as the Seventeenth Circuit representative, with a special appointment to the Board of Governors, Young Lawyers Division, for the 2002-2003 term and is a former elected President of the Young Lawyers Section of the Broward County Bar Association for the 1996-1997 term. Ms. Brown-Burton completed two 3-year terms on the Florida Bar Grievance Committee “17F” and “17E”, respectively and also served as Chair of the “17E” Grievance committee. Fun Fact- Initially, I thought I wanted to be a fashion designer and merchandiser until that faithful day on my last day of High School. Ms. Brown-Burton's Social Media: Lornab@Lebburtonlaw.com Linkedin-https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorna-brown-burton-3b76127/ JTE Social Media: Website: www.journeytoesquire.com Email: info@journeytoesquire.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dive... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JourneytoEsq/ Twitter: @JourneytoEsq https://mobile.twitter.com/journeytoesq Instagram: @JourneytoEsq https://www.instagram.com/journeytoesq/ YouTube: YT: https://www.youtube.com/@journeytoesquire --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/journey-to-esquire/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/journey-to-esquire/support
Hosts: Chief Justice Shannon Bacon, New Mexico Supreme Court; Damon Hudson, Jones Snead Wertheim & Clifford PA
Subscription-based law firms are shaking up the legal practice in BIG ways. Many actions that lawyers complete, drafting documents, reviewing files, monitoring trademarks, etc. can be paid for on a subscription model and Mathew Kerbis wants to convince you of this. And you will believe him. Kerbis, as he prefers to be called, even shared the magic of subscription-based legal service with his employer. The insurance defense company ultimately decided to keep their billable hour requirements, but this did not deter Kerbis. Transparent pricing, transparent agreements, and having the feeling that you could do this; you could be a subscription attorney, is Kerbis' model. Imagine not being billed when your attorney is researching an issue. This a task that could be 80% of the time spent by an attorney while working on your case. Kerbis does not bill for this task because he will take that research and use it for his Knowledge Base which allows him to serve more clients who could potentially have that same question."Engagement agreements are an earned fee immediately, the opposite of a retainer fee, where the client is billing against the retained money," explains Kerbis.Chair of the Law Student Division of the ABA (like being president of the group and traveling to learn more about law students). Then ran for Chair of the Young Lawyers Division. The entire purpose was to find ways to innovate the legal practice and find ways to make members of the American Bar Association, Kerbis was a member of the young lawyers' division founding podcast team. Learning to record and edit and release podcasts. Took all that knowledge and used it to teach others bout subscription-based legal services. Kerbis started his podcast, The Law Subscribed, to inform others about subscription-based legal services and to use his background in performing arts. The Law Subscribed is all about bringing the subscription model to legal services. Kerbis relies on tech tools, like Calendly and time-blocking, to ensure that he prioritizes time with his family and away from work responsibilities. Working hard, working with technology, working on tasks that you enjoy, and managing your schedule in the way that you want to, makes running your own business a better option than the comforts of working a typical 9 to 5 job. EPISODE TIMESTAMPS 00:01 - INTRO: Welcome to You Are A Lawyer hosted by Kyla Denanyoh00:35 - Welcome to the podcast, Mathew Kerbis. 00:47 - You actually prefer to be called Kerbis. Would you tell the audience about yourself?01:55 - I went to law school intended to work in transactional law, but podcasting has helped me when transactional law is too much writing (re: boring)02:15 - With your litigation background, was hosting the podcast, The Law Subscribed, an easy transition for you?03:14 - I think that having a child is a really big eye-opening situation. Would you share more details about billable hours and why you wanted to get away from that demand?05:45 - And you're running your own law firm full-time?06:00 - It is wild that leaving a 9-to-5 to run your own business, even if working 20 out of 24 hours, could be less work than working at a law firm with billable hours.07:41 - Did you learn how to time block, or block scheduling, from billing your time at the law firm, or studying in law school?09:55 - I asked about time blocking because I did that in law school and now, I live by checklists and reminders. I think time blocking is really beneficial. 12:36 - Planning your schedule and time blocking sounds like stress and anxiety management. 13:01 - Kerbis, what made you go to law school?14:59 - A professor sparked your interest in the law. And when you were in law school did you know that you wanted to be a litigator?17:01 - It sounds like being a litigator was a stair step to the career that you have now.17:14 - I call the podcast You Are A Lawyer because I truly believe that everything you do in life will be viewed through the lens of a lawyer. Law school has a way of re-wiring the brain. 17:49 - Let's discuss the Law Subscribed Podcast and The Subscription Attorney LLC. Which came first, the podcast or the business?19:35 - People thought that the subscription model was really cool but didn't understand it. 21:10 - What does it mean to have an attorney with the subscription model? Are you on retainer for every client?22:20 - Subscription-based legal services are not retainer agreements. Subscribers with The Subscription Attorney sign engagement agreements because subscribers get immediate access to resources and Kerbis' calendar which makes an engagement agreement an earned fee. 26:05 - Is the subscription package a national service or would you make referrals to lawyers in a different state?27:14 - A brief explanation of fractionalized in-house counsel, which does not only include business transactions. If Kerbis is unable to assist you with a family law or adoption matter, subscribers will be referred to other lawyers.29:08 - On your website, subscriptionattorney.com mentions legal services for freelancers. Is there anything specific that you offer that a typical retainer agreement would not offer a freelancer?32:29 - The Subscription Attorney provides access to legal services for small business owners and freelancers who would normally be priced out of the market for most legal services.33:46 - A small business is defined as a business that makes less than two million dollars a year. The fact that you could earn big money and not have access to competent legal counsel is ridiculous. 34:31 - Kerbis, is there anything else you want to share with the audience about why you attended law school or the practice of law?35:51 - OUTRO: Thanks for listening to the episode and rate this podcast. IMPORTANT LINKS FROM THE EPISODEBook a call with The Subscription Attorney LLC: https://subscriptionattorney.com/Law Subscribed Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/law-subscribed/id1586707101Chicago Bar Show: https://www.chicagobar.org/chicagobar/CBA/Programs/Bar_Show_Main_PageAmerican Bar Association: https://www.americanbar.org/membership/Thinking Like A Lawyer Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/above-the-law-thinking-like-a-lawyer/id976331027LISTEN TO LEARN Why fractionalized in-house counsel is the future The importance of time-blocking your calendar Best tech tools for solo law practitioners Every attorney sending client information through email could be committing client malpractice Why legal services for freelancers is an important niche market WHAT WE DISCUSS Podcasting is a wonderful medium for lawyers because of the performance aspect of How business owners can minimize surprises and control their time Lawyers (especially litigators) often enjoy the performance of law. The differences between engagement fees and retainer agreements Join the FREE mailing list and get behind-the-scenes content from Kyla.1) Visit www.youarealawyer.com2) Add your email address to the Subscribe pop-up box OR3) Enter your email address on the right side of the screen4) Get emails from me (I won't fill your inbox with junk)!As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Review my favorite books here: https://amzn.to/3OTfrrZSchedule a call with The Subscription Attorney, Mathew Kerbis: https://subscriptionattorney.com/
Emily Logan Stedman joins us for this blockbuster episode! Practicing for six years in two large firms, Emily shares her powerful tips with young lawyers, including: -Her hot tips for the lawyer who is feeling overwhelmed- remember you are not alone, seek the fulfillment you crave, connect with your tribe, and know you always have choices!! -The importance of mentorship for young attorneys -How to set appropriate boundaries and find time for yourself -Be aware of the stress you feel and share it with your associates -Find fulfillment by focusing on finding solutions for your clients Born and raised outside Atlanta, Georgia, Emily Logan Stedman has called Milwaukee home since June 2013. She obtained her B.A. (Spanish and History) in 2008 from Wake Forest University. In 2010, she enrolled at the University of Mississippi School of Law, graduating in 2013 and serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Mississippi Law Journal. From 2013-2016, Emily clerked for Judge Pamela Pepper, now Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. In 2016, she joined Midwest Big Law as an associate at Quarles & Brady. Since November 2020, she has worked as a Senior Associate at Husch Blackwell, where she practices commercial litigation. It was joining Big Law that brought on an increase in anxiety and low mood in Emily. After seeking solace with colleagues, therapy, and meditation, she began talking more openly about the need to improve well-being in the law. This started with programming while president of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Wisconsin, then as a committee chair for the Wisconsin Taskforce on Lawyer Well-Being. Most recently, she has built a platform on LinkedIn where she posts regularly on the realities of being a Big Law associate and the need to destigmatize lawyer well-being.
Transcript: Mark Bassingthwaighte: Hello, I'm Mark Bassingthwaighte quick, the risk manager here at ALPS, and welcome to the latest episode of ALPS In Brief, the podcast that comes to you from the historic Florence building in beautiful downtown Missoula, Montana. I'm on the road today and out in South Dakota at a convention and have had the pleasure to meet Tamara Nash. And she is the director of experiential learning and a lecturer at the University of South Dakota School of Law. And first, I just want to say welcome. Tamara Nash: Thank you. Mark Bassingthwaighte: It's a pleasure. Before we get into the topic that we're going to be discussing today. I would love to... Just to have you share a few things about yourself. Introduce yourself. What does the audience need to know and enjoy hearing about? Tamara Nash: Sure. Yeah. So I am a recent transfer to the law school, but I would say probably, more importantly, I'm a proud aunt, first-generation law student, and first-generation college student. I am a serial joiner. So bar junkie. Mark Bassingthwaighte: I love it. Tamara Nash: Yes. I just... In the midst of joining clubs and organizations, I'm usually there. So really involved in the South Dakota State Bar, American Bar Association, and the Young Lawyers Division. I love to bake. I try to rival Betty Crocker cupcakes. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Oh, with kindred spirits there on some things. I can see that. Tamara Nash: Yes. It's my de-stressor. But yeah, just... I like to be with friends and family and fellowship and try to find time to watch a good show on Netflix here or there. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Oh yeah. Yeah. I get that too. Well, let me ask, what initially brought you into law? Where's the interest? How did that arise? Tamara Nash: So really interesting. I actually had a sixth-grade project that planted the whole seed and it's actually all tied into Project Destination. And I think we'll kind of have an interwoven conversation that ties into this question. So in sixth-grade, I had a teacher and we did a mini society project and we had our own country name. We made our own money. And at the end of the year, we had our own stations where we did our own thing. Some of us sold stationary. One of our classmates sold hot dogs, which is really questionable when you trust sixth graders to cook and sell you hot dogs. But we were doing our thing and one of the classmates who was selling hot dogs, his classmate fired him because he wasn't pulling his end of the weight and he was very upset about that. Tamara Nash: So my teacher said, "Hey, you can do something about that." So our class had a wrongful termination lawsuit and- Mark Bassingthwaighte: Oh my gosh. Tamara Nash: ... Some of us were jurors. We had a judge and I was his lawyer. And it was really fun. We had a really good time and we won. I don't know if fair practices happened. I don't know if we played by the rules, but my teacher, Mr. Summit, the best teacher I've ever had said, "I think you really enjoyed that." And he brought in three black women attorneys to come talk to me. We sat in the cafeteria and they told me what it was like to be a lawyer and what it meant, and just always stuck with me. Of course, I still had to go to high school. I still had to go to college. But then it became time to figure out what's next? And I took the LSAT and enrolled at the University of South Dakota. Mark Bassingthwaighte: That is such a cool story. And what a creative teacher. You know just... We all have certain favorite... My favorite teacher was Miss Fleschmann from third grade. But we have these memories and it's fascinating in terms of the impact that they have long-term in your life. Tamara Nash: Absolutely. Mark Bassingthwaighte: These seemingly small kinds of interesting things, but boy did they have big ramifications? We had brought up Project Destination, and that's really what I am interested in learning about myself and sharing with our listeners. So what is Project Destination? Maybe that's where we start. Tamara Nash: Absolutely, would love to tell you. So at its core, it's a pathway or pipeline program that goes into schools. We target students, anywhere from elementary school to high school. We have gone into post-secondary and really just plant the seed that, "Hey, have you considered the legal profession?" We're open to talking to any student, but we specifically target Native American students. In the South Dakota Bar, we have about 2,700 lawyers, but we have anecdotally, maybe 10 to 15 Native American attorneys. Our bar doesn't collect demographic details on ethnicity or race. So I say anecdotally because that's looking around the bar and kind of counting what we have. So that is our most underrepresented group of attorneys. So we want to find a way to reach that population. And it's quite profound to go into a school and speak to a group of individuals who don't see people who look like them and say, "Hey, have you thought about this? You can do this." Mark Bassingthwaighte: Right. Yeah. Tamara Nash: And especially put forth an example that looks like them. And that was the experience I had in sixth grade. To see an example of myself, of someone who says, "Hey, I look like you. And this is what I do. And you can do it too." So Project Destination essentially goes into the school, does a moderated panel, and just chats with students about what it means to be a lawyer. The panelists who are all young lawyers, hopefully as diverse as we can make it. So a corporate attorney, a prosecutor, a defense attorney, a general practice attorney, and explain what they do every day. Talk about law school, talk about the bar, and just let students know that this is an attainable goal. And the goal is essentially holding up a mirror to a student and letting them know that this idea is attainable, so. Mark Bassingthwaighte: What I love about this too, just in terms of... And sharing with all of you. Listening to this, the smile, the authenticity of your story, investment, it just... I find it God bless kind of thing, but it seems to me you're paying it forward. You know you're continuing what this teacher did in very creative and meaningful ways. That's awesome. How old is this program? Tamara Nash: Yeah, so we're still new-ish. We were able to start the program in 2017. And then of course, COVID happened. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Oh, wow. Yes. Tamara Nash: We're all familiar with that caveat, right? Mark Bassingthwaighte: Right. Tamara Nash: So we came out the gate running the year that we launched it. Our then Young Lawyer Section President, now Judge Abby Howard, launched with a strong start. We reached about 150 students. We had about 25 young lawyer volunteers. And then we pivoted to a virtual setting. So we are thrilled to get back into the schools in person this bar year. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Yeah. And would you say you're finding a lot of success with it and how are you measuring that right now? Because I assume nobody has gone off to law school quite yet. We haven't been there quite long enough, but. Tamara Nash: Yes. Yes. So I would say, yes. We have had success. And I would say we measure that in a couple of ways. So success in just a purely objective way, we've been recognized by the ABA Young Lawyers Division and the ABA broadly with two awards. In 2017, we received a grant from the Young Lawyers Division, it's the embracing diversity grant. And that seeks to recognize any pipeline pathway program that digs in and does the work. And so we submitted Project Destination in its first year and we won second place and received a thousand dollars to keep doing the work. So we continued. And then in 2020, the ABA recognized us with the partnership award, which essentially looks at any bar program doing DENI work, that says, "Hey, tell us what programs you're doing. How can we put forth a model so that other bars can replicate it?" Tamara Nash: And we were recognized with that award at the 2020 ABA Meeting. But I would say more importantly success in the context of the profession and pathway and pipeline programs is not necessarily measured by numbers. This work is measured by the ripple effect. Reaching one student is success. And if you go to a school and there's one student in the room that you reach, that is point blank, success. The effect that you have by touching one student's life impacts generations. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Oh, I agree. Tamara Nash: So you have... My teacher reached me and I came to law school and that pays dividends for me, my hopeful children to come in the future, and their children. And so that is success that's profound. So our goal is not to hit an X number of students per year. Our goal is to reach one child and to change their perspective of what they are capable of. Mark Bassingthwaighte: It's the butterfly effect. Tamara Nash: Yes. Absolutely. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Yeah. Yeah. Is part of this too, to try to... I mean, South Dakota is not unique in terms of rural states and some of the problems we face. There are lots of unmet needs and I would anticipate... I'll be honest and say, I don't have firsthand knowledge. But I would anticipate there are probably a fairly significant portion of people on the reservations that do not have access in terms to legal services. Is part of the intention or desire of the program to meet that need as well? Tamara Nash: Yes. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Okay. Tamara Nash: Yeah. So I think part of the need... It's multifaceted. It's to change the perspective of the community to not just a negative perception, to create that exposure, to shift a dynamic and perception of a student's own capability, but also to meet those legal services needs. And there's that multidimensional need in the rural nature that a lot of our reservations have, but also in the demographic need that we do not have lawyers who look like the communities we're serving. And that is very problematic because it continues to... I think creates a lack of trust in our system and we should represent the people we're charged to serve. And so I think that is that dual issue that we're hoping to address and I think more broadly we have rural deserts that we want to serve. So Project Destination serves our broader community in rural schools where we have students who may not have an attorney for miles upon miles. So it's a win-win in all facets, but also gets students through the door who are underserved. Mark Bassingthwaighte: So how do you see... We've come out of COVID and we're kind of finding our feet again and that's awesome. Where do you see the program? What does it look like in five years? Tamara Nash: Yeah. So- Mark Bassingthwaighte: Where are we moving toward? Tamara Nash: Yeah. I hope that we move towards a more cohesive approach with our broader bar. And I'm really excited for our leadership. We have just immense support by our bar presidents, our bar commission, and our executive director. But to really be all on one page and all moving forward. So it's the full force of the South Dakota Bar and throwing all our efforts and all of our energy,. You kind of can't be a bar of jar marbles throwing on the ground, scattered in different directions. But I think playing the long game to decide what age groups we target and why that matters. Tamara Nash: A lot of the research shows that early intervention for pathway is actually more effective. And I think folding in broader strategies for pathway. Financial education, which folds into student debt research, which we know is the number one problem. Mark Bassingthwaighte: That's a huge issue. Tamara Nash: Yes. I know that very intimately as a young lawyer. But folding in those strategies discussing access barriers to the profession and to law school. So I think just really having honest dialogues around the profession, around pathways, not just encouraging students to come, but really looking at why some folks have not been able to get into the profession and why they leave. Because retention and attrition are also issues. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Well, that's an excellent point. Yeah. I do a lot of education just on attorney wellness. And boy has COVID made those issues even far more significant and then you factor in these debt issues and all. So many things to- Tamara Nash: The onion. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Yeah, exactly. Right. Exactly, right. You know I kind of want to ask an open-ended question. What about Project Destination and all of this... What do you really want to share? Just go wherever you want to go with it. Tamara Nash: Sure. So I think what I would love to share is that I think some folks don't know where their place is in this conversation. And it's all of our battles. We all have a place and a stake in this conversation and in the effort of pathway efforts. I think we would see our efforts move so much more quickly. The needle would move forward much more seamlessly if we all bought into that idea and into that notion. So I would just really like folks to know that. We're all part of this conversation. We all have ownership. And it's just a matter of understanding where we are in the conversation when we amplify the voices of others. When we step in as an ally it matters to our profession just immensely and we all owe it to our profession to pay it forward and be a part of enriching our profession and servicing our community. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Hmm. Yeah. I get where you're going with that. You know I talk about some similar issues at times. Again, in what I do in risk management and ethics and things, you hear a lot of lawyers complain about problems that bars face. And they never want to do anything about it. You know? If you want to complain, okay. I think it's... You should have the freedom and the ability to complain a little bit, but not if you're not willing to step up and try to do something about solving the problem. You know? That's so important. I love hearing the story and learning a bit more about Project Destination. You have obviously been very involved with this and I suspect have a great deal of intellectual capital in projects like this. Would you be open to having folks listening if anybody has some interest and just being a resource? Tamara Nash: Absolutely. Mark Bassingthwaighte: May I have you share a little contact information with people so? Tamara Nash: Yes. So I would love to chat about how we can serve as a resource, share ideas, collaborate, and expand it beyond South Dakota. My email is probably one good resource. So that is T-A-M-A-R-A, P as in Paul, N-A-S-H, numeral one, @gmail.com. And then you can always reach out to me by phone and that's 712-301-9224. And I would love to see this grow and expand and see other bars incorporate it, make it better, and enrich it. I think that the beauty of bar service is we replicate and implement how it serves our members best. Mark Bassingthwaighte: Well, I really have enjoyed visiting with you. The excitement is contagious. I love the story of how you got here and how you are using... As I see it, this childhood experience had such an impact, but you've played that out in spades in so many ways and are... I just think it what a fascinating story. So thank you for taking your time to sit down- Tamara Nash: Thank you for having me. Mark Bassingthwaighte: ... And visit with me. I will say. Do you have any final comments? Anything else you'd like to share? Tamara Nash: No, I would say take the program, make it better. We're excited to see what you do with it. Mark Bassingthwaighte: All right. All right. Well, sounds good. Well, folks, I hope you found something of value today and enjoyed hearing Tamara's story. I found it very, very interesting. Thanks for listening. And of course, if any of you have any thoughts on ideas, topics, and other things you'd like to hear on the podcast, please don't hesitate to reach out to myself as well. It's M bass, M-B-A-S-S, @ALPSinsurance.com. Thanks for listening again, all. Bye-bye. Have a good one.
Speakers:Billy Jimenez is the Deputy Secretary and General Counsel for the New Mexico Department of Health. Billy graduated from the UNM School of Law in 2012 and has worked in several private and public settings as a commercial litigator specializing in health and environmental law. He also served as a board member for the Young Lawyers Division and District Representative for the American Bar Association YLD. In 2021, he received the Promise Award from the University of New Mexico School of Law's Alumni Association for his service with the YLD and with the Department of Health during the COVID pandemic. Billy's proudest role continues to be his work as a certified medical assistant, which provides no additional salary but gives him healthcare worker street cred within the Department.Shellie A. Patscheck is the owner of Patscheck Law, PC in Farmington, NM. She focuses her practice on criminal defense, rights restoration, and personal injury cases.As a life-long resident of San Juan County, Shellie is committed to bettering her community through the practice of law as well as through her volunteer work. Shellie is the former president of the San Juan County Bar Association and currently serves on the board of directors for San Juan County Partnership. She has also served on the Supreme Court Uniform Criminal Jury Instruction Committee and is an active member of several professional legal associations.Breanna Contreras is Vice President of Legal for Meow Wolf, Inc. She graduated from Notre Dame Law School in 2013 and UNM Anderson School of Management in 2010. Prior to her work at Meow Wolf, Breanna was a partner at Bardacke Allison LLP law firm in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she represented a variety of clients in intellectual property, entertainment, employment, and commercial litigation matters. Breanna has received a number of awards and recognitions, including being named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers from 2018 to present, and has served on both legal and non-legal boards that create lasting impact in New Mexico. Breanna is a native Burqueña, but now calls Santa Fe home.Thank you for listening! This episode was produced by the State Bar of New Mexico's Well-Being Committee and the New Mexico Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program. All editing and sound mixing was done by BlueSky eLearn. Intro music is by Gil Flores. The views of the presenters are that of their own and are not endorsed by the State Bar of New Mexico. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment or legal advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
A frank conversation about wellness and "doing the work" from the Executive Director of the State Bar of Georgia and past president of the Bar's Young Lawyers Division and former member of the Bar's Board of Governors and Executive Committee. To listen to this and other wellness podcasts, please go to the link: https://www.gabar.org/wellness/media.cfm #lawyerslivingwell #useyour6 The Lawyers Living Well podcast seeks to provide a forum for the discussion of subjects pertaining to the mental, emotional, physical and social health of others and their personal experiences. The statements, views and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors/spokespersons and do not necessarily reflect those of State Bar of Georgia, its officers, Board of Governors, Sections, Committees or staff. Additionally, the information provided is not intended to serve as medical advice unless otherwise indicated. If you are seeking specific treatment plans and guidance, be sure to connect with licensed medical professional.
This week your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Nathan Werksman of Merson Law PLLC (https://mersonlaw.com/) and Jon Davidi at Panish|Shea|Boyle|Ravipudi LLP (https://www.psbr.law/) Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review Episode Details: Trial lawyers Nathan Werksman of Merson Law PLLC and Jon Davidi at Panish|Shea|Boyle|Ravipudi LLP discuss how they secured justice for a woman who was viciously attacked by a dog as well as the challenges of conducting a jury trial held at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. On December 15, 2016, plaintiff Jennefer Jones took a walk around her neighborhood and attempted to pass neighbor Mathew Epstein, who was walking a 55-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback named Turkey on the sidewalk. Turkey lunged and attacked Jennefer, biting her right forearm, breaking the skin and dragging her to the ground, where she fell on her elbow. Jennefer was later diagnosed with two injuries: radial tunnel syndrome in her forearm and lateral epicondylitis in her elbow. Despite being put in a cast, injected with platelet-rich plasma and more than 80 physical therapy sessions, Jennefer continued to experience pain that greatly affected her ability to perform everyday tasks and to work as a golf instructor. The defense argued that Turkey didn't bite Jennefer but simply scratched her and asserted that any pain is from a pre-existing condition or an overuse injury related to her golf instruction career. Nathan Werksman and Jon Davidi called out the defense's tactic of referring to Jennefer's lateral epicondylitis by its more common name of "tennis elbow" to persuade the jury of the injury's true origin. In October 2020, an Orange County, California jury found in favor of Jennefer and awarded her $309,250 in damages. Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents Guest Bios: Nathan Werksman As a trial attorney at Merson Law PLLC, lawyer Nathan Werksman fights for the injured and wronged in complex personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability, sexual abuse, and mass tort litigation. Prior to joining Merson Law, Mr. Nathan Werksman recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients through both settlement and trial at the distinguished California personal injury firm Panish, Shea & Boyle LLP. Prior to that, Mr. Werksman clerked at internationally renowned law firm Kirkland & Ellis, plaintiffs'-side class-action giant Robbins Geller Rudman Down, and at the Office of the San Francisco Public Defender. While at Robbins Geller, he worked on behalf of cities and counties across the U.S. suing the opioid manufacturers for the irreparable damage caused by their products. During his time at the San Francisco Public Defender, Mr. Werksman assisted in a trial resulting in an acquittal on all felony counts for his client. Mr. Werksman obtained his law degree from Stanford Law School where he founded and served as president of the Stanford Plaintiffs' Lawyers Association. While at Stanford, he also served as co-president of the American Constitution Society (ACS) and earned prizes for achieving the highest marks in several classes, including The Plaintiffs' Lawyer: Institutional Constraints and Ethical Challenges. He also served as research assistant to Professor Nora Freeman Engstrom, a scholar on tort law and legal ethics. Mr. Werksman completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated summa cum laude double majoring in History and Spanish. Nathan is very involved in the New York legal community and in making New York a more just place for the injured. He is on the Board of Directors of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, is a member of the Products Liability Committee at the New York City Bar Association, and is on the Executive Committee of the UJA's Young Lawyers Division. Fluent in Spanish, Mr. Werksman is admitted to practice law in New York, California, and Nevada. Read Full Bio Jon Davidi As a trial attorney at Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP, Jon Davidi represents individuals in complex personal injury, wrongful death, and product defect cases. Passionate about trial work and representing people in their time of need, Mr. Davidi has obtained over $10 million in verdicts and settlements for his clients. Most recently, he obtained two jury verdicts that were more than double the defense's best offer. Notably, one of those verdicts was awarded during the first post-Covid, socially-distanced jury trial in Orange County, California. Mr. Davidi received his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law where he was a member of the Honor Society and graduated cum laude. He was also a member of the mock trial team and recognized as one of the nation's top advocates after winning the National Championship in the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Trial Tournament. Throughout the competition, judges commented on his ability to be persuasive and to evoke compassion for his client. Fluent in Farsi, Mr. Davidi is a member of the State Bar of California as well as an active member of both the Consumer Attorneys Association of California (CAALA) and the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC). Outside of work, he enjoys live music, new restaurants, and the Los Angeles Lakers. Ironically, he's never seen an episode of Law & Order. Read Full Bio Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2
This week, we're replaying a classic GTP episode where Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Natalie Woodward of Shamp Jordan Woodward (https://www.sjwtriallaw.com/). Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review Episode Details: Shamp Jordan Woodward founding partner Natalie Woodward discusses how she secured justice for the former Chief of Police for the City of Braswell, Georgia after he was falsely arrested and maliciously prosecuted by the Mayor, City Manager and subsequent Chief of Police for the City of Braswell over a reimbursement dispute. In 2007, Robert Richard Lucas was initially told by the Mayor that he would be reimbursed for the purchase of used vehicles for the police department, but after five months of waiting, the Mayor and City Manager informed Robert that they considered the vehicle to be a non-reimbursable donation to the City. Unable to reach an agreement, Robert resigned as the Chief of Police and took possession of the vehicle, as the title was still in his name. The City of Braswell reported the car stolen and continued to pursue criminal prosecution with a warrant for Robert's arrest, despite a neighboring county officer's determination that the vehicle ownership dispute was a civil matter. Robert was unjustly placed in a holding cell with criminals who were likely well aware of his previous law enforcement position. In spite of the defense's attempts to utilize a reimbursement check that didn't materialize until after the lawsuit was filed, trial lawyer Natalie Woodward emphasized the lack of proper procedure and Georgia Bureau of Investigation involvement. In 2010, a Rome, Georgia jury returned a verdict in favor of Robert, awarding $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages against the defendants. Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents Complaint Consolidated Pre-Trial Order and Total Brief Verdict Lucas Docket Lucas Opening and Closing Guest Bio: Natalie Woodward Anyone who meets Natalie Woodward feels like they have known her their entire life. It is this ability to put people at ease that makes her such an effective trial lawyer. Indeed in her very first jury trial as lead counsel, she secured a $1 million verdict in a wrongful arrest case. Natalie has extensive experience in personal injury, product liability, medical malpractice, false arrest, and malicious prosecution. A native of Powder Springs, Natalie is a venerable “Double Dawg.” She received undergraduate degrees in Journalism and Political Science. She then attended and graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law. While at UGA Law, she was the Chair of the Moot Court Board and a member of the champion Intrastate Moot Court Team. Natalie is a member of the Executive Committee for the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, is a member of the Atlanta Trial Lawyers Society, and serves on several non-profit boards. She has chaired the Small Firm Practice Section of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia and was selected as one of the Best Young Lawyers in Georgia by Atlanta Magazine. Prior to founding Shamp Speed Jordan Woodward, Natalie began her career at Brinson Askew Berry in Rome, Georgia. She also practiced at Commander & Pound, before starting her own firm in Roswell. She has also worked for both Federal District Court Judge Charles Pannell and Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Sears. Natalie is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia, as well as all other trial and appellate courts in the State of Georgia. Read Full Bio Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services -LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton, LLP - hlmlawfirm.com Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2
Today we are discussing The Georgia Court of Appeals and appellate law. To help us understand what that is and what that means, we are joined by the Presiding Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Hon. Anne Elizabeth Barnes. Judge Anne Elizabeth Barnes: Presiding Judge Anne Elizabeth Barnes was elected in 1998 to the Georgia Court of Appeals in a three-way race without a runoff. She was the first woman to be elected in a state-wide judicial race without having been first appointed to the bench. Judge Barnes was re-elected to a second term in 2004, elected to a third term in 2010, receiving more votes than any other candidate in the State of Georgia, then again re-elected in 2016. Currently, she is running for re-election in 2022. A native Georgian, Judge Barnes grew up in Chamblee and attended DeKalb County public schools. She graduated magna cum laude from Georgia State University in 1979. Judge Barnes has earned three law degrees: a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia, a Master of Laws in the Judicial Process from the University of Virginia, and a Master of Laws in Judicial Studies from Duke University. Judge Barnes was elected by her fellow judges as the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals from 2006 to 2008. She has also served on many committees and commissions, including the Judicial Council of Georgia's Standing Committee on Policy, the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism, the Supreme Court Commission on Interpreters, the Domestic Violence Committee of the Judicial Council of Georgia, and the Georgia Commission on Child Support. Judge Barnes is a Trustee of the Georgia Legal History Foundation, and served as a director on the Boards of Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocates (GACASA), the Truancy Intervention Project, and the National Courts and Science Institute. She also served on the Judicial Education Program Advisory Board of the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies. Presiding Judge Barnes is a 2006 graduate of Leadership Atlanta. She is a member of the American, Atlanta, DeKalb, and Gate City Bar Associations, the Lawyers Club of Atlanta, and the Old Warhorse Lawyers Club. She is a Master of the Bleckley Inn of Court and a member and former District 5 Director of the National Association of Women Judges. Judge Barnes is a Fellow of both the Lawyers Foundation of Georgia and the American Bar Association. In 2012, Judge Barnes received the Romae Turner Powell Judicial Service Award from the Atlanta Bar Association Judicial Section, which she formerly chaired. Judge Barnes has been recognized for her service by the DeKalb Bar Association, the Women in the Profession Committee of the Atlanta Bar Association, the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia, and Justice Served. She has been twice recognized by the Barbados Association of Atlanta, receiving their Trident and Community Service Awards. Judge Barnes and her husband, Dr. Thomas I. Banks, a Distinguished Professor of Physics at Rutgers University, live in Virginia Highlands with their dog, Tiger. Read Full Bio Links: Judge Barnes' Website Court of Appeals of the State of GA http://www.akintate.com/ https://www.gatriallawyers.net/ See You In Court Website To learn more about the Georgia Civil Justice Foundation, visit fairplay.org
Erik J. Olson talked toCorrie Johnston-Sirkin, the Managing Partner at NOVA Legal Professionals in Virginia. Corrie has been named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers from 2016-2020; she received a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Judiciary and Peer Review Rating for the highest level of professional excellence for her legal knowledge, communication skills and ethical standards; Martindale-Hubbell Silver Client Championis awarded to attorneys who have received three or more client reviews and an average score of 4.0 or higher; American Institute of Family Law Attorneys named her one of the “10 Best Attorneys” for family law in 2019 and 2020; Richmond Magazine named her one of Virginia's Outstanding Young Lawyers; and she was named a Fellow of the National Association of Distinguished Counsel Fellows. She is a former Editor of the Young Lawyers Division of the NJSBA Dictum publication. She has authored articles such as “Ethical Divorce Financing: A Guide for Practitioners” and “Don't Believe Your Eyes: Spoofing.” She co-authored “Divorce and How It May Impact Your Business” for the Primerus Paradigm Magazine. Learn from her expertise and what trends are helping grow her firm on this episode of The Managing Partners Podcast! —- Array Digital provides bold marketing that helps managing partners grow their law firms. arraylaw.com Follow us on Instagram: @array.digital Follow us on Twitter: @thisisarray Call us for a FREE digital marketing review: 757-333-3021 SUBSCRIBE to The Managing Partners Podcast for conversations with the nation's top attorneys.
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Bill Stone, James Stone and Ryals Stone of The Stone Law Group (https://www.stonelaw.net/). Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review New! Watch GTP on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKdeO4IodggpSLyhWVdcWKw Episode Details: The Stone Law Group's trial team -- comprised of father Bill Stone and sons James Stone and Ryals Stone -- explain how they thoroughly investigated a fatal car accident and proved that their client, a promising 19-year-old University of Mississippi student, was not the proximate cause of his own tragic death, as law enforcement investigators initially concluded. In the early morning hours of March 29, 2013, University of Mississippi freshman Price Thornal was attempting to travel from Oxford, Mississippi to his hometown in Tallahassee, Florida to celebrate his father's birthday. Price's Honda Civic was hit head-on by the defendant, who was driving a Dodge Durango on the wrong side of the divided US Hwy 84. Trial lawyers Bill, James and Ryals Stone used the GPS system in Price's car to plot his trajectory and utilized the defendant's cell phone records as evidence of her negligence and opposing trajectory. In spite of the defendant's attempts to cast blame on Price, the Stone Law Group used basic physics as well as expert accident reconstruction to show the jury which car was traveling in the appropriate direction. In November 2021, after just 20 minutes of deliberation, an Early County, Georgia jury found the defendant's negligence to be the proximate cause of Price's death and awarded $26,141,628 in damages. Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents Guest Bios: William Stone: Bill is a trial lawyer from Blakely, Georgia, who specializes in personal injury, wrongful death, professional malpractice, product liability, commercial and consumer fraud cases. The firm's predecessor was founded in 1915 by Bill's grandfather, the late Wm. Lowrey Stone. Past members of the firm include Bill's father, Lowrey S. Stone, who formerly served as Chief Judge of Superior Courts, Pataula Judicial Circuit. Bill was born in Dothan, Alabama, on August 19, 1953. He attended the public schools in Early County, Georgia and graduated from Early County High School in 1971. He attended the University of Georgia College of Business Administration and received a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration with a major in accounting on graduation in 1975. Bill also attended the Netherlands Institute of Industrial Economics near Amsterdam in The Netherlands in 1973. Bill received his Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1977. He was admitted to practice law in the state of Georgia in 1977 and in the state of Alabama in 1985. He is also member of the bars of the United States District Courts for the Middle and Northern Districts of Georgia, the Middle District of Alabama, and the Central District of Illinois, as well as the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits. The publishers of the Martindale Hubble Law Directory have awarded Bill its highest rating (AV) for legal ability and integrity. Bill is a Life Member and past president of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association and is also a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia, the Alabama State Bar, the American Association for Justice, and the Southwest Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. Bill has served on the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission that recommends candidates to the Governor for appointment to vacant judgeships in Georgia. He has authored a number of published articles and is a frequent lecturer at legal seminars on the subject of trial practice and tort law. Read Full Bio Here James Stone: James grew up in Blakely, Georgia and currently lives with his wife, Rachel, in Roswell, Georgia. James practices in our Atlanta office, primarily focusing on cases involving catastrophic personal injury and death from medical negligence, trucking accidents, and motor vehicle accidents. James, a fifth-generation attorney in his family, grew up with an eye always towards practicing law. Watching his father represent clients who lacked the ability to obtain justice for themselves, James always appreciated the work and time invested in pursuing high-stakes litigation and catastrophic injury cases. Now, James works alongside his father and brother, furthering that pursuit of justice and relentlessly fighting for clients and families injured in accidents are wronged by corporations. James is a 2009 graduate of the University of Georgia where he received his BBA in Management Information Systems. Afterward, James attended Atlanta's John Marshall Law School and graduated in 2013. James was admitted to practice law in Georgia in 2013 and Alabama in 2015. James is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Alabama State Bar, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association of Justice, the American Bar Association, and the Sandy Springs Bar Association. James has been involved in numerous complex lawsuits resulting in verdicts or settlements higher than seven figures. In his spare time, James enjoys recreational activities such as mountain biking, running, softball and coaching little league baseball. Read Full Bio Ryals Stone: Ryals D. Stone is a Partner in the Rome office of Stone Law Group. He represents individual and small business plaintiffs in cases involving catastrophic personal injuries or wrongful death, specifically those caused by motor vehicle accidents or trucking collisions, unsafe premises, industrial boiler explosions, defective products, medical negligence by a medical provider, insurance bad faith or financial fraud, and other civil RICO racketeering conspiracies. During his career as a trial attorney Ryals has handled many complex civil cases and has been an active and integral member of the firm's trial team during numerous multi-week jury trials, which have resulted in verdicts and settlements of over $150 million combined. Ryals is the oldest son of Stone Law Group senior partner William S. Stone. The firm's predecessor was founded in 1915 by Ryals' great-grandfather, the late William Lowrey Stone. Past members of the firm include Ryals' grandfather, Lowrey S. Stone, who later served for 15 years as Chief Judge of Superior Courts, Pataula Judicial Circuit. Upon being admitted to the Georgia Bar in 2010, Ryals proudly became the 5th straight generation of Georgia attorneys in the Stone family. Raised in his hometown of Blakely in rural Southwest Georgia, Ryals went on to earn his undergraduate degree in History from University of Georgia in 2005 and his law degree in 2009 from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. During law school, Ryals also studied International Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Cambridge in England. He earned the highest marks in several of his law school classes, including Trial Advocacy Basic Skills and Professional Responsibility. As a 3rd Year law student he was selected as a distinguished Abraham J. Caruthers Fellow, chosen to mentor Cumberland's renowned first-year legal research and writing program. Throughout his final year of law school, Ryals gained valuable practice experience as a law clerk in the Bessemer, Alabama District Attorney's Office and for the In-House Counsel at Southern Progress Corporation. Ryals is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts of the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia, the Georgia Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of Georgia. He is a Champion member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA), American Association of Justice (AAJ), Attorneys Information Exchange Group (AIEG), the Rome Bar Association, and he currently serves as President of the Pataula Circuit Bar Association. He has continuously served as a voting member of GTLA's Executive Committee since 2013 and currently serves as an elected officer of the Civil Justice PAC's Board of Directors. He has served GTLA's Verdict Editorial Board as a Board member and frequent contributing author since 2015. Ryals currently serves on the Board of Governors of AAJ as one of only 5 Governors from Georgia. Ryals has also served multiple terms on the Board of Directors for the State Bar of Georgia's Young Lawyers Division. However, above any of his career achievements Ryals is most proud of his role as the founding member and inaugural Co-Chair of GTLA's “LEAD” Program (“Leadership Education and Advanced Direction”), a leadership academy he co-created specifically for talented young Georgia trial lawyers. Today, the program boasts nearly 100 LEAD alumni over its first five years, many of whom are now counted as among GTLA's highest-ranking officers and Board members. Read Full Bio Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2
We're back with the Young Lawyers Division interviewing the State Bar President! The YLD was honored to sit down and chat with 2021 State Bar President Carla Martinez as she shared her career path and things she wished she knew. Tune in as President Martinez shares her journey working with different state agencies, how she views mentoring and why she refers to herself as a “master of none”.Presented by: Carla Martinez, Second Judicial District Attorney's Office; Shasta N. Inman, The Law Offices of Shasta N. Inman, LLC and 2021 Young Lawyers Division Chair
Gregg Garofalo is the Founding Partner at Garofalo Law Group, he has been practicing law for 20 years with a strong focus on probate matters and estate planning. Gregg talks about when it's right to do estate planning and what are some basic estate planning one should have outright. Gregg also talks about estate planning if you have a special needs child, how you can maximize their benefit to give them the best care they can receive from both your estate and the government. Lastly, he talks about how estate planning must be revisited at least annually to review how it can be adjusted to changes in the family's life, decisions, circumstances, or just life in general. Timestamps:When is a good time to consider estate planning? (7:35)A guardianship estate for your college kids(12:35)Setting up a special needs trust (14:39)Estate planning and COVID, Cryptocurrency, and other changes(22:35) “It's never early to start planning - literally, we tell parents that when your kids turn 18, they should come in and do the basic estate plan...” - Gregg Garofalo Gregg Garofalo of Garofalo Law GroupWebsite: www.glgfirm.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/GreggGarofaloLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregg-garofalo/ Gregg Garofalo, Founding Partner at Garofalo Law GroupEstate PlanningGregg has been practicing law for the past 20 years with a strong focus on probate matters and estate planning. As a father of a daughter with special needs, he is passionate about educating families on how they can achieve their estate planning goals. As a result of Gregg's vast experience, character and devotion to clients, the families he serves can rest assured that he will do everything he can to meet all of their expectations. Gregg is frequently appointed by the Court to serve as a Guardian ad litem in Guardianship matters. He is also routinely appointed by the Court as a Special Administrator in complex probate matters.Gregg is an active member of the legal community, where he is serving or has served in several leadership roles within the Illinois Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association. Gregg is a past Chair of the Chicago Bar Association's Probate Practice Committee, where he served two years as Chair. Gregg is also a past Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division, a member of the Trusts & Estates Council, and starting his third term as a member of the General Assembly after taking the mandatory one year off between terms.Gregg serves as a member of the Illinois State Bar Association's mentor program, and a speaker in the area of probate and trusts and estates.In addition to his passion for law, Gregg works with professional and civic organizations. Gregg has worked with the Children's Assistance Fund and the Illinois Bar Foundation chairing their annual holiday party, which has grossed over $150,000 during his ten-year involvement. Gregg is also a Past President of the Justinian Society of Lawyers, a past board member of the Italian American Political Coalition, and a board member of the Justinian Society Children's Endowment Fund. In addition, Gregg volunteers for the Central Illinois Sheltie Rescue. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregg-garofalo/ Have comments, questions, or concerns? Contact us at feedback@1958lawyer.com Episode Transcript:Ron Bockstahler 0:29 Welcome to the 1958 lawyer. Good to have you here. today. We got an outstanding guest, by the way, I'm your host, Ron inboxdollars. So my good friend, Attorney Greg Garofalo is joining us today Greg has been practicing law for more than 20 years helping families achieve their long range goals through proper estate planning Greg's a father to a daughter with special needs. So he has Insider's an insider's view and planning for a child's long term care. He also serves as a court appointed to guardianship matters in guardianship matters, and complex probate matters. God I've known Greg for 20 plus years, his activities in legal and charitable organizations are too many to mention, but he does serve in leadership roles with the Illinois Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, he's the chair of the CPAs, probate practice committee president or past president of the Justinian Society of lawyers. He's a board member with Justinian society, children's endowment fund, where he's helped raise a lot of money. And maybe most important of all, he's a volunteer with the central Illinois Sheltie rescue, Greg's had many, many shelties, since I've known as well kind of chat a little about that, Greg, welcome to the show.Gregg Garofalo 1:29 Oh, thanks, Brian. Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. And Glad to be here. Thanks for the introduction. I just want to say a lot of those board member positions with ISBA and CBA. Those were a lot of those were in the past since the one board that I takes up most of my time is the board member of my family. And I say board member because I'm not the chair.Ron Bockstahler 1:48 Yeah, to your youngest turns four here coming up in October. Yeah, yeah. And I just started kindergarten. So yep. And become time consuming.Gregg Garofalo 1:57 They do. And Rebecca, Rebecca, my wife, our Rebecca systems, people that Rebecca is also aware and she practices. So it keeps us busy. It keeps me busy.Ron Bockstahler 2:10 So you want to talk about that raising children being and keeping your law practice going. I think it's amazing. So we're gonna get that in a minute. But let's kind of talk off a lot of people that maybe know you don't know that you started your career as an accountant, your CPA. So talk to us how you became how you kind of moved into being an attorney.Gregg Garofalo 2:25 So and I know this can be added around. So just for clarification, I have an accounting background accounting degree from Illinois Western University. I graduated in 1992. With the idea that I was going to be practicing as an accountant, I ended up getting the family business full time, which I've been working in ever since I was 13 years old, which was running a restaurant. And so I did that for four years before I went to law school and going to law school, I knew what I wanted to do going in, which is kind of what I wanted to do. Even as I was graduating from undergrad, I wanted to work with families, I wanted to work with small businesses. Part of that was because I came from a family that owns a small business because I felt like I can really help them and be a part of their overall team and their business. And so going into law school, I knew that I wanted to do estate planning with them with my background and tax planning for my background with taxes. I thought it was a really good fit. And I finished up my law school my JD and started working for Ernst and Young and their tax consulting department. And while working there, I went on to get my masters in tax from Chicago, Kent university or Chicago Kent College of Law. So I've got my JD in masters of tax from Kent as well and my undergrad in accounting, and I stayed with Ernst and Young for a couple years before I started to go to private practice.Ron Bockstahler 3:40 So let's think back What year did you start your practice are your own practiceGregg Garofalo 3:44 1999 2000 and graduated, I graduated my way of switching I graduated law school in 99. Got my master's degree in 2000. Worked for a firm for four years, and then I started my own practice in 2004.Ron Bockstahler 3:57 Okay, okay, so and then let's kind of fast forward a little bit. I think you were ahead of your time you moved to Georgia, you moved your family to Georgia while maintaining a law practice in Chicago. So let's talk about you know, how do you do law different what technology are you using? How do you make it happen? I guess that's the let's start there.Gregg Garofalo 4:14 Sure. So when my what my met my wife in Chicago, I met Rebecca in Chicago. She's a practicing attorney with the law school here when we got married and decided to start a family. Rebecca is from Northwest Georgia, just south of Chattanooga. So we decided to go back maybe close to her family. She's got a twin sister and two other sisters to help raise our family. And so Rebecca was working with the firm at that time as well. So we were faced with the challenge of how do we make this work, a practice that I've had in Chicago for over at that point over 12 years? How do we keep that practice and operated from Georgia and be successful? So yeah, when I started my practice, even before that, I tried to institute software and plant management software which I think helped a lot and keeping things all digital because We early on, we tried to keep our files all digital, scanning all the important documents and keeping them online. So when we decided to start to make this transition, I didn't have to have my files with me, I didn't have to be in the office because I could pull up our client management software. And at that point, probably about 70% of the documents were already scanned in the system. So if I needed something was all right there.Ron Bockstahler 5:19 No, I make funny a quite a bit. I call you a gate because you know, you're more of a techie than your attorney sometimes, or maybe both. I don't know. But how does someone that don't love technology like you do? How do they do it?Gregg Garofalo 5:30 In all honesty, if you're if you're technology adverse, all I can say is then you have to work with somebody, you have to work with a firm, you know, even like all like Amada, you'd have to work with a firm that has the experience that can guide and guide you through it, because there's just no avoiding it. And we've seen that now with COVID. I won't say his name, but you know, my next door neighbor here in my office suite who's very technology adverse and always has been as long as I've known him. And now with COVID pandemic, he said he doesn't want to come back to the office and work if he had a choice because he likes it and he likes having an ease that means he's had to step up with a lot of the technology and step into the 21st century if you would,Ron Bockstahler 6:08 I think he you know, an older generations, it's kind of funny, we we looked at and said, Man, if you're like over the age of 60, you're definitely going to be aching to get back to the office. But I find that that's not necessarily the case. It's the younger people that want to get back to the office, maybe for the social and the mentoring and the sex, the opportunity to grow their practice. But some of these, you know, seasoned attorneys that always love come to the opposite. Realize that, hey, it's pretty nice. I'm working, I get a lot done at home.Gregg Garofalo 6:31 Absolutely. I think that's completely true. My associate her she comes from a family of lawyers and her dad, his firm, they're not even back in the office at all. And her brother is the same way they're back in the office maybe two days a week and they don't know when they're going back. But you know, I can even say Yeah, I agree with Ron definitely the older generation is really starting to I say older generation 60. And older lawyers, I'm that's but the 60 year olds, yeah, they really do appreciate and are enjoying being able to work remotely. I'm finding even some of the younger workers are enjoying that as well, too. They want their day or two maybe in the office, but they they definitely like the freedom of being able to work from home as well. SoRon Bockstahler 7:11 I'm with them. I'm enjoying myself. Yeah, let's just jump into estate planning. Yeah, you know, I've seen a topic close to my heart. We've had Steve Sackler on recently talking about, you know, planning your future, what's the, you know, designing your life? What's it going to look like an estate planning kind of falls right into that, and most of us and most, especially attorneys don't just ignore their own state plans. So what's a good time? Let's start when do you start? What's the best time I've got, you know, six children? When do I start telling them? Hey, you need let's start focus on estate planning for you.Gregg Garofalo 7:39 Okay, so we You and I were talking about before, and I think we just posted something on our firm blog on our website. It's never too early to start planning. I mean, literally, we tell parents when your kids turn 18, they should come in and at least to the basic estate plan, and the basic estate planning is just powers of attorney for health care policies, Attorney for property, a basic will author HIPAA authorization, and actually each university a little bit different five, access educational records access. And, you know, apparently, how common is that really necessary. God forbid, we don't know what's coming around the corner, nobody knew what COVID was going to be like this hand with everything happening. Having that in place, if your child gets sick at school, or something happened to them, you're prepared because without these documents, these basic very easy documents, you can find yourself in probate court in front of a guardianship judge trying to make medical decisions for your son or daughter just because you didn't know I mean, he didn't think about it that that you were procrastination, you know,Ron Bockstahler 8:37 let me stop you real quick because I don't want to go over that what you just said records access. And I never thought about this until you'd mentioned is we're just sitting around talking recently. 18 all of a sudden my son turns 18 I can no longer access his records even if he's sitting in the hospital die. Yes,Gregg Garofalo 8:53 that is that is correct. So under Illinois law, you as a parent under the Illinois healthcare surrogate act can make medical decisions for him without a court or without a power of attorney but here's the here's the catch you can't get access to his record you can't say hey you know what, I want a copy of all these records but I can get a second opinion from a different hospital because you don't have that authority under the health care surrogate act you can only make medical decisions it's kind of a an odd rule that allows acts as law that never changed so you're absolutely correct once he turns 18 you can't access those records without his authorization without Of course giving you that authority.Ron Bockstahler 9:28 Wow. Now I know you practice in Illinois and you practicing in Georgia yetGregg Garofalo 9:32 I'm not but my wife is Rebecca is and Rebecca is doing estate planning and estate administration in Georgia as well too.Ron Bockstahler 9:39 So are you familiar with other states? Is that a pretty common clause or is that as it just all state by state and across the board like so many other thingsGregg Garofalo 9:45 the healthcare surrogate act it's it's there's something similar in every state. Okay,Ron Bockstahler 9:49 let's talk. Let's talk college kids. I know we talked about this too. Let's you know, what should we be thinking about for our kids or later in college, as far as setting up their state planningGregg Garofalo 9:58 their estate planning the kids estate plan Yeah, yeah, there's there's five basic things that we tell parents and I touched on them real quick. But other schools and again, five basic things were poverty for health care, so that you have the ability to make health care decisions for your child, because like you said, once they turn 18, you want it in writing exactly the power that you have without having to get a court involved, I HIPAA authorization, which the difference between them for those who don't know, between a HIPAA authorization and the power of attorney for health care, HIPAA, we've all signed those nowadays, with going to the doctor, it just means you have access to medical records, or you're giving somebody access to your medical records. And in most instances, the power of attorney for health care will cover that. But we recommend both just it's kind of the duel across across all T's and dotting the eyes, it's better to have both of those poverty for property. And this is one where I want my, my kids don't have anything, the only thing my kids have is what I give them. So why do we need to find a property that may be true, okay, but that poverty is also going to give you authority then to if something happens, your job, pay their credit cards, get access to credit card records, maybe cancel credit cards, just stop for whatever reason, it will give you the authority to execute tax returns for your child, because at the age of 18, they need to file their own tax returns. So that's how the property is something very important, even if they don't have any money, a last will and testament. And I know that seems very morbid, but it is very unfortunate if your child gets in an accident, at college, on their way to college, or even not at college. And it's a result of an accident where their estate inherits money or receives money, your child may want to say, well look, Mom, Dad, you're all set, I don't want to give it to you. I'd rather give it just to my siblings, or I'd rather give it to this charity that I'm so passionate about or so on, etc. So a basic will is something that's very important as well. And the last document that parents don't think about and is normally not part of a parent's estate plan certainly would be the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act authorization form. And each school has its own unique form. But in essence, that's giving you the authority to access your child's records, school records, because parents like well wait, I pay for the education, can I get access to the records? Not necessarily? No.Ron Bockstahler 12:01 So your simple question that someone like me thinks about is I'm sending my kids out to this college and we do the enrollment and and you know, pay tuition are these things the school brings up like, Hey, here's a checklist, make sure you're covered all these things.Gregg Garofalo 12:12 You know, a lot of times they will bring up and I'll use the acronym, the FERPA release for the records, since that is a unique form that each school has felt that may be something that they kind of shove in front of the college students, they are assigned this at registration, but the other documents generally know generally what's a familyRon Bockstahler 12:28 do? Do they call someone like you and say, Hey, I'm in a bind. My kids in the hospital is in college. I can't access his records. What do I do?Gregg Garofalo 12:35 Right? So we sit down and we go through and we have to open up a guardianship estate. And I've had that happen a couple of times during my career.Ron Bockstahler 12:42 I'm most curious what so give me a ballpark something like that happens. And we're talking about the college student knew what are we talking about money just open a guardians. I know I know, attorneys don't want to talk about that. But I just want to ballpark we talked about $5,000 thing a $20,000 thing.Gregg Garofalo 12:54 in Cook County, in the collar counties generally you're looking at just to open it probably about $5,000. And that's not all my that's not all the attorneys fees, that's filing fees, the attorneys fees, the court usually appoints a guardian ad litem that also has to be paid from the guardianship estate. So all these fees come into play that has to be paid. And from start to finish, it's usually about 5000. And people who hide that so expensive. Or if you're coming to me, because you need to make medical decisions for your child because they're in the hospital, that's just not a regular guardianship. Now it's a temporary guardianship based on an emergency basis. So that's even more fee. So all these fees add up very quickly, because you need to start making decisions very quickly. And so it's like anything in life, we tell our clients all the time, a guardianship usually is set up as a reaction to something happening. And with the powers of attorney and sitting down and educating your children and educating parents. That's that's you're being proactive, and you're planning ahead of time. So the cost versus that. I mean, the cost to do basic estate planning for a college student of a client, we give them a discounted rate for for if they're an existing clients, I mean, could be minimal, could be 10%. It could be 20%. It could be 1000 $2,000, which is extremely less than this issue. Plus no court, no court involvement, public, private. SoRon Bockstahler 14:13 this is the sounds like you know, an area of law that I never even thought about, you know, sending your kid off to college is enough. But now said I should make sure that we have all these forms these documents filled out they got an estate.Gregg Garofalo 14:22 Yeah, that's true. Absolutely. Like I said, there is a blog, a really quick blog that goes over the five different documents that we suggest for children. So and we are doing a little webinar because we have more and more parents that have called us this year. And I think part of that is has been fueled by COVID.Ron Bockstahler 14:39 Let's talk about children. Let's talk about it because you've got first hand experience with the serafina What special guests actions do you need to take to make sure that you know serafina is taken care of if something were to happen. God forbid something happens to you and Becca, so it'sGregg Garofalo 14:54 so serafina she is going to be six in December like we talked about. She has autism and so she He's not verbal at this time. And so the prognosis for autism, medical experts don't, they can't tell you. So for us, and what we try to tell parents in similar situations is the planning should start now. I mean, you don't know what's going to happen a year, five years, 10 years down the road. And it's always to me, again, getting back to, you need to do the planning now. So you're not reactive and scrambling down the road. And so what are some of the things we do? Well, we set up you know, consider setting up a special needs trust for for your child now, and you want it to be a special needs trust, a, what we call a third party special needs trust, which is one that we create, we find and we put our money in now. And a lot of parents who said, Well, you know, I get I'm not worried about it, when when the time comes and I pass away, I'll just make sure that she gets half of the assets and the other half, go to my other daughter, whatever the case may be, but an outright gift to your child like that could disinherit them and not just in here could disqualify them from potentially getting governmental assistance or qualifying for certain government programs and make them spend down all that money first. So example, parents pass to what both parents pass away, and the other child that has special needs may inherit $200,000. And it's a direct outright gift to the child, well, that child has spent all that money down for their own care before they can qualify for any kind of governmental benefits. And the alternative set up a special needs trust, and you put it all into a special needs trust. Now that child qualifies for all the governmental benefits and whatever they don't receive from the government or whatever programs don't provide for them, the money in a special needs trust can supplement. So it's taking that $200,000 and stretching it out, hopefully, for a longer period of time to provide better care and have more assets available for your child.Ron Bockstahler 16:41 So is that going to be the case if the child's already receiving some kind of government assistance?Gregg Garofalo 16:46 Absolutely. Because if they're receiving some kind of government benefits or assistance, and you pass away, and they receive this outright gift, those those programs are usually asset and income based. And so you'll you the child will lose those benefits until the money that they received is spent down in the benefits benefits picked back up again.Ron Bockstahler 17:02 So Greg, does that included the insurance policy? So say there's a $5 million insurance policy the child is going to be the beneficiary of was that would that actually count towards that to spend that money down to also? Absolutely, yeah. So how do you get around that?Gregg Garofalo 17:15 If it goes out right to the child, then absolutely, it would be a spend down that they have to spend so how do you get around it you've just set up a trust for the child. In most situations, parents will set up in their trust distribution to the children or not outright, it's held in trust for the children and so since the children never have access to it, then they will continue to qualify for governmental benefits.Ron Bockstahler 17:38 So I'm going to tell you you and I never really talked about this as far as special needs special needs trust pride before serafina so is this something you had to go out? And you know, it doesn't seem to me like the normal area that if you're in state planning that you're really focused on and maybe I'm wrong with that but did you have to go out when you know when you went surfing, you found out serafina had autism and do a little more research and then that make you even better at setting these things up than the average estate planning attorney.Gregg Garofalo 18:04 So in my career when I was the first firm that I started working at and and why needed to do estate planning, I was kind of thrown into a state administration and guardianships pretty quickly as a practicing attorney. And so I had had a great deal of experience before serafina was born with special needs trusts and the different types of special needs trusts and qualifying for governmental benefits and you know, how do we plan to make sure we can maximize benefits all around so when serafina was born, I had a pretty good base and background in that already so we were prepared as much as you could be prepared for as a as a parent in general but as a parent with a child with special needs we were somewhat prepared for how do we plan from an estate planning perspective?Ron Bockstahler 18:46 Yeah, I think I look at it as having someone with first hand knowledge and understanding makes it a little more maybe a little more empathetic under when talking to a parent is kind of going through similar situation so that to me is a plus right deal withGregg Garofalo 18:57 that it really is I've gotten I've got I've got a lot of clients who have come to me because they know our situation I'm I don't try to hide it. Surfing is a by opinion, a beautiful, wonderful young young girl who hopefully as a as much as possible normal life. And whatever normal is I had averse, but I don't hide what her special needs are. And so I think that openness resonates with a lot of families who are faced with the same thing because they know that I know what they're going to.Ron Bockstahler 19:25 Let's kind of flip back to you live in Georgia, you have a practice in Chicago, how often you're in Chicago,Gregg Garofalo 19:30 pre COVID. I was here every week. Post COVID or in the midst of COVID I come up maybe once a month not even maybe once every other month it just depends right now with everything still kind of in flux in the court system not completely open and everything being via zoom. There's really not much of a need to be here. Most clients enjoy zoom now you know where I thought we all thought there would be this adverse I don't want to deal with that they've really taken to it. So I think that this has worked out well for me Because it's more convenient for them, Hey, can you meet at six o'clock at night after the kids have had dinner? Sure. I don't think well, it's your house. We'll jump on zoom and I can take a call real quick and we can you know, go through stuff now.Ron Bockstahler 20:10 So but you're also court appointee and many guardianship matters. You do do some litigation, probate courts not back in person doing trials, Correct. Correct. So that could change things going forward. When they do assuming they'll come back. I mean,Gregg Garofalo 20:23 well, no, no, we're doing we're doing hearings, we're doing the hearing, guardianship and probate administration is that really generally not advert is not an adverse proceeding. So a lot of the hearings and stuff we do we can do online, but what we're not doing is we've got at least two jury trials that can't be scheduled yet. We'll contest and another one disinheritance contest, and we can't schedule it, because there's no juries that are available yet for probate matters. Okay,Ron Bockstahler 20:49 so that might change a little bit. So everyone's probably wondering you Okay, you live in Georgia, come Chicago, but how's your practice doing? Are you busy, like I hear so many are you kind of things tough.Gregg Garofalo 21:00 I mean, we're busier than we've ever been. We've, you know, as much as we were prepared for this in living down in Georgia. Now, for a little over seven years, we really started to move everything from server base to cloud base. So again, we were kind of prepared for this. It didn't matter where you live, the most far my employees took their laptops went home, and they could start working at home. But we've also tried to streamline things quite a bit from a staffing perspective as well. So we're busy, we're very busy, and the staff is very busy, but things are going things are going well.Ron Bockstahler 21:29 That's good to hear. You know, I'm a big proponent of changing the way laws practice in so many ways. And I you know, if anything, COVID is bad as bad, it's really accelerated some of the changes that were kind of slowly coming our way. And I think you were on the on the forefront seven years ago when you made the move.Gregg Garofalo 21:44 Yeah, absolutely. It definitely thrown a lot of, you know, attorneys into, okay, I got to figure out this cloud thing. What is it? You know, it's quiet, it's in the cloud, it's up in the sky, you know, can't remember that movie that that that was from but yeah, they've had to sit down and say, Okay, I don't have to understand that necessarily, but I definitely have to get on board with it, figure out how to use it.Ron Bockstahler 22:04 Absolutely. And I think that's we had a webinar, I think maybe under 46, the ABA guidance that came out saying, hey, you still need to understand technology, you know, you're still it's an ethical rule, you know, ties into 1.6 rule one point 60, you still got to be able to know what you're talking about and serve your clients, which means you have to understand the technology, or at least somebody in firm needs to understand it. You're still responsible, right at the end of the day. No last question. We always like to talk. First, I'll leave it to us. Anything else you want to add about probate or estate planning that we've missed on things you want to hit on?Gregg Garofalo 22:35 Well, you know, there's, there's a lot of new hot topics, you know, people like tell me all the time well, estate planning, Greg, it's the same, it's the same as it is today, as it was, you know, 1520 years ago, and you know, it seems it's going to be you know, five or 10 years. So I have because I often tell clients, once we do your estate plan, we should still sit down once a year and see what's changed. What's changed in your life was changes. And when they tell me Well, you know, nothing's really changed. Well, yeah, a lots changed. COVID is something that definitely changed. One thing you and I were talking about at the beginning, cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrencies are something that definitely has has changed. And I think that with clients having several of our clients investing in cryptocurrencies, it's something that we need to look at your safe plan and see how that plays into it.Ron Bockstahler 23:17 Yeah, that's just yeah, I'm glad you brought that up. Because I'm thinking to myself, that is not a safe investment, as a guardian actually required to have, you know, maintain safe investments. So you fought Do you have to sell that cryptocurrency? If there all of a sudden you take overGregg Garofalo 23:29 that, you know, and that's exactly you pretty much hit the nail on the head on on, on the concerns that we have, as estate planners, and the challenges that trustees would have, generally speaking a the general rule and trust, it states that your trustee has to invest the funds pursuant to what we call the prudent investor rule, which just means it has to be reasonable, it can't be risky, etc, etc. We all know that cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile. So would your traditional trust actually tie the hands of the trustee to manage those assets? Or would they just be required to sell all the assets immediately, because they're too volatile, and they don't have the authority to manage those pursuant to the prudent investor rule. So it's, it's definitely something to look at. So that's interesting.Ron Bockstahler 24:12 And it actually gets me thinking that we recently had Steve Metro Metro financial on a webinar and talking to attorneys about how they can save more money for their retirement and shelter, their income from taxes. And one of the big things they brought up was a cash balance plan. Are you familiar with the cash balance plan? No, you can save up to 150 to $250,000 of your income each year as an attorney if you're a solo, and you know, you can if you have employees also, but also you got to contribute to their plan also, but it was really interesting to me that you can do that above and beyond a 401k plan, a five part of an IRA plan. So there's a there's definitely a way to be sheltering a lot of your money from taxes today, if you're an attorney making 500,000 a million dollars a year. You know, what just makes a lot of sense to look into that. Notice that when having Steve on the show was amazing and I'm thinking okay, if I'm doing that kind of savings, I better have a good estate plan in place right because that becomes substantial very quickly.Gregg Garofalo 25:04 It absolutely and you know to your point with having an investment advisor a lot of times if you have unique assets or you have an investment visor that you're very passionate about and you feel they do a great job a lot of times that's why we'll tell people then you we need to sit down to your safe plan and we need to work them into it in that maybe they'll be the investment advisor going forward even after you pass away because you feel very strong this person number one does a good job number two knows what you want you know you guys have usually with an investment advisor an attorney does your estate planning to have somewhat of an intimate relationship with because they know a lot about you and you know a lot about your finances your family makeup and things of that nature. So you know, Ron, you may say, this is the person I want to be my investment advisor for the trust for my kids after I passed away. So the only way to really ensure that is to make sure you have a good estate plan that dictates what your wishes are,Ron Bockstahler 25:57 it becomes more and more important so anyone listening the attorneys I know they're listening this show make sure you're getting out there talking to an estate planning attorney and getting the state in place going oh, you know, we tend not to do things for ourselves that's kind of the nature of who we are. Yeah, these things become very, very important. So definitely recommend get out there and talk to an estate planning attorney and you know, listen to Stephen Metro or guys in the financial industry to understand how you can save more money and you know, defer tax tax payments for a little bit out there. So Greg, what we just finished off of that last question, what's the one thing in the legal profession that you would like to see changed?Gregg Garofalo 26:28 The one thing in the legal profession I can see change taking the business side of or just anything, believe it anythingRon Bockstahler 26:33 I'm generally I generally focus on the business side. But if you got something other than that, bring it on. Oh,Gregg Garofalo 26:37 I don't know there's there's several different different things I can tell you from an estate planning. And this is going to send a really big thing, but with the way that the world is going and we've all had to adapt to the changes of technology and and working remotely. I personally don't feel like certain states have passed the rules and the laws that would really make it easier to keep up with technology as well. Illinois, for example, the notary law in Illinois, I don't think is where it should be in could be as compared to other states that makes it very difficult to do remote signings and things of that nature. So I would like to see that our legislators try to keep up with the changing times to make our practice easier, which really makes our practice easier, which makes it easier for our clients.Ron Bockstahler 27:20 It's interesting, you bring that up, because in many areas of law, you can actually accept the digital signature, but in estate planning, you still need to hardcopy signature you still need witnesses. So you got to get together eventually with your client at some point physically.Gregg Garofalo 27:32 Yes, yes.Ron Bockstahler 27:33 I see what you said. All right. Well, Greg, great having you on your show. Really appreciate taking the time out and look forward to talk to you down the road. Best way to reach Greg. Greg, what is your email?Gregg Garofalo 27:41 My email is Garofalo at GLG firm COMMRon Bockstahler 27:45 And we will get that out there when we post The show also, so we'll make sure you got his contact information. Great guy to work with highly recommend Greg known for a long time. So thanks for joining us on the show today, Greg. Yeah. Thanks. great having you. And thanks for. Absolutely and thanks for listening to the 1958 lawyer podcast. We'll be back in two weeks with Steve mesereau talking about you know, kind of we just brought up how you can save even more money with a cash balance plan and protect your income. Have a great day everyone.Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Leadership and service to the profession have been the hallmark of John Stewart's career - from his time serving as president of the Young Lawyers Division to serving as Florida Bar President (2019-2020), and an extensive list of bar leadership roles in between. Join us for an enlightening discussion with Mr. Stewart as he describes the impact bar leadership and involvement had on shaping his career, unique challenges he faced during his tenure as president of the Florida Bar, and his views on how the profession will be impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in the long term.
This week on Maximum Mom your host Elise Buie joins her integrator Kathryn Silk. Kathryn is an experienced family law attorney with a passion for the collaborative approach. After graduating from the University of Washington School of Law in 2010, she moved to Wenatchee where she practiced law, was on the board of the Domestic and Sexual Violence Center, served as the President of the local Young Lawyers Division, and volunteered for Attorney Services in family law. She has a history working at Family Law CASA in King County and at the King County Bar Association Family Law Neighborhood Clinic. Most recently, she practiced family law at the Ivy Law Group before joining Elise Buie Family Law Group in October, 2016. KathrynSilk has extensive trial and courtroom experience, but understands that the best approach often requires taking the decision making power out of the hands of the bureaucracy and placing it back into the hands of her clients. She is trained in mediation and negotiation, and holds a mediation skills certificate from the University of Washington School of Law. Kathryn strives for an outcome that will work best for all parties involved. She believes strongly in working with her clients to educate them about the legal process and empower them in making the best decisions for their future.In her free time, Kathryn Silk chases after her two wild young daughters and rides horses. She enjoys travel: she has lived abroad in France and Argentina and traveled extensively in Europe and South America. She loves cooking, gardening, yoga, running half-marathons, hiking with her Britney Spaniel, drinking copious amounts of tea, and spending time at her parent's farmhouse on Vashon Island.For more information about Kathryn Silk, you can visit her on Avvo or LinkedIn.Watch the interview here.Subscribe to Maximum Mom on your favorite podcast player so you never miss an episode!
Getting a foot in the door to the entertainment field can be an incredible feat! This week's guests both have forged a formidable path in and are bringing unique strengths with them. Maya Day, Esquire is an Associate Attorney at Bruns, Brennan & Berry PC where she serves as production counsel, drafting talent and above-the-line personnel agreements for production companies such as BRON Studios, Jax Media, and A24. Maya has served as counsel for various television series and films, most recently “A Black Lady Sketch Show”, "Pieces of a Woman", “Emily in Paris" and “Desus & Mero.” Maya holds a B.A from The George Washington University and a J.D. from Howard University School of Law. During her time at Howard Law School, she served as a Student Attorney in the Intellectual Property Clinic with a concentration in trademark law and served as the program coordinator for the Howard Law Sports and Entertainment Law Student Association. She also previously interned at BET Networks, the Federal Communications Commission, and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Maya is an active member of the Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA), Young Lawyers Division and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. Taylor Washington handles a broad range of entertainment transactions for clients in the film and television including production companies, actors/actresses, producers, directors, authors and influencers. Prior to joining Frankfurt Kurnit, Taylor was a Law Clerk for the NBCU News Group at NBCUniversal Media, LLC., where she served as legal counsel for CNBC prime time programming including “Deal or No Deal”, “The Profit”, and “Jay Leno's Garage.” She also advised and counseled business teams on other commercial transactions including venue and content licensing agreements. Additionally, Taylor performed pre-broadcast review of long-form programming on CNBC, including “Secret Lives of the Super Rich”, and advised on potential legal issues pertaining to privacy, defamation, libel, and intellectual property. During law school, Taylor interned in the Enforcement Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission and in the Business and Legal Affairs department at Scripps Networks Interactive (now Discovery, Inc.), where she worked with counsel to structure and draft production and talent agreements. Prior to law school, Taylor had extensive experience in the entertainment industry including jobs and internships with the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the Recording Academy, Octagon, and Viacom. Taylor is a former member of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society Junior Board, and a current member of the New York State Bar Association, and Metropolitan Black Bar Association. She is admitted to practice in New York.
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Natalie Woodward of Shamp Jordan Woodward (https://www.sjwtriallaw.com/). Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review Episode Details: Shamp Jordan Woodward founding partner Natalie Woodward shares discusses how she secured justice for the former Chief of Police for the City of Braswell, Georgia after he was falsely arrested and maliciously prosecuted by the Mayor, City Manager and subsequent Chief of Police for the City of Braswell over a reimbursement dispute. In 2007, Robert Richard Lucas was initially told by the Mayor that he would be reimbursed for the purchase of used vehicles for the police department, but after five months of waiting, the Mayor and City Manager informed Robert that they considered the vehicle to be a non-reimbursable donation to the City. Unable to reach an agreement, Robert resigned as the Chief of Police and took possession of the vehicle, as the title was still in his name. The City of Braswell reported the car stolen and continued to pursue criminal prosecution with a warrant for Robert's arrest, despite a neighboring county officer's determination that the vehicle ownership dispute was a civil matter. Robert was unjustly placed in a holding cell with criminals who were likely well aware of his previous law enforcement position. In spite of the defense's attempts to utilize a reimbursement check that didn't materialize until after the lawsuit was filed, trial lawyer Natalie Woodward emphasized the lack of proper procedure and Georgia Bureau of Investigation involvement. In 2010, a Rome, Georgia jury returned a verdict in favor of Robert, awarding $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages against the defendants. Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents Guest Bio: Natalie Woodward Anyone who meets Natalie Woodward feels like they have known her their entire life. It is this ability to put people at ease that makes her such an effective trial lawyer. Indeed in her very first jury trial as lead counsel, she secured a $1 million verdict in a wrongful arrest case. Natalie has extensive experience in personal injury, product liability, medical malpractice, false arrest, and malicious prosecution. A native of Powder Springs, Natalie is a venerable “Double Dawg.” She received undergraduate degrees in Journalism and Political Science. She then attended and graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law. While at UGA Law, she was the Chair of the Moot Court Board and a member of the champion Intrastate Moot Court Team. Natalie is a member of the Executive Committee for the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, is a member of the Atlanta Trial Lawyers Society, and serves on several non-profit boards. She has chaired the Small Firm Practice Section of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia and was selected as one of the Best Young Lawyers in Georgia by Atlanta Magazine. Prior to founding Shamp Speed Jordan Woodward, Natalie began her career at Brinson Askew Berry in Rome, Georgia. She also practiced at Commander & Pound, before starting her own firm in Roswell. She has also worked for both Federal District Court Judge Charles Pannell and Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Sears. Natalie is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia, as well as all other trial and appellate courts in the State of Georgia. Read Full Bio Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services -LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris, Lowry, and Manton - hlmlawfirm.com Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2
Meet the hosts of Young Lawyer Rising, a brand new podcast from the American Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division. Sonia Russo and Mathew Kerbis tell us about the show's mission and give us a preview of early episode topics. Stay tuned for episode 1...
Meet the hosts of Young Lawyer Rising, a brand new podcast from the American Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division. Sonia Russo and Mathew Kerbis tell us about the show's mission and give us a preview of early episode topics. Stay tuned for episode 1...
Meet the hosts of Young Lawyer Rising, a brand new podcast from the American Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division. Sonia Russo and Mathew Kerbis tell us about the show's mission and give us a preview of early episode topics. Stay tuned for episode 1...
On this episode we are joined by two INCREDIBLE Honors Alumni (Onika Williams & Cindy Makita) with two special-guest students moderating this episode: Sophia Jaimes & Emelie Jimenez! An inspirational group of women for an inspirational conversation! Onika K. Williams is an attorney and chair of the National Bar association's Young Lawyers Division. Cindy Makita is an entrepreneur who leads the Hired Institute that helps people find their dream jobs! On this episode we discuss what it's like being a woman in a male-dominated field, how we can call out discriminations against women in the work place, Onika & Cindy's paths after Honors, and MORE!
Nina is an Associate Partner at Dabdoub Law Firm, a Miami-based plaintiff’s disability insurance and ERISA law firm. Born in Chile and raised in Miami, Florida, Geannina (Nina) Burgos is a first-generation lawyer. She has dedicated her entire legal career to representing those who are entitled to disability benefits from insurance companies. Nina represents clients nationwide through the entire process: from filing an initial claim to appealing disability denials to litigating benefits in federal and state courts. While majority of the cases that Nina handles fall under a federal law called the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), she also handles individual disability claims governed by state law. Because her legal career has focused on one area of the law, Nina has significant experience handling just about any disability issue. She has represented clients with disability claims with every major disability insurance company in the United States, and she has acquired extensive knowledge on many medical conditions, including Trigeminal neuropathy, Myasthenia Gravis, Chronic Migraines, ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Back Pain, and Parkinson’s Disease to name a few. Education & Background Nina is a classically trained ballet, modern, and flamenco dancer. Before going to law school, she managed a multi-site nonprofit arts education organization for several years and danced professionally in local companies. Nina holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Communications and a MBA in Entrepreneurship. A graduate of Florida International College of Law’s evening program, Nina received the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Mediation—the highest honor for the course. During her studies she served as the vice-president of FIU Law’s Women’s Law Society and had a summer judicial clerkship under the Honorable Judge Barbara Lagoa in the Third District Court of Appeal. As a participant in FIU Law’s Community Development Clinic, she provided legal guidance to local South Florida small businesses and non-profit organizations. Several organizations awarded Nina academic fellowships during law school including Young Lawyers’ Division of the Florida Bar, the American Society of Public Administrators, the Florida Association of Women Lawyers, and the Ruden McClosky Foundation. Nina is an active member of the non-profit arts community, sitting on the boards of multiple culture-driven organizations and has volunteered as a grant panelist for several cultural funding institutions. She serves as a mentor for business and law students as well as recent graduates. Nina is proud to have returned to her alma mater, serving as an adjunct professor of legal writing at FIU Law. If you or someone you know has a disability claim, or is thinking about filing for disability, contact Nina’s firm at 1-888-812-0393 or visit www.longtermdisability.net Social media handles: Facebook: Geannina Burgos Instagram: @geanninaburgos Twitter: @geanninaburgos AVVO: https://www.avvo.com/attorneys/33134-fl-geannina-burgos- 4664545.html LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geannina-burgos-5649494 Firm website: www.longtermdisability.net
Jakgeem Mays, Esq.CEO / Principal AttorneyJakgeem earned a Bachelor of Music from New York University and began a career in the music industry working for companies such as Epic Records, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and EMI Music Publishing. He received his Juris Doctor from Thomas Jefferson School of Law while attending Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. Before he formed Mays Law Group, Jakgeem worked at NBCUniversal for seven years in Business Affairs (NBC Entertainment/Universal Television) on programs such as The Voice, Grimm, American Ninja Warrior, The NAACP Image Awards and Betty White's 90th Birthday Special and Legal Affairs (Cable Entertainment) where he drafted and negotiated various development and production agreements and handled production legal. Jakgeem is an active member of the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (“BESLA”) and is an Advisory Member and former Co-Chair of BESLA's Young Lawyers Division. #TheirJourneyYourRoadmapWebsite: https://www.mayslawgrouppc.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakgeemmays/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamaysing/Rise Social Media links:Twitter: https://twitter.com/risecethepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/risecareerexploration/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/risecareerexplorationWebsite: risecareer.orgRise career exploration is financially supported by listeners like you. Every dollar helps towards future podcast episodes. Click on the link in the show notes or visit us at risecareer.org today. Thank you for your support, enjoy the show and remember, together we RISE. Donate: https://liberapay.com/Rise-Career-Exploration/donate Shop: https://teespring.com/stores/my-store-10434812My books:HarlemPressLLC.comP.S. I easily get frustrated with tech. For whatever reason, I make a mess of things. But the Buzzsprout podcast platform has been super easy to create, upload and publish. And if "I" say it was easy, it's easy. The customer service is off the chain. I actually got emailed back the same day. Once, tech support went in to fix the problem and report to me that it's been taken care of. I'm a huge fan and that's the only reason I'm endorsing them. Sign up to share your ideas via podcast now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1382848Support the show
Kiomeiry Csépes, Esq., is the owner and managing attorney at Csépes Law Offices in Trenton, New Jersey. Her practice focuses on assisting clients from various parts of the world with their immigration and family law matters. Kiomeiry began her legal career in 1999, as a family law paralegal where she assisted countless of families navigate the Court system and equitably resolve their legal issues. She is well versed in the area of family law and carries this invaluable experience and dedication to her family law clients today. Her personal background has also given her great appreciation for the immigrant experience and perspective. She was born in Puerto Rico and only speaking Spanish migrated to New Jersey with her mother at a young age. Her father was born into impoverished circumstances and immigrated to the United States from Hungary. With such a foundation, Kiomeiry was raised to admire the immigrant experience and American dream. Her own family’s history and intimate experience with immigration exposed her to a wide range of migratory issues affecting families. While her background is unique to her, Kiomeiry has always found great similarities to her clients. She has created her own immigrant stories, as she spends time abroad, meeting and speaking with people from all over the world. In 2013, Kiomeiry spearheaded the creation of the Carmen M. Garcia Bright Futures Award, which is given to a Camden City college-bound high school student every year. As a law student at Rutgers School of Law-Camden, Kiomeiry served as President of Alianza, as a student teacher for the Street Law Program, and participated in the inaugural class of the Immigrant Justice Clinic. Kiomeiry has made it a personal goal to dedicate much of her time to helping the immigrant community. She routinely participates in volunteer activities such as Citizenship Drives and Know Your Rights Workshops. She further provides pro-bono and low-bono representation to families and children of low-income circumstances. She also participates in panels at various schools encouraging students to become leaders and purse a career in law. Kiomeiry serves as a Mentor with Rutgers School of Law’s Minority Student Program. Additionally, Kiomeiry currently serves as the Mercer County Liaison for the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division, as a New Jersey Delegate and Chair of the Family Law Committee for the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division, and as a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She is further an active member of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey, Mercer County Bar Association and on several committees for the Rutgers Alumni for Diversity, Inclusion and Community Building in the Law (RADICAL). She also participates with the Thomas S. Forkin Family Law American Inn of Court. Most recently Kiomeiry was awarded the Service to the Community Award from the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division; the Defender of Justice Award from the Rutgers School of Law’s Latino-Student Association; and the New Leaders of the Bar Award from the New Jersey Law Journal. Kiomeiry is admitted to practice in New Jersey, U.S. District Court of New Jersey, and Federal Immigration Court. She received her undergraduate degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ and her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law in Camden, New Jersey. She is also the proud mother of two children, Tristan and Zuri. Be sure to follow Kiomeiry on Instagram @csepeslawAlso, sign up for her newsletter at www.csepeslaw.com
Description:Today we are going to be talking about Divorce and Family Law practice, the issues that are prevalent these days during the Pandemic, and to help us understand that we are thrilled to have Georgia Lawyers Gillian O’Nan and Rob Wellon on the show with us today. Guest Bios:Gillian O'NanGillian Fierer O’Nan is the managing partner of the Atlanta, Georgia, firm of Elovitz, Edwards, O’Nan & Buerlein, LLC. Focusing her practice exclusively on family law, she represents clients throughout Atlanta and surrounding counties in matters related to divorce, adoptions, child support and custody, separate maintenance and domestic violence. Ms. O’Nan also handles paternity cases, postnuptial and prenuptial agreements, post-action modifications and contempt cases. An experienced litigator, she is also a civil mediator and trained Guardian ad Litem.After receiving her Bachelor of Arts cum laude from the University of Georgia in 2002, Ms. O’Nan went on to attend the University of Georgia School of Law and was awarded her Juris Doctor with honors in 2006. Admitted to practice in Georgia, she was associated with two Atlanta firms before opening her practice in 2013. Highly regarded by her peers, Ms. O’Nan has received a 10.0 “Superb” rating from Avvo.A member of the family law sections of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia and the Atlanta Bar Association, Ms. O’Nan previously served on the board of directors for Georgia Lawyers for the Arts and as the president of the Young Lawyers Division of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia. She is a member of the Lawyers Club of Atlanta. Active in a variety of community and civic organizations, Ms. O’Nan has served as a member of the Alliance Children’s Theatre Guild’s board of directors, chaired the Ava in Wonderland Charity Gala and Auction and donated her time to her local church as well as the Anti-Defamation League. Ms. O’Nan proudly serves as the Vice President of the Ashford Park Education Foundation and on the House Committee for the Atlanta Athletic Club. Ms. O’Nan was appointed by the Mayor of the City of Brookhaven in 2017 to serve on the Zoning Board of Appeals; she proudly continues her service today.Read Full Bio Robert WellonRob has been practicing law since 1974, with an emphasis on litigation, and concentrating on family law. He is recognized as a creative problem-solver, whether in settling issues or trying cases. He has a lifelong commitment to service:TEACHEROver twenty years of guiding law students into the profession, since 1995 as an adjunct professor at Emory Law School.TRIAL ATTORNEYFounder and initial director of the Atlanta College of Trial Advocacy; former chairman of the Atlanta Bar Litigation Section, Adjunct Professor on Trial Advocacy.FAMILY LAW ATTORNEYFounder and initial president of the Charles Longstreet Weltner Family Law American Inn of Court, over 31 years practicing in Family Law.PROFESSIONAL ATTORNEYServes on the State Bar Committee on Professionalism; frequent lecturer and moderator on professionalism and family law and litigation issues.BAR LEADERFormer president, Atlanta Bar Association; Board of Directors for 16 years, former American Bar Association delegate to the House of Delegates (1999-2005), Charles Watkins Leadership Award for sustained service.COMMUNITY LEADERNorthside Methodist United Church member over 30 years, Stephen minister, former church administrative board member, Staff Parish Committee, former Easter Seals V/P, United Way, Atlanta Foundation for Psychoanalysis Executive Committee, former Neighborhood representative to city NPU, former Peachtree Battle Alliance.COMMITMENT TO SERVICERob welcomes the challenges and opportunities to serve his clients, especially those involved in the emotional turmoil of divorce, custody and support, paternity and related matrimonial issues. He enjoys a reputation for understanding while still maintaining his zealous advocacy for his clients. Rob's particular concern is to empathize with the client while being realistic in projecting specific goal-oriented results.COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCEIn serving on various boards, such as the Atlanta Foundation For Psychoanalysis, Rob has gained insight on the specialized needs of his clients. In teaching and moderating continuing legal education forums, he remains on the cutting edge of the profession. As his continual service to the profession demonstrates, Rob has shown his commitment to providing the highest quality service while engaging his clients in an efficient, just, and realistic resolution of the client's matter.SUPERLAWYER, LEGAL ELITE, WHO'S WHO ...He has been named an Atlanta Magazine "Superlawyer" for 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 edition. In 2006, he was named by Georgia Trend Magazine as a "Legal Elite," one of Georgia's Top Lawyers. He has made the Who's Who in America and Who's Who in American Law for 20+ years. He has received the Charles Watkins Award given by Atlanta Bar Association and is a Fellow with the American Bar Foundation, whose membership is comprised of the top 3% of each state's bar membership. He has also received Martindale-Hubbell's top rating of AV for 20+ years.PLEDGERob has the expertise, experience, and affability to represent motivated clients to obtain the best possible result with an empathetic, efficient, and commonsense approach. He will commit the time, energy, and single-mindedness to the client in order for the client to be able to move forward in his/her life with the best possible result.Read Full Bio Links:https://www.wellonfamilylaw.com/ https://eofamilylaw.com/ To learn more about the Georgia Civil Justice Foundation, visit fairplay.org
Amber, Dayne and Joseph are joined this week by Jeanmarie Tankersley, president-elect of the South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division. Tune in to hear Jeanmarie discuss her hopes and plans for the future of YLD as well as info all young lawyers need to know. Oh, and this week features a special cameo from Joseph's beard.Follow Jeanmarie on Twitter at @JeanmarieSC.Follow Direct Examination on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.Send questions or suggestions to directexaminationpodcast@gmail.com.Theme music by 630 Band.DISCLAIMER: The information on this podcast (1) does not establish an attorney-client relationship; (2) is only for general information; (3) does not constitute legal advice; (4) cannot be cited as legal authority; and (5) cannot replace the advice of an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction who has reviewed the specific facts of your case. Please note that the information on this podcast is not a description of the attorney’s quality of representation and is not a guarantee of a specific result. Any result achieved on behalf of a client in other matters should not create any expectation of a favorable outcome and does not necessarily indicate that similar results can be obtained for other clients. Nothing contained in this podcast is intended to compare our services to the services of any other law firm or lawyer, or to imply any specialization in an area of law. The publication of this podcast is not intended to constitute the practice of law in any jurisdiction in which no attorney in the podcast is licensed to practice, nor is it intended to solicit legal representation of anyone in any such jurisdiction.
The Young Lawyers Division continues its sub-series of "What I Wish I Knew" with Aja Brooks, former YLD member and New Mexico State Bar Foundation President. Tune in to hear Brooks talk about her non-traditional career path in public interest law, balancing work with being a new mom, and how she gets it all done.Presenters: Aja Brooks, Center for Self Help and Dispute Resolution, Second Judicial District; Allison Block-Chavez, Aldridge Hammar & Wexler PA and YLD Chair
The Young Lawyers Division continues its sub-series of "What I Wish I Knew" with Tomas Garcia, YLD 2017 Chair. Listen in as Tomas shares his experience as a young lawyer clerking for Justice Charles Daniels and what he has learned with his time with at Modrall Sperling Law Firm.
We're back with the Young Lawyers Division interviewing a previous YLD chair! Past chairs will share the experiences they had as a young lawyer and what insights they'd like to pass on to the new generation. The YLD was honored to chat with current State Bar President and 2011 YLD Chair, Ernestina (Tina) Cruz. Part 2 will dive into work-life balance and personal and professional growth.If you missed Part 1, make sure to check it out under "Tools of the Trade with Young Lawyers Division: What I Wish I Knew with Ernestina Cruz".Presenters: Ernestina R. Cruz, Cruz Law Office LLC and State Bar President; Allison Block-Chavez, Aldridge Hammar & Wexler PA and YLD Chair
The Young Lawyers Division will interview previous YLD chairs who are now established in their practice. Past chairs will share the experiences they had as a young lawyer and what insights they'd like to pass on to the new generation. The YLD was honored to chat with current State Bar President and 2011 YLD Chair, Ernestina (Tina) Cruz. Part 1 will dive into day-to-day relationships and everyone’s favorite topic, money.Stay tuned for Part 2 premiering on July 22! The second episode will discuss work-life balance and personal and professional growth.Presenters: Ernestina R. Cruz, Cruz Law Office LLC and State Bar President; Allison Block-Chavez, Aldridge Hammar & Wexler PA and YLD Chair
JANI ROBERTS Jani Roberts is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Alignment Essentials, a health and wellness company spanning the fitness, self-improvement, and mindfulness spaces. She is the creator of the Warrior® Workout, Moving Meditations™, Inspirational Conversations™ and all of the Alignment Essentials programming content. Jani has over 40 years of experience in the health and wellness field. She owned and operated a large gym franchise in Florida where she specialized in health and wellness related services, products, and preventative health education, and she now owns a private boutique studio offering personal training, small group fitness classes, and private nutrition and health coaching. Before launching her own brand, RED Warrior Nation, with her husband Johnny in 2011, Jani was one of the original master trainers for another world-renowned fitness format. During her 11 years with that company, she literally trained hundreds of thousands of instructors around the world, and she was the featured choreographer and performer on numerous training DVDs. Before that, Jani and Johnny, worked as lead performers all over the world. RED Warrior Nation was the precursor company to Alignment Essentials, which Jani co-founded with Sabrina Ursaner in 2018. Jani is a graduate of the American Academy of Nutrition, and is a past presenter at IDEA, SCW, Rimini, IHRSA, CAN FIT PRO, AAAI, Lifetime EMPOWER Events, Fitness Fusion, FILEX, FIBO, Nike, and Adidas. She holds certifications from ACE, AFAA and NASM. Jani travels extensively as a speaker and presenter sharing her Alignment Essentials wellness tools and helping people find more joy in their lives. In addition to numerous awards she has received over the years, Jani was recently nominated as the Most Inspiring Instructor to be awarded at the 2018 National Fitness Day events, and Moving Meditations™ was nominated for Hottest New Fitness Trend. SABRINA URSANER: Sabrina Ursaner is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Alignment Essentials, a health and wellness company spanning the fitness, self-improvement, and mindfulness spaces that provides tools to help people “stay in alignment” and find more joy in their daily lives. Prior to starting Alignment Essentials with Jani Roberts, Sabrina was the CEO of RED Warrior Nation, and she was a lawyer in New York before that. Sabrina studied dance and psychology at Washington University in St. Louis and has danced professionally. She is a graduate of NYU School of Law and the recipient of several awards throughout her legal career. In 2018, Sabrina left the corporate world to focus on Alignment Essentials full-time. She is an Ambassador for National Fitness Day and is co-chair of the Young Lawyers Division of UJA, and she has been teaching fitness and wellness classes in New York City for the last 6 years. Sabrina is featured in all of the Alignment Essentials online streaming workout videos.
JANI ROBERTS Jani Roberts is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Alignment Essentials, a health and wellness company spanning the fitness, self-improvement, and mindfulness spaces. She is the creator of the Warrior® Workout, Moving Meditations™, Inspirational Conversations™ and all of the Alignment Essentials programming content. Jani has over 40 years of experience in the health and wellness field. She owned and operated a large gym franchise in Florida where she specialized in health and wellness related services, products, and preventative health education, and she now owns a private boutique studio offering personal training, small group fitness classes, and private nutrition and health coaching. Before launching her own brand, RED Warrior Nation, with her husband Johnny in 2011, Jani was one of the original master trainers for another world-renowned fitness format. During her 11 years with that company, she literally trained hundreds of thousands of instructors around the world, and she was the featured choreographer and performer on numerous training DVDs. Before that, Jani and Johnny, worked as lead performers all over the world. RED Warrior Nation was the precursor company to Alignment Essentials, which Jani co-founded with Sabrina Ursaner in 2018. Jani is a graduate of the American Academy of Nutrition, and is a past presenter at IDEA, SCW, Rimini, IHRSA, CAN FIT PRO, AAAI, Lifetime EMPOWER Events, Fitness Fusion, FILEX, FIBO, Nike, and Adidas. She holds certifications from ACE, AFAA and NASM. Jani travels extensively as a speaker and presenter sharing her Alignment Essentials wellness tools and helping people find more joy in their lives. In addition to numerous awards she has received over the years, Jani was recently nominated as the Most Inspiring Instructor to be awarded at the 2018 National Fitness Day events, and Moving Meditations™ was nominated for Hottest New Fitness Trend. SABRINA URSANER: Sabrina Ursaner is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Alignment Essentials, a health and wellness company spanning the fitness, self-improvement, and mindfulness spaces that provides tools to help people “stay in alignment” and find more joy in their daily lives. Prior to starting Alignment Essentials with Jani Roberts, Sabrina was the CEO of RED Warrior Nation, and she was a lawyer in New York before that. Sabrina studied dance and psychology at Washington University in St. Louis and has danced professionally. She is a graduate of NYU School of Law and the recipient of several awards throughout her legal career. In 2018, Sabrina left the corporate world to focus on Alignment Essentials full-time. She is an Ambassador for National Fitness Day and is co-chair of the Young Lawyers Division of UJA, and she has been teaching fitness and wellness classes in New York City for the last 6 years. Sabrina is featured in all of the Alignment Essentials online streaming workout videos.
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