Memphis Lawyer Volume 35 Issue 2

the magazine of the Memphis Bar Association

Vol. 35, Issue 2

Cover Story

Recognition and Remembrance of the Roles of the Memphis Legal, Political and Religious Communities in the Sanitation Workers Strike of 1968

THIS ISSUE:

Sex trafficking is a Reality in West Tennessee

Interview with U.S. Attorney Mike Dunavant, Part 2

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Volume 35, Issue 2

FEATURES 8 Recognition and Remembrance of the Roles of the Memphis Legal, Political and

Religious Communities in the Sanitation Workers Strike of 1968

BY ELLEN BRONAUGH VERGOS

12

Interview with U.S. Attorney Mike Dunavant, Part 2: Criminal Division INTERVIEW BY W. PRESTON BATTLE, IV

22 Should I Stay or Should I Go?

BY JUDGE CHRISTOPHER CRAFT

24

Memorial Service Presentation

24

Local American Inns of Court Chapter Acknowledged for Excellence

30

Sex trafficking is a Reality in West Tennessee

32

MLK 50TH Symposium: Where do we go from Here?

34

2018 Bench Bar Conference

36

Spotlight: Judge David M Rudolph

38

Spotlight: Judge Mary Wagner

42

The Wellness Retreat: Strategies for Thriving in the Legal Profession

BY ANNE FRITZ

BY TERRENCE O. REED

BY KATE B. ANDERSON

BY ANNE FRITZ

BY SEAN ANTONE HUNT

BY JACOB D. STRAWN and JARED RENFROE

COLUMNS 6

President’s Column

9

MBA Sections

BY EARLE SCHWARZ

22 MALS Corner: The Campaign for Equal Justice Continues

After a Successful 2017

BY SHEPHERD (SHEP) D. TATE

28

Circuit Court Report

28

Community Legal Center: Paving the Way For Those That Follow

45

People in the News

46

Classified Advertisements

BY STEPHEN LEFFLER

BY LUCY BOATENG

3

MEMPHIS LAWYER

2018 MBA Officers

the magazine of the Memphis Bar Association

MBA Publications Committee Stephen Leffler, Chair Nicole Grida, Vice Chair Lucie Brackin, Executive Committee Liaison Preston Battle Leslie Byrd Karen Campbell Dean DeCandia Chastity Sharp Grice Sean Hunt Kendra Lyons Harrison McIver Jared Renfroe Jake Strawn Charles Summers Ellen Vergos Christy Washington

Earle Schwarz President

Mike Adams Megan Arthur David Bearman Sherry Brooks Frank Cantrell Leslie Coleman Amber Floyd Peter Gee Tannera Gibson Nicole Grida Doug Halijan Earl Houston Sean Hunt Steve Leffler

Lucie Brackin

Secretary/Treasurer

Dean DeCandia Past President

Matt May Jim Newsom Lisa Overall Maggie Cooper Roney Jill Steinberg Alex Wharton Estelle Winsett Section Representatives Sylvia Ford Brown Margaret Chesney Anne Johnson Joe Leibovich Jennifer Sisson Brigid Welsh

ABA Delegate Lucian Pera AWA Representative LaQuita Stokes Law School Representative Elizabeth Rudolph NBA Representative Florence Johnson YLD President Mary Wu Tullis

MBA STAFF

Anne Fritz

Executive Director

4

Vice President

2018 Board of Directors

The Memphis Lawyer is a publication of the Memphis Bar Association, Inc. that publishes four times each year. The publication has a circulation of 2,200. If you are interested in submitting an article for publication or advertising in an upcoming issue, contact Carole Doorley at 271.0660; cdoorley@memphisbar.org The MBA reserves the right to reject any advertisement or article submitted for publication.

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

Annie Christoff

Lesia Beach

CLE/Sections Director

Will Norris

Executive Assistant/ Membership Coordinator

Carole Doorley

Communications and Membership Director

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PRESIDENT'S COLUMN

By EARLE SCHWARZ, MBA President

T

he most poignant way that we observe Law Week in Shelby County is by remembering those attorneys who died within the twelve months preceding the Memorial Service at Calvary Episcopal Church. This year, the list of deceased attorneys was, thankfully, shorter than in years past. While there were attorneys on the list who had led full lives, there were also a number of attorneys on the list who died too young. We are diminished by the loss of each of them.

It has been a tradition to have a jurist deliver the address at the Memorial Service. It should not come as a shock to you that I am willing to depart from tradition when i believe it to be appropriate. I thought it would be particularly fitting if this year, the address was given by the one person who most closely personifies the Memphis Bar Association.

Leaders come and go on a precise schedule but for the past 25 years, Clarissa Anne Fritz has been the Executive Director of the Memphis Bar Association. Anne has been a constant source of professional leadership and guidance for the MBA. A native of southern Illinois, Anne graduated with a BA in history (summa cum laude) and a JD (cum laude) from the University of Illinois. After practicing law in a small firm in Wisconsin, she returned to Illinois to work for the Illinois Supreme Court and the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education before becoming assistant Executive Director and CLE Director for the Cincinnati Bar Association.

In February 1993, after an extensive search, the Board selected Anne to become Executive Director of the MBA. I am told that the Board’s only concern over hiring Anne was whether, because of Anne’s credentials, youth and skill set, Memphis would be able to keep her.

Fortunately for us, those concerns were misplaced as she is still here. Anne’s skills have also been recognized on 6

the national level as she has served as President of the National Association of Bar Executives.

Anne’s remarks at the Memorial Service were exceptional, so we are including them in this edition for the entire membership to enjoy. Serving as the Executive Director of a voluntary organization of professionals is a challenge, but one might only imagine the degree to which that challenge is magnified when the members of the organization are attorneys. So, the next time you see Anne, thank her for her dedication and service to the Memphis Bar Association. 

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Recognition and Remembrance of the Roles of the Memphis Legal, Political and Religious Communities in the Sanitation Workers Strike of 1968

by ELLEN BRONAUGH VERGOS

O

n April 2, 2018, the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, in partnership with the National Civil Rights Museum, held the MLK50 Symposium: “Where Do We Go From Here” featuring nationally known speakers on topics such as voting rights, criminal justice, poverty and activism. The panels were fully subscribed and, fortunately, many of them can be found on You Tube for those who are interested, but unable to attend.

attorneys for Dr. King, and Frierson Graves, attorney for the city of Memphis.

During that same week, the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee at Memphis recognized the historical significance of the 1968 federal litigation involving Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s right to march with Memphis sanitation workers. Keynote speakers were the Honorable Andrew Young and the Reverend James Lawson. Guest speakers included Walter Bailey, Mike Cody, and Charles Newman,

The purpose of this article is to look back at the historical foundation of our civil rights laws as they evolved during this time (1968) and to remember and recognize the roles of our fellow attorneys and judges, as well as leaders of the local clergy and government officials who were able to overcome historic prejudices and to keep the peace to the extent possible under the circumstances.

Author’s Note: The Transcript of the hearing is on file in this Court. It is 195 pages. It is definitely recommended reading for those who appreciate good lawyering and judging in a highly stressed atmosphere.

Important events during the 1968 action by sanitation workers included:1 JAN 30, 1968: 21 black employees in the sewers-anddrains division of the city Public Works Department were sent home without a full days pay because of rain, while others, including white supervisors, were allowed to stay.

FEB 1- Two sanitation workers were crushed to death in the compression unit of garbage truck as the truck headed to the dump at the end of a rainy workday. An 1

8

electrical short circuit caused the compressor to start running, crushing the workers. There was no workers comp and no life insurance.

FEB 11-A Sunday night protest meeting was called to discuss grievances with the Public Works Dept.. After Union leaders returned from a fruitless meeting, 400500 workers voted to strike.

(This chronology summary is from the book At the River I Stand by Joan Turner Beifuss (Wimmer Brothers 1985)(“Beifuss”).

FEB 13- Mayor Loeb met with Union officials at City Hall and declaring the strike illegal, refused to bargain.

About 800 strikers marched to City Hall.

and their families, to bring them needed supplies and to register eligible strikers to vote. (Taped Interview with Frances Loring).

FEB 16- Concerned about growing racial tensions, a small group of black and white ministers urged the mayor and union officials to settle the strike and to set up meetings for the two sides to talk. The ministers included Rabbi Wax, Father Nicholas Vieron of the Greek Orthodox Church, and William Dimmick of St. Mary’s Cathedral.

They met at St. Mary’s. Talks began with each side talking not directly to the other, but at each other through Rabbi Wax. (Joan Turner Beifus, At the River I Stand, p. 66).

MAR 18-Dr. King made his first appearance for Memphis strikers at a rally at Mason Temple. King called for a work stoppage if the city did not agree to a dues check off and he promised to return to Memphis in support of the strike.

FEB 18-Food, clothing and other supplies were requested for the strikers by a group called Concerned Citizens for Sanitation Workers and families. Frances Grant Loring, an attorney and a nun, organized a group to feed strikers

MAR 22-A march that was to have been led by King was cancelled due to a 16- inch snowfall. King was set to return but would have to engage counsel to represent him in and go to District Court for permission to march, setting the stage for MLK’s last legal battle, pictured and described by the Court below.

Below is the remembrance from the U.S.District Court.

Court Recalls MLK’s Last Legal Battle Published on April 6, 2018 By the United States District Court of the Western District of Tennessee, Western Division It was a rare, painful failure in Martin Luther King, Jr.,’s storied career of nonviolent protest. During a hastily organized march of striking sanitation workers, young protesters in the rear turned picket signs into weapons, smashing out storefront windows.

Stung, King vowed he would return soon to Memphis, Tennessee, to lead a second, more orderly march. City leaders, shaken by several days of looting and arson fires that followed, didn’t want King back.

The events of March 28, 1968, began the final week of Martin Luther King, Jr.,’s life. They also sparked a legal battle eclipsed by history—a federal court dispute in which King one last time defended the rights of aggrieved citizens to gather and march peacefully.

A program hosted by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee in February, 2018 revisited that case, which began before but ended after King’s assassination. Panels featured lawyers from both sides of

On March 28, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., leads a sanitation workers' protest that dissolved into vandalism. Credit: Associated Press the dispute, as well as civil rights leader and former UN Ambassador Andrew Young.

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On April 4, civil rights leaders James Lawson and Andrew Young, left, enter a federal courtroom with lawyers Lucius Burch, Charles F. Newman, and W.J. Michael Cody. Credit: W.J. Michael Cody

A telegram in the law offices of Burch, Porter & Johnson conveys a request to assist Martin Luther King, Jr., in a suit seeking to halt a planned march.

Credit: W.J. Michael Cody “All these events, the march, the riots, the walkouts, overshadowed this backdrop of what’s happening in court, and the legal back and forth,” he said. “But the courts, whether state or federal, were very important to the civil rights movement, giving it legitimacy and legality.”

King’s Return When King came to Memphis to support the sanitation workers, he had moved beyond his initial civil rights agenda. King sparked controversy, even among allies, by protesting the Vietnam War and planning a Poor People’s Campaign to focus on economic inequity.

Frierson Graves, a Memphis lawyer who worked part time on the city attorney’s staff, was asked to research a legal strategy to prevent a second march. “I said that the only court civil rights leaders would respect is the federal court,” Frierson said. “If it went to state court, they would ignore any injunction, since those were the laws they were protesting. The only relief they had gotten was from the federal courts.”

To get into federal court, the city cited “diversity of citizenship,” based on the fact that King and other march leaders were coming from other states. On April 3, city lawyers asked Judge Bailey Brown for a temporary restraining order, with a goal of ordering a permanent injunction against a second march.

Partnering with Bailey’s law firm to defend King was Lucius Burch, a lawyer who was summoned into the case

Walter L. Bailey, Jr., whose law firm worked with the NAACP, took part in the March 28 demonstration that spun out of control. He met with King later that evening.

“He was a very unassuming, demure kind of person,” Bailey recalled, “but he was a strong advocate for his beliefs. He pledged he would return and demonstrate to the world, under the principles of Gandhi, that he could have a nonviolent peaceful demonstration.”

But tensions remained high in Memphis. The city was kept under curfew over the weekend, and national guardsmen were brought in as looting and fires flared.

Mayor Henry Loeb called for martial law.

10

Shortly before he was slain on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., is flanked outside his motel room

by Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy. Credit: Associated Press

On April 8, grieving followers gather for the march Martin Luther King, Jr., had planned to lead.

Credit: Associated Press

Panel discussion during the program hosted by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. From left to right: Judge Bernice B. Donald, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and moderator; and lawyers Walter L. Bailey, Jr., W.J. Michael Cody, Charles F. Newman, and Frierson Graves, Sr.

by a telegram from the American Civil Liberties Union.

At 3 p.m. on April 3, the lawyers met in King’s cramped room at the Lorraine Motel.

was stopped or if it took place.”

“On one bed sat the lawyers. On the other twin bed was Dr. King, Jesse Jackson and Andy Young,” said lawyer and panelist W.J. Michael Cody. “There were five of them and six of us, sort of knee-to-knee.”

Burch pressed that point, asking city witnesses whether it was better if a march were led by King, or occurred without him. They conceded that King’s presence would likely make the march safer.

It was decided that Young should testify at the next day’s court hearing. King, worried that the previous week’s violence would undermine future protest campaigns, would not attend the hearing.

The 195 page transcript of the hearing is now on file with the U.S. District Court in this case. 

“King was very depressed. He had never had this happen to him,” Cody said.

‘Like a Pressure Cooker’ On April 4, the city alleged that King and other march organizers could not control unruly demonstrators.

According to a transcript, available on the court’s website https://www.tnwd.uscourts.gov/ , public safety director Frank C. Hollomon testified that a second march posed “a clear and present danger,” threatening the entire city, the marchers, and even King himself.

King’s lawyers countered that the demonstration was protected by the First Amendment. They also said federal courts had established that marches could be permitted if conditions were set to maintain safety.

“We had strong law, strong facts, and a legendary client. We had eloquent witnesses and a fine judge in Bailey Brown,” lawyer Charles F. Newman said. “I don’t think the legal issue was ever in doubt. The issue was whether the chance of disorder was greater if the march

Judge Bernice B. Donald, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; James Lawson, a prominent Memphis civil rights leader, and a former sanitation worker from Memphis talk after the federal court event in Memphis.

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Interview with

U.S. Attorney Mike Dunavant Part 2: Criminal Division Question: How does your current position differ from when you were a state DA? Answer: As the former District Attorney General for the 25th Judicial District of Tennessee, I was an elected constitutional officer who represented approximately 181,000 citizens in Lauderdale, Tipton, Fayette, Hardeman, and McNairy counties as the chief state criminal prosecutor. Now as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, I represent the approximately 1.5 million citizens in all 22 counties in West Tennessee as the Presidentially appointed chief federal criminal prosecutor and legal representative of the United States of America in all matters, both criminal and civil. I love my country and the people of West Tennessee, and I am honored to have the extraordinary opportunity to make a difference in this position as “America’s lawyer.”

Question: What do you see as the highest priority of the Department of Justice, specifically as it applies to the Western District of Tennessee?

Answer: The President has directed his Administration to reduce crime in America, and the Attorney General has specifically identified violent crime reduction as the top priority of Department of Justice. Here in the Western District of Tennessee, this office agrees with and will faithfully execute that top priority to target and combat violent crime to ensure public safety, by a number of proven measures and effective initiatives.

Question: What trends are we seeing here in the following areas: Answer: 1. Terrorism and national security – The U.S. Attorney’s Office works directly and regularly with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI to identify, prevent, and investigate any and all threats to our national security, including foreign terrorist 12

organizations, domestic terrorism and sovereign citizen threats, government and corporate cyber intrusion threats from foreign national organizations, and leaks and compromises of classified intelligence and information which undermines national security. We will be vigilant to protect and prevent attacks on any critical infrastructure sites in West Tennessee.

2. Illegal immigration – The Department of Justice has announced a renewed commitment to Criminal Immigration Enforcement. This office will work closely with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to identify and federally prosecute those persons who violate our sovereign immigration laws. It is a high priority of the DOJ to establish lawfulness in our immigration system, and it is critical that our work focus on criminal cases that will further deter and reduce illegality. We will focus on the following criminal alien violations: • Aggravated Re-entry of previously removed aliens – We will criminally prosecute those who repeatedly violate our immigration law after having been previously deported or removed, and including those who have a felony criminal history, prior immigration violations, gang membership or affiliation, or any other criminal history indicating that the offender poses a danger to public safety.

• Improper entry by criminal aliens, such as those who are found to have a felony criminal history or gang membership or affiliation.

• Unlawful smuggling, transportation, or harboring of multiple aliens; aiding or assisting aliens to illegally enter; or the importation of aliens for immoral purposes.

• Aggravated Identity Theft, document fraud, and misuse of visas and permits related to immigration offenses

• Assaulting, resisting, or impeding any federal immigration officer in the performance of their official duties 3. Financial fraud – It is a priority of the Department of Justice and this office to protect the security, stability, and integrity of banking institutions and financial transactions. The U.S. Attorney’s office regularly works with the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service to investigate and prosecute all cases of white collar crime, including Corporate, Securities, and commodities fraud; Bank and Financial services fraud; Mail and wire fraud; Tax evasion and fraud; Bankruptcy fraud; and Healthcare fraud and violations of the False Claims Act. These prosecutions are important to hold offenders accountable and to recover and provide restitution to fraud victims and the United States government.

4. Violent crime, gun crime and gang crime Firearms offenses – On December 4, 2017, the DOJ announced the expansion and reinvigoration of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, which is a highly successful and proven violent crime reduction strategy to prioritize and focus targeted enforcement on the most violent offenders. We will work with ATF, MPD, and SCSO to identify, investigate, prioritize, and aggressively federally prosecute the following firearm offenses which cause and contribute to violent crime: • felons in possession of firearms and ammunition; • persons prohibited from possession of a firearm due to a prior misdemeanor Domestic Violence conviction or current order of protection • any person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance in possession of a firearm • any illegal alien in possession of a firearm • any fugitive from justice in possession of a firearm • any person who unlawfully possesses or discharges a firearm in a school zone • any person who possesses any prohibited weapon under federal law, such as machine guns, firearms with obliterated serial numbers, short-barreled shotguns, or stolen firearms • any person who acts as a straw purchaser or otherwise provides a firearm to an unauthorized person, such as felons, aliens, or juveniles;

• any person who makes materially false statements to a federal firearms licensed (FFL) dealer or business during the purchase or attempted purchase of a firearm • any person who commits any robbery, burglary, or theft of a FFL dealer or business Additionally, we will charge any persons who use, carry, brandish, discharge, or possess a firearm in furtherance of any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime, and seek mandatory consecutive sentences and mandatory minimum sentences for any persons who qualify as armed career criminals or career drug offenders due to prior conviction history.

Bank Robbery, Hobbs Act Business Robbery, and Carjacking – These offenses are significant drivers of violent crime rates in West Tennessee, and this office will use the full complement of federal resources to target these types of violence for aggressive prosecution and significant sentences.

Criminal Enterprise and Gang violence – This office will use the Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR) statutes to prosecute those who engage in organized criminal enterprises and gang conspiracies to commit murder, kidnapping, and assault with a deadly weapon in furtherance of racketeering. We will work with the Safe Streets Task Force and the Multi-Agency Gang Unit to disrupt these gangs and hold them accountable for violence.

5. Crimes against children and human trafficking - With new and ever-changing technology, criminals are using more creative and disturbing ways to commit cyber-crimes against vulnerable victims, including sexual exploitation of children and human trafficking. This office participates in the Project Safe Childhood (PSC) law enforcement initiative to investigate and federally prosecute computer and internet crimes against children, including child exploitation, sexual solicitation of minors, and possession and distribution of child pornography. We will seek significant and mandatory minimum sentences for such predatory behavior. Also, the Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Attorney’s office works closely with FBI and TBI to investigate and prosecute cases of human involuntary servitude, forced labor, and commercial sex trafficking of adults and minors, to hold traffickers and buyers criminally responsible and to rescue and protect victims.

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Question: Is there any evidence of the presence of MS-13 in the Western District?

Answer: While the Department of Justice has prioritized and targeted the MS-13 Mexican street gang, which is one of the most violent and ruthless gangs in the country, we have not seen a significant presence of MS-13 in West Tennessee. However, this office has prosecuted cases recently that involved identified members of the Sureños street gang, which originated in Southern California, and is comprised of factions of Hispanic gangs that pay tribute to the Mexican Mafia.

Question: From a political standpoint, do you see any easing of Tennessee’s marijuana laws in the foreseeable future?

Answer: Although I previously engaged in advocating for strong public safety policies in the Tennessee General Assembly as a state prosecutor, my role as United States Attorney is now dedicated exclusively to the faithful execution and enforcement of federal law, and I will not speculate about any state legislative proposals. On January 4, 2018, the Attorney General issued a memo which is a return to the rule of law that allows federal prosecutors to utilize the long-established prosecutorial principles to combat violent crime, dismantle criminal organizations, and stem the rising tide of drug cases.

The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) has generally prohibited the cultivation, distribution, and possession of marijuana since it was passed in 1970, and this office will identify the best way to deploy our resources to aggressively prosecute federal marijuana violations, in all forms and for all purposes. Marijuana-based prosecutions may also serve as a basis for the prosecution of other crimes, such as those prohibited by the money laundering statutes, the unlicensed money transmitter statute, and the Bank Secrecy Act. Regardless of the enactment of any state law, this office will enforce the rule of law as established by Congress, and will prosecute all violations of the CSA, including the felony cultivation, possession and distribution of marijuana, in order to reduce violent crime and prevent the destruction of lives, families, and our communities caused by addiction.

Question: Do you have a wish list for resources that Washington could provide the Western District of Tennessee?

Answer: Fortunately, the Department of Justice has been very responsive and generous in the resources that have been directed and allocated to the Western 14

District of Tennessee within the last few months. On May 25, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions travelled to Memphis and delivered remarks regarding violent crime in the Western District of Tennessee. During that visit, the Attorney General recognized our public safety challenges here in West Tennessee, focused DOJ priorities on violent crime and drug trafficking, and committed resources to both the U.S. Attorney’s office and our law enforcement partners. On June 20, 2017, Attorney General Sessions announced the creation of the National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) to combat violent crime, and selected both Memphis and Jackson in the Western District of Tennessee as two of only 12 PSP city diagnostic sites across the country to receive federal resources in law enforcement training and technical assistance in an innovative framework to enhance data-driven, evidence-based local strategies for violence reduction.

On October 5, 2017, the Attorney General announced the reinvigoration of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program that has proven in the past to be an effective method to reduce the rising tide of violent crime in Memphis and West Tennessee. On November 29, 2017, the Attorney General and the DEA announced new tools to address the opioid crisis across the country, including Anti-Heroin Task Force grants, establishment of a DEA Louisville Field Division office to enhance drug enforcement efforts in Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia, and the designation of Opioid Coordinators in each U.S. Attorney’s Office. Here in the Western District of Tennessee, this office participates with the DEA and our state and local law enforcement partners in a Heroin Initiative strategy to coordinate and prioritize the investigation and prosecution of cases involving the distribution of heroin and opioids. Finally, on December 21, 2017, the Attorney General announced that the Western District of Tennessee will receive two (2) new and additional federal prosecutor positions that will be solely dedicated and assigned to aggressively prosecute violent crimes cases in Memphis and Jackson. We are thankful for all of these resources from the Department of Justice, and we are committed to the effective use of those tools to reduce violent crime.  Interview conducted by Stephen R. Leffler

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Race Judicata The Run for Justice October 6, 2018 Launched in 1982, the 35th Annual Race Judicata (The Run for Justice!) is now one of the oldest 5k races in Memphis - bringing the legal community together for an excellent cause yet also strongly appealing to elite runners, casual runners, walkers and families of all stripes. For this year, we have designed a singular racecourse beginning on the site voted best law school building in the U.S., passing by Memphis's stately courthouses, circling around Victorian Village, affording panoramic downtown views from the Jefferson overpass on the return, enjoying a backstretch on Adams that passes a number of Memphis's most historically and architecturally significant buildings, and finishing behind the law school right on the promenade overlooking the Mississippi river. There will be plenty of hot food, interesting booths and live music. Pre/post-race festivities will take place at the Fourth Bluff Park and the Promenade. All proceeds raised go directly to the Memphis Bar Foundation's [a 501(c)(3)] Access to Justice programs. Unlike many other Memphis races, there is no paid race director. Just a labor of love featuring a partnership between the MBA and the UofM Law School's SBA. We are honored to have Judge Gardner, who incidentally finished second in the Race Judicata's inaugural run, to be the emcee.

17

MALS

CORNER

D

The Campaign for Equal Justice Continues After a Successful 2017

by SHEPHERD (SHEP) D. TATE, Partner, Bass, Berry & Sims

uring the course of 2017, I had the wonderful opportunity to chair Memphis Area Legal Services’ (MALS) Campaign for Equal Justice and work with some of the most talented attorneys in this legal community. We were tasked with not only raising funds which would be used to provide direct services to individuals and families who could not afford them, but, more importantly, we also had the humbling responsibility of supporting MALS’ core mission, which is to provide “justice for those in need”. That term justice resonates now more than ever for some of us in Memphis. As the nation joins our city in celebrating the lasting impact that Martin Luther King, Jr. and the movement that he inspired continues to have, we must acknowledge that more work needs to be done.

For MALS’ volunteers, staff, Board, and supporters, the quest for justice is a tangible endeavor. It is visible in the work that attorneys, paralegals, case managers, intake workers and others conduct daily. When a MALS attorney works with doctors, law students and social workers as a part of this region’s first medical-legal partnership to secure stable housing, medical benefits and supportive services for the child of a Veteran who can’t return home because of unsafe housing conditions, she is fighting for justice. When a pro bono attorney volunteers several hours each month to attend MALS’ monthly legal clinic for military veterans, he is ensuring that the men and women who sacrificed so much for this country have access to justice. When MALS creates interagency partnerships to provide holistic legal and social services to victims of sex trafficking, its advocacy is focused on giving survivors the representation that they need in order to obtain justice against predators.

MALS is in a unique position within the legal community. It has the ability to identify the needs of underserved urban and rural communities in West 18

Tennessee and develop programs that provide specific legal interventions to address those needs. However, resources are always limited and this is why the annual Campaign for Equal Justice is so important. Last year, the Campaign received more than $380,000 in contributions. This was one of the most successful fundraising years for MALS. We are immensely grateful to each person who contributed to the Campaign and I want to extend my personal gratitude to the members of the 2017 Campaign Cabinet that are listed below.

They worked tirelessly to achieve this and deserve special recognition. Please note the charts in this issue of the Memphis Lawyer of our generous Visionaries, Difference Makers and Honor Roll contributors.

As we start the 2018 Campaign for Equal Justice, I want to acknowledge the incoming Campaign Chair, David M. Cook. David has dedicated much of his professional life to championing access to justice. His accomplishments in this area are numerous and his passion for ensuring that each person who needs legal services has the ability to obtain them is boundless. He and the new Campaign Cabinet will need your support to raise the funds that are necessary to make justice a reality for vulnerable individuals and families. I am asking that we all commit to this worthy cause.  2017 Campaign for Equal Justice Cabinet Members: Andrew Branham, Susan Callison, Autumn Chastain, Annie Christoff, Laura English, Hallie Goodman Flanagan, William Gibbons, Jr., John Golwen, Jack Heflin, Honorable Janice Holder, Sean Hunt, Marlinee Iverson, Keating Lowery, Kristine Roberts, Justin Ross, Elizabeth Gardner Rudolph, Jason Salomon, Earle Schwarz, Amber Shaw, Bruce Smith, Lauran Stimac, Samuel Strantz, Wendy Sumner-Winter, Kim Weiss, Colleen Hitch Wilson, Jodie Wilson & Lang Wiseman

Memphis Area Legal Services Inc. 2017 CAMPAIGN FOR EQUAL JUSTICE

TH A N K S

VISIONARIES

Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC In Memory of Lewis R. Donelson, III, Esq. FedEx Corporation

DIFFERENCE MAKERS Bailey & Greer PLLC Bourland Heflin Alvarez Minor & Matthews PLC Butler Snow LLP First Tennessee Bank Gary K. Smith Law PLLC Glankler Brown PLLC Harkavy Shainberg Kaplan & Dunstan PLC International Paper Company Lewis Thomason PLC-

In Memory of J. Kimbrough Johnson, Esq.

Magids Cottam PLC Mason Zoccola Law Firm PLLC Morgan & Morgan PA Rosenblum & Reisman PC Spicer Rudstrom PLLC The Wharton Law Firm Wolff Ardis PC

Bass Berry & Sims PLC Burch Porter & Johnson PLLC Farris Bobango Branan PLC Ford & Harrison LLP Gatti Keltner Bienvenu & Montesi PLC

Gordon Shaw Law Group The Hunt Law Firm Jackson Shields Yeiser & Holt Littler Mendelson PC Martin Tate Morrow & Marston PC Memphis Area Legal Services Inc. Prosser Law Firm Shuttleworth Williams PLLC Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP Wiseman Bray PLLC. Wyatt Tarrant & Combs LLP

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Memphis Area Legal Services Thanks the 2017 Contributors to Our Campaign for Equal Justice VISIONARIES

Contributions of $25,000 or more

Harrison D. McIver, III, Esq.—

Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC — In Memory of Lewis R. Donelson, III, Esq. Honorable Janice M. Holder FedEx Corporation Justin M. & Bethany Ross, Esq. Kathy & J.W. Gibson Charitable Fund DIFFERENCE MAKERS Kristine L. Roberts, Esq. Firms of 2 or more contributing $350 or more per attorney

Bailey & Greer PLLC Bass Berry & Sims PLC Bourland Heflin Alvarez Minor & Matthews PLC Burch Porter & Johnson PLLC Butler Snow LLP Farris Bobango Branan PLC First Tennessee Bank Ford & Harrison LLP Gary K. Smith Law PLLC Gatti Keltner Bienvenu & Montesi PLC Glankler Brown PLLC Gordon Shaw Law Group Harkavy Shainberg Kaplan & Dunstan PLC The Hunt Law Firm International Paper Company Jackson Shields Yeiser & Holt Lewis Thomason PLC — In Memory of J. Kimbrough Johnson, Esq.

Kimbrough B. Mullins, Esq.—

In Memory of In Honor of Mrs. Hattie Lee David E. Caywood, Esq. Davidson, Mrs. Janice Sampson and Shep Tate, Esq. and in Memory Lauran Stimac, Esq. Lenard P. Hackel, Esq.— of Lewis R. Donelson, III, Esq. In Memory of Irvin M. Salky, Esq. and J. Kimbrough Johnson, Esq.

Memphis Communications Corporation Michael & Sharon Goldstein Family Fund MicroPort Orthopedics Monogram Loves Kids Foundation Muddy’s Bake Shop Nike, Inc. NLADA Service Corporation Orion Federal Credit Union Paul H. (Esq.) and Prof. Mary Morris Priority Insurance Agency Randall D. Noel, Esq. Thad S. Rodda, Jr., Esq. Thomas L. Campbell Fund Tipton County Bar Association Tri-State Bank of Memphis Watkins Uiberall PLLC Yuletide Office Solutions LEADERS Contributions from $400-$999

Littler Mendelson PC Alex (Esq.) & Debra Saharovich Magids Cottam PLC Martin Tate Morrow & Marston PC Andrew (Esq.) & Peggy Raines Ballin Ballin & Fishman PC Mason Zoccola Law Firm PLLC Memphis Area Legal Services Inc. Ben G. Sissman, Esq. Bradley E. Trammell, Esq. Morgan & Morgan PA Brice Timmons & Jenifer Alvarez Prosser Law Firm Buckner P. Wellford, Esq. Rosenblum & Reisman PC Cantrell Consulting Services, Inc. Shuttleworth Williams PLLC

Lauryce P. Graves-McIver— In Honor of Harrison D. McIver, III, Esq.

Lloyd C. (Esq.) & Ann Kirkland Lucie K. Brackin, Esq. Mary C. Mayham, Esq. Mary Morgan Whitfield, Esq. Matthew L. (Esq.) and Jodi E. Barron Memphis Critical Care Associates Mental Health & Law Journal Michael J. Stengel, Esq. Paul Tuberville, Esq. Dean Peter & Felicity Letsou Philip E. Mischke, Esq. Honorable Robert Childers Renasant Bank Robert L. Crawford, Esq. Rose M. Benson Sam P. Strantz, Esq. Scot Bearup & Virginia Cupples Honorable Sheryl H. Lipman Tammy R. Adair, Esq. Wade Hartsfield Warren P. Campbell, Esq. Whitney M. Harmon, Esq. SUPPORTERS Contributions from $150-$399 Maj. Gen. Albert C. Harvey Albert Kimbrough Gregory— In Memory of Hugh L. Gregory

Allen Summers Simpson Lillie & Gresham PLLC Allen T. Malone, Esq. Andrea Marie McKinnon, Esq. Angelica C. Fortney, Esq. Anidra J. Lomax, Esq. Caren B. (Esq.) & Richard E. M. Andrew C. Branham, Esq. Spicer Rudstrom PLLC Nichol, Jr., Esq. Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP Professor Andrew McClurg Cedric Gordon The Wharton Law Firm Anthony Sledge Chapman & Chip Morrow, Esq. Wiseman Bray PLLC Ashby R. (Esq.) & Clint Scott City of Memphis Wolff Ardis PC Bertis A. Echols, Esq. Dr. Charles Handorf Wyatt Tarrant & Combs LLP Blair Mediation PLLC Charles (Esq.) & Barbara Key, Esq. The Bradley Law Firm PLLC BARRISTERS Bruce M. Kahn, Esq. Community Foundation of Contributions from $10,000 -$14,999 Professor Christina A. Zawisza Greater Memphis Joseph A. Bartholomew— Corey B. (Esq.) & Mary Trotz, Esq. Christina L. (Esq.) & Jeffrey In Honor of Crye-Leike, Inc. Kurdilla Harrison D. McIver, III, Esq. Honorable & Mrs. Dan Michael Clay C. Purdom, Esq. State of Tennessee Access to David J. Cocke, Esq. Justice Fund Bob Abney, Esq.— Professor Donna S. Harkness Susan & Alan Kosten, Esq. In Memory of Edward L. Rouse, Esq. Norman P. Hagemeyer, Esq. ADVOCATES Frank (Esq.) & Cynthia B. David L. Bearman, Esq. Contributions from $5,000-$9,999 Childress David E. Gordon, Esq. Anonymous Francis M. Riley, Esq.— Honorable Diane K. Vescovo & In Honor of U.S. Supreme Court Honorable David S. Kennedy— In Honor of U.S. Supreme Court Mike G. McLaren, Esq. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Evans Petree LLC Godwin Morris Laurenzi & David C. (Esq.) & Chesley Glenda Hastings and Napa Café Bloomfield PC Porteous Harris P. Quinn Charitable Fund Honorable David S. Walker GUARDIANS Henry C. Shelton, III, Esq. Contributions from $1,000-$4,999 Devon L. Gosnell, Esq. James C. Warner, Esq. Adams & Reese LLP Honorable Donn A. & Faye Jill (Esq.) & Kenneth Steinberg Ami P. Kelley, Esq. Southern André C. & Monica Wharton, Esq. John H. Parker, II, Esq.— Donna K. Fisher, Esq. Ben C. (Esq.) and Kathy B. Adams In Memory of Patrick Leach and E. Gene (Esq.) & Deborah In Honor of Betty Leach and Ben F. Jones Chapter of Thornton Susan Parker National Bar Association Earle J. Schwarz, Esq. John E. Kruger, Esq.— Eugene J. Podesta, Esq. In Memory of Jeanne M. Kruger Elizabeth Bobbit Stengel, Esq. Gilliland Family Fund, Inc. Emily F. Landry, Esq. Jonathan C. Hancock, Esq. Harris Shelton Hanover Frances L. Paulson, Esq. Kendra Scott LLC Walsh PLLC George T. (Buck) Lewis, Esq.

George S. Sullivan, Jr., Esq. Henry L. Klein, Esq.— In Memory of William R. Walker J. William Pierce, Jr., Esq. JBJ Properties LLC Jacob A. Dickerson, Esq. Jacob C. Zweig, Esq. James R. Hall, Jr., Esq. James B. Jalenak, Esq. James B. Summers, Esq. James W. Curry, Jr., Esq. Jana Lamanna, Esq. Jeff D. Germany, Esq. Jeff Warren Jodie & Patrick Gilmore

Amy F. Dudek, Esq. Amy Holliman Brown, Esq. Angela Wynn Anna Ritz Anonymous Anu Tanya, Esq. Antwan Gardner & Rashidah Omar Ayanna C. Shelton

Honorable Arnold & Shara Lynn Goldin Barbara Griffin Belinda Winston Beunca Jones Biridiana Rodriquez John M. Jones, Esq.— Bruce A. Ralston, Esq. In Honor of Kenneth P. Jones, Esq. C. Anne Fritz, Esq. John F. Murrah, Esq. C. Suzanne Landers, Esq.— John C. Pekar, Esq. In Honor of Shepherd D. Tate, Esq. Joseph Williams, Esq. Carlissa A. Shaw, Esq. Julie J. Wells, Esq. Carolyn Mills Karen A. Skretkowicz, Esq. Catherine B. Clayton, Esq. Katherine A. Jungkind, Esq. Cecelia Ralston Kathy & Kelly Fish Charlotte Jackson Keating C. Lowery, Esq. Chassia Taylor L. Clayton Culpepper, Esq. Chesney F. McAfee, Esq. L. Don Campbell, Jr., Esq. Colleen Hitch Wilson, Esq. Larry Rice, Esq. Justice Connie Clark— Lauren L. Holloway, Esq. In Honor of Justice Holly Kirby Leigh M. Chiles, Esq. Craig P. Barnes, Esq. Leo M. Bearman, Esq. Cuba Westbrooks Lucian T. Pera, Esq. Curtis Bickers Lynn A. Landau, Esq. Daniel S. Beasley, Esq. M. Andrew Wohlfarth, Esq. Danielle M. Salton, Esq. Honorable Martha B. Brasfield David Moore Matthew M. Lubozynski, Esq. Edward R. Young, Esq. Melody I. McAnally, Esq. Michael C. Patton, Esq. Michael K. Chapman, Esq. Michael Fletcher, Esq. Mitch D. Moskovitz, Esq. Honorable Nancy A. Kessler Nicole D. Berkowitz, Esq. Pat C. Petkoff, Esq. Paul W. Brown, Esq. R. Lee Webber, Esq. R. Mark Glover, Esq. Reva M. Kriegel, Esq. Richard H. Allen, Jr., Esq. Richard S. Goldabear, Esq.

Randall B. Womack, Esq.— In Memory of Mary L. Wolff, Esq. Reid D. Evensky, Esq. Honorable Rhynette N. Hurd Richard C. Paul, Esq. Robert P. Blumenthal, Esq. Ryan A. Strain, Esq. Sandra Slaughter Sarah Smith Scott Swanson Shangjun Wang Shannon N. McKenna, Esq. Sharon Askew Shea Wellford Shelvie S. Rose

Shepherd D. Tate, Esq.— In Memory of Tylan Rayford Sherrill Smith Lemmi, Esq. Stephanie M. Tasch, Esq. Professor Steve & Amy Mulroy Steven L. Levy, Esq. Elizabeth Michel Allen— In the name of John Branson, Esq. Sue McMahon Teresa D. Jones, Esq. Elizabeth E. Chance, Esq. Thomas W. (Esq.) & Heather Elizabeth R. Kenwright, Esq. Southerland Eric L. Elms, Esq. Tiffany L. Webber, Esq. Freda M. Turner, Esq. Tonir Madison The Futhey Law Firm PLC Tonnie Gordon Gabriel McGaha Truman Hull Geoffrey M. Hirsch, Esq. Honorable & Mrs. George Brown Honorable Walter L. Evans Will H. (Esq.) and Katie Raines Gloria Woods

Grattan Brown, Jr., Esq. Henry P. Doggrell, Esq. Irwin A. Magevny, Esq. Rita L. Gibson Rayford, Esq.— Irvin L. Tankersley, Esq. In Memory of Tylan Rayford Isabel Santoyo Robert J. Leibovich, Esq. Mr. & Mrs. Ronald T. Solberg, Esq. J. Frank Hall, Jr., Esq. Jack Heflin, Esq. Sarah H. Norton, Esq. Jacqueline Blocker-Smith, Esq. Scottie O. Wilkes, Esq. James B. Summers, Esq. Shawn Hayden James P. Barry, Esq, Stacey Greene Jan Stone Stephen D. Goodwin, Esq.— Jana J. Jones, Esq. In Memory of Janese Perry Lewis R. Donelson, III, Esq. Jasmine Worthen Susan M. Callison, Esq. Jason J. Yasinksy, Esq. Ted T. Kitai, Esq. Jeannie M. Kosciolek, Esq. Thomas L. McAllister, Esq. Jeremy Bock Honorable Thomas L. Parker Jermel Terry Tommie A. Baird, Esq. JoAnn Jones Wendy Geurin Smith, Esq. John L. Ryder, Esq. William E. Cochran, Esq. John D. Willet, Esq. Professor William Kratzke Julian T. Bolton, Esq. William W. Dunlap, Jr., Esq.— Justin N. Joy, Esq. In Memory of Katherine B. Anderson, Esq. J. Kimbrough Johnson, Esq. Honorable Kenny W. Armstrong William Lytle Nichol, Esq. Kevin J. Mencke, Esq. William “Billy” Ryan, Esq. Lan Chen LaSandra Brown FRIENDS Lauren Ludwikowski, Esq. Contributions from $149 and below Senator Lee Harris Leslie R. Isaacman, Esq. Alison E. Ponder, Esq. Lesley Glasper Allan J. Wade, Esq.

Donations made through The United Way may not be reflected here due to unavailability of contribution list.

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Lisa W. Bobango, Esq. Lloyd Calhoun Lori Wellford Lydia Walker M. Jean Holbert, Esq. Madelyn Gray Marie Dodson Dr. Martin Shea & Erin Shea, Esq. Matthew F. Jones, Esq. Michael G. Derrick, Esq. Milandria King, Esq. Mitchell W. Wood, Esq. Ndidi L. Gbulie, Esq. Nena F. Anderson, Esq. Ockky B. Wibisana Peter Oh R. Glenn Taylor, Esq.

GRAY KNIGHTS Senior attorneys giving $100 or more Maj. Gen. Albert C. Harvey Allen T. Malone, Esq. Ben G. Sissman, Esq. Bradley E. Trammell, Esq. Professor Christina A. Zawisza David J. Cocke, Esq. Devon L. Gosnell, Esq. Honorable Donn A. Southern Donna K. Fisher, Esq. Edward R. Young, Esq. George S. Sullivan, Esq. Henry L. Klein, Esq. Henry P. Doggrell, Esq. Henry C. Shelton, III, Esq. James B. Jalanek, Esq. James C. Warner, Esq. John E. Kruger, Esq. John L. Ryder, Esq. Lenard P. Hackel, Esq. Lloyd C. Kirkland, Esq. Michael K. Chapman, Esq. Michael J. Stengel, Esq. Reva M. Kriegel, Esq. Richard H. Allen, Jr., Esq. Robert P. Blumenthal, Esq. Ruby R. Wharton, Esq. Susan M. Callison, Esq. Thad S. Rodda Jr., Esq. William W. Dunlap, Jr., Esq.

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Should I Stay or Should I Go?

by JUDGE CHRISTOPHER CRAFT

“Should I stay, or should I go?” is much more than just a hit single by the English punk rock band Clash.

Because of the recent Supreme Court decision in State v.

Perrier, 536 SW3d 388 (Tenn. 2017), it is also a question that you may have to ask yourself, and then answer in an instant, if some day you are faced with the decision of whether to “stand your ground” and defend yourself from an attack.

Prior to November 1, 1989, under common law in Tennessee, to claim self-defense a person must have employed all means reasonable in his/her power consistent with his/her own safety to avoid danger and avert the necessity of taking another’s life. This requirement included the duty to retreat if it could be done in safety.

State v. Kennamore, 604 S.W.2d 856, 859 (Tenn. 1980).

However, the General Assembly abolished that common law defense when it enacted a “stand your ground” statute in 1989, eliminating the necessity to retreat before using force in self-defense. In 2007, the statute was amended again to include the following language (in italics): a person who is not engaged in unlawful activity and is in a place where the person has a right to be has no duty to retreat before threatening or using force intended or likely to cause death or serious bodily injury. T.C.A. ' 39 11 611(b). Those of us in the criminal courts have been attempting to divine the meaning of those added words ever since their inclusion. If you were an illegal alien, and therefore were never in a place where you have a right to be in Tennessee, would you never have a right to self-defense anywhere in the state, no matter what the facts? If you were selling beer without a permit, would you have no right to defend yourself if being robbed at gunpoint?

This question has at last been partially answered thanks to Antoine Perrier. Claiming later that he thought he was being shot at by one of his enemies, he pulled a gun out of his jacket pocket and fired it several times at six men standing in front of a Memphis Miracle Mini Mart. Although he missed those men, one of the bullets went through the store window and struck a young girl 22

standing inside. He was tried for Attempt to Commit Murder 2nd Degree and six counts of Aggravated Assault, claiming self-defense. The trial judge instructed the jury that self-defense was only available “if a defendant was not engaged in unlawful activity.” However, since the defendant had a prior felony conviction and was in violation of the law by carrying a firearm to start with, was he entitled to a self-defense charge at all? The trial judge instructed the jury on gun laws and asked the jury to decide whether he was “engaged in unlawful activity” by having a gun. He was convicted, and appealed to the Supreme Court, which asked the parties to address the following question in oral argument: Should the trial court make a determination of whether the defendant was engaged in unlawful activity before charging the jury on self-defense or is the question of whether a defendant was engaged in unlawful activity a determination to be made by the jury?

After due consideration, the Court held in Perrier that the trial judge, not the jury, should determine, in a hearing outside the presence of the jury, whether the defendant was engaged in unlawful activity at the time of his act of alleged self-defense. It held that the trial court makes the threshold determination whether to charge the jury with self-defense, and we conclude that the trial court, as part of that threshold determination, should decide whether to charge the jury that a defendant did not have a duty to retreat. As part of that decision, the trial court should consider whether the State has produced clear and convincing evidence that the defendant was engaged in unlawful activity such that the “no duty to retreat” instruction would not apply.

Because the allegedly unlawful activity will oftentimes be uncharged conduct similar to evidence of prior bad acts, the procedure outlined in Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b) should be utilized by the parties.

Perrier at 403. The Court also concluded that the phrase “engaged in unlawful activity” applied only to a person's duty to retreat, not to self-defense, and that “a person is entitled to a jury instruction that he or she did

not have to retreat from an alleged attack only when the person was not engaged in unlawful activity and was in a place the person had a right to be.”

This leaves several questions unresolved. Should a duty to retreat be charged to the jury if the defendant was engaged in unlawful activity? T.C.A. ' 39-11-203(e)(2), passed as part of the 1989 Sentence Reform Act, states that “Defenses available under common law are hereby abolished,” and Perrier said nothing about reviving that common law duty. The abandonment of the duty to retreat was “[t]he primary distinction” between the common law and the statutory law of self defense. 11 David L. Raybin, Tennessee Practice: Criminal Practice and Procedure, ' 28:36 Self defense (Dec. 2016 Update).

The net effect of all of this is that if the trial court finds the defendant was acting unlawfully, and the “no duty to retreat” language is removed from the jury instruction, the State won’t be able to argue to the jury that the defendant had a duty to retreat by law, but they would still be allowed to argue that the defendant did not act in self-defense because he or she could have left the scene, so therefore the danger creating the belief of imminent danger or serious bodily injury was not honestly believed to be real by the defendant. The defense will not be allowed to argue that the defendant had a legal right to “stand his ground,” and neither side would be able to comment on the fact that the trial judge had removed the defendant=s privilege not to have to retreat before using force.

What if the illegal activity had nothing to do with the self-defense issue? Suppose Mr. Perrier had a permit to carry his gun, but he happened to be wearing a pair of stolen Nike running shoes (thus guilty of theft) at the time of the shooting, or was in the process of tearing the warning tag off a mattress when he fired the shots? One of the issues the defendant raised on appeal was that the trial judge failed to instruct the jury that any unlawful activity must have had a “causal nexus” to his need to defend himself before it could be applied. The Court in Perrier held it “unnecessary to resolve this issue to decide the case before us” and declined to answer that question.

As a result of Perrier, the trial judge will now have to make the decision, rather than the jury, as to whether or not a defendant can “stand his ground” and use force without first having to attempt retreat in safety. If my life is being threatened as I sit in my car, and I realize that I am illegally parked, should I stay, or should I go? 

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MEMORIAL SERVICE PRESENTATION

By ANNE FRITZ, MBA Executive Director

A

t the reception after last year’s Memorial Service, I made the mistake of telling Judge Gina Higgins that I would like to speak at this service someday.

With her encouragement, I approached then VP Earle Schwarz, who said, “Great – one less thing I have to worry about”! – so here I am.

When I came to the Memphis Bar Association 25 years ago (and yes, I was only 21 when I started), one of the first things I heard was that the Memphis Bar was different – there was a level of civility, collegiality and professionalism not found in other, “big city” bars. An attorney’s word was his/her bond and a handshake sealed deals.

And I have found that to be true even though the bar has grown and diversified over the past 25 years. During all these years of countless (and I mean countless) board, committee, and other meetings, while lawyers have sometimes have engaged in spirited discussions, no one has left in a huff. In other words, we can disagree without being disagreeable.

I have also found the Memphis legal community to be extremely generous, which I think ties directly into professionalism and collegiality. I’ll mention a couple of examples. For over 10 years, the MBA and Memphis Area Legal Services have sponsored a free legal clinic the 2nd Saturday of each month. Every month, between 25 and 40 attorneys and paralegals give up a couple of hours of their time to answer questions and provide advice to members of the public, many of whom may not otherwise have access to an attorney. In those 10+ years, we estimate that over 10,000 citizens have been helped. The second example (which Judge Higgins will like) is the Summer Law Intern Program, which each year, places minority high school students as interns with sole/small firm practitioners, law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies. The goal is to provide them with a “real world” taste of what practicing law is like (not what they see on TV, although several applicants have cited the movie “Legally Blonde” as the reason they are interested in law) and to encourage them 24

to pursue law as a career. Each year, between 60 and 70 minority high school students get a chance to be an intern for four weeks. I have been involved in the National Association of Bar Executives over the years and do not know of another legal association – of any size – who places as many interns each year. That is a real tribute to the spirit and generosity of Memphis attorneys – of time, money, and expertise! And, of the 650+ students who have participated in the program, we have one attorney currently practicing in Memphis who is a graduate of the first Summer Law Intern Program!

Over the years, the two most frequent questions that I have been asked are: (1) “But what do you do there?” after I’ve explained to a member of the public that I can’t give them legal advice or provide them with an attorney.

The other one – from attorneys – is “what does the Memphis Bar offer me?” To the latter question, I could rattle off various tangible benefits but I don’t believe that truly answers it. What the MBA or the AWA or the Ben Jones Chapter or any membership organization provides are opportunities to connect with other attorneys and judges, to build relationships, to serve the public, all of which promote and improve professionalism, civility, and collegiality. We are in the “relationship” and “information” business – transmitting the values and standards of professional practice from one generation of lawyers to the next.

An April 3rd article in the online ABA Journal, titled “Lawyers rank highest on ‘loneliness scale’, study finds,” says that “lawyers outranked other professionals on a ‘loneliness scale’, in a survey of more than 1600 workers.” 61% of lawyers ranked above average on the loneliness scale, compared to 57% of engineers, and 55% of research scientists. The loneliness scale measure feelings of loneliness by asking people to indicate how often they experience the feelings described in statements such as “I feel isolated from others”; “I have nobody to talk to”; and “I feel as if nobody really understands me.” The article notes that loneliness is a mounting concern for employers who worry about high turnover

and sick days among lonely workers. Loneliness and isolation may be a root cause of many issues such as depression and substance abuse that particularly afflict attorneys. The relationships and connections available through participation in bar associations is an antidote to loneliness…a way to find a place to be of service to the profession and the community.

So what does all this have to do with today’s Memorial Service? The attorneys we honor today embody the professionalism, collegiality, generosity, and spirit of the legal community in Memphis. They have been involved in non-profit boards, community organizations, politics, religious institutions, civil rights issues, and other endeavors to make Memphis a better community. I encourage you to read the memorial statements for those we honor today and find out about their lives: Geri Benjamin – described as an exemplar of wisdom, grace, selflessness, and kindness.

Robert Cox – the first Dean of the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, who paved the way for that institution to become the integral part of the community that it now is.

Lewie Donelson – one of the giants of the legal community; a man who fought for equitable funding for poor, rural schools.

Wes Fowler – who treated his clients as if they were a member of his family and valued his friends; Clif Harviel – who felt a calling to provide the best counsel for defendants regardless of their socioeconomic status; Kim Johnson – a spiritual person with the look of a patrician but with a mischievous sense of humor and a twinkle in his eye; Joe Kirsch – a world traveler who loved U of Memphis basketball and football; Ted Medlin – who decided to make it his life’s mission to fight hunger locally and across the world by packing and shipping millions of food boxes.

Kathleen Norfleet – who graduated from law school while working full-time and raising her children; one of the founders of the Association for Women Attorneys.

Nat Parham – a Navy veteran, a highly respected real estate attorney, and a man who was beloved by all who knew him.

Irvin Salky – a member of Memphis’s first integrated law firm, one of the driving forces behind the Memphis music scene.

David Schwab – who left a lasting impact on all those around him.

DeWitt Shy – a successful trial attorney who was also drummer in his band, the Jinx.

Dan Warlick – an avid sportsman, boating enthusiast and motorcyclist who helped investigate the death of Elvis Presley.

To paraphrase the words of John Donne, No lawyer is an island entire of itself; every lawyer is a piece of the community, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, the legal profession is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any person’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Today we have tolled the bell for 14 of our colleagues.

And by taking a few minutes today to step away from your practices and lives, you show respect for your colleagues, whether you knew them personally or not, and respect to the ideals of professionalism and collegiality. I know that the family members of those we honor today, are appreciative of your attendance and welcome your reminiscences about their loved ones.

I received many words of congratulations when I began my 25th year in February. A couple of people said that they hoped I would be here for another 25 years.

While I appreciate the sentiment behind those words, I will have to respectfully decline – I have other things I want to do! But I hope that 25 years from now, there will still be a Memorial Service where our deceased colleagues are honored and where we take time to reflect on what it means to be part of the Memphis legal community.

Thank you for allowing me to be Executive Director of the Memphis Bar for the past 25 years and thank you for coming today.  25

TENNESSEE CHAPTER Memphis Area Members recognized for Excellence in the field of Mediation or Arbitration

Allen BLAIR (901) 581-4100

George BROWN (901) 523-2930

Fred COLLINS (731) 686-8355

John CANNON (901) 328-8227

Trey JORDAN (901) 526-0606

Minton MAYER (901) 312-1640

Frank CANTRELL (901) 328-8269

Hayden LAIT (901) 527-1301

Jerry POTTER (901) 525-8776

Check preferred available dates or schedule appointments online directly with the state’s top neutrals www.TennesseeMediators.org www.TennesseeMediators.org isis free, free, funded funded by by members members

Local American Inns of Court Chapter Acknowledged for Excellence

by TERRENCE O. REED

F

or the second year in a row, the national American Inns of Court has awarded the Memphis chapter of the Inn the highly prestigious Platinum status. The Memphis chapter is the Leo Bearman, Sr. chapter of the Inn and is an invitation-only association of lawyers, state and federal judges, law school professionals, and law students who meet monthly to discuss pressing legal issues and obtain continuing legal education credit in a social environment. The Memphis chapter is the only Tennessee chapter to achieve Platinum status. The chapter was awarded Platinum status because it excelled in these five categories: administration, communications, programs, mentoring and community outreach.

Bobby Carter (this year’s President of the Leo Bearman, Sr. chapter of the Inn) and Judge Valerie Smith display the non-perishable food the chapter collected for the Memphis Food Bank.

Terrence Reed, Judge Jon McCalla, and Carl Morrison at the Celebration of Excellence program in front of the United States Supreme Court courtroom.

One of the extraordinary community outreach efforts the chapter organized this year was a canned food drive to benefit the less fortunate members of our community. The chapter collected approximately one hundred pounds of non-perishable food and a sizable monetary contribution that was donate to the Memphis Food Bank.

The chapter’s Platinum status was acknowledged at a Celebration of Excellence program that included an awards ceremony held in the United States Supreme Court October 21, 2017 that was hosted by Associate Justice Elena Kagan, with Associate Justice Samuel Alito also attending. The program also included a panel discussion on the necessity of maintaining civility in the practice of law with an armchair discussion with Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch on the same topic. Senior United States District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee, Jon McCalla; and Terrence Reed and Carl Morrison, FedEx litigation attorneys; attended the program representing the chapter. Tennessee state senator Mark Norris also attended from the chapter. t 27

Circuit Court Report

by STEPHEN LEFFLER

Covers February 26, 2019 to May 3, 2018 DIV. 1: FELICIA CORBIN-JOHNSON 1. CT-004739-15: 2-26-18, Linda Spencer v. Barbara Almond, Auto Accident, Jury, Louis P. Chiozza, Jr., for Plaintiff, H. Lynne Smith for Defendant, Plaintiff Verdict $21,463.18.

2. CT-002525-16: 3-16-18, June Acuff v. Sally Baker, Breach of Contract, Conversion, Bailment and Consumer Protection, Non-Jury, Kevin A. Snider for Plaintiff, Scott Kramer for Defendant, Plaintiff Verdict for $41,682.00 (Compensatory) and treble damages under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act for a total judgment of $125,046.00.

3. CT-000433-16: 4-6-18, Patricia Herron v. Michelle Lee, Auto Accident, Jury, Jennifer L. Miller for Plaintiff, Christopher L. Nearn for Defendant, Plaintiff Verdict for $9,000.00 (Past Pain and Suffering), $2,400.00 (Past Loss of Enjoyment of Life), $8,637.55 (Medical Expenses) and $1,180.00 (Lost Wages) for a total judgment of $21,217.55.

DIV. 2: JAMES F. RUSSELL No contested cases reported this period

DIV. 3: VALERIE L. SMITH 1. CT-001892-15: 11-15-17, Curtis Calvin, Jr., individually, Patricia Evett Calvin, individually, and as Parent and Guardian of Carlisha Shuntrell Calvin, Camesha Shuntrice Calvin, Daisha Patrice Boston and Camron Kyshun Calvin v. FSR/Tennessee Affordable Housing Foundation d/b/a Walden Pointe Apartments and Lee A. Short, individually and in his capacity of an employee of FSR/Tennessee Affordable Housing Foundation d/b/a Walden Pointe Apartments, Intentional Tort (Assault and Battery), Jury, Stephen F. Libby for Plaintiff, Kevin Bernstein for Defendant, Plaintiff Verdict for Curtis Calvin, Jr. only for $7,500.00.

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DIV. 4: GINA C. HIGGINS 1. CT-004914-15: 4-6-18, Marcella Lambert and Marcus Lambert v. Belz Investco, G.P., Auto Accident, Jury, Thomas R. Greer for Plaintiff, Lewis W. Lyons for Defendant, Plaintiff Verdict for $125,000.00 for Past Pain and Suffering, $175,000.00 for Future Pain and Suffering, $60,000.00 Loss of Past Enjoyment of Life, $50,000.00 Loss of Future Enjoyment of Life and $40,000.00 Permanent Impairment for total damages of $450,000.00 and No Recovery for Loss of Consortium.

2. CT-004178-16: 5-1-18, The Tee Shirt Lab, LLC v. Eric Brinson, Breach of Contract, Non-Jury, Jamaal M. Walker for Plaintiff, Eric Brinson. Pro Se, Plaintiff Verdict for $15,844.50 and $2,000.00 Attorney Fee.

DIV. 5: RHYNETTE HURD 1. CT-005327-14: 4-11-18, Richard and Melissa Faber v.

Sarah E. Hunt and Joe Miller d/b/a Chic-Fil-A Paragon Place, Pedestrian Struck by Motorist, Jury, Tim Edwards for Plaintiff, Robert A. Talley for DefendantMiller, Hal S. Spragins, Jr., for Defendant-Hunt, Plaintiff verdict for $512748.87 (Medical Expenses), $150,000.00 (Lost Wages) and $25,000.00 (Loss of Consortium) reduced by 40% Comparative Fault for a Net Verdict of $412,649.82.

2. CT-003690-15: 4-18-18, Shinda Simpson v Michael Willins, Auto Accident, Jury, Andrew C. Clarke for Plaintiff, Eric H. Espey for Defendant, Plaintiff Verdict for $21,659.51 (Medical Expenses), $20,170.25 (Pain and Suffering), and $20,170.25 (Loss of Enjoyment of Life), for total judgment of $62,000.01.

3. CT-003411-16: 4-24-18, Booker T. Nelson v. Tavonne C. Linsey, Auto Accident, Jury, James Duckworth for Plaintiff, Craig B. Flood II for Defendant, Plaintiff Verdict for $3,783.23 (Medical Expenses).

4. CT-001229-17: 4-24-18, Laura Duenas v. Janet Byrd, Auto Accident, Jury, Matthew Porter for Plaintiff, Dawn Davis Carson, for Defendant, Defense verdict.

DIV. 6: JERRY STOKES

FULLY INTEGRATED SETTLEMENT SOLUTIONS

1. CT-003285-11: 3-22-18, Gardenia Parker, Individually and as Next of Kin of Bessie Parker and William Parker v. Sherry Wooten, Bernard Humphrey, Epstein Enterprises, LLC, John Doe, City of Memphis, Shelby County Government, Boshwit Brothers Realty and Longview Heights Partners, Premises Liability (Dangerous Dogs), Jury, William A. Buckley III and Daryl A. Gray for Plaintiff, Christopher L. Vescovo, Edd Peyton, Joseph Fletcher and Larry Weisman for Defendants, Mistrial (Hung Jury).

DIV. 7: MARY L. WAGNER 1. CT-003564-15: 4-23-18, Guineshia Kuykendall. v.

Jason Schulte and Christopher Ference, Auto Accident, Jury, Eric Lewellyn for Plaintiff, Robert L. Moore for Defendant, Plaintiff Verdict for $7,000.00.

1. CT-003129-16: 3-19-18, Teveka Broome and Nathaniel Boyd v. Patricia Belt, Auto Accident, Jury, David E. Gordon and Phillip Oliphant for Plaintiff, Andrew H. Owens for Defendant, Plaintiff Verdict for $5.255 (Medical Expenses), $9,000.00 (Physical Pain and Mental Suffering), $5,000.00 (Loss of Enjoyment of Life) Reduced by 40% Comparative Fault for a Net Judgment of $11,553.00.

Special Needs Trusts

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Structured Settlements

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Structured Attorney Fees

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Court-Restricted Accounts

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Private Money Management

ALBERT M. ALEXANDER, JR., CSSC

Senior Managing Director albert@wundernet.com wunderlichsecurities.com/settlementsolutions

Settlement Solutions

2. CT-003513-15: 5-3-18, Meligi Koko v. Martin Berlinski, Auto Accident, Jury, Michael A. Katzman and Justin Gee for Plaintiff, H. Lynne Smith for Defendant, Plaintiff Verdict for $120,000.00 ($3,284.00 Medical Expenses, $1,292.00 Loss of Income, $54,712.00 Pain and Suffering, $54,712.00 Loss of Enjoyment of Life, $6,000.00 Property Damage) reduced by 20% Comparative Fault for a net judgment of $96,000.00.

DIV. 8: ROBERT S. WEISS

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Tax Problems?

Jerry H. Schwartz, Attorney & CPA     

Serving Memphis attorneys and their clients Over 30 years tax experience Rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau Confidential and dedicated service Professional effective tax resolution

DIV. 9: DAVID M. RUDOLPH 1. CT-002653-17: 4-12-18, Christopher D. Williams. v. Laura A. Flesher, Auto Accident, Jury, William B. Ryan for Plaintiff, Catherine H. Costict for Defendant, Defense Verdict. Verdict by 11 jurors on consent of the parties.

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

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Sex trafficking is a Reality in West Tennessee

by KATE B. ANDERSON

You can’t watch or read the news these days without seeing something about sex trafficking. Cyntoia Brown, a 16 year-old Nashville teen who was tried as an adult and sentenced to life without parole for killing a man who paid to have sex with her, had her case gain national notoriety earlier this year thanks to tweets from celebrities like Rihanna and Kim Kardashian and the poplar hashtag #freecyntoia.1 Former Smallville actress Alison Mack was indicted for sex trafficking as part of the Upstate NY sex cult NXIVM.2 But we don’t have to look as far as Hollywood. The Memphis community was shocked last year by the arrest of 42 individuals through the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI)’s statewide sex trafficking operation “Operation Someone Like Me”.3 But it didn’t stop there. Within the past months there have been sex trafficking busts in Memphis and Oxford, Mississippi.4 So what is sex trafficking? A form of human trafficking, sex trafficking is the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain a commercial sex act. When the victim is under 18, there does not need to be any force, fraud or coercion for commercial sex to be considered sex trafficking. When people think of trafficking, they often think that a person must be moved across state or international border, but for someone to be ‘trafficked’ there is no movement requirement.

Smuggling is about movement. Trafficking is about exploitation.

While there are victims that may be both smuggled and trafficked, there are other victims who are trafficked from inside their own home.

So who is trafficked? Traffickers prey on those who are vulnerable and lack strong support networks by promising love, marriage or even just a better lifestyle.

Runaway and homeless youth, those who identify as LGTBQ, as well as those who have experienced domestic violence or sexual assault are particularly vulnerable. Sex trafficking has been reported in all 50 states5 and the TBI reported in 2011 and 2013 that sex trafficking cases 30

had been reported in 85% Tennessee’s counties in the previous 2 years, with the highest rates in Shelby, Knox, Davidson, and Coffee.6 So, what is being done? In 2000, the federal Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 was passed, and has been reauthorized several times, most recently in 2013, offering recognition, protections and rights of action for victims of trafficking. In 2013, Governor Bill Haslam created the Tennessee Human Trafficking Services Coordination and Service Delivery Plan, to coordinate statewide delivery of services to survivors of human and sex trafficking. In April of this year, President Trump signed into law H.R.1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (“FOSTA”), which allows both criminal and civil actions against websites that facilitate sex trafficking.

Just days earlier, federal authorities seized backpage.com, which was considered an online haven for prostitution and sex trafficking.7 But helping survivors of sex trafficking is about more than prosecution. Former United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch stated “it is not enough to bring perpetrators to justice; we must also ensure that survivors can access the resources they need to rebuild their lives and reclaim their futures”.8 That is where MALS comes in. MALS is proud to join the fight against sex trafficking and sexual assault with the establishment of the SOAR Collaboration. SOAR – Survivor Outreach, Advocacy and Representation - is a one of a kind project in the area, funded by the Department of Justice’s Legal Assistance for Victims (LAV) grant, to provide holistic legal, social and educational support to victims of domestic sex trafficking and sexual assault. MALS is partnering with Restore Corps, whose mission is to eradicate human trafficking by empowering survivors, equipping communities and changing systems, and Rape Crisis-Shelby County Crime Victims Center, who provide comprehensive services to

victims of sexual violence including forensic nursing, advocacy and counselling services. MALS will provide legal assistance in civil legal matters including orders of protection, child custody and child support, consumer debt, housing, obtaining public benefits, expungements, name changes, disability and special education advocacy, immigration issues, and other civil legal needs that will impact a survivor’s recovery.

At this point we are about six months into the three year grant, and in addition to a lot of community outreach and education, we have been able to obtain orders of protections for clients against their abusive spouses, initiate divorce proceedings and expunge past criminal charges from our clients records, and with the help of the pro bono community, even get arrest warrants set aside. While our assistance is not going to erase what our clients they have gone through, and there will certainly be challenges ahead, we hope to have reduced some of the vulnerabilities in their life which made them more vulnerable to traffickers and other perpetrators, and to have shown them they have value, they have a voice and we hear them.

The Sixth Circuit has agreed to hear oral arguments in Ms. Brown’s case on June 14, 2018, and the state parole board has agreed to a clemency hearing on May 23, 2018. Hauser, Christine “Cyntoia Brown, Trafficking Victim Serving Life Sentence for Murder, Will Get Clemency Hearing” N.Y. TIMES, May 3, 2018 available at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/03/us/cyntoia-brown-clemencyhearing-.html 1

McMillian, Keith, “‘Smallville’ actress Allison Mack accused of recruiting women for sex-cult leader” Washington Post, April 21, 2018, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/ arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/04/20/smallville-actress-allisonmack-arrested-for-recruiting-women-for-sex-cult-leader/?utm_ term=.2e0853cd3008 2

We hope that you will join MALS and the SOAR Collaboration in supporting survivors and helping them on their path to freedom and recovery. If you are interested in learning more about the SOAR Collaboration and/or taking on a pro bono case for a survivor of sex trafficking or sexual assault, please contact Kate Anderson at (901) 432-7519 or at kanderson@malsi.org. If you or someone you know is being trafficked contact the Tennessee Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-55-TNH TN(1-888-558-6484). If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call 9-1-1 or the Shelby County Rape Crisis Center hotline at (901) 222-4350.  Kate B. Anderson joined Memphis Area Legal Services in 2014, working with the Memphis Fair Housing Center. In the fall of 2018 she moved to the Family Law Unit as the SOAR Collaboration staff attorney, where she began representing survivors of sex trafficking and sexual assault.

“Sex Trafficking in the U.S.” A Closer Look at U.S. Citizen Victims” Polaris Project available at https://polarisproject,org/ resources/sex-trafficking-us-closer-lool-us-victims 5

2011: Tennessee Human Sex Trafficking & Its Impact on Children and Youth” 6

Federal Authorities Seize Backpage.com, April 6, 2018 available at https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/federal-authorities-seize-backpage/ story?id=54295379.

7

United States Department of Justice, CASE STUDY: HELP HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIMS WHITE HOUSE LEGAL AID INTERAGENCY ROUNDTABLE. Available at http://www. justice.gov/lair/file/829306/download.

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“TBI Announces Arrest in Human Trafficking Operation” January 27, 2017 available at http://www.localmemphis.com/ news/local-news/tbi-announces-42-arrests-in-human-traffickingoperation/646262689.

3

“Man Indicted for Forcing Women Into Prostitution”, WMC ACTION NEWS, May 10, 2018 available at http://www. wmcactionnews5.com/story/38159433/man-indicted-for-forcingwomen-into-prostitution; Madaus, Scott “Pimp caught sex trafficking woman and child in Mid-south city, police say” FOX 13 MEMPHIS, May 2, 2018 available at https://www.fox13memphis. com/top-stories/pimp-caught-sex-trafficking-woman-and-child-inmid-south-city-police-say/742788335 4

31

MLK 50TH SYMPOSIUM: Where do we go from Here?

By ANNE FRITZ, MBA Executive Director

I

n what would be his final book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reflects on the state of the civil rights movement in 1967; the cracks that had appeared due to the rise of the Black Power movement; the growing white backlash; and the struggles that remain. At an April 2nd symposium sponsored by The University of Memphis School of Law and the National Civil Rights Museum, panels of distinguished academics and lawyers explored the question posed in Dr. King’s last book in three areas: criminal justice, voting rights, and poverty. Below is summary of the problems – and potential solutions – discussed by each panel.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE – “Can’t look at criminal justice system and think that Dr. King would approve.”

– Roy Austin, partner, Harris Wiltshire & Grannis LLP; former Deputy Assistant to President Barack Obama for the Office of Urban Affairs, Justice & Opportunity Problems: • Unconscious racism and bias resulting in greater contacts between police & minorities and unequal sentencing • Discretion throughout the system, going back to schools where minority students are expelled or disciplined at a higher rate • Poverty – poor people stay in jail longer because they cannot make bail Solutions: • Change community/police relationship at the local level – police make the best cases when the community trusts them • Train police on unconscious bias and how to deescalate situations • Acquire statistics on crime more quickly and use them to make better decision on where to deploy police resources • Eliminate pretextual traffic stops 32

VOTING RIGHTS – Sherilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational fund observed that the movement to ensure that African-Americans can vote in elections and be part of the political process has been a success, at least prior to the Shelby County decision. However, Dr. King believed that voting and elections were important to change the material condition of people’s lives so in that regard, there has not been as much success.

“The line of progress is never straight” Problems: The three generations of voting rights involve 1) voting as a symbol of full citizenship; 2) who wins and loses elections, e.g., redistricting; and 3) making changes in the legislature and government. Panelists thought we had moved from first to second generation but are now back to square one.

Solutions: • National level – Congress has the power to pass rules for its elections. Ideas include a Federal Elections Board that would make it easy for people to register and vote • Recognize voting as a right rather than a privilege.

Many of the laws are based on the latter concept • Deal with the problem of felon disenfranchisement, which most other advanced democracies have done • State level – Automatic voter registration; vote by mail; pre-registration to vote for high school students • Local level – Public must understand that local elections matter and educate themselves about the candidates.

POVERTY Problem: Racism exacerbates poverty, and poverty impacts everything from health care to education Solutions: • Recognize that we are our brother’s keeper; poverty is not a character flaw. Resist the idea, now resurgent, that there is a biological basis for social or economic inequality • Treat poverty as a public health problem/crisis and institute collaborative and holistic solutions.

Mediation Nick Rice Rule 31 Mediator

• Resist political solutions that divide poor people by race: “Despair comes in all colors” The overarching theme of Dr. King’s book and of the symposium, is that despite the failure to reach full racial and economic equality, much progress has been made and hope remains -- hope that America can rededicate itself to the principles upon which it was founded so justice will “roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” in the immortal words of Dr. King. 

2018 ST. JUDE MARATHON

TEAM MBA

901.526.6701 firm@ricelaw.com

also helping make a difference in the lives of children and families of St. Jude.

Team MBA has had the privilege of running in ‘honor’ of a local St. Jude patient with ties to the legal community.

This year we are happy to be running for Charlie!

Charlie is a severe hemophiliac Type A, which means he has less than 1% clotting factor in him. He is infused 3 times a week so that he can run around like a normal little boy. Charlie’s mom says that "the doctors, nurses, and staff at St. Jude are looking for a cure for hemophilia" and that she "truly believes in her heart that they will find one in Charlie's lifetime along with finding cures for many other diseases."

Treatments invented at St. Jude, like the ones Charlie receives, have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since it opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90%, and they won't stop until no child dies from cancer.

n its third year, Team Memphis Bar Association (“Team MBA”) wants to do more than just run. We want to help run St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Just as St. Jude won’t stop until no child dies of cancer, we won’t stop until we reach our fundraising goal of $20k! We are doing more than just running, we’re helping run St. Jude.

We’re fundraising while we train! So as we embark on this awesome challenge of running a distance race, we’re

Join us as we help run St. Jude! Visit fundraising. stjude.org and search for “Memphis Bar Association.”

I

33

T

2018 Bench Bar Conference

hank you for making the 2018 Bench Bar Conference a success!

With outstanding programming and breakout sessions, multiple receptions and networking opportunities, it was a great weekend. The programming was outstanding beginning with the extra inning Cardinal game, continuing with the opening reception in beautiful surroundings. Attendees who provided feedback noted that changing the format slightly to include multiple plenary sessions coupled with additional break-out sessions throughout the weekend worked well. This same feedback consistently reported that the content was uniformly good. The judicial dine-

34

arounds were well received and the tour of the Courthouse was a lovely bonus. Overall, all of the wellness and social activities were well attended, especially since this was the first year to include daily wellness activities at Bench Bar. The 2019 Bench Bar Conference will return to the Emerald Coast for 2019 and will be held from April 11, 2019 through April 14, 2019 at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort and Baytowne Conference Center in Miramar Beach, Florida. Information regarding how to register for the Conference and secure the MBA group rate at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort will be available in the coming months. ď ´

Around Memphis

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Place, Mosal Arts will bring an energetic art gallery experience with rotating events, celebrity guests, and happenings throughout the month. 

by WILL NORRIS

ow that Memphis in May is over, what else is there to do in downtown Memphis? I was surprised to learn about the number of people that didn’t know about the free or low cost things to do downtown. On April 30, the steel wheel trolleys were re-introduced to Main Street. MATA offered free rides until May 14. For those that missed the opportunity to ride for free, the current rate is now $1.00.

The City of Memphis and the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) announced a new bike-sharing program to the city on May 23. Explore Bike Share is the largest smart bike system to date—with 600 bikes and 60 stations around the city. The program will expand to 900 bikes by 2019. For more information, visit www. explorebikeshare.com.

The DMC has also re-launched their highly successful Main Street Popup shops. B Collective will occupy the space at 145 S Main St., bringing a collection of local artists together to create a unique hyper-local boutique shopping experience. Across the street at 100 Peabody

For more information about events downtown, visit downtownmemphiscommission.com or you can follow them on social media.

35

SPOTLIGHT

Judge David M Rudolph

By SEAN ANTONE HUNT

Often, our leaders are heralded because they came from humble beginnings. The pursuit of greatness, from the grassroots, seems to be something that many of us feel should be left only to the titans. But let’s not forget, that coming from humble greatness, also represents a very difficult road as well.

Judge David Rudolph has taken on the Herculean task of filling big shoes with the grace and resilience of a titan.

When you talk to Judge Rudolph, about his qualifications, he quickly turns you to the subject of his role model, his father Jake Rudolph. “He played on a national championship – Georgia Tech used to be in the SEC . He played on the ‘52 team which was undefeated and was a national championship team. He was a safety.” Judge Rudolph says that his father loved coaching high school sports and gave back to the community.

“He influenced so many people.” Judge Rudolph says, “to have that kind of role model, someone who gives back, who loves what they do…” inspired him to do the same.

For those of you who, like myself, do not know, Jake Rudolph was the football coach and athletic director of the Memphis University School Owls for over 39 years. Judge Rudolph proudly points out that his father was one of the winningest coaches in Shelby County and even coached Fred Smith before his FedEx days. In fact, Coach Rudolph is well known both as a 36

coach and as a player. While playing for Georgia Tech, Coach Rudolph made one of the most famous tackles in Georgia Tech history against Alabama, tackling the Alabama running back on a fourth-down goal line drive to preserve an undefeated season and secure a Sugar Bowl berth and National Championship for the team in 1952. Coach Rudolph passed away in 2008, but not without a lot of accolades including being inducted into the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame, Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, the TSSAA Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Coach Rudolph was inducted into the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame posthumously and Judge Rudolph had the honor of accepting the award on behalf of his father on the Georgia Tech football field.

To make those shoes that Judge Rudolph had to fill even bigger, his uncle Mason Rudolph (Coach Rudolph’s brother), was a professional golfer who won the PGA Tour five times during his career. He also won the Tennessee State open five times as a professional and played on the 1971 Ryder Cup team.

When asked, Judge Rudolph just says “that’s just kind of the flavor I’ve grown up around – football, hard work, discipline.” And it shows. Judge Rudolph is a lifelong Memphian who went to MUS and even played football for his father. He points out that he got a scholarship to go to Vanderbilt University and was a Latin major.

In fact, he studied abroad spending a semester in Rome, Italy in a program associated with Stanford University.

lawyers, he always tells them that is critical and important for them to get involved. He points out that we all have to juggle the worklife balance, to a certain degree. He has four sons and a wife who was a lawyer as well. “We’re used to juggling the various personal and family concerns” he says of his personal worklife balance. It’s readily apparent that he’s found the correct balance as he speaks of his sons’ accomplishments in school and sports.

He also attended Vanderbilt University School of Law where he was Editor-In-Chief of the Transnational Journal. Likewise, he clerked for Judge Bailey Brown.

When asked about his judicial goals, Judge Rudolph indicates that “I like to remember that I was once a trial lawyer as well and all of the pressures that come with being a lawyer. I think my judicial demeanor reflects an understanding of what lawyers go through and at the same time pushing as the Court to get things resolved on a timely basis.” Plus, Judge Rudolph acknowledges that he loves what he does and finds the cases and caseload to be interesting and challenging. “I love being a judge; I love the cases that come before me I think that they are challenging, but in the process, [I am] giving back Shelby County citizens.” 

Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Rudolph was in private practice with Bourland, Heflin, Alvarez, Minor & Matthews, PLC. But even before practicing with that firm, Judge Rudolph was active in the community. He was president of the young lawyers’ division of the Memphis Bar Association, on the board of the Memphis Bar Association and a founding member of the labor and employment law section of the Memphis Bar Association.

“I’ve gotten a lot out of it and I think it’s critical, critical to be involved,” the Judge says. When he talks to new

37

SPOTLIGHT

Judge Mary Wagner

By JACOB D. STRAWN and JARED RENFROE

“An independent, fair and impartial judiciary is indispensable to our system of justice. The United States legal system is based upon the principle that an independent, impartial, and competent judiciary, composed of men and women of integrity, will interpret and apply the law that governs our society. . . . Judges, individually and collectively, must respect and honor the judicial office as a public trust and strive to maintain and enhance confidence in the legal system.” This language from the Preamble of the Tennessee Code of Judicial Conduct serves as a guidepost in the life of Judge Mary L. Wagner.

The Honorable Mary L. Wagner serves as Judge for Division VII of Shelby County Circuit Court. She has held this position since being appointed by Governor Haslam on October 24, 2016. Judge Wagner, a native of Memphis, attended Houston High School before attending the University of Colorado, where she majored in political science. She is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, where she served as a Notes Editor for the law review. Judge Wagner also served as an adjunct professor at the law school from 2012-2014. There, she taught a writing course on appellate advocacy.

When she is not on the bench presiding over a hearing or trial, she is often found connecting with citizens of Shelby County in an effort to maintain and enhance the public’s confidence in our legal system. Judge Wagner is no stranger to the law; since the age of 10 38

she has spent a significant amount of her time working with lawyers. The daughter of two lawyers, and the granddaughter of another, she was exposed to the law early and often. She knew as a child that she wanted to become a lawyer, and later on aspired to ultimately become a judge. With these goals in mind, Judge Wagner bolstered her childhood experiences by clerking for the Honorable Robert L. Childers while in law school, and then for the Honorable Steven Stafford with the Tennessee Court of Appeals after law school. Upon the conclusion of her clerkship with Judge Stafford, Judge Wagner began her career as a lawyer in private practice. While her emphasis was on family law and non-profit/ business organization, she advocated for clients in a wide variety of civil matters. Of course, her experiences as a civil litigator have had a significant impact on her role as a judge. She understands that each set of facts presents a different

challenge, and she has been trained to look at the “big picture” of each case before her. Using this big picture perspective, she shoulders the responsibility to reach the right result under the law.

In her office, Judge Wagner has a plaque, a gift from Judge Stafford, that reads: “We don’t hire judges to think.” All jokes aside, she explained the reasoning behind these words: as a judge, it is her job to remove herself from the emotional aspects of each case. She understands the utmost importance of impartiality on the bench; the law guides her through each case. She has been taught to follow it and not let her head get in the way. However, Judge Wagner does not just stop with the law. She indicated that preparedness is key. The Shelby County Bar and litigants can expect that Judge Wagner has read their filings prior to any hearing and will be prepared to act on their cases. In return, she expects that the lawyers before her be prepared and be ready to move their cases toward resolution.

In her time on the bench since late 2016, Judge Wagner has already had the opportunity to rule on a large number of cases. Last year, 5,470 cases were resolved by the Shelby County Circuit Court. Of those, 39 were resolved by a jury and 653 were resolved by a bench trial.

In 2017 alone, Judge Wagner had the opportunity to preside over 103 bench trials and 5 jury trials. She enjoys the opportunity to preside over both jury and bench trials. As stated by Judge Wagner, on one hand, she is calling balls and strikes, on the other, she is finding facts.

Judge Wagner is actively campaigning in Shelby County for the August 2, 2018 election, and she hopes to secure her position on the bench for the next four years. She believes that it is critical to connect with as many citizens of Shelby County as possible, and she encourages anyone to come by and see what is going on in Circuit Court. Judge Wagner is committed to being fair and impartial, but also accessible, and she respects the judicial office as a public trust and strives to maintain and enhance confidence in our legal system. 

experience, Knowledge, integrity…

George Brown and James Lockard are highly effective mediators who have helped parties resolve hundreds of civil matters through the mediation process. Both employ a combination of facilitative and evaluative mediation styles. Each has completed state certified 40-hour mediation and advanced mediation training courses, and are approved Rule 31 mediators. Their background, experience and skill make them very successful mediators with a proven track record for resolving cases.

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The Memphis Bar Association invites you to visit Cuba!

We will be traveling under the auspices of Cuba Cultural Travel, an organization specializing in authorized travel to Cuba since 1998. Many local and state bar associations have journeyed to Cuba with Cuba Cultural; they are pros. Our journey will take us to Havana, the capital of the country and its commercial and cultural center since colonial times. You will experience the wonderful rustic charm of a city that has remained largely unchanged for over 50 years. You will meet the Cuban people and learn about daily life in this amazing, complex city.

Cuba has a rich and varied cultural heritage. Since the revolution, there has been an aggressive program of cultural reforms that has promoted artistic talent on the island. The result is a highly respected collection of art, music, and dance institutions and academies that have gained international acclaim. Even in the face of economic difficulties, Cuba continues to place a high value on artistic creativity and maintains its cultural integrity.

During our stay, we will be hosted by a variety of local scholars, attorneys, musicians and artists who will offer in-depth commentary on the Cuban legal system, art, history, architecture, and religion. We will meet many leading artists in their studios, attend private dance and music performances and enjoy the company of students, professors, and historians.

Throughout our tour we will enjoy the type of intimate personal exchanges that build lifelong relationships.

This trip will not only bring us together with the people of Cuba, but will enable us to develop friendships and a new understanding of the rich and varied cultural fabric of this unique island nation. A true people to people exchange!

Our private journey includes the following: • Thought provoking lectures by renowned intellectuals, scholars and legal experts. NOTE: A select number of lectures will qualify for CLE credit • Private performances and reception by prominent dance companies and musicians • Exploration of the fascinating neighborhoods of Havana in the company of an architect and historian Trip Dates for this unique visit are October 25 through 29 (with optional extension to November 1 to visit Cienfuegas & Trinidad) Space is limited, so don’t delay if you want to go on this once-in-a-lifetime trip. We must have a deposit to hold your place

by July 27, 2018. The deposit is refundable if the trip fails to go. Following receipt of your reservation form and deposit, further information regarding travel arrangements will be provided to each traveler.

For general information and frequently asked questions, please go to www.cubaculturaltravel.com.

Visit the Memphis Bar Association’s website for more details/pricing - http://www.memphisbar.org/cle/journey-to-cuba.

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Paving the Way for Those That Follow

by LUCY BOATENG

L

ike many first-generation immigrants, my story begins with the search for a better life. In the mid1990s, my family emigrated from Ghana, West Africa to the United States through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Although life in the United States has not always been easy, this country has provided my family with endless opportunities to create a better life. As a result, I feel a sense of obligation to assist other immigrants who have similar aspirations to settle in the United States to experience the American Dream.

I went to law school knowing I wanted to make a meaningful contribution to our justice system. However, it was not until my second semester of law school that I felt a calling to public interest lawyering when I participated in the University of Tennessee’s alternative spring break program. As a participant, I assisted a Hispanic family with the naturalization process. Being aware of potential cultural barriers, my co-counsel and I made sure our clients were well-informed. While the work we did for this family seemingly was not a lot, it meant everything to them because it gave them a sense of hope.

In my efforts to explore public interest lawyering in the immigration field, I welcomed the opportunity to work with the University of Tennessee’s Immigration

Clinic the summer break after my second year. As a student attorney, I represented an affirmative asylumseeker who was targeted for his political activism in the Gambia. Among the many skills required such as an understanding of substantive immigration law and the ability to navigate the complexities of the Immigration and Nationality Act, my personal connection with the immigrant community proved to be essential in my work. Not only did it foster trust and cooperation, it also strengthened my client’s faith in the immigration system.

This was a pivotal experience for me because it reminded me of what the American Dream symbolizes for immigrants. Though people have different perspectives on the American Dream, members of the immigrant community view it as the right to life, freedom, prosperity, opportunity, hard work, perseverance and hope. However, it is unfortunate that unsurmountable obstacles in our immigration system prevent many immigrants from achieving this.

My interest in immigration law is largely due to my family’s encounter with the immigration system.

I am forever grateful for the opportunities the system has afforded my family. My experiences in law school allowed me to find my purpose through service and truly, I cannot think of a better way to give back than helping to pave the way for other immigrants. Even though the current administration’s immigration agenda has created uncertainties, fear and distrust, these challenges have fostered opportunities for zealous advocacy. t 41

The Wellness Retreat: Strategies for Thriving in the Legal Profession What was the Wellness Retreat?

The Wellness Retreat was a working weekend in a rustic, woodsy environment for CLE topics on resilience, mindfulness, and the neuroscience of conflict and collaboration. The most recent Wellness Retreat on March 23-25, 2018 also included moments of free time to spend in nature, getting a massage or in the wood-fired sauna. It was intended to support lawyers by teaching restorative practices and self-care for greater well-being, as recommended by the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, an American Bar Association sponsored entity dedicated to “creating a movement to improve well-being in the legal profession.”

Honoring the call to action, the MBA Wellness Committee sponsored the Wellness Retreat, which was approved for 9.75 hours dual credit CLE by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education.

For its beauty and simplicity, we chose Gray Bear Lodge Retreat Center near Hohenwald, TN which is a rustic holistic wellness retreat center. Gray Bear is situated on nearly 400 acres of protected forest and for over 20 years has been hosting teachers and groups from around the world for workshops on topics such as yoga, Qigong, meditation and simple rest and relaxation. Gray Bear’s mission is to teach holistic experiential workshops in a wilderness setting to help people to learn, grow and better their lives, caring for the people who help to make this a better world for us all.

Kathy and Cindy were inspired to create the Retreat after the August, 2017 Task Force Report, The Path the Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change.

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The Report recommends that bar associations provide education programs on topics such as resilience and optimism, stress, mindfulness meditation, rejuvenation to recover from stress, physical activity and meaning and purpose, to name a few. Drawing from experience and recommendations in the Report, Kathy and Cindy facilitated teaching through lecture and through experiential exercises and partner and group interaction.

This approach has been shown to provide adult learners greater understanding and retention. They intentionally designed the program to promote deep understanding of the benefits and potential uses of the self-care practices in the curriculum, including journaling, meditation, mindful eating and other approaches advocated in the Task Force Report.

“Self-care is not selfish.

You cannot serve from an empty vessel.”

(The Path to Lawyer Well-Being – Eleanor Brown, p. 31)

Resilience is a core concept identified in the Task Force Report as an area to improve lawyers’ well-being.

Resilience is defined as “a process to harness resources to sustain well-being”. How does one “harness resources”?

What are these resources? What does this mean?

Resources can be personal practices, such as meditation, optimistic explanatory style or positive reframing, and they can be social, such as networks of friends and family who help support a positive perspective or spiritual/

faith-based practices. Kathy and Cindy used experiential exercises to help participants first name their “resources” or their personal strengths and then work with others to learn more about their strengths for future growth and stress-preparedness.

Mindfulness meditation is another resource for self-care, thereby increasing the resources available to draw upon in times of stress and decrease the risk of debilitating burn out. In The Path to Lawyer WellBeing, the Task Force cites research which shows that mindfulness meditation can reduce stress, depression and anxiety while also enhancing “competencies related to lawyer effectiveness, including increased focus and concentration, working memory, critical cognitive skills …. and ethical and rational decision-making.” While on retreat, participants were introduced to concepts from neuroscience as it relates to brain activity during stress and during calm and how those states of mind affect decision-making and creative problem solving in legal practice. In order to understand better how the brain can work while in a state of deep calm, participants practiced intervals of meditation, including different styles of meditation. In addition, the retreat was designed with down time in an idyllic environment to set the stage for meditation to occur with ease, naturally. One participant said “being in nature and being able to practice some of the wellness activities was great and made the retreat stand out from other CLEs.” An unplanned, but very natural side effect, of the Wellness Retreat was a sense of community and connectedness that grew amongst some participants.

The Task Force has recommended that employers honestly evaluate their current culture in an effort to monitor lawyers’ mental health and well-being because numerous health and relationship problems arise from “workaholic” behavior. The Task Force Report found that approximately 25% of lawyers are workaholics which is more than double the rate of all U.S. adults generally.

Cell phones and screens are on and in use nearly every moment of our days. Sometimes every waking hour, and even sleeping hours, are spent engaged with a screen and not with oneself or with other living beings.

On retreat the focus is different – the focus is on experiencing life through being in nature, in community with others and in quietude with oneself. According to one Wellness Retreat learner a highlight was “one-on-one contact with the speakers and the opportunity to discuss ideas and issues.” The result of stepping away from “normal life” and learning on retreat is that more trust and connectedness can be established in relationships that provide the resources (friendships, affirmation, reframing) for future resilience. When in nature we look to the animals and the trees for information and inspiration. According to poet Mark Nepo we need only “[j]ust look to the flowers and the trees. They do not suppress each other. Even when crowded, they show themselves and grow in all directions and so make it to the light….. The greatest defense is being who you are.”

Learning while on retreat in nature provides the clearest reminder of one’s natural strengths and innate resources for resilience and well-being.

With a refreshed mind and body, participants were given the opportunity to end the retreat by developing their personal action plan for greater engagement in everyday practice. Some folks used words and some used images to create a vision for the future. One participant summed it up saying ….. “I look forward to the next one.” 

Kathy Story has been teaching lawyers and leading professional workshops for over 15 years on resilience, leadership and positive psychology. Cindy Pensoneau has been teaching yoga and meditation the past 9 years in addition to practicing family law, largely focused on Collaborative practice.

Look for the next Wellness Retreat, possibly in October, 2018, and Kathy and Cindy are committed to hosting again at Gray Bear in the Spring 2019.

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2018

YLD Golf Tournament

T

he 2018 Annual Golf Tournament will be held at the Links at Galloway in East Memphis on Friday, September 21, 2018, beginning with a shotgun start at 1:00 p.m. We are expecting as many as 100 members of the local legal community to participate. Every year, the MBA–YLD donates a portion of the proceeds we raise during this charity golf tournament to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Memphis to support the great work they do in Memphis.

Watch for updates and register now – visit memphisbar.org. 

MARSHALL CRISS Marshall Criss has been named President/Chief Manager of Apperson Crump PLC. Founded in 1865, Apperson Crump is the oldest, continuously operating law firm in Memphis DAVID S. JONES Fisher Phillips today announced that David S. Jones has been appointed as the new managing partner of the firm's Memphis office. With more than 18 years of law experience, Jones has been with Fisher Phillips since 2016, where he practices exclusively in the areas of immigration-related employment and compliance matters. Jones is a member of the American Bar Association, American Immigration Lawyers Association, National Association of Foreign Student Advisors, NAFSA Trainer Corps and University of Memphis Academic Internship Advisory Board. He is also a board member and serves as Chairman of the Mid-South Latino Chamber of Commerce.

MADISON PATEY Madison Patey has joined the firm as an Associate Attorney and will concentrate on medical Founded in 1865, Apperson Crump is the oldest, continuously operating law firm in Memphis malpractice and personal injury.

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1. Marshall Criss 2. David S. Jones

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3. Madison Patey 4. Austin T. Rainey

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AUSTIN T. RAINEY Wiseman Bray PLLC, has expanded its practice to include family law, with the addition of Austin T. Rainey. He previously was an attorney at Apperson Crump and focuses his practice in general civil litigation with a concentration in family and domestic relations law, including divorce, child support, and custody litigation. Mr. Rainey is also an active member of the Board of the Tennessee YMCA Center for Civic Engagement.

DAVID RATTON David Ratton has rejoined the firm Of Counsel and will continue to focus on corporate and business law as well as commercial real estate and lending. Founded in 1865, Apperson Crump is the oldest, continuously operating law firm in Memphis ELIZABETH B. STENGEL Elizabeth B. Stengel has been elected the first female president of the Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel. The Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel, Inc. is a not-for-profit professional association that serves the needs of Tennessee attorneys with practices related to the construction industry. Ms. Stengel focuses her practice on construction and surety law, and she serves as the practice area leader for the litigation practice group at Evans Petree.

LANG WISEMAN Lang Wiseman was recently appointed by Governor Haslam, and confirmed by the General Assembly, to serve on the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees. His term will run through July 2022.

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5. David Ratton 6. Elizabeth B. Stengel

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7. Lang Wiseman

SUBMIT YOUR NEWS AND UPDATES ONLINE AT: WWW.MEMPHISBAR.ORG/BLOG/SUBMIT-CONTENT

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

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