Fulton County Courts in Georgia

Judges forgo pay to keep Court open

Fulton Superior Court judges to work 3 days without pay

  Fulton County Superior Court judges have voted to work three days without pay in response to the state’s fiscal crisis.

  Chief Judge Doris Downs said the Superior Court’s judges will voluntarily reduce their salary by one day each month for the rest of this year.

  “This is not a furlough, it is a voluntary reduction in pay� explained Chief Judge Downs.  The Courts will remain open for business as usual. 

  “It is important to this bench that the public see no cuts in service,� she said. “The only cut will be in the judges’ salaries.�

State Department highlights Fulton Drug Court

The U.S. Department of State Foreign Press Center selected our Drug Court for a visit by nine foreign journalists writing articles about U.S. drug fighting efforts.
The group toured our Drug Court on July 15 after having visited Washington DC where they met with several officials from the Obama Administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Congress.
The Fulton Superior Court's Drug Court was the only court picked for a visit during the tour. It was chosen because of its history of success, State Dept. Officials said.
After meeting with Chief Judge Doris L. Downs, who described the evolution of our Drug Court, the journalists sat in on a weekly prehearing conference to learn more about how Drug Court operates. The journalists then attended a Drug Court hearing where they heard from Drug Court defendants and toured Hope Hall to see the Drug Court accountability program in action.
Following their tour of Drug Court the journalists were to spend time with members of the Atlanta DEA office before returning to their home countries.
State Department officials said the journalists were hand picked for the tour by U.S. embassies and consulates in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Haiti, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.
The working reporting tour gave the journalists a chance to see U.S. domestic drug fighting efforts and learn about our nation's overall cooperation with Mexico and other Central American countries to combat crime, including drug trafficking, arms trafficking and human trafficking.

Even Pro Bono Work Requires Doing Your Homework First

One common piece of advice given to the newly laid off is to seek volunteer work until a paid job comes along.

Law Firms Scramble to Place Deferred Associates in Volunteer Posts

State Bar of Georgia seeks pro bono awards nominations

The State Bar of Georgia has issued its annual call for pro bono awards nominations.

Each year, the State Bar Access to Justice Committee and the State Bar of Georgia Pro Bono Project solicit nominations for the Bar's prestigious pro bono awards.  The awards cover 4 areas of service to the Bar and the legal profession: individual attorney service;  an organizational effort that extends current services or meets unmet legal needs; an individual legal services attorney service record; and efforts to assist nonprofits that serve low-income communities.

Nominations for the State Bar awards must be submitted by April 17, 2009.  Electronic submissions are most encouraged.

Click HERE to download the Awards Brochure and view the Awards history.

Georgia Banking & Finance ends complaint assistance for individuals with complaints

In the middle of this country's worst mortgage and banking crisis in decades, the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance has ceased providing assistance to individual Georgians with consumer banking and finance complaints.

The following undated announcement from the Georgia Secretary of State Department provides little detail about other avenues for consumers:

Due to recent staff cutbacks, the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance is no longer able to handle individual consumer complaints against financial institutions chartered by the State of Georgia or any other entities licensed or regulated by our Department.

Go to the Georgia Banking and Finance Website to see the full article.

New U.S. National Web Site Offers Lawyers Easy Access To Pro Bono Opportunities

CHICAGO, May 29, 2007 — Helping lawyers find opportunities for meaningful pro bono work in their communities is the goal of a project jointly sponsored by the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, the ABA Center for Pro Bono and Pro Bono Net.

The National Pro Bono Opportunities Guide, available at www.volunteerforprobono.org, provides listings of more than 1,100 programs from across the United States that need volunteer lawyers. Through the directory’s convenient search option, lawyers can find programs based on location, area of law, the population served and CLE credits for training or service. Users can also pinpoint projects that require their skills and experience with features highlighting opportunities for transactional lawyers, litigators, law students and others.

“Serving the public good has always been an integral part of the legal profession,� said ABA President Karen J. Mathis. “By making it easier for lawyers to identify pro bono opportunities – whether domestic violence, elder law, immigration, custody, housing, or other cases, we can begin to respond to the challenge of providing assistance to Americans of limited means whose legal needs are unmet.�

Although there had been hard copies of pro bono directories, the three sponsors identified a need for a Web-based pro bono guide that would offer current information while allowing lawyers to quickly locate an opportunity that meets their time, skills and location.

Because the list is interactive, state and local bar associations as well as community-based nonprofits can add or update information to ensure the list is current and accurate. This national guide leverages a network of regional content partners.

“This collaboration achieves a perfect mix of local and national strengths, harnessing the national reach of the ABA and Pro Bono Net’s powerful online tools to support the needs of a diverse network of organizations serving the legal needs of communities across the country,� said Pro Bono Net Executive Director Mark O’Brien.

With more than 413,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law in a democratic society.

Pro Bono Net (PBN) is a national nonprofit organization based in New York City that works to increase access to justice for the millions of low income people who face legal problems every year without help from a lawyer. Founded in 1998 with support from the Open Society Institute, PBN has created a broad and powerful network of nonprofit legal aid providers, courts and bar associations across the United States. This network uses two innovative web-based platforms – www.probono.net and www.lawhelp.org, for which Pro Bono Net received a 2007 Webby Award for Best Law Website – to recruit and manage volunteers to provide direct information and tools for low-income communities and the organizations that serve them. The development of this online tool was underwritten by PBN’s Corporate Sponsors Council, which includes ALM, Case Central, Epiq Systems, Ibis Consulting and Interwoven.

The Plight of the Self-Represented Litigant

This article appeared in the Pro Bono Net Newsletter of April 2007.

Supreme Court Strengthens Arbitration in Labor Case Ruling

The Supreme Court's growing embrace of arbitration continued Wednesday with a 5-4 ruling endorsing labor contracts that send age discrimination claims to arbitration rather than to federal courts. In another pro-business decision, the Court said the EPA may use cost-benefit analysis to set standards for power plants under the Clean Water Act. The rulings came a day after the Court dismissed a Philip Morris appeal of a $79 million verdict, leading some to wonder how pro-business the Roberts Court really is.

Judge Dismisses Antitrust Suit Against Fragomen

It's strange enough that the Fragomen firm was sued for alleged antitrust violations, a probable first for an Am Law 200 firm. But the suit's resolution was stranger still, with a judge dismissing it Tuesday before discovery. The dispute involves lawyer Ryan Freel, who left Fragomen for immigration consulting firm Emigra, only to return two years later to Fragomen, where Emigra claims he shared confidential information. Emigra sued, claiming the hiring was part of Fragomen's attempt to monopolize immigration work.

Thelen, Heller Face Huge Wage Claims

In the five months since Thelen's dissolution, the firm has managed to avoid bankruptcy and has paid down more than half of the bank debt that forced it to close, a firm representative said Wednesday. But it now must contend with a lawsuit, filed by former employees and certified as a class on Tuesday, that may be worth up to $25 million. In similar straits: fellow defunct firm Heller Ehrman, which was hit in bankruptcy court on Friday with a claim by former employees for $32 million.

How to Handle Awkward Moments With Laid-Off Colleagues

The Snark astutely notes that the current economic crisis has added another awkward social situation to Big Law life: How do you interact with the recently or soon-to-be laid-off colleague? One challenge, given all the stealth layoffs, may be recognizing who has been axed, so you may want to avoid the typical elevator opener, "Hi, how are you?" The Snark tackles other sticky situations, such as whether to admit you know someone has been laid off. Avoidance may be the best policy to avoid awkward moments.

Technology Transforms the Litigation Game

Today's litigators take depositions via videoconferencing, scour social networks for dirt on the opposition, and communicate with opposing counsel via BlackBerry. A successful litigator tempers the tension between the benefits of new technologies and the loss of face-to-face interaction.

Madoff Scandal Spotlights the Securities Investor Protection Corp.

Bernard Madoff's multibillion-dollar fraud has been front and center in the media and the minds of both those fallen victim and those left unscathed, and likely will remain so for quite some time as the massive Ponzi scheme continues to unfold. One of the ways in which Madoff victims are seeking relief is through the Securities Investor Protection Corp. But what is SIPC? Attorneys Harold K. Gordon and Tracy V. Schaffer answer some basic questions about SIPC's purpose and functions.

Fla. Bar Association Sued Over Ban on Client Testimonials

A national consumer advocacy agency has filed a suit against the Florida Bar Association challenging the constitutionality of its ban on client testimonials in attorney advertising. The case stems from a Florida lawyer's use of the online directory Avvo, which gives clients an opportunity to review attorneys listed on the site. Public Citizen's suit argues that the Florida Bar Association's rules violate attorneys' free speech by holding them accountable for client posts on Web sites that the attorneys don't control.

3rd Circuit: Kids Hurt by Vaccines Can't Pursue Design Defect Claims

The 3rd Circuit has ruled that children allegedly injured by vaccines are barred from pursuing any design defect claims because Congress expressly prohibited such suits in an effort to guarantee immunity to manufacturers. By rejecting the analysis of a recent ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court, the 3rd Circuit ruling creates a direct split between the federal courts and a state's highest court on the question of how broadly courts should read the pre-emption clause in the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.

Fee-Sharing Agreement Found to Apply to Enhanced Award

An attorney who initiated a med-mal claim is entitled to one-third of enhanced fees awarded to two other attorneys who contended they did the bulk of the work in settling the case for $6.7 million years later, New York state's high court has ruled. "Where ... an agreement 'is complete, clear and unambiguous on its face [it] must be enforced according to the plain meaning of its terms,'" Judge Eugene F. Pigott Jr. wrote, adding it is not a court's job to weigh parties' respective contributions in valid fee-splitting arrangements.

Madoff Clients Make Push for Involuntary Bankruptcy

Lawyers at Milberg and Seeger Weiss filed a motion Wednesday afternoon seeking court permission to push Bernard Madoff into involuntary personal bankruptcy in an attempt to stake out a claim to the assets of the admitted Ponzi scheme mastermind. Jonathan Landers, a Milberg bankruptcy partner, says a separate trustee for Madoff's personal assets could more easily go after funds that might have been transferred to other people.

The Justice Souter Bobblehead, With Bling

The David Souter bobblehead, the latest in the series of Supreme Court bobblehead dolls created by the unconventional law review , will soon be in the hands of a lucky few. As with the previous bobbleheads, every facet of the doll has meaning, drawn from the justice's jurisprudence or personal history. The most prominent features of the bobble-Souter? The justice has a gold chain around his neck and is seated on a lifeguard stand. And another thing: This bobblehead has audio.

Sperm Banks Can Be Sued Under Product Liability Laws, Federal Judge Rules

In the first decision of its kind, a federal judge has ruled that a sperm bank may be sued under product liability laws for failing to detect that a sperm donor had a genetic defect. The ruling clears the way for a 13-year-old mentally retarded girl from Pennsylvania to sue a New York sperm bank under the theory that the sperm used to conceive her had a defect known as "Fragile X," a mutation known to cause a syndrome of maladies that include mental retardation and behavioral disorders.

Polio Victim's 30-Year Crusade Garners $22.5 Million Award

In 1979, Elizabeth Tenuto brought her infant daughter, Diana, to her pediatrician for her second dosage of an oral polio vaccine. A month later, Ms. Tenuto's husband, Dominick, contracted polio, apparently by touching Diana's stool while changing her diaper. Now, three decades after becoming paralyzed, Mr. Tenuto has won a $22.3 million verdict against Lederle Laboratories, the pharmaceutical company he claims negligently manufactured the vaccine Orimune and failed to adequately warn doctors of its dangers.

Former Law Firm Partner Draws Prison Term in KPMG Tax Shelter Scandal

Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan denied leniency Wednesday for the three men convicted in the KPMG tax shelter scandal. The judge sentenced former Brown & Wood partner Raymond Ruble to 6 1/2 years in prison for his role in providing opinion letters that endorsed the shelters and helped KPMG's wealthiest clients claim bogus losses to offset massive capital gains. Also, Kaplan sentenced former senior KPMG executives John Larson and Robert Pfaff to respective terms of 10 years and one month, and eight years and one month.

Giving New Meaning to Fee Fight, Client Says Award Is Owed Him, Not Lawyer

A lawyer who prevailed in a Title VII suit three years ago has been engaged since then in an unusual fee fight -- against her own client, who says his pro se work entitles him to keep the fees awarded. Even worse for the lawyer, the client is asserting his right to the $144,462 in fees and interest -- now sitting in a court registry -- through a malpractice counterclaim that a federal judge on Monday refused to throw out.

3rd Circuit Takes Broad View on When CAFA Cases Can Move to State Court

A recent precedent-setting 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion takes a broad view of when Class Action Fairness Act cases can move to state court from federal court. The ruling analyzed two separate issues of first impression related to CAFA's so-called local controversy exception. The opinion by 3rd Circuit Judge D. Brooks Smith found that the local controversy exception doesn't require every class member to assert a claim against the local defendant in order to exempt the case from federal jurisdiction.

Judge Orders Lawyers to Give Up Attorney Fees

Retired Miami cruise ship injury lawyer Jerrold Wingate and former associate Peter Sotolongo have been ordered to return almost $450,000 in fees collected under a secret deal after Wingate withdrew from dozens of personal injury cases amid bribery allegations. The secret fee arrangements arose after Royal Caribbean alleged that Wingate employees were paying off cruise line investigators in exchange for inside information about confidential settlement terms that were being considered by the company's lawyers.

Former Home Depot Executive Sentenced in Kickback Scheme

The first of three former Home Depot executives caught in an ongoing international kickback investigation by federal authorities was sentenced to 63 months in prison Wednesday and ordered to pay more than $1 million in restitution. James P. Robinson is one of three former executives who have pleaded guilty to receiving millions of dollars in kickbacks from foreign suppliers in return for placing their products in Home Depot stores across the United States.