President's Corner:
October 2017, "Me 2 We"
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I am honored to announce that the guest speaker this month, is Attorney Lester Tate, an experienced litigator and past president of the Georgia bar. Attorney Tate is well known for his prowess with respect to personal injury and wrongful death cases, but he also handles state/federal criminal matters, complex commercial disputes and worker's compensation cases. Attorney Tate has been recognized as one of the State's top lawyers by the Georgia Trend Magazine, Atlanta Magazine, as a "Super Lawyer", and despite the rigors of his practice, Attorney Tate, remains active in his community and in public affairs. Please join us on October 20th at the 1818 Club to hear from Attorney Tate.
Following last month's meeting, many of our members participated in the CLE sponsored by Gwinnett Legal Aid. In addition, there were opportunities to network and just enjoy down time with colleagues within the bar. Consistent with our theme, we will continue our efforts to spotlight and sponsor events in the coming months that not only benefit you as practitioner but also provide unique, interesting, and enjoyable outlets to build relationships with other bar members. The following is a list of the upcoming events in October:
- October 11th: CLE Suing Batterers - Interspousal Torts and Domestic Violence
- October 11th: GSU - Student Mixer (5pm)
- October 20th: Friday at the Festival
- October 28th: Law Enforcement Appreciation Day (LEAD) Picnic - Rhodes Jordan Park
As always, thank you for your commitment to this organization, your input and your support.
Best Regards,
Carlton
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Please join us at our monthly meeting this Friday, October 20 from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. at the 1818 Club, 6500 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth, Georgia 30096.
Our guest speaker will be attorney and past president of the Georgia bar, Lester Tate (pictured left)!
We will be honoring this month's Judge of the Month, the Honorable Angela Duncan (pictured right).
Click here for her bio!
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Interview with Jones Webb
Carlton Rouse and I had the opportunity to go to lunch with Jones Webb over the summer. Currently, Jones Webb is the oldest surviving GCBA president. He will be 90 years old in January 2018, and still works every day at Webb Tanner Powell. Mr. Webb was married for 66 years to Marian Allison Webb, who passed away in December 2016. Mr. Webb has two children and six grandchildren.
What sparked your interest in the law?
Mr. Webb grew up in Etowah, Tennessee. His father was a lawyer, but died when Mr. Webb was eighteen years old. His father said that being a lawyer is like ploughing a field - you have to apply yourself, and money didn't come easy. Despite the saying, Mr. Webb planned to be a lawyer. Mr. Webb graduated high school at the end of World War II, and was drafted into the US Army and served in the Korean War. He attended Emory University, but transferred to the University of Tennessee when his father passed away.
What was your first job out of law school?
Marvin Allison, his father-in-law, and Charles Pittard were his role models as attorneys. In 1952, Mr. Webb joined Mr. Allison's and Judge Pittard's law firm that would become Webb Tanner Powell, PC. Marvin Allison died when Mr. Webb had only been with the firm for seven years, and at that time Charles Pittard was on the Superior Court bench. Mr. Webb found himself running their firm.
Click here to read the rest of the interview
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Order Declaring Weather Related Judicial Emergency
Click here to see order declaring weather related judicial emergency on September 12, 2017 by Chief Judge Melodie Snell Conner.
Follow GCBA!
Follow us on social media to stay updated on our most recent events and news and to connect with other Gwinnett attorneys!
Friday at the Festival!
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Updated Pardon and Parole Guidelines
Georgia State Board of Pardons & Paroles has revised and updated their guidelines and criteria. The updated Parole Guidelines Risk Calculator has been added to give the general public, judges, prosecutors and defense counsel the ability to enter data regarding key risk factors. See the attached links for these revisions.
Information regarding the new parole guidelines system has been updated on the State Board of Pardons and Paroles' website:
https://pap.georgia.gov/.
The Georgia Parole Board has also established a public interface for the updated
Parole Guidelines Risk Calculator.
This new automated guidelines risk calculator provides the general public, judges, prosecutors, criminal defense lawyers and public defenders the ability to enter data regarding key risk factors as identified by the Board to determine the likelihood of an individual being ranked as LOW, MEDIUM or HIGH risk.
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Photos from GABWA Judicial Reception
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Gwinnett Pro Bono Project CLEs
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Equitable Division of Property in Divorce:
Useful Citations
Equitable division of property is a part of nearly every divorce case. Most of the applicable law is found in appellate cases. This article presents a number of citations on principles of equitable division of property that should be useful to trial lawyers.
I. Overview
The equitable division of property is an allocation to the parties of the assets acquired during the marriage, based on the parties' respective equitable interests. Byers v. Caldwell,
273 Ga. 228
, 229,
539 S.E.2d 141
(2000). The purpose behind the doctrine of equitable division of marital property is "to assure that property accumulated during the marriage be fairly distributed between the parties." Campbell v. Campbell,
255 Ga. 461
, 462,
339 S.E.2d 591
(1986). Only property acquired as a direct result of the labor and investments of the parties during the marriage is subject to equitable division." McArthur v. McArthur,
256 Ga. 762
,
353 S.E.2d 486
(1987),
Payson v. Payson
, 274 Ga. 231, 552 S.E.2d 839 (2001).
Table of Contents for Citations:
- Overview (above)
- What Is Not Marital Property.
- Gifts To One Spouse And Inherited Property Received By One Spouse Are Generally Not Marital Property.
- Methods Of Equitable Division.
- Proving That An Asset Is Marital Property, Burden Of Proof.
- Value Of Property-Evidence Of The Value Of Marital Property - Expert Testimony.
- Separate Property Can Become Marital By Appreciation Or Paydown Of Mortgage.
- Source Of Funds Rule -Ratio Calculation Of Marital Shares.
- Evidence Required- Computing Appreciation-.
- Calculation And Proof Of The Ratio Of The Non-Marital Investment To The Total Non-Marital And Marital Investment In The Property.
- Business Asset Division And Valuation.
- Minority Interests.
- Pensions Valuation And Division.
Click here to read full article
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Thank You to Gwinnett Pro Bono Volunteers for September!
Pro Bono Representation
Sequoia C. Ayala
Vanessa I. Kosky
Peter Lee
Consumer Law Clinic
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Probate Clinic
Walter J. Clarke
Brook A. Davidson
Nancy R. Wasdin
John L.Welsh II
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Notice to Family Law Practitioners from the Georgia Commission on Child Support
The Georgia Commission on Child Support is offering training sessions to judges, judicial staff, attorneys and legal staff, and Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) agents and attorneys at various locations throughout the state. The training events are offered between November 2017 and May 2018. Generally, three topics are covered at these events: the Online Child Support Calculator, the Child Support Guidelines, and the Income Deduction process. The training has been approved for three CLE hours for attorneys. The guidelines training will focus on legislative changes to the statute (O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15) that took effect on July 1, 2017. The calculator training is offered on the Online Child Support Calculator only. The Income Deduction Order (IDO) training will focus on the process in private cases. There is no cost to attend the training. Attorneys will be responsible for payment of their own CLE credits directly to the Georgia Bar Association. You must register to attend and ensure available seating.
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Employer Reactions to Requests for FMLA Leave in the Eleventh Circuit- The Good, The Bad
and The Ugly
The Good:
An activities director for a long term care facility requested leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act for rotator cuff surgery and recovery. His employer provided him with 12 weeks of FMLA leave and another 30 days of extended leave when the employee's doctor and physical therapist were not comfortable releasing him to return to work without restrictions.
The Court rejected Plaintiff's claim that his employer interfered with his right to FMLA leave by dissuading him from returning to work on light duty restrictions. While light duty work may be a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act - the FMLA does not require an employer to provide accommodations to enable an employee to return to work.
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Criminal Defense Section Update
The Gwinnett County Criminal Defense Bar held our September 2017 monthly meeting at the Gwinnett County Justice and Administration Center.
The speaker was Ms. Angelique McClendon, Esq., general counsel for the Georgia Department of Driver Services. She spoke to us about recent changes in the law affecting Georgia drivers.
Upcoming Event
October 6, 2017 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm - The Gwinnett County Bar Association Criminal Defense Section's monthly meeting will be held in Classroom B at the Gwinnett County Detention Center at 2900 University Parkway, Lawrenceville, GA 30043. Our speakers will be Adrian Verwayne, Director of Medical Services at the Gwinnett County Detention Center and Sonya Lawhorn, Discharge Planner at the Gwinnett County Detention Center. The speakers will be discussing and answering questions regarding healthcare at the jail, bonding fees imposed by the jail, and discharge services offered at the jail. Lunch will be provided and will be $5 for members and $15 for non-members. One hour of general CLE credit will be available pending approval.
Interested in joining the section or want to RSVP for a monthly meeting? Please contact section President Constancia Carter at constancia@cuadrapatel.com.
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Estate Planning and Probate Update
The Gwinnett Estate Planning and Probate Section (EPPS) is pleased to host attorney Elaine Levine for our November meeting. From her 35 years of practice in Atlanta, Elaine will talk about how planning for death and probating an estate in Georgia has changed over the years
. She will give some examples of the challenging cases her team has handled for blended families, warring families, needy families and just plain complicated people.
Elaine is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Harvard College (1979) and the Yale Law School (1982). Her law practice, Kwartin, Levine & Marlow, LLP, focuses on wills, trusts, probate, family law and elder law. KLM's offices are near North Druid Hills and Buford Highway.
For the past 22 years, Elaine has represented over 800 individuals and families in a variety of legal matters but primarily estate planning, wills and trusts, and probate. Elaine has helped clients with practical solutions as they address the stresses and difficulties of raising children, as well as end-of-life planning and transitions in this complicated world. Her clients range from young married couples to the elderly, life partners and single people.
Elaine is a leader in the legal and financial communities. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Elder Law Section and the Estate Planning and Probate Section of the Atlanta Bar and on the Board of Directors of the Financial Planning Association of Georgia. She is also the past president and is an active committee member with the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers.
Note that you do not have to be a member of the section to attend the meetings, but if you are interested in joining the section, or simply being added to the section email list, please contact Melody Glouton or Lindsey Cambardella.
Volunteer Opportunities! Sign-up Now!
2017 Walk to End Alzheimer's - Gwinnett County
What: Walk or Volunteer
Where: Duluth Town Green
When: Saturday, November 4, 2017, registration begins at 8am
Why: All funds raised through Walk to End Alzheimer's further the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer's Association (501(c)3)
How: Click
here to donate or join our team (Attorneys v. Alzheimer's)!
Probate Court Pro Bono Clinic (Monthly)
Who should volunteer: Attorneys with probate and/or guardianship experience (need not be an expert, but some experience is required to assist attendees)
What: Provide guidance to pro se petitioners with their filings in probate court
Where: Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center
When: Third Thursday of each month from 1:30pm
- 4:30pm
Why: To help our citizens and the Probate Court in processing petitions more efficiently and effectively
How: Please contact Elizabeth Strupe with questions or to sign up for the Probate Court Pro Bono Clinic.
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October Bar Details
Friday, October 20th
from 12 - 1 pm
at the 1818 Club
6500 Sugarloaf Parkway
#300
Duluth, GA 30097
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