Nashville Bar Journal | December 2015/January 2016

Nashville Bar Journal

DEC 15/ JAN 16- VOL 16, NO. 11

NITS AND NATS OF NETWORK NEUTRALITY David Winters

NBA ANNUAL MEETING & BANQUET LAW PRACTICE TIPS: PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE Barbara Moss and Ashish Karvé

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

NO FIRM IS TOO SMALL FOR A COMPREHENSIVE AND AFFORDABLE RETIREMENT PLAN.

Check the NBA website at

www.nashvillebar.org LIVE WEBCASTS Attorneys attending the live webcasts at the NBA office will earn “live” CLE credit.

FEB 17, 2016

ETHICS FOR CORPORATE LAWYERS

FEB 19, 2016

ETHICS FOR FINANCIAL INDUSTRY

LAWYERS

MAR 2, 2016

PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES IN EMPLOYMENT LAW

HOW TO READ FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The aba retirement funds program (“the Program”) has provided retirement plan services to firms of all sizes – even solo practitioners – since 1963. We believe today, as we did then, that the unique needs of the legal community are best served by a retirement Program built exclusively to benefit its members.

APR 20, 2016

FINANCIAL SERVICES CONFLICTS OF INTEREST & FIDUCIARY DUTIES

Call an ABA Retirement Funds Program Regional Representative today at 866.812.1510. www.abaretirement.com joinus@abaretirement.com

MAR 16, 2016

JUN 2, 2016 APPELLATE ADVOCACY

The Program is available through the Association of Legal Administrators, an ALA Value In Partnership Program Provider as a member benefit. This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, or a request of the recipient to indicate an interest in, and is not a recommendation of any security.

Securities offered through Voya Financial Partners, LLC (Member SIPC).

The ABA Retirement Funds Program and Voya Financial Partners, LLC, are separate, unaffiliated companies and are not responsible for one another’s products and services.

CN0228-8312-0315

Departments

Articles 6 Nits and Nats of Network Neutrality 8

2

David Winters

4

NBA Annual Meeting & Banquet

10 Law Practice Tips: Practice Management

CENTER SECTION

Barbara Moss and Ashish Karvé

22

16 Law Practice Tips: How to Set Up Your Website

Barbara Moss and Ashish Karvé

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Communique • Legal Aid Society • NBF Grant • Golden Oldie • Liberty Bell Awards

CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION

Software

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Columns

From the President

Disclosure - Announcements • Welcome New NBA Members • Premier Members • Dial-A-Lawyer Classified Listings

Golden Oldie

Gadget of the Month Bill Ramsey, Neal & Harwell, PLC Phillip Hampton, LogicForce Consulting

We have a big one for you this month! Identify the individuals in the photo. Be the first to email the correct answer to jessica. hill@nashvillebar. org and your name (along with your correct entry) will appear in next month’s issue.

NBA Calendar of Events DECEMBER 29, 2015 CLE Movie Festival: Ethics & Professionalism in the Movies: My Cousin Vinny DECEMBER 30, 2015 CLE Movie Festival: Ethics & Professionalism in the Movies: Anatomy of a Murder, The Verdict JANUARY 7, 2016 Diversity Committee Meeting

JANUARY 8, 2016 Committee Chair Orientation JANUARY 8, 2016 New Board Member Orientation JANUARY 9, 2016 NBA Board Retreat JANUARY 26, 2016 President's Reception

FEBRUARY 17, 2016 Ethics for Corporate Lawyers Live Webcast FEBRUARY 19, 2016 Ethics for Financial Industry Lawyers Live Webcast MARCH 2, 2016 Psychological Issues in Employment Law Live Webcast

' A Monthly Publication of the Nashville Bar Association

Joycelyn A. Stevenson, Publisher

From the President HEADLINE

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

Eleanor Wetzel, Managing Editor eleanorwetzel@jis.nashville.org

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

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

POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to Nashville Bar Journal, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 1050, Nashville, TN 37219

No part of this publication may be reprinted without written permission of the Nashville Bar Journal Editorial Committee. The Nashville Bar Journal is not responsible for the return or loss of unsolicited manuscripts or for any damage or other injury to unsolicited manuscripts or artwork.

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

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

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by:

Joycelyn A. Stevenson

To say that it is an honor to represent and lead the Nashville Bar Association is a gross understatement. And, it is with great humility and respect that I accept my role as your President. I stand on the shoulders of many great NBA servants, including the five other women and two lawyers of color who have had the privilege of leading this great organization before me. I also stand on the shoulders of others who were not able to serve in the NBA but who helped shape our community for the better. I want to thank and acknowledge Napier Looby and LAW for providing me with leadership opportunities over the years that have been integral to my work with the NBA.

I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge and thank my family, friends and colleagues at Littler Mendelson, P.C. as well as my family who are with me spirit, including my dearly departed parents who were the two best role models in my life.

Particularly my mother, who passed away before I began practicing law, but who had long instilled in me the importance of service and forging a path for generations to come. She always said, “I don’t care what you do in life as long as you are lifting others as you climb higher.”

My presidency is an example of how the NBA’s execution of a well-articulated vision can change a city, change a career and ultimately impact the leadership of our Bar. You most likely know that in the early 1990s, the Nashville Bar Association set out to create a pipeline of diverse attorneys in Nashville. One of the ways that the bar set out to accomplish this goal was through the creation of the 1L job fair, executed by what was then known as the Minority Opportunities Committee. The idea was that if the bar association could attract talented students from diverse backgrounds to the Nashville legal community, the result would be a sustainable pipeline from law school to eventual leadership within our community. You most likely know that Nashville’s Job Fair is one of the longest running, most successful and most highly rated job fairs in the country.

What you may not know is that I was a participant in the 1L job fair in 1999. I will confess to you that hailing from Macon, Georgia, I had always thought I would end up practicing in Atlanta or in Washington, D.C. where I attended college. But the 1999 job fair and subsequent clerking experiences exposed me to many amazing Nashville attorneys who would later become my mentors and friends. It also exposed me to the practice of law in our great city and the true essence and responsibility of what it means to be a member of the Bar. This Bar’s execution of a sincere vision changed the trajectory of my career and of my life. So you see, I know from first-hand experience how impactful what we do can be on the lives of our members—particularly when we do it well and do it together.

One of the greatest attributes that we have as an association is that we are able to take on local and national issues with a sense of humanity, fairness and collegiality—or, as I like to call it—“the Nashville Way.” That is why I came to this city and became a member of the Nashville Bar Association 14 years ago. It is also why I have remained a member ever since. What was attractive to me then and even more valuable to me now is that our Bar was not afraid to lead.

As we have done in the past, the NBA must decide its mission for the next 15 years and execute on that vision. The last two presidents have stressed the importance of membership. Without our members, we don’t have a bar association. My focus will be to build on the concept of growing our membership and executing our strategic plan to

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

2016 NBA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

obtain, retain and reclaim members. There are many ways to do this but we will focus heavily on robust community service and leadership, and meaningful networking opportunities for law students, members and nonmembers.

The NBA must continue to give lawyers reasons to be members and remind some of our rich legacy. Our challenge, like most associations is to remain inclusive, to recognize and nurture talent, and to remain relevant in an everchanging world. We cannot be afraid to embrace change, nor can we be afraid to acknowledge that change is necessary for our Bar to take its rightful place amongst the elite Bar Associations in this nation. An elite Bar is what our Bar has always been, and it is what our Bar will continue to be with your help and support. Our members will not always agree (I mean, we are lawyers), but our Bar should always be a part of important, controversial and sometimes uncomfortable conversations about the direction of our profession and legal issues of the day.

Joycelyn A. Stevenson, President Nathan H. Ridley, President-Elect Matt Potempa, First Vice President Andrea P. Perry, Second Vice President April Knox , Secretary Eric W. Smith, Treasurer Edward D. Lanquist, Jr., Immediate Past President Justin McNaughton, YLD President Lela Hollabaugh, General Counsel Irwin J. Kuhn, First Vice President-Elect Claudia Levy, Second Vice President-Elect

To help us grow and improve our Association, I would like to issue a challenge to each individual member:

1. Do something outside of your bar association comfort zone.

For example: Serve on a committee, write an article, if you see someone

you don’t know, introduce yourself and ask how you can make their

experience in the NBA better;

2. Invite at least one non-member to a bar event this year.

3. Submit one idea this year on how you think we can improve the bar.

While we certainly appreciate our individual members, we also understand and appreciate the support that we receive from the many law firms, government offices, corporations and the judiciary. If you are a leader in one of these institutions, please be on the lookout for my call or email on how we can work together to strengthen the bar.

I would like to offer similar challenges to our institutions including the following:

1. Become a member of the 100% club and sponsor membership for your

employees;

2. Sponsor a happy hour event or host an event at your offices so that we

can increase our networking capabilities; and

3. Sign up to employ a high school student who participates in the

Diversity Committee’s High School Internship Program and/or an

intern from the 1L Job Fair We must have committed institutional involvement to make our bar soar and we are ready to earn and/or sustain your support.

In closing, the work of this Bar started me on my journey all of those years ago. This city welcomed me with open arms and many bar members have nurtured me throughout my practice. I was given an opportunity to serve the NBA in 2001 as a member of the Minority Opportunities Committee and I have gladly served the NBA in some capacity every year since. I am grateful for the privilege to lead an association that has given so much to me. I am very proud to serve as your new President.

Mark S. Beveridge Robert C. Bigelow Hon. Joe P. Binkley, Jr. Hon. Sheila D. Calloway Kay Caudle Jacqueline B. Dixon Samuel P. Funk Margaret M. Huff Hon. William C. Koch, Jr. Ryan D. Levy Wendy Longmire Hon. Randal S. Mashburn Erin Palmer Polly David L. Raybin Sara F. Reynolds Saul A. Solomon Laura Smith Tidwell M. Bernadette Welch

NASHVILLE BAR ASSOCIATION Each day, we work hard to help people and businesses in our community. The NBA has a wide variety of services and programs that can help lawyers work smarter, stay informed and keep connected with fellow attorneys. From sole practitioners to the largest firms, from legal aid attorneys to those in private practice, the NBA supports all of us so we can better serve our clients and the justice system.

Our Bar Association is much more than just a collection of services.

The power of our membership lies in the power of the people.

WE are the Bar. And together, we shape the future of the legal profession.

Got an Idea for an NBJ Article?

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

Send it to

jessica.hill@nashvillebar.org

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

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communiqué Nashville Bar Foundation Grant 2016

https://www.facebook.com /NashvilleBarAssociation

The Nashville Bar Foundation is now accepting grant applications. If you know of any 501(c)(3) organizations that may be eligible for a Foundation Grant, please let them know.

Requests must be submitted no later than 4:00 p.m. on January 15, 2016 in accordance with grant guidelines. View grant eligibility and application guidelines at www.nashvillebar.org

@theNashvilleBar

Trey Harwell to Serve as Chair for Legal Aid Society 2016 Fundraising Campaign Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Tennessee’s largest non-profit law firm, announced today that Trey Harwell, attorney and partner at Neal and Harwell, PLC, will serve as the 2016 chair of the Campaign for Equal Justice, an annual initiative that raises funds for Legal Aid Society.

Harwell joined Neal & Harwell in 1996, and his principal areas of practice are in civil litigation, white-collar criminal defense and crisis management. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School and is a Fellow of the American, Tennessee and Nashville Bar Associations. He is also former president and current premier member of the Nashville Bar Association, as well as a member of the Nashville Bar Foundation Board of Trustees.

An active member of the Nashville community, Harwell serves as a commissioner of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority and as a board member of the Middle Tennessee Council of Boy Scouts of America and Friends of Warner Parks.

Harwell has put together the following for his committee in 2016: • Large Firm Co-Chairs: Dewey Branstetter of Sherrard & Roe and Katie Edge of Butler Snow • Small Firm Co-Chairs: Jonathan Farmer of Farmer Purcell White & Lassiter and Emily Shouse of Patterson Intellectual Property Law • Government Chair: Bob Watson of Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority • Judges Co-Chairs: Judge Lynda Jones, General Session Court Div IX, and Judge Philip Smith, 20th Judicial Dist., Div. IV • Corporate Chair: Laura Tidwell of Nashville Electric Service • Williamson County Co-Chairs: Joanie Abernathy and Virginia Story, both of Story, Abernathy, & Campbell To make your own tax-deductible gift to Legal Aid Society, go online to www.las.org or send checks payable to the Legal Aid Society to 300 Deaderick St., Nashville, TN 37201. For more information, contact Cindy Durham at cdurham@las.org or (615)780-7125.

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Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society Annual Cocktail Reception The Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society is pleased to announce that it will hold its annual cocktail reception, honoring the members of Tennessee’s Supreme Court, on Tuesday, February 9, 2016 at 5:30 p.m. The Society will also celebrate the opening of two new Museum alcoves, honoring the role of women and minorities throughout Tennessee’s legal history. For the first time ever, the reception will be held in the Tennessee Supreme Court Building. The Society asks that firms please consider sponsoring this event (platinum $5,000, gold $2,500, or silver $1,000 sponsorship levels). Sponsors will enjoy the benefit of advertising commensurate with their sponsorship level, as well as a small block of tickets. Individual tickets will be sold for $100 (individual tickets defray the cost of the event, but do not contribute to the Society or help sustain the Museum).

Space in the courtroom is limited to 150 attendees, so please RSVP as soon as possible to Rachel Thomas at rachelthomas@ rachelthomaslaw.com.

Nominations Sought for Liberty Bell Award Nominations are being sought for the Liberty Bell Award that will be presented during the NBA's annual Law Day Luncheon during Law Week. Deadline for nominations is March 14, 2016.

This award is given to that person or group (not necessarily lawyers or law related groups) who has promoted a better understanding of the rule of law, encouraged greater respect for law and the courts, stimulated a sense of civic responsibility, or contributed to good government.

Nominations for the Liberty Bell Award should be addressed to the NBA Board of Directors and sent to Traci Hollandsworth at traci.hollandsworth@nashvillebar.org

-Golden Oldies

James C. Hofstetter of Hofstetter & Hofstetter correctly identified the individuals in the November 2015 Golden Oldies photo.

Pictured are: Bert Haywood, Doug Fisher and Nancy Corley

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

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Feature

NITS AND NATS OF NETWORK NEUTRALITY by:

David Winters

On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced sweeping changes to immigration policy which will allow up to 5 million undocumented workers to obtain work authorization cards for three years and not be subject to deportation (also called removal) during this same three-year period. In addition, President Obama’s Immigration Actions will expand the “provisional waiver” program, clarify the meaning of “extreme hardship” in provisional waiver cases, and take actions to better enable U.S. businesses to hire and retain highly skilled foreign-born workers, expand opportunities for students to gain Occupational Practical Training (OPT), and set new removal priorities. This article will analyze the

all what could be more fair than treating all transmissions the same no matter what they say, how much they say, or who says it?3 But this perspective hijacks an engineering/operations issue and tries to shoe-horn it into an imagined social justice construct. It ignores absolute and unavoidable physical realities. This is silly. The laws of physics can be neither repealed, nor amended.

Engineering and operations are governed by real time, space, and matter, not by social theories. In short, “Net Neutrality” makes for a slick slogan, but erroneous engineering.

The matter of Internet Network Neutrality has furtively appeared in our headlines for years, now. This important issue has remained unresolved for so long that, impatiently skipping the established statutorily mandatory rule-making procedures last year, President Obama preempted the Federal Communications Commission and announced that network neutrality must be our way henceforth.

To avoid technical jargon while explaining this we shall employ a familiar analogy, the common grocery store queue.

But for most of us, the concept is a mystery. Many do not vaguely understand what “Net Neutrality” means or what its impact would be.

This brief piece attempts to explain the essentials without resorting to unnecessary technical jargon. Lawyers need to understand it.

“Words have meanings.”1 So, let us first define. The expression "Net Neutrality" describes an Internet wherein transmissions are treated equally, no matter what their content, size, or source.2 Simple, at least theoretically.

To lawyers, social activists, and other champions of justice, this sounds pleasingly egalitarian. It practically screams equality and justice. After 6

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

When I was young…younger…Okay, a lot younger, life was slower and so was grocery shopping. (We called it "trading.") Grocery stores were small, and “check out” was accomplished at a manual, key poking, bell-ringing, hand-cranked cash register. All customers lined up and waited for their turn at the cashier with their assorted bags, baskets, boxes, and carts.

This system represents network neutrality with respect to transmission size or composition. Everybody got treated on a first come, first served basis. It did not matter whether we wanted to purchase just one pack of Lucky Strikes, or three handcarts of milk, eggs, meat, and veggies, we each waited our turns in the same queue.

Things are different now, and I for one am glad. Grocery stores these days, establish special purpose customer lines. If I have ten items or fewer in my cart, there's a dedicated cashier just for me and for others with similarly light loads. We get this privilege because dealing with our simple, small purchases (“transmissions”) will be quick and will quickly leave space for the next brief customers. Hence arises our speed lane privilege. This is blatantly NON-neutral with respect to the amount or type of goods I want to push through the transmission queue.

allotted slots.

If my cart, however, happens to include a package of pipe tobacco, I may be shunted into an entirely different queue established to deal with the time-consuming process of inspecting my credentials (“carding me”) to ensure that I am eligible to make my desired purchases. That way I won't delay everyone else. So the system also is not neutral with respect to the type of goods in my purchase “transmission.” Further, when I return to shop later, and fill four full grocery carts of assorted items, I will find myself relegated to a slow-moving line of similar high volume shoppers.

We can see the beneficial effect of treating these in a non-neutral way by considering how your cellphone works. When you send a text on your cell phone, it gets slipped into the holes and gaps in voice and graphics transmissions and costs very little in queue waiting time. You need not even wait for a dial tone. It gets special treatment and gets through even though you may not be able to get a voice connection.4 Further, in an emergency, you can even connect to 911 on a phone that has no paid service provider at all.

These are functions of special privilege, not equality.

Are all shoppers treated equally? No. But is this innovation desirable? Well it certainly appears to be. Customers like it. That's why grocery stores keep doing it. And in the end most shoppers benefit, sooner or later. A shopper who needs to check out quickly has an incentive to tailor his purchase for fastest processing. Some institutions even provide permanently preferred customer status to those who pay accordingly. Convenience is a salable commodity.

But functioning under a system that works as network neutrality works, we'd all be lined up in the same queue during the same hours, no matter what or how much we have in our baskets. No matter how big our "transmissions" are, or what they contain, we must await our neutrally

To more specifically apply this to the internet, understand that videos and movies are high information content transmissions.

They are, by definition, comparatively big.

Fixed graphics and voice transmissions are also large, but not so large as videos.

Text transmissions are relatively small and quick to slip through a queue. A practical approach gives smaller, simpler, transmissions such as these a fast lane around the 18-wheeler sized traffic such as movie videos.

But in a truly neutral network, text transmissions would be no more easily connected than voice transmissions. We would be forced to do as everyone did in the early days of data communications.

We would wait for a dial tone, dial the number, establish a connection, and then hook up our data transmitter (frequently a “modem” box configured to fit a telephone handset). If the lines were too overloaded, we could not connect. Every user’s communication lanes would be equally slow or equally overloaded. Like socialism, it would ensure equal distribution of hardship without creating incentive for minimizing or efficiently tailoring transmission content or size. This is how telephone

based data transmission systems worked as regulated “common carrier” utilities, and this is essentially how Internet network neutrality would work, except without the manual dialing and the handsets. If you have never tried it, don’t. You would not like it.5 In communications networks, of which the internet is but one, sundry other forms of absolutely non-neutral privilege may be bestowed to fit needs of particular users or providers. For example, contractual provisions have long been available for telecommunications customers who have exceptional need for unfailing communications.

For a given premium, one can purchase a virtual guarantee against any outage at any time. This rather amounts to buying your way to head of the line and luxury seating in first class. It comes only at significant expense. However, government and business frequently require this sort of dependability, and pay accordingly. This may be unquestionably necessary, the same as the privilege exercised by a fire truck to have priority at stoplights. But it certainly is not neutral. It is not Network Equality.

In a truly neutral network, no transmission would have privilege over any other.

Bare text e-mail transmissions, stripped down to their speedos, would have no access to fast lanes that get by monster bandwidth consuming voice and video data. Everybody’s service would be equally slow or equally overloaded. Heavily laden flatbed road hogs would determine traffic speed for everyone. At its extreme, emergency defense and disaster circuits would share equal priorities with social networks and site addresses ending with "XXX." Like socialism, Net Neutrality would require vast amounts of complex regulation,6 and would ensure equal distribution of hardship or inconvenience without creating incentive for minimizing transmission content, form, or size. This is how absolute Continued on Page 13 

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

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On December 3, 2015, at the Music City Center in downtown Nashville, there was more than enough collegiality to go around at the Annual Meeting & Banquet of the Nashville Bar Association. The passing of the gavel from President Ed Lanquist to PresidentElect Joycelyn Stevenson, introduction of the NBA officers for 2016, and awards were all on the agenda for the evening. The NBA was pleased to announce that Lew Conner was the recipient of the 2015 John C. Tune Award.

Thank you again to all of our generous sponsors -- TITLE SPONSORS: First Tennessee Bank and IPSCO; BANQUET SPONSORS: Thomson Reuters

The awards given were as follows:

President’s Awards Gail Ashworth Robb Bigelow Ryan Levy John McLemore Andrea Perry Erin Palmer Polly Sara Reynolds Ed Yarbrough

CLE Excellence Award Judge Randy Kennedy

NBJ Award: Article and Contributor of the Year John McLemore

Emeritus John W. Barringer Hon. Joe B. Brown 8

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

Thomas I. Carlton, Jr. David Denty Cheatham Hon. Frank F. Drowota, III Senator Joe M. Haynes William Porter Alden H. Smith, Jr. Clark H. Tidwell

Legal Aid Society/ Volunteer Lawyers Program Pro Bono Leadership Award Bone McAllester Norton Neal & Harwell

John Tune Award Lew Conner

YLD President's Award Jessica Jernigan-Johnson

YLD Enterprise Award Beau Creson Gil Schuette Thank you again to all of our generous sponsors: Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC Bass Berry & Sims, PLC Bone McAllester Norton, PLLC Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP Burr & Forman, LLP Butler Snow, LLP Cornelius & Collins, LLP Cumberland Trust Dickinson Wright, PLLC Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella, PC Frost Brown Todd, LLC Gullett, Sanford, Robinson & Martin, PLLC Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan, PLLC Littler Mendelson, PC Martin Heller Potempa & Sheppard, PLLC Middle Tennessee Collaborative Alliance Patterson Intellectual Property Law, PC Prochaska Quinn & Ferraro, PC Sherrard & Roe, PLC Waypoint Law, PLLC Photos courtesy of John McLemore Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

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Feature

Law Practice Tips: Practice Management Software by:

Barbara Moss and Ashish Karvé

Whether you handle a large volume of cases that conclude within a short time (weeks to months), or you work on more complex, longer-term matters, you need an organized and systematic way to manage client information and files. Fortunately, attorneys can now choose from among a seemingly endless variety of practice management software to meet such challenges. This article reviews common types of software and explores best practices to get the most efficiency and utility from whatever approach you take.

What do you want the case management software to do?

1. Track and associate all interactions related to individual clients.

Whenever you have a meeting, a phone call, or an email exchange with a client, that data should be entered into the software for recordkeeping purposes. If you’re defending a conservatorship case and the family advises you that your client has been admitted to the hospital, that conversation should be incorporated into the client’s file and easily accessed and referenced at a moment’s notice.

2. Manage documents.

Whether you draft complex estate plans or simple filings with the court, you likely generate a huge amount of paperwork. Good software, well implemented, reduces clutter and allows you to index, search and catalogue documents faster and more accurately.

This efficiency, in turn, should free up more of your time to focus on building the firm, generating billable hours, and managing the team.

3. Ensure fair and accurate billing.

Smooth running software lets you bill clients accurately and create precise descriptions of your services, so your clients can see

why they’re being charged. Such software also offers insight into where and how you’re spending your time.

Are you working on the right cases? What are your most productive hours? What are the most productive types of actions you take?

With data-driven answers to these questions, you can shuffle your marketing accordingly, offload projects to a paralegal, and optimize your gross income.

4. Obtain and track useful marketing information.

How do your clients find you? What happens during the sales process? How do your relationships end? How do you or your paralegal handle follow-ups and referral requests? Great software provides data to answer these questions.

Two Main Types of Practice Management Software Server-based software, such as Time Matters, Amicus and Tabs3, is housed on a server in your office. On the plus side, you are not dependent on Internet access and you also have more personal and direct control over security. On the other hand, a power outage or network disruption will prevent you from accessing key client data.

Cloud-based approaches, such as Clio, LEAP, MyCase and Actionstep, allow easier remote access and now include lots of safety features to shield data and private client information. These days there are also free, or nearly free, cloud based programs that connect with each other in a way that can function as a client manContinued on Page 14 

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Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

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BIL L G A & PH DG ET O IL'S F THE

MONTH

Amazon Echo

By: Bill Ramsey, Neal & Harwell, PLC and Phillip Hampton, LogicForce Consulting We saw it advertised on TV. It looked silly, slightly weird, and not really a practical gadget. So, of course, we bought it. We’re talking about Amazon Echo, a sort of wireless speaker/cloud connected know-it-all/digital assistant. Preconceived notions aside, however, Echo made a great first impression on us, and we have been using it quite a bit ever since.

Echo is really just a Bluetooth wireless speaker that comes equipped with voice-activated software that allows you to dictate commands, such as play music, read the news, give a weather update, or just answer some off-the-wall queries á la Siri. The speaker itself is housed in a weird looking tube that will not be mistaken for a decorative vase in your office or home, but as far as Bluetooth speakers go, it’s actually pretty good. It won’t replace our Bose or SoundBlaster Roar as our speaker of choice, but it’s a lot better than our smartphone speakers and some of the other less expensive pieces in our growing Bluetooth speaker collection.

What makes the Echo more than just a nice-sounding speaker, though, is the voice activation feature that connects you to Amazon’s cloud resources via voice commands. The out-of-the-box code word to get Echo’s attention is “Alexa” (nice, we always wanted an assistant named Alexa). Once you say her name, the Echo device lights up to indicate that it’s listening (again, something we’ve always dreamed about in an assistant). You can then ask Echo (we mean “Alexa”) any number of things. For example, Bill asked Alexa to play some tunes from Loudon Wainwright III. Immediately Alexa responded with “shuffling music from Loudon Wainwright III from Google Music” and started playing one of Bill’s favorite songs, “Dead Skunk.” Alexa also connects you with a select group of music streaming services, including Pandora and iHeart radio. Sadly for Bill, though, there is no current integration with Spotify.

You can also have Alexa give you the latest news headlines or sports score updates; give a weather forecast; set an alarm; or preview today’s events from your Google calendar (assuming you use Google calendar…we don’t). Not surprisingly, if you are an Amazon Prime customer, Amazon allows you to re-order previously ordered items from Prime with nothing more than a voice command. That may prove to be just too convenient. From there, it’s just an interactive game to see what Alexa will respond to and how she will respond, e.g., ”Alexa, what is the population of Botswana?”

Even though we have this type of functionality on our smartphones (Siri on the iPhone and Google Now on our Androids), Amazon’s version, nicknamed “Alexa”, seems to work better and to be more “intelligent.” Amazon touts its cloud-based system as ever-learning, getting to know its master’s speech patterns, preferences and proclivities (that really scares us), and getting smarter the more you use it. In addition, Echo will interact with a select group of home automation control devices, such as WeMo and Insteon, allowing you to turn on lights, coffee pots, etc. with voice commands (spooky but so cool).

Echo’s marketing collateral touts its “far-field voice recognition” as a differentiator, so we gave it a test. We set the Echo up in one room (with music playing) and went about 20 or 30 feet into another room to see if it would respond to our voice command. We had to raise our voice a little, but it worked. Echo heard the command and obeyed. Wow…so yelling at our electronic devices can now translate into responsive action. That is a dream come true.

About the only thing we didn’t like about the Echo (or wished was different) is that it does not have a battery. It has to be plugged in to a power source all the time. So this is not a device that you are going to carry around with you in your backpack. But, you might start out with one at your house and then decide to buy a second one for the office. Yes, we bought two.

The bottom line is that Echo represents a promising new entry into the growing genre of so-called intelligent personal digital assistants.

We like where Amazon is going with this. While it might seem a little creepy to have this cloud-connected device sitting in your house listening to your voice all the time (ok…so maybe it’s really creepy), we really like having this digital assistant faithfully obeying our commands and pulling data we really need from the cloud – when we need it. Alexa, keep it up. We love you, Alexa.

See you next month,

—Bill & Phil 12

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

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NBA CLE EXCELLENCE AWARD The NBA CLE Excellence Award is given to an NBA member in recognition of exceptional service to the Nashville Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education Program. The Award recognizes an NBA member who has demonstrated dedication and commitment to the NBA’s mission to provide quality continuing legal education to improve the knowledge and practice skills of lawyers. The individual shall be an individual who, through NBA programs, has significantly advanced the education of the bar.

Honorable Randy Kennedy - Seventh Circuit Court Judge- Probate Court- receives the NBA CLE Excellence Award from the CLE Committee Chair, Irwin Kuhn, at the NBA Banquet. The banquet was held on December 3, 2015 at the Music City Center.

Judge Kennedy has shown – and continues to show - dedication and commitment to the NBA’s continuing legal education program. For more many years, Judge Kennedy has shared his practice expertise and judicial perspective to enhance the skills and knowledge of lawyers at all levels of practice. His many years of leadership, service and commitment significantly advances the mission of the NBA’s continuing legal education program.

JUDGE RANDY KENNEDY'S BIOGRAPHY RANDY KENNEDY is Judge of the Seventh Circuit Court for Davidson County, handling all probate, estate administration and conservatorship cases in Nashville. Appointed by Governor Bredesen in 2003, Kennedy was elected in 2004, and reelected in 2006 and 2014.

Kennedy served as Presiding Judge of the 20th Judicial District from 2005 through 2007.

Prior to taking the bench, Kennedy was in private practice for 26 years and served as managing partner of Kennedy & Brown.

Kennedy served as a member of the Metropolitan Council of Nashville/Davidson County for two terms, and on the Metro Charter Revision Commission from 1995 thru 2009.

A graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and the Nashville School of Law, Randy also attended the National Judicial College at the University of Nevada. Judge Kennedy served as Vice-President of the Tennessee Trial Judges Association from 2009-2013, First Vice President of the Nashville Bar Association in 2012, and is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association. He is a member of Harry Phillips American Inn of Court, a Fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation, and the National College of Probate Judges.

Kennedy is an Instructor at the Nashville School of Law and a frequent lecturer on Probate Practice, and has taught at the Tennessee Judicial Academy. Kennedy is married to Debbie Kennedy; and they have two children, one of whom is an attorney, and three grandchildren.

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THOUGHTFUL EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF CONTINGENT FEE CLIENTS

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Nashville Bar Association CLE Division 150 Fourth Avenue North Suite 1050 Nashville, TN 37219

2. Detach and Mail Registration with a check to:

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Nits and Nats of Network Neutrality Continued from page 7

Net Neutrality would work. It does not appear attractive. And it is precisely the opposite of what the internet was created to be.7 So to summarize, network neutrality is in fact attainable, but not desirable. In our frontier world of communications innovation, the last thing we need is regulatory constraints based on outdated or inappropriate concepts of technology. To some this may seem a biased conclusion. But it is actually quite objective. A quality universally possessed by objectivism with respect to physical reality is that it tends toward inexorable, demonstrable truth, not toward ideas or opinions.

That said, now that the Net Neutrality verdict has essentially been dictated before the evidence was heard and considered, the FCC is in a bit of a tough spot, being expected to retroactively create reasoned support for the president’s predetermined decision. Perhaps we can help them out by teaching the above basics to our legislators.

Perhaps they can still wield some sort of useful influence. Alternatively, we can just sit back and watch our twenty-first century technology be pounded into nineteenth century molds by obsolete but compulsive regulatory structures.  (Endnotes) 1 Variation of quote by Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (“Words no longer have meanings if… .”).

political affiliations, gender identity, religion, intimate practices, kosher standards, halal tastes, bacon preferences, or views on live bait fishing.

4 This is important to know in disaster or other mass emergency situations when voice networks are overloaded. Cellphone text transmissions act like little motor scooters maneuvering past a traffic jam. They will probably get through even while voice connections grind to a halt.

5 See Telecommunications Act of 1996 declaring the Internet an “unregulated information service.” Pub. LA. No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 56 (1996).

6 See Internet Radio Equality Act H.R. 2060, S. 1353, 110th Cong. (2007-2008).

7 When pressed the author will occasionally confess using the Internet before Al Gore invented it. Back then we called it DARPANET or ARPANET, a freewheeling paradise that existed precisely to avoid the sorts of obstacles Net Neutrality now proposes.

(Insert here Roy Rogers background rendition of 1934 hit song Don’t Fence Me In with Lyrics that were written by, no kidding, Department of Highways engineer, Mr. Bob Fletcher.)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR David Winters is a patent attorney.

In circuitous route to this profession, he specialized for a time in international data communications security from which he progressed to free-lancing as a techno-pirate, weaseling his way through loopholes in treaties and FCC regulations.

(Details available in Wikipedia.) He is author of The Pirate’s Guide to Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights available on Amazon.com

SAVE THE DATES:

January 26 President’s Reception NBA Conference Room January 29-30 Job Fair Waller March 3 Diversity Summit Bass Berry & Sims & Frost Brown Todd April 21-25 Sister Cities Caen Delegation

May 26 Memorial Service Downtown Presbyterian Church November 17 Memorial Service Downtown Presbyterian Church December 8 Annual Meeting and Banquet

2 Wikipedia defines “net neutrality” as follows: Net Neutrality (also network neutrality, Internet neutrality, or Net Equality) is the principle that Internet service providers and governments should treat all data on the Internet the same, not discriminating or charging differentially by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or mode of communication.

Net Neutrality, Wikipedia, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Net_neutrality.

3 And, of course it goes without saying, without regard to sex, race, orientation, national origin,

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

13

Law Practice Tips: Practice Management Software Continued from page

agement solution. Google Apps modules like Google Calendar, Contacts and Google Drive are examples of applications that can be combined to create your own client information management system.

Regardless which type of software you choose, find a program that integrates easily with your other software, such as Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, or QuickBooks.

Integrations that synchronize data eliminate the need to enter data in two different places to create efficiency and eliminate the possibilities of transcription errors.

My Experience I decided that I didn’t want the cost and commitment of buying a server and that I’m comfortable with managing clients and documents on the cloud. The Tennessee Bar Association endorses Clio Practice Management Software and offers members a 10% discount. Accordingly I started with Clio and made one unsuccessful foray into another program. My only complaint about Clio is that the software does not easily add email messages to a file. I’m told that Clio is working on this. On the plus side, Clio has great support. 

More Tips Prepare for trial and error. When adopting new case management software, budget time to work out the kinks.

Ensure consistency. Everyone on your team should use the software in the same way, so that cases are handled systemically and so you can more easily train new employees and spread out workload when you or your staff get sick or go on vacation.

Choose a system that is easy to use and accessible. This increases the likelihood that you and your staff default to working through that software on a consistent basis. Mobile apps add another level of convenience that may further help you keep information updated.

Elder Law of Nashville was founded

by Barbara J. Moss, who practices

elder law, Medicaid (“TennCare”)

planning and crisis management, asset protection, conservatorship, estate planning, probate and trust administration, and Veterans benefits.

She has been listed in Best Lawyers in America® since 2005 and has been named multiple times by her peers as one of the 100 best lawyers in Nashville (most recently in 2015) in the Nashville Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar.” She is currently listed in Nashville’s Best Lawyers, and is designated a “Super Lawyer” by Law & Politics Magazine. She is consistently named by Memphis Magazine as one of the top 50 women attorneys in the mid-south.

Keep it simple, and refine your approach based on what’s working and what isn’t. You don’t need to use every feature of the software to enjoy significant benefits. Just get started, and improve and optimize your practice management over time.

Remember TITO (trash in trash out). The software is dependent on you to enter the information completely and accurately.

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Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

The Nashville Bar Association's annual Damali Booker First Year Minority Clerkship Job Fair will be held on Saturday, January 30, 2016, in Nashville, TN. This event will begin with a reception for all candidates and participating employers on Friday, January 29, 2016 at 5:30 p.m. at the Waller law firm, 511 Union Street, Suite 2700, Nashville, TN 37219.

A list of participating employers is posted on the NBA website for the students to review.

If you are an Employer interested in participating in the 1L Job Fair, please contact: Traci Hollandsworth Nashville Bar Association 150 4th Ave. N. Nashville, TN 37219 Phone: 615-242-9272 Fax: 615-630-7050 E-mail: traci.hollandsworth@ nashvillebar.org

Nashville Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Board Directory

2016 Board Directory EXECUTIVE BOARD President Justin F. McNaughton President Elect Lauren Paxton Roberts Secretary Matthew J. Kroplin Treasurer Tera Rica Murdock Immediate Past President Ryan Levy Events Director Rachel Ross Rosenblatt Public Service Director Peter Robinson Professional Development Director Will Hicky

Important Dates February 26-27, 2016 Mock Trial Competition

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CLE Ben Goldammer Taylor Sutherland Membership Scott Douglass Brent Baxley Joseph Hubbard ABA Liaison Blake Bernard TBA Liaison Cole Rogers Napier-Looby Bar Association Liaison TBD PUBLIC SERVICE COMMITTEES Community Outreach Peter Malanchuk Lauren Kilgore Mollie Gass

Mock Trial Rob Laser III Casey Miller Tara Sarosiek Law Week Beau Creson Gil Schuette EVENT COMMITTEES Carbolic Smoke Ball Jeremy Oliver Bahar Azhdari Race Judicata Paige Ayres Emily Mack Arts Immersion Lauren Spahn Kelly Donley Social & Promotion Jessica Van Dyke Gulam Zade Social & Promotion (Tech) Wade Sims

April 9, 2016 Race Judicata May 25, 2016 Arts Immersion

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

15

Feature

Law Practice Tips: How to Set Up Your Website by:

Barbara Moss and Ashish Karvé

If your website needs updating or remodeling, or you’re hoping to build an online presence from scratch, you might be confused and overwhelmed by the project.

• What elements do you need to have in place for your website?

• How much will the work cost, and how long will it take?

• What time and money will you have to commit?

• What parts of the process can you outsource and to whom?

• How can you ensure aesthetic and stylistic control?

• What should you do to maximize the likelihood of a solid return on the money you spend on your website?

This article cannot answer all these questions, but it can give you some insight to get started.

Naming Your Website As Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling once observed, the way to generate a great idea is to have lots of ideas. To that end, brainstorm many site names before selecting one. Should you choose your firm’s name for the URL, a generic name or a name related to your favorite practice area?

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Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

Here’s the short answer: when in doubt, keep it simple, short, memorable, and easy to spell.

Domains must be registered through a registrar, such as GoDaddy or Register.com, that have been approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Costs for registering a domain vary depending on the registrar, but they can run as low as $10/year.

Consider the following tips: • Opt for ".com" over ".org," unless you're a non-profit organization.

• Register related top level domains; e.g., abclaw.com, abclaw.org, and abclaw.net—to prevent other firms or entities from infringing on your brand and causing confusion.

Google’s algorithm has historically favored domain names with popularly-searched keywords. Although Google has stated that this would not be the case in the future, independent research indicates that domains containing keywords still have an advantage.

Self-Design or Hire Out? If you are determined to do it yourself, I suggest that you take a look at “platforms” like wix.com or squarespace.com. Even better, think about outsourcing this work.

Web design might seem easy enough— and modern tools have certainly made the process simpler—but unless you have experience in digital design, it can be very daunting.

Professional developers also create on platforms. Using an “open access” platform will give you a lot of flexibility and control in the future. If you don’t use an open access platform and instead use a platform owned by a particular developer, you will be tied to that developer in the future.

Common open platforms are WordPress, Joomla and Drupalord. WordPress is the most frequently used, openly accessible platform.

The cost of web design today is fairly affordable: a basic, out-of-the-box professional website can cost just $1,000$1,500. However, you may need to pay substantially more for custom features, content and social media marketing. Plus, the initial design won't cover the cost of upkeep, which could include expenses like:

about businesses based on website quality.

Like it or not, people make these judgments rapidly online. You have literally only seconds to capture the attention of those who find you through the search engines. To that end, make the content and design experience drop dead simple, and be extremely clear about your “most wanted response.” For instance, do you want the visitor to sign up for your firm’s newsletter, call for a consultation, or email your team to schedule an intake interview?

This quick guide cannot cover all elements involved in setting up your attorney website, but now you have a solid overview of the costs involved as well as the basic process.

My experience I decided on a domain name for my website, elderlawofnashville, which was generic as opposed to one based on my name. A generic name can be a valuable resource if I eventually sell my practice. I registered the domain name as .com and .net. I skimmed the book called “Don’t

Make Me Think,” which is the bible for web designers, drafted copy for the website, and hired a designer familiar with WordPress. 

Elder Law of Nashville was founded

by Barbara J. Moss, who practices

elder law, Medicaid (“TennCare”)

planning and crisis management, asset protection, conservatorship, estate planning, probate and trust administration, and Veterans benefits.

She has been listed in Best Lawyers in America® since 2005 and has been named multiple times by her peers as one of the 100 best lawyers in Nashville (most recently in 2015) in the Nashville Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar.” She is currently listed in Nashville’s Best Lawyers, and is designated a “Super Lawyer” by Law & Politics Magazine. She is consistently named by Memphis Magazine as one of the top 50 women attorneys in the mid-south.

Meeting Space @ the NBA CENTER

• Hosting: $10 - $100/year (depending on traffic and hosting services) • Continual website maintenance: $500+/ year (depending on the amount/type of updates required) • Analytics: Google offers freely available website management tools , but you might want to pay for extra tools and/or expertise to collect and analyze site data for you.

Remember the “Don’t Make Me Think” Principle Studies show that consumers make important, make-or-break judgments

The NBA Center is available for you to host meetings, arbitrations, depositions, and other events. Members may also use the NBA’s Guest Attorney Office when they need an “office away from the office” with internet and phone access.

Contact Vicki Shoulders at vicki.shoulders@nashvillebar.org and indicate the date, time and meeting room preference. Meeting space is subject to availability.

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

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More Annual Meeting & Banquet Photos Photos courtesy of Wade Sims

On December 3, 2015, at the Music City Center in downtown Nashville, there was more than enough collegiality to go around at the Annual Meeting & Banquet of the Nashville Bar Association. Please enjoy more photos from this great event!

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Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

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NASHVILLE BAR ASSOCIATION Benefits of Membership

The Nashville Bar Association helps build a sense of community and camaraderie among our members and comes with tangible and intangible benefits for your career, profession, and community. Our members come from the public and private sectors, from large multi-state firms to solo practices; they are judges, in-house counsel, law students, paralegals, educators, and everything in between.

Here are a few of the many reasons to belong to the NBA… • Connect with Your Local Legal Community The NBA provides numerous opportunities to meet and connect with other Nashville-area attorneys. Through networking, social events, continuing education, committee work, and other career and personal development opportunities, we help bring our profession together.

• Expand Your Business and Client Base Build relationships, network, and gain referrals through activities and programs, CLEs, committee work, volunteer projects, or by joining the NBA Lawyer Referral and Information Service at the member rate.

• Be a Better Lawyer Learn from fellow lawyers and judges at NBA events.

Enhance your professional development through high-quality CLE programs and committee in-service meetings, and stay informed with insightful and timely articles in the Nashville Bar Journal.

• Sharpen Your Practice Skills with CLE Attend our innovative, and engaging CLE courses featuring local, regional, and national presenters. Our skilled faculty will keep you current on the nuts and bolts of the law, local rules and customs, ethics and professionalism, winning practice strategies, and key practice procedures—all at special NBA member rates.

• Give Back to the Community Serve the public and help improve the image of lawyers by participating in community service projects offered by the Young Lawyers Division and the NBA throughout the year, volunteer for Dial-A-Lawyer—a free call-in service where members provide general legal information to the public, or help with one of the many projects offered through the Minority Opportunities Program.

• Meet New People Don’t just hang out with familiar faces. Use social gatherings, NBA CLE’s, committee work, and Young Lawyer Division events and community projects to build your network of contacts throughout Nashville and surrounding counties.

• Learn from the Experts Attend NBA CLEs to hear from law practice leaders who will share their expertise and practical experience. Be educated, enlightened, and even entertained by keynote speakers and

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Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

other special guests from the legal community—local, regional, and national.

• Be a Leader Set the pace in the legal community by serving on committees, publishing Nashville Bar Journal articles, helping produce or present CLE seminars, joining the Young Lawyers Division, participating on the NBA Board, or working with the Nashville Bar Foundation.

• Refresh and Renew Yourself Take time out from your daily routine to attend a Bar event or activity—such as the annual Golf Tournament, Free Member Picnic or one of our many Happy Hour gatherings—and catch up with old friends or unwind with new ones.

And more…

• Use the NBA Center—to hosts meetings, arbitrations, depositions, and other events. Members may also use the NBA’s Guest Attorney Office when they need an “office away from the office” with internet and phone access.

• Visit the NBA’s Online Career Center—where you can post your resume, search job postings, and access the career resources library.

• Receive Announcement Emails—covering timely events, membership news, spotlighted events, and CLE announcements.

• Participate in the NBA’s Lawyer2Lawyer Mentoring program—a web-based resource designed to connect experienced attorneys with newer attorneys who desire assistance with substantive legal issues or the personal and professional demands of practicing law.

• Use the NBA Attorney Directory—to find names, photos, and contact information for Davidson County lawyers and judges, firm listings, court information, and areas of practice of local attorneys.

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

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Disclosure Nashville attorney Zachary Wiley has joined the Nashville office of Morgan & Morgan. He will be practicing primarily in the area of personal injury and worker’s compensation litigation.

After graduating from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, Wiley practiced law with a commercial litigation boutique in Boston, Massachusetts practicing primarily in the area of probate, estate, and trust litigation. Wiley relocated to Nashville to accept a term position as a Federal Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Chief Judge William J. Haynes, Jr. in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, and has called Middle Tennessee home ever since.

Mr. Wiley is a member of the Tennessee, Texas, Massachusetts and New York bars. In addition to his legal pursuits, he is an avid runner, cyclist, and motor sports enthusiast.

The law firm of Baker Donelson has named Joel Buckberg as the first practice group leader of the Firm's newly formed Commercial Transactions and Business Counseling Practice Group.

Mr. Buckberg is a shareholder in the Firm's Nashville office, where he counsels clients on business transactions and operations, particularly in hospitality, franchising and distribution, including strategic planning, development, disclosure, equity and debt financing, mergers and acquisitions, system policy and practice development, regulatory compliance and commercial contracts.

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\Dis*clo”sure\ (n) The act of revealing, releasing or bringing to light relevant information concerning NBA Members & Staff. n Announcements n Kudos n People on the Move n Firm News

n

Prior to joining Baker Donelson, he was executive vice president and deputy general counsel of Cendant Corporation.

Neal & Harwell, PLC, announces that Philip D. Irwin has been named Chief Manager of the firm. Irwin has been with Neal & Harwell since 1986. Aubrey B. Harwell, Jr., cofounder of the firm and former Chief Manager, remains a member of the executive committee and continues to have an active role in the firm.

The primary focus of Irwin’s practice is civil litigation. In addition to Tennessee state and federal courts, he is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, and the Nashville Bar Association.

Irwin attended David Lipscomb University, graduating with a B.S. in 1983. He received his law degree from Mercer University in 1986.

He has served as a board member at Morning Star Sanctuary, a nonprofit corporation assisting victims of domestic violence, a board member at Adoption Hope Foundation, a nonprofit corporation providing financial assistance to prospective adoptive parents, and is presently a board member at Camp Sycamore Creek, Inc., a nonprofit corporation providing a summer camp experience for inner-city children. He also served on the National Development Board of David Lipscomb University.

Irwin is a resident of Brentwood, Tennessee.

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

Dial-A-Lawyer is held the first Tuesday of each month. The public is invited to call in with basic legal questions.

To volunteer your time, please contact Wendy Cozby, LRIS Coordinator at wendy.cozby@nashvillebar.org or 242-9272. Pro Bono credit does apply and dinner will be provided.

December Volunteers:

Gina Crawley Tom Lawless

Nashville Bar Association members may send Disclosure announcements jessica.hill@nashvillebar.org Submissions are subject to editing.

Welcome New NBA Members!

Listed according to date joined: Jessica Schultz Paul McAdoo Ryan L. Sarr William Porter Matthew James Buchbinder J. Russell Farrar Marshall Thomas McFarland Andrea J. Sinclair Riddhi Shah Woods Drinkwater Roger Richardson Karen Marie Blake Kristen Cass Charles Covington McLaurin Angela Kay Daniel Adam Grant Province

Ziyan Xue Patrick Clayborne Pope Nathan Scott Hargis Michelle Drinkard Balfour Nathan L. Berger Lucas Evan Wood Jerkins Jason R. Nabors Scott Robert Brown Tonya J. Austin Jeremy Ross Hutchison Stephanie Messer Tara S. Sarosiek Ronald David Evans Jr. Mac Mitchell Moorer Jr. Amy Michelle Bergamo Carson King Kobina P. Ankumah Joshua Sudbury Matt Arvin

2016 NBA Premier Members: Frank Abernathy Elizabeth A. Alexander Gail Vaughn Ashworth Mark Beveridge Joe P. Binkley Jr. Jonathan Bobbitt Leilani Boulware C. Dewey Branstetter Jr. Kenneth Sherman Byrd Christopher Cardwell Kathryn Caudle Mark P. Chalos John Ray Clemmons Lewis Conner Patricia Cottrell Virginia Crocker John Day Joy Day David Downard Blair Durham H. Naill Falls John Floyd Keith Frazier Grant Glassford Charles Grant John Griffin

William Harbison Marian Harrison Trey Harwell Aubrey Harwell Lisa Helton G. Hogan Paul Housch Michael Jameson R. Jan Jennings Jordan Keller John Kitch William Kock Irwin Kuhn Ed Lanquist Andrew Laufman Thomas Lawless Claudia Levy Randal Mashburn Amanda McClendon Rocky McElhaney Robert Mendes Jeffrey Mobley Marlene Moses Patricia Moskal Michael Mossman Dean Newton

Mattison Painter David Parsons Gregory Pease Tracy Powell David Raybin Sara Reynolds Maira Salas Kathryn Sasser Carolyn Schott Kimberly Silvus Elizabeth Sitgreaves Saul Solomon John Spragens Michael Stewart James Stranch Claire Thomas Hon. Aleta Trauger Howard Vogel Michael Wall Elizabeth Washko James Weatherly Peter Weiss Thomas White Thomas Wiseman Stephen Young

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

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

Rachel C. Hogan Joseph B. Crace Amy Victoria Peters Angela Lee Bergnman Brian Francis Irving Katherine H. Blankenship Leslie A. Nash Meredith L. Toole Mary Julia Bressman Hannon Lynn M. Hammond Larry Wayne Brantlry Julian L. Bibb IV David Gareth Marks Brandon Kyle Thompkins Brittany Renee Stancombe Heath Hamilton Edwards Hannah E. Hayes Robert R. Campbell III Sarah Marie Thornsbery Robert Charles Walker William C. Dunlap Ryan Schmidt Monica M. Coakley Jerry Turner Sewell Margaret Olvia Rowland Derek Lenzen Ariel Clorice Mason Garrett Michael Hausman Grant Michael Ford W. Lyon Chadwick Meredith Wood Bowen Linda Denise Kirklen Katharine Kalinke Decker Michael Collins Polovich Kathryn Ann Baker Laura Elizabeth Miller Jay C. Ballard Dixie W. Cooper Patricia J. Cottrell Virginia Chase Crocker John A. Day Joy Day John Franklin Floyd Charles K. Grant John J. Griffin Jr. William L. Harbison Marian F. Harrison Aubrey B. Harwell Jr. Trey Harwell

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

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Classifieds

Office Space

NBJ Advertising:

​WHITE BRIDGE/BELLE MEADE 3rd (Top) Floor, 85 White Bridge Road, Belle Meade Center. Convenient location, 10-12 minutes to courthouse downtown. Spacious 14’ x 14’ office available, with shared conference room, reception area, kitchen. Telephone, internet services, and more available. Free on-site parking in gated garage. Call (615) 256-8127 or email to ren@dhhrplc.com.

Office Space Office space for rent. Family association of attorneys in general practice. Restored historic house near Bicentennial Mall and the new Sounds stadium in Sulphur Dell. Large office available, and virtual office offered. Shared conference room, kitchen with free onsite parking.

Call 615-256-6681, ext 3

Downtown Sale (possible Lease to Own) Three Office Condos. 1,922, 2,090 & 2,254 sq.ft., 501 Union St, 5th Fl. near TPAC & Legislative Plaza. 615-259-1550

Contact JESSICA HILL at (615) 242-9272 or jessica.hill@nashvillebar.org Classified Advertising: Rates: $75 for the first 50 words and $1 for each additional word.

Available Sections: Expert Witness, For Sale, Forensic Document Examiner, Technical Support Services, Office Space, Litigation Services, Office Sharing, Vacation Rentals and Accounting.

Display Advertising: Full and Half Page color and black & white advertisements. Quarter and Eighth Page black & white advertisements.

Please contact us for a display advertising quote.

APPELLATE BRIEFS and ARGUMENT THOMAS F. BLOOM, J.D. (Emory 1977) (615) 260-5952; www.bloomappeals.com Retained by attorneys throughout the State for 29 years to draft briefs and/or argue cases in over 400 appeals, State and Federal. Research assistance also available.

Quality Guaranteed at reasonable cost. References available upon request.

Join the NBA LRIS! LRIS Markets & Advertises Your Services

Visit the NBA's Career Center & Get Started: Job Seekers:

Employers:

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http://careerwebsite.com 24

Nashville Bar Journal - December 2015 / January 2016

When you join the NBA LRIS, your practice benefits from the LRIS’ marketing and advertising programs. Currently, LRIS reaches potential clients through advertising in the Yellow Pages in various telephone directories throughout the state. Clients are referred to us through a variety of sources including the courts, Office of the Attorney General, employee assistance programs, other Bar Associations and the Social Security Administration. Also, our on-line presence attracts clients nationwide.

JOIN NOW Contact: Wendy Cozby, LRIS Coordinator (615) 242-9272 | wendy.cozby@nashvillebar.org The NBA Lawyer Referral & Information Service is the Exclusive Referral Service for the Nashville Bar Association.

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