USLAW-Magazine_FallWinter2018

Recommendations

Info

4 6 www.uslaw.org U S L A W PRO BONO SPOTLIGHT Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP (Louisville, KY) A handicapped woman, allegations of police misconduct, and a 12-year quest for justice. It reads like a true crime novel, and for Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP’s Lauren Nichols, an attorney in the Litigation Department of their Lexington office, it made for a memorable pro bono case. In October 1998, Kyle Breeden’s body was pulled out of the Kentucky River and his onagain, off-again girlfriend, Susan Jean King, was called in for questioning. King had lost one of her legs in an accident years before Breeden’s death, and police eventually dismissed her as a suspect. The case went cold for almost seven years, until Kentucky State Police picked up the case in late 2006. Six months later King was indicted for murder and tampering with physical evidence. King entered an Alford plea, a claim of neither guilt nor innocence, and received a 10-year sentence for second-degree manslaughter with the possibility of parole. If not for an intervention of a detective from Louisville Metro Police Department five years later, King could still be in prison. BGD’s Nichols assisted the Innocence Project in using a confession obtained by the Louisville Metro Police Department to exonerate King. In connection with this case, the Kentucky Court of Appeals has recognized that Alford pleas, in addition to jury verdicts, may be reviewed and overturned based on new evidence. Hall Booth Smith, P.C. (Atlanta, GA) Hall Booth Smith, P.C. (HBS) is partnering with Children’s Rights, Inc., a nonprofit organization that has helped protect the legal rights of more than 100,000 children who have been abused or neglected. HBS will provide pro bono legal work, staff support and office space to the organization. Children’s Rights does advocacy and legal work to ensure children who are under state supervision, such as foster care or juvenile justice programs, have a safe and healthy childhood. That includes bringing legal action to keep siblings together in foster care, expand access to health care and mental health therapies, minimize disruptive moves while in foster care, reduce institutional placements and ensure access to education – all of which can improve the safety, permanency and well-being of vulnerable children. “Across the South children are better off today because of the kindness and generosity of attorneys and staff at Hall Booth Smith,” said Christina Remlin, lead counsel for Children’s Rights, which is setting up a Southern headquarters in Atlanta. “Each hour of time invested in protecting these children helps give them a more stable upbringing that continues to pay dividends for the rest of their lives.” Contributing time and legal knowledge to Children’s Rights exemplifies the servant leadership culture that has been a guiding principle at Hall Booth Smith since the firm’s earliest days. “This cause is close to our hearts, and we are humbled to help protect children when they are at their most vulnerable,” said John E. Hall, Jr., a founding partner of Hall Booth Smith. “No child should feel unsafe or unwanted. Better care is the first step toward creating a brighter future for thousands of children who need our support the most.” Rivkin Radler LLP (Uniondale, NY) The Nassau County Bar Association (NCBA), The Safe Center LI (TSCLI) and Nassau Suffolk Law Services (NSLS) have named Rivkin Radler a top law firm in pro bono service for 2017. This is the fourth consecutive year the firm has been recognized. The annual award, which ranks law firms by categories based on size, also ranks firms within their peer group based on the total number of pro bono service hours. Sixteen of the firm’s attorneys received recognition, including Brian Bank, Michelle Bholan, William Cornachio, Ryan Goldberg, Jeffrey Greener, Ada Kozicz, Matthew Lampert, Sean McAloon, Frank Misiti, Jason Romeo, Alan Rutkin, Jonathan Salm, Brian Schlosser, Matthew Spero, Frank Valverde and John Vobis Jr. “Rivkin Radler has a long tradition of public service,” said Alan Rutkin, head of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee. “From partners to associates, our attorneys understand that pro bono work rounds out their practice, making them better lawyers and human beings.” Access to Justice Committee Co-Chair Joseph R. Harbeson, said, “Attorneys, as professionals, have a duty to help those less fortunate try to obtain justice. The top Long Island law firms and attorneys we recognize today are the leaders that embrace this calling.” The NCBA Access to Justice Committee is a joint effort of the NCBA, TSC LI, NSLS and other legal service providers. Snyder Burnett Egerer, LLP (Santa Barbara, CA) Barry Snyder of Snyder Burnett Egerer, LLP in Santa Barbara, California, acted as appellate counsel for a trust beneficiary who had received an adverse ruling at trial. In total, Barry and the firm invested approximately 90 hours of time, reviewing, researching and writing appellate briefs and arguing the matter to the Court of Appeal. Williams Kastner (Seattle, WA) Meredith E. Dishaw and Reshvin P. Sidhu of Williams Kastner in Seattle recently provided a pro bono representation on behalf of George Clark in his clemency petition to Washington State’s Clemency and Pardons Board. In the clemency petition, they sought commutation on behalf of Mr. Clark of his life imprisonment sentence under the three-
U S L A W www.uslaw.org 4 7 strikes law. Mr. Clark has been serving almost 17 years in prison for a second-degree robbery, the maximum sentence of which is 10 years. Because it was Mr. Clark’s third strike, however, he was sentenced to life. Meredith and Resh first began working with Mr. Clark in May 2017 and submitted the written petition on his behalf last December. After reviewing the petition, Mr. Clark was granted a hearing before the Clemency & Pardons Board. The hearing was on Friday, June 8, and they appeared on Mr. Clark’s behalf. Following their presentation, the Board concluded that there were extraordinary circumstances justifying Mr. Clark’s request for commutation and voted, 3-1, to recommend to Governor Inslee that Mr. Clark’s petition for clemency be granted. While the commutation still awaits the Governor’s decision, this is a major victory on behalf of Mr. Clark. He is overjoyed and is very grateful. Hanson Bridgett LLP (San Francisco, CA) For the second year in a row, Hanson Bridgett’s Government Group section partnered with Centro Legal de la Raza to host a limited scope asylum clinic. Centro Legal’s immigration practice is focused on serving the needs of our most vulnerable community members, including families living in poverty, long residing undocumented immigrants and families, youth, victims of violent crimes, asylum seekers, and detained individuals in removal proceedings. In addition to the firm’s Government Group attorneys, Hanson Bridgett’s summer associate class, along with several other attorneys from other firm practice sections participated in the clinic. Attorneys, summer associates, and Government Group staff members provided assistance to numerous asylum applicants and their families. In addition to furthering the Government Group’s commitment to pro bono services, this event supports Hanson Bridgett Managing Partner’s pro bono initiative, which is focused on supporting families deeply impacted by current immigration policies and practices. Pierce Couch Hendrickson Baysinger & Green, L.L.P. (Oklahoma City, OK) Since 2016, Elizabeth R. Sharrock has fulfilled a lifelong passion, serving as pro bono counsel for the Oklahoma Alliance for Animals (“OAA”). OAA is a non-profit entity that promotes low or no-cost spay/neuter and microchip programs as well as the “Unchain OK” program which is tailored to reduce abuse and neglect of dogs. In this role, Elizabeth has negotiated numerous plea agreements on behalf of low income and often unsophisticated defendants who find themselves caught up in the “assembly line” processing of dog-related municipal charges Through Elizabeth’s pro bono work, families are educated on proper and lawful care of their pets and ultimately are reunited with dogs that have been seized by municipal authorities. OAA carefully selects the cases that Elizabeth is asked to handle so as to maintain the utmost credibility before municipal judges, fostering long-term goals of educating the public on issues of animal abuse and neglect, responsible pet ownership and reduction of unjustified euthanizations. DOWNLOAD THE MOBILE APP THAT PUTS THE RAPID IN RAPID RESPONSE...One, two, three...fast. USLAW 24/7 allows you to easily and quickly search for Transportation, Construction Law and Product Liability Rapid Response Attorneys from our 6,000+ member database. You’ll gain rapid access to detailed USLAW Member Firm and Lawyer profiles, contact information and more. Easy, direct “email the attorney” links makes immediate contact hassle-free. Plus, USLAW 24/7 keeps you up-to-date on additional resources available to our member firms’ clients. Put the power of Rapid Response at your fingertips. NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD. SEARCH USLAW 24/7
Page 1 and 2: F A L L | W I N T E R | 2 0 1 8 ATT
Page 3 and 4: www.uslaw.org From the Incoming Cha
Page 5 and 6: U S L A W www.uslaw.org 1 www.uslaw
Page 7 and 8: U S L A W www.uslaw.org 3 It is imp
Page 9 and 10: U S L A W www.uslaw.org 5 both them
Page 11 and 12: U S L A W www.uslaw.org 7 your spou
Page 13 and 14: U S L A W www.uslaw.org 9 GDPR succ
Page 16 and 17: 1 2 www.uslaw.org U S L A W AVOIDIN
Page 18 and 19: 1 4 www.uslaw.org U S L A W Address
Page 20 and 21: 1 6 www.uslaw.org U S L A W CAVEAT
Page 22 and 23: 1 8 www.uslaw.org U S L A W Messagi
Page 24 and 25: 2 0 w w w . u s l a w . o r g U S L
Page 26 and 27: 2 2 www.uslaw.org U S L A W A LONG
Page 28 and 29: 2 4 www.uslaw.org U S L A W THE EVO
Page 30 and 31: 2 6 www.uslaw.org U S L A W Before
Page 32 and 33: 2 8 www.uslaw.org U S L A W LOCKING
Page 34 and 35: 3 0 www.uslaw.org U S L A W Trying
Page 36 and 37: 3 2 www.uslaw.org U S L A W THE LEG
Page 38 and 39: 3 4 www.uslaw.org U S L A W Balance
Page 40 and 41: 3 6 www.uslaw.org U S L A W NAVIGAT
Page 42 and 43: 3 8 www.uslaw.org U S L A W Doing b
Page 44: Beyond reasonable doubt, we’re th
Page 48 and 49: 4 4 www.uslaw.org U S L A W Matthew
Page 52 and 53: 4 8 www.uslaw.org U S L A W Success
Page 54 and 55: 5 0 www.uslaw.org U S L A W plainti
Page 56 and 57: 5 2 www.uslaw.org U S L A W USLAW N
Page 58 and 59: ® ® 5 4 www.uslaw.org U S L A W E
Page 60 and 61: 5 6 www.uslaw.org U S L A W STATE J
Page 62 and 63: 5 8 www.uslaw.org U S L A W RAPID R
Page 64 and 65: 6 0 www.uslaw.org U S L A W 2018 US
Page 68: ® ® The Internet of Things and th

USLAW-Magazine_FallWinter2018

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?