In the News

The CCS Newsletter, Volume X - Issue 1 – 2013 is now available online. Articles in this issue include:
- Data Breach and Insuring the Risk
- Big Changes at the Georgia State Board of Workers’Compensation
- Carlock Copeland in the Community
- Georgia Supreme Court Ruling: Party’s Wealth Inadmissible in Emotional Distress Only Cases
- Spotlight on: Insurance Coverage & Bad Faith
- Firm New & Notes
- Recent Victories
- Presentations & Publications

Click here to download the newsletter in its entirety. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter.

Notice: The Carlock Copeland Quarterly is a periodic publication of Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP and should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general information purposes only, and you are urged to consult counsel concerning your own situation and any legal questions you may have.

Joe Kingma and John Rogers were quoted in a 5-16-2012 Fulton County Daily Report article on their defense of a class action wherein the class plaintiff alleges the unauthorized practice of law, Rico and unjust enrichment.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair welcomes experienced associates Meredith A. Bryant and William K. Owens, Jr. to our Atlanta office.

Congratulations to CCS Attorneys N. Keith “Chip” Emge, Beth Jowers and Pete Werdesheim for receiving an AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubble. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ reflect a combination of achieving a Very High General Ethical Standards rating and a Legal Ability numerical rating. Visit AV Preeminent Ratings to learn more.

We are pleased to announce that Michael J. Walker has joined the firm as Of Counsel in the Atlanta office.

Michael J. Walker joins the Commercial Litigation, Education Law, and Employment Litigation teams, which includes the defense of public and private entities in employment-related litigation.  He has successfully represented clients before state and federal courts, state and federal labor departments, the EEOC, and local administrative bodies. In addition to employment claims brought under Title VII, Section 1983, the Georgia Whistleblower’s Act, and other state and federal laws, Michael has handled labor issues dealing with wage and hour disputes and FMLA compliance. He has conducted employment-related investigations and worked closely with state and federal agencies conducting investigations involving his organizational clients. 

Before joining Carlock Copeland, Michael served as in-house counsel for Atlanta Public Schools for five years providing daily advice and counsel and representing the school district in federal, state, and administrative litigation matters. Michael was responsible for working with prosecutors during the CRCT-related investigation of Atlanta Public Schools and for coordinating legal services from multiple law firms to address more than 100 employment cases arising out of the CRCT-related investigation.

In April, Carlock Copeland Attorneys Sarah Wetmore, Laura Paton, Tyler Winton, Andrew Countryman and Robin Graham (pictured) participated in the University of South Carolina’s “Cocky Reading Express”.  The program, which features a visit from University mascot Cocky himself, an afternoon of volunteers reading books with 4K through second grade students, and gifts of new books to take home, is designed to help children understand the importance of life-long reading. CCS Attorneys were excited to serve as volunteer readers at Sanders-Clyde Elementary School in Charleston, SC. The program has given away more than 60,000 books to students to date.  To learn more about the program, visit: Cocky Reading Express.

We are proud to announce that 10 of our lawyers have been selected for inclusion on the South Carolina Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars lists for 2013.

Super Lawyers
Kent T. Stair

Only five percent of the lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers. The selections for this esteemed list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of the Thomson Reuters. Each year, the research team at Super Lawyers undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check.

Rising Stars
Kathy A. Carlsten
Andrew W. Countryman
Jackson H. Daniel, III
Amanda K. Dudgeon
David J. Harmon
Michael B. McCall
David W. Overstreet
Paul E. Sperry
Lee C. Weatherly  

Rising Stars is a listing of exceptional lawyers who are 40 years of age or under, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less, and have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 2.5 percent of the total lawyers in the state are honored on the Rising Stars list.

We are pleased to announce that our very own Carlock, Copeland & Stair attorney, Megan E. Boyd, has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) and legalproductivity.com for her personal legal writing blog, Lady (Legal) Writer. The blog, which offers grammar, style and humor to readers, was recently added to the ABA Journal’s Blawg Directory and also recognized as one of the “Top 10 Legal Writing Blogs” by legalproductivity.com.

Megan's passion for legal writing began at Mercer’s Walter F. George School of Law where she graduated magna cum laude. As a student, she served as the Eleventh Circuit Survey Editor for the Mercer Law Review for several years. Her love of all things legal writing continues today via her blog, in her position as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Walter F. George School of Law where she teaches advanced legal writing, and in practice where her expertise translates to well-crafted and successful appellate work.

To read or follow Megan’s blog, visit ladylegalwriter.blogspot.com.

Carlock Copeland Attorneys Dan McGrew and Chris Wall obtained a directed verdict on behalf of their neonatology clients at trial in DeKalb County State Court. This case is explored in further detail in the representative case study and was covered by the Daily Report in their article: Doctors win defense verdict in suit over girl's blindness.

Congratulations to partners Thomas S. Carlock and Johannes S. Kingma who have been selected for inclusion on the Top 100 Georgia Super Lawyers® list for 2013.  The list recognizes those attorneys who received the highest point totals in the Georgia Super Lawyers® selection process.

Only five percent of the lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers. The lawyers who received the highest point totals in the Georgia nomination are also recognized in the Super Lawyers Top 100 List.  The selections for this esteemed list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of the Thomson Reuters. Each year, the research team at Super Lawyers undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check.

We are proud to announce that 18 of our lawyers have been selected for inclusion on the Georgia Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars lists for 2013.

Super Lawyers
Thomas S. Carlock
Wade K. Copeland
Kent T. Stair
Douglas W. Smith
David F. Root
W. Dan McGrew
Johannes S. Kingma
D. Gary Lovell, Jr.
Scott D. Huray
Adam L. Appel
Gregory H. Wheeler
Eric J. Frisch

Only five percent of the lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers. The selections for this esteemed list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of the Thomson Reuters. Each year, the research team at Super Lawyers undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check.

Rising Stars
Shannon M. Sprinkle
Peter Werdesheim
Heather H. Miller
Ryan B. Wilhelm
Jason W. Hammer
John L. Bunyan

Rising Stars is a listing of exceptional lawyers who are 40 years of age or under, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less, and have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 2.5 percent of the total lawyers in the state are honored on the Rising Stars list.

A negligence case, argued by Dan McGrew and Neil Edwards, which resulted in a mere two percent of the Plaintiff’s original $900,000 demand was featured in the "And the Defense Wins" section of the February 2, 2013 publication of The Voice, a newsletter published by the Defense Research Institute (DRI).

Read the full case summary in The Voice.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair welcomes our lateral hires Jefferson M. Starr, Carrie L. Steifel, and Tyler J. Wetzel to the Atlanta office.

Mary Katherine Greene has been appointed to serve on the 2013 Board of Trustees for the Atlanta History Center. The Board acts as the ultimate governing authority for the History Center and is responsible for the formulation and maintenance of the Center’s general policies, standards, conditions, and procedures.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP congratulates John L. Bunyan and Jason W. Hammer on being selected to join the Firm's partnership.

The summary judgment obtained by Joe Kingma and John Bunyan was featured in the "And the Defense Wins" section of the December 4, 2012 publication of The Voice, a newsletter published by the Defense Research Institute (DRI).

Read the full case summary in The Voice.

Partners Wade K. Copeland and Peter Werdesheim are recognized as two of Georgia's top attorneys in Georgia Trend’s annual Legal Elite list, which appears in the magazine's December 2012 issue. Georgia Trend compiles the Legal Elite list by tallying ballots that are sent to every practicing lawyer in the state. Copeland was selected by his peers as a top attorney in Healthcare Law, while Werdesheim was recognized in the General Practice/Trial Law area.

Attorneys and staff from the South Carolina office, led by Beth Jowers (pictured), raised over $500 for the reading room at Edmund A. Burns Elementary School, which provides students with unrestricted access to reading materials. With our donations, the school was able to purchase bookshelves, as well as additional items that were much needed.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair congratulates William P. Jones on being selected to serve as the Firm’s General Counsel.

As General Counsel, Bill will be responsible for the overall management of legal concerns and services for the firm. Specifically, he has primary responsibility for management of the firm’s professional liability processes and risk management and will advise the firm on a wide variety of issues.

Two recent cases, Union Carbide v. Fields and McReynolds v. Krebs, significantly impact how claims should be analyzed in light of Georgia’s apportionment statute. For more info, connect with Carlock Copeland attorneys Bill Jones or Ryan Wilhelm.

Education law team leader and attorney, Thomas A. Cox, wrote an article on the misleading language on the Charter School Constitutional Amendment ballot.  Below is an excerpt from “Words on the ballot are misleading,” originally featured in the October 30, 2012 "At Issue" in the Daily Report:

"...Is it too much to expect that the process of amending our state's constitution should involve some degree of transparency and respect for the voters who are to decide the issue?

Unfortunately, the actions of our General Assembly, coupled with our judiciary's supine deference to legislative deception in the drafting of ballot language, insure that we will not get fairness and transparency, regardless of our expectations.

The brokenness of the process is evident in this November's ballot question on Amendment 1, which would authorize the creation of a commission with the authority to approve charter schools over the objections of locally elected school boards. (The proposed amendment was in response to the 2011 Georgia Supreme Court decision in Gwinnett County School District v. Cox striking down the Charter Commission Act as infringing on the constitutional authority of local school boards over public schools within their districts.) The language of both the ballot preamble and the ballot question are deceptive and dishonest and bear little relationship to the language contained in the actual amendment."

Tom Cox was interviewed by Maura Watz for GPB's Southern Education Desk article and radio special, "Ga. Charter Supporters, Foes Clash Over Need For Constitutional Amendment." Tom provided insight into the implications of the Charter School Constitutional Amendment.

Thomas A. Cox, Education Law team leader and attorney, wrote “Amendment 1: Bad for the state, devastating for rural Georgia,” which discusses the negative implications of the Charter School Constitutional Amendment for rural Georgia (originally featured in the October 28, 2012 edition of The Telegraph, Middle Georgia's News Source).

Attorneys and staff from the South Carolina office, Paul Sperry, Andy Countryman, Sarah Travis, Katie Bruce and Tara MacKendrick, spent the morning serving breakfast at Crisis Ministries in downtown Charleston. Crisis Ministries is a local Family Shelter for women and children.  They were able to look past our cooking skills and enjoyed the grits, eggs, biscuits and sausage provided. 

Managing Partner Gregory H. Wheeler was featured in the Atlanta Business Chronicle's October 2012 Industry Focus, Who's Who in Law & Accounting: the 100 Most Influential Individuals who are Leading the Way in Metro Atlanta's Legal and Accounting Communities.  Wheeler's firm, Carlock, Copeland & Stair, was named to the Chronicle's Top 25 Law Firms in the annual Book of Lists.

Seven lawyers from Carlock, Copeland & Stair were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2013 (Copyright 2012 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC).

In addition, firm founder Thomas S. Carlock was named a Best Lawyer® for the eleventh year in a row as well as the 2013 “Lawyer of the Year” in the Atlanta Personal Injury Litigation category.

Carlock has practiced in the civil trial arena in Georgia for 46 years and during that time has tried more than 500 jury trials. Throughout his career, Tom has handled a wide variety of civil litigation including medical malpractice, catastrophic injury including wrongful death, coverage disputes, and every other type of civil lawsuit imaginable. He has tried, to verdict, in excess of 75 wrongful death cases and more than 150 catastrophic injury cases. His skill and leadership have helped the firm to continue to grow from five attorneys to 89, many of which have been honored as well for their expertise and commitment to the legal profession.

The following Carlock, Copeland & Stair attorneys are to be congratulated for their Best Lawyer® recognition:

Thomas S. Carlock, Best Lawyer® Since 1991
Commercial Litigation, Medical Malpractice Law, Personal Injury Litigation (Atlanta, GA)

Kent T. Stair, Best Lawyer® Since 2006
Construction Law, Legal Malpractice Law (Atlanta, GA)

Wayne D. McGrew, III, Best Lawyer® Since 2008
Personal Injury Litigation (Atlanta, GA)

Fred M. Valz, III, Best Lawyer® Since 2013
Insurance Law (Atlanta, GA)

Johannes S. Kingma, Best Lawyer® Since 2009
Legal Malpractice Law (Atlanta, GA)

D. Gary Lovell, Jr., Best Lawyer® Since 2013
Personal Injury Litigation (Atlanta, GA)

Scott D. Huray, Best Lawyer® Since 2013
Insurance Law (Atlanta, GA)


About Best Lawyers
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 36,000 leading attorneys cast almost 4.4 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as a Best Lawyers' “Lawyer of the Year.” Lawyers being honored as “Lawyer of the Year” are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the exhaustive peer-review assessments that Best Lawyers conducts with thousands of leading lawyers each year. Receiving this designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among other leading lawyers in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism, and their integrity. (Copyright 2012 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC).

Carlock Copeland & Stair's education law team leader and attorney, Thomas A. Cox, wrote an article that was featured October 8, 2012 on the AJC's Get Schooled with Maureen Downey blog. His commentary discussed the ambiguous language on the ballot for the Charter School Constitutional Amendment vote November 2012.

Below is an excerpt from “Education law expert: Language of charter schools amendment lesson in subversion,” originally featured on AJC's Get Schooled with Maureen Downey blog:

"...advocates, both in and outside the General Assembly, supporting the Charter School Constitutional Amendment have expressed confidence that Georgia citizens support the creation of a new politically appointed state-level body with the power to overrule decisions of locally elected school boards and create charter schools. It is unfortunate for Georgia voters (and the democratic process) that their confidence has not extended so far as to allow the actual issue to be placed fairly and honestly before the voters on the November ballot.

The ballot question states: “Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow state or local approval of public charter schools upon the request of local communities?” This question bears virtually no resemblance to the contents of the proposed constitutional amendment itself. For at least three reasons, the ballot question is both inaccurate and misleading:

First, local school boards already have, and regularly exercise, the constitutional authority to approve local charter schools, and there are now well over 100 such locally approved schools operating in the state. The only plausible reason to have inserted the words “local approval” in the ballot measure is to confuse some voters into believing that, without this amendment, charter schools cannot be locally approved.

Second, the ballot measure’s language stating that these new charter schools can be approved “upon the request of local communities” implies that, before the state can approve a new charter school, there must be a demand by a significant segment (perhaps even a majority) of the residents of a “local community.” A reasonable voter would probably conclude that a community consists of residents of a local school district, or at least persons living in the targeted school attendance area.

Yet the actual language of the Amendment would permit the new appointed commission to conclude, in effect, that a single individual may request a charter, and thus presumably constitutes a “local community.” For example, under the Amendment, an executive of a charter management company, or a real estate developer seeking to profit from approval of a school to cater to residents of his planned gated community, could seek and obtain charter approval, even in the face of overwhelming opposition from local residents, voters and the elected local school board.

Third, the ballot measure is deceptive because of what it omits. What will constitute “state approval” of a charter under the Amendment will not be the approval of any elected state officials, the voters of the state, or even the State Department of Education. Instead, it will be the approval of a politically appointed commission, answerable and accountable to no one (except, perhaps indirectly, to the politicians who appoint them).

Apparently concerned that even this ballot measure language drafted by the General Assembly might not alone lure sufficient numbers of uninformed voters into casting “Yes” votes, the Governor (acting along with the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House, who make up the Constitutional Amendment Publication Board) chose to add even more deceptive “preamble” language, which states that the Amendment “[p]rovides for improving student achievement and parental involvement through more public charter school options.”

Under Georgia law, the only purpose of a preamble is to serve as “a short title or heading” that describes to voters “the substance of the proposal.” Yet nothing in the substance of the actual Amendment requires, or even mentions, either improved student achievement or parental involvement. By placing on the ballot a preamble that fails to serve its only legitimate statutory purpose, but instead recites positively charged buzzwords (who, after all, could vote against “improving student achievement” or “parental involvement”?), the Publication Board has failed the citizens of the state and has helped subvert what should be the most open and serious of processes — asking voters to decide whether to amend our state’s constitution.

It is certainly possible that a majority of Georgia voters agrees that the constitution should be amended to grant a group of unelected political appointees the authority to overturn or ignore decisions of locally elected school boards and to approve new charter schools. Because the Amendment drafters are unwilling to put this issue squarely and honestly before the voters, we are unlikely ever to know."

Shannon Sprinkle appeared on the October 7, 2012 episode of PBA 30's "Leyes Cotidianas" (Everyday Law) where she provided the defense and lawyer's perspective on legal malpractice claims.

The summary judgment obtained by Joe Kingma and Michele Jones, arising from a failed condo conversion,  was featured in the "And the Defense Wins" section of the October 3, 2012 publication of The Voice, a newsletter published by the Defense Research Institute (DRI).  

 

Read the full case summary in The Voice.

The CCS-sponsored softball team has won the Atlanta Bar Association’s 2012 Non-Competitive Softball League championship. CCS earned a hard fought 10-9 win over Mabry & McClelland on Tuesday, August 28. A special thanks to our team captain, John Bunyan, for coordinating the team. Other CCS team members include Neil Edwards, Angie Forstie, Lee Gutschenritter, Joe Hoffman, Katherine Holley, Logan Killian, Graham Kish, Brent Meyer, Jacqueline Newbold, Ana Ramirez, Harrison Spires, Brian Spitler, Scott Street, and Craig Williams.

The S.C. Young Lawyer, which is co-chaired by CCS attorney Amanda K. Dudgeon, was awarded first place in the Newsletters category by the American Bar Association's Awards of Achievement. 

Bill Jones, a partner in the Atlanta office of Carlock, Copeland & Stair, has been selected to participate in the Catholic Charities Atlanta's Leadership Class of 2012. This program works to empower Catholic professionals who seek to become leaders in the business community through professional development, education and mentoring.

Marquetta Bryan was quoted in an Atlanta Journal Constitution article. "Tribunal agrees with termination of Woodson Elementary teacher." Daarel Burnette, II. The Atlanta Journal Constitution. July 25, 2012.

Marquetta Bryan was quoted in an Atlanta Journal Constitution article. "Panel upholds firing of Woodson Elementary teacher." Jaime Sarrio. The Atlanta Journal Constitution. July 10, 2012.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair was proud to be a part of the 13th annual Service Juris Day on Saturday, June 16, 2012. Several of our attorneys and staff members, along with an estimated 300 volunteers, served in partnership with Hands On Atlanta to help revitalize the Summit Trail apartment complex. The apartment complex is used by CHRIS Kids to provide housing for youths that are either aging out of foster care or are homeless.

Joe Hoffman led the fundraising for our Firm and he also co-chaired the project committee for Service Juris. Our CCS volunteers were responsible for staining the cistern, which provides irrigation to the grounds at CHRIS Kids. The volunteers also stained fencing and the newly built picnic tables for the apartment courtyard. For the full story, see the June 20, 2012 edition of the Daily Report or visit the Daily Report website. 

     

Carlock, Copeland & Stair is proud to announce that our Charleston office was a participant in the 6th Annual Statewide Legal Food Frenzy. The Legal Food Frenzy was coordinated by the Charleston Association of Legal Assistants and our attorneys and staff members, along with 45 other law firms, collected a total of 4170 pounds of food. 

Congratulations to our Charleston office for collecting the second highest amount of food, weighing in at 426 pounds.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair attorney, Wade Copeland, was interviewed and quoted in the Daily Report after a premises liability suit, where he was legal counsel for Ryder Truck Rentals, Inc., was resolved in mediation. "Undisclosed settlement ends trial in fatal skylight accident." Katheryn Hayes Tucker. Daily Report. May 4, 2012.

David Overstreet, Partner in the Charleston office of Carlock, Copeland & Stair, has been honored with the Charleston Regional Business Journal's Forty under 40 Award. This annual award honors the professional successes and community involvement of forty people younger than 40 years of age who are making their mark on the region’s business community.

To read Overstreet's interview for the Forty under 40 in the Charleston Regional Business Journal, click here. All 40 winners were featured in the Charleston Regional Business Journal published on March 26, 2012.

We are proud to announce that five of our lawyers have been selected for inclusion on the South Carolina Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars lists for 2012.

Super Lawyers
Kent T. Stair

Only five percent of the lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers. The selections for this esteemed list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of Thomson Reuters. Each year, the research team at Super Lawyers undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check.

Rising Stars
David W. Overstreet
Jackson H. Daniel
Amanda K. Dudgeon
Michael B. McCall

This is the first year that Rising Stars have been selected for South Carolina. Rising Stars is a listing of exceptional lawyers who are 40 years of age or under, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less, and have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 2.5 percent of the total lawyers in the state are honored on the Rising Stars list.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP is pleased to announce that Adam L. Appel and David J. Harmon have accepted nominations to join the prestigious Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM). The CLM is an alliance of insurance companies, corporations, corporate counsel, litigation and risk managers, claims professionals and attorneys. CLM's goal is to promote and further the highest standards of litigation management in pursuit of client defense. Attorneys and law firms are extended membership by invitation only based on nominations from CLM Fellows, in-house claims professionals.

In the Spring 2012 issue of Georgia Motor Trucking Association's publication, Trux, Gary Lovell provides historical perspective and practical insights into defending against trucking claims in today's environment. 

We congratulate partners Thomas S. Carlock, Wade K. Copeland, and Johannes S. Kingma for being selected for inclusion on the Top 100 Georgia Super Lawyers® list for 2012. The list recognizes those attorneys who received the highest point totals in the Georgia Super Lawyers® selection process.

"Tom, Wade and Joe are incredibly accomplished attorneys and they are great assets to our Firm and clients, " said Greg Wheeler, the Managing Partner of CCS and the Chair of the firm's Construction Practice Group. "We are proud of them and I congratulate them on this well deserved recognition."

Only five percent of the lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers. The lawyers who received the highest point totals in the Georgia nomination are also recognized in the Super Lawyers Top 100 List. The selections for this esteemed list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of the Thomson Reuters. Each year, the research team at Super Lawyers undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check.

We are proud to announce that 20 of our lawyers have been selected for inclusion on the Georgia Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars lists for 2012.

Super Lawyers
Thomas S. Carlock
Wade K. Copeland
Kent T. Stair
Douglas W. Smith
David F. Root
W. Dan McGrew
Fred M. Valz, III
Johannes S. Kingma
D. Gary Lovell, Jr.
Scott D. Huray
Adam L. Appel
Gregory H. Wheeler
Eric J. Frisch

Only five percent of the lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers. The selections for this esteemed list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of the Thomson Reuters. Each year, the research team at Super Lawyers undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check.

Rising Stars
Shannon M. Sprinkle
Peter Werdesheim 

Amy J. Urban
Heather H. Miller
Marquetta J. Bryan

Michael Ruppersburg

John L. Bunyan

Rising Stars is a listing of exceptional lawyers who are 40 years of age or under, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less, and have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 2.5 percent of the total lawyers in the state are honored on the Rising Stars list.

Pete Werdesheim was interviewed for an article in the ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct to comment on how the ammendment to the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct will affect Georgia lawyers. "Georgia Opts for Highly Selective Approach in Choosing Model Rule Updates to Borrow." Joan C. Rogers. ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct, Volume 28, Number 66. February 1, 2011.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair was featured in the Atlanta Business Chronicle's "The History of Law & Accounting, a look back at the past several decades," published on January 13, 2012. The Atlanta Business Chronicle interviewed CCS attorneys about the most significant firm changes and events, as well as the key players who have truly made an impact in the past 20 years.

To read about the key CCS changes and contributions in the last 20 years, click here.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP congratulates the following attorneys on being selected to join the Firm's partnership:

Atlanta Office: Marquetta J. Bryan, Broderick W. Harrell, William P. Jones, William D. Newcomb, Brian S. Spitler, and Ryan B. Wilhelm.

Charleston, SC Office: David J. Harmon and Lee C. Weatherly.

Georgia Trend magazine has recognized founding Partner Thomas S. Carlock and Partner Heather H. Miller as two of Georgia's top attorneys in the publication's 2011 edition of Legal Elite.   The Legal Elite are selected by lawyers who are members of the Georgia state bar and whose practice areas correspond to the eight practice areas featured by Georgia Trend.  Carlock was selected by his peers as a top attorney in Personal Injury and Miller was selected as a top attorney in General Practice/Trial Law.  The 2011 Legal Elite appear in the December 2011 issue of Georgia Trend.

 

Carlock has practiced in the civil trial arena in Georgia for over forty years and during that time has tried over five hundred jury trials. Throughout his career, Carlock has handled a wide variety of civil litigation including medical malpractice cases, catastrophic injury cases including wrongful death cases, coverage disputes, and every other type of civil lawsuit imaginable. He has tried, to verdict, in excess of seventy-five wrongful death cases and more than one hundred and fifty catastrophic injury cases. He has handled cases in all states that are contiguous to the state of Georgia and cases in Texas and Nevada. Tom is a regular speaker at continuing legal education seminars and at medical institutions in Georgia. He regularly participates in educational mock trials for attorneys which have taken place in seven different states. He is a frequent advocate before the Georgia Supreme Court on issues of civil procedure, negligence and other issues involving civil trials. He has also has been a legislative advocate for the interests of businesses, insurance companies and medical providers before the General Assembly.  

 

Miller has been practicing law in Georgia since receiving her Juris Doctorate in 2001, and joined Carlock, Copeland & Stair in 2004. She focuses primarily on civil litigation within the General Liability and Health Care Litigation Practice Groups. Miller has a wide range of expertise handling general liability cases pertaining to premises liability, automobile liability and products liability. Her health care litigation practice focuses on malpractice defense for doctors and nurses. She has represented her clients in discovery, mediation, and litigation in the state and federal courts. Furthermore, she has handled numerous cases representing apartment management companies and apartment managers/owners in contract disputes, premises liability cases and risk management issues. 

We are pleased to announce that the Carlock, Copeland & Stair blog, Insurance Coverage Corner, has been selected as a LexisNexis Top Blog for Insurance Law - 2011.

The Insurance Coverage Corner focuses on legal updates, opinions and other relevant information for Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Litigation, and is authored by Fred Valz, Michael Ethridge, Charles McDaniel, Katherine Sullivan and Megan Boyd.

You can subscribe to the Insurance Coverage Corner by clicking on "Add this Blog" under Subscribe at www.insurancecoveragecorner.com.

On Nov. 1, U.S. News and Best Lawyers® named Carlock, Copeland & Stair to its National and Atlanta Metropolitan 2011-2012 "Best Law Firms" Rankings. The firm ranks in Tier 1, in the Atlanta Metropolitan Rankings, for Construction Law, Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants, and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. Carlock Copeland is also listed in the National Rankings, in Tier 3, for Construction Law, and, again, in the Atlanta Metropolitan Rankings, in Tier 3, for Commercial Litigation.

 

U.S. News and Best Lawyers® chose a tiering system rather than ranking law firms sequentially because firms were often separated by small or insignificant differences in overall score. The first tier includes those firms that scored within a certain percentage of the highest-scoring firm(s); the second tier, those firms that scored within a certain percentage of the next highest scoring firm(s), and so on. The number of tiers included in each practice area or metropolitan area ranking varies.

This honor of being included in the "Best Law Firms" rankings comes close on the heels of the U.S. News and Best Lawyers® announcement of The Best Lawyers in America® 2012, which included four Carlock Copeland attorneys:

Thomas S. Carlock

Commercial Litigation (Atlanta, GA)

Medical Malpractice Law (Atlanta, GA)

Personal Injury Litigation (Atlanta, GA)

Best Lawyer® Since 1991

Kent T. Stair

Construction Law (Atlanta, GA)

Legal Malpractice Law (Atlanta, GA)

Best Lawyer® Since 2006

 

Wayne D. McGrew, III

Personal Injury Litigation (Atlanta, GA)

Best Lawyer® Since 2008

Johannes S. Kingma

Legal Malpractice Law (Atlanta, GA)

Best Lawyer® Since 2009

Gary Lovell and Doug MacKelcan's defense verdict for a national auto parts store in a premises liability case was featured in the "And the Defense Wins" section of October 19th publication of The Voice, a newsletter published by the Defense Research Institute (DRI).

Carlock, Copeland & Stair congratulates the following attorneys on selection by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2012.

Our lawyers ranked in the 2012 edition are:

Thomas S. Carlock
Commercial Litigation (Atlanta, GA)
Medical Malpractice Law (Atlanta, GA)
Personal Injury Litigation (Atlanta, GA)
Best Lawyer® Since 1991

Kent T. Stair
Construction Law (Atlanta, GA)
Legal Malpractice Law (Atlanta, GA)
Best Lawyer® Since 2006

Wayne D. McGrew, III
Personal Injury Litigation (Atlanta, GA)
Best Lawyer® Since 2008

Johannes S. Kingma
Legal Malpractice Law (Atlanta, GA)
Best Lawyer® Since 2009

"We have known for a long time that these gentlemen are great lawyers who provide excellent service to their clients, but it is always gratifying to see them being honored by organizations such as Best Lawyers," said Greg Wheeler, the Managing Partner of CCS and the Chair of the firm's Construction Practice Group.  "The fact that this recognition is based on the opinions of other members of the legal community makes it even more satisfying.  We are very proud of their accomplishments."

Since its inception in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 41,000 leading attorneys cast almost 3.9 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

On September 8, 2011, Joe Kingma, Partner and head of the Firm's Commercial Litigation practice group, presented the Georgia Professional Liability Section's report on the Newell Recycling case to the Executive Committee of the State Bar of Georgia. The Georgia Supreme Court's Newell decision suggests that the statute of limitations for professional liability claims against lawyers, accountants, engineers, architects and the like is six years when there is a written contract. For the past 50 years Georgia decisions had consistently ruled that the statute of limitations was four years for claims against most of these professionals. The report had been compiled and edited by Carlock Copeland's Pete Werdesheim, who chaired the Section's subcommittee on this report. Kingma argued to the State Bar that the confusion raised by the Newell decision would increase professional liability litigation and make insurance more expensive and difficult to obtain. It could also encourage professionals to avoid written engagement letters. Kingma suggested that the Section draft a comprehensive Professional Liability Statute of Limitations and the State Bar agreed. The Bar wants the draft by November so it can gain the support of accountants, architects, and engineers and then seek passage in the Georgia Legislature in January of 2012. If you are interested in contributing or commenting let Joe Kingma, Pete Werdesheim or another member of the Section know your thoughts soon.

For the third time in six years, the CCS-sponsored softball team has won the Atlanta Bar Association Competitive Softball League 2011 championship. CCS earned a hard fought 7-6 win over Smith Gambrell on Tuesday, August 23, to cap an undefeated season. A special thanks to our team captain, Brent Meyer, for coordinating the team. Other CCS team members include John Bunyan, Lee Gutschenritter, Scott Huray, Graham Kish, Harrison Spires, and Greg Wheeler.

The American Bar Association appointed Johannes S. Kingma, Partner with Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP and Chair of the firm's Commercial Litigation Practice Group, as Member of the American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section Ethics and Professionalism Committee; as well as TIPS Section Liaison to the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers Professional Liability for 2011-2012. Kingma has held both of these positions since 2009.

As a member of the TIPS Ethics and Professionalism Committee, Kingma assists in creating content for programs, held across the United States, that promote ethics and professionalism in the legal industry. He also provides recommendations on ethical rules to ABA leadership. Additionally, as the TIPS Liaison to the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers Professional Liability, Kingma assists with two annual conferences by providing program ideas, recruiting panel members, and speaking at the events. Kingma utilizes his experience and knowledge of accounting malpractice and Director's & Officer's claims to add breadth and depth to the annual programs.

In addition to his current appointments with the American Bar Association, Kingma chaired the TIPS Professionals’ Officers’ and Directors’ Liability (PODL) Committee from 2008 - 2009. He is a founding and current Board Member for the Professional Liability Section of the State Bar of Georgia. He is also a current Member of the Litigation and Securities Litigation Sections of the Atlanta Bar Association.

Joe Kingma was interviewed by Meredith Hobbs of the Daily Report to comment on his experience with malpractice claims being driven by real estate deals.  "Failed real estate deals driving malpractice claims." Meredith Hobbs. Daily Report. July 19, 2011.

"Court decision not fatal to charters." Thomas A. Cox. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. July 18, 2011.

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought against Clements Purvis, who was succussfully represented by John Bunyan, Joe Kingma and John Rogers of Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP.  "11th Circ. Won't Revive Arch's $4M Suit Against Auditor." Bibeka Shrestha. Law360. July 14, 2011.

Dave Root and Michael Ruppersburg successfully defended a motel owner in the Supreme Court of Georgia on July 5, 2011.  "Court: No liability for motel owner." Alyson M. Palmer. Daily Report. July 6, 2011.

Carlock Copeland & Stair's Education Law practice and Of Counsel Attorney, Thomas A. Cox, were featured in the June 22, 2011 edition of the Fulton County Daily Report. The article discusses the life and career of Mr. Cox, who leads the Education Law practice area, and how he became a part of the Carlock, Copeland & Stair team. Partner Joe Kingma was interviewed for the article and discussed the merits that Tom Cox brings to the firm.

Visit the Daily Report for the full article.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair was proud to be a sponsor of the 12th annual ServisJuris Day on Saturday, June 18, 2011. Several of our attorneys and staff members, along with an estimated 300 volunteers, served in partnership with Sustainable Lakewood, The Fuller Center for Housing of Greater Atlanta, Hands On Atlanta, Park Pride, Whitehead Boys & Girls Club, The New Schools at Carver, Trees Atlanta and South View Cemetery to help revitalize Atlanta’s historic Lakewood Heights Community. The Carlock Copeland volunteers were responsible for the South Bend Park: Community Gardens where they built benches, a picnic table and a walking path.

Carlock Copeland Attorney, Thomas A. Cox, Represents DeKalb County and Atlanta Public Schools in Landmark Case.

In a long-delayed and highly anticipated decision, the Georgia Supreme Court, siding with local Georgia public school systems including Gwinnett and DeKalb Counties and the City of Atlanta, has declared unconstitutional a Georgia law that had allowed the State to bypass local school boards and approve the creation of state charter schools funded by contributions from local school systems.

The Georgia Charter Commission Act, enacted by the General Assembly in 2008, authorized a politically appointed state commission to override decisions by local school boards denying applications to create charter schools. In striking down the Act, the Georgia Supreme Court's decision affirms the constitutional authority of local school boards to determine when and whether charter schools may operate within their districts.

Thomas A. Cox, who recently joined the law firm of Carlock Copeland & Stair, represented the DeKalb County and Atlanta school systems in the case before the Supreme Court. "The Georgia Constitution clearly specifies that local public education is to be under the management and control of local boards of education," said Cox. "By upholding this principle, the Georgia Supreme Court has put decisions regarding the creation of charter schools, and the expenditure of local tax funds, back in the hands of locally elected boards, and out of the hands of a group of political appointees who are not answerable to any voters."

The decision will have no impact on the large majority of Georgia’s charter schools, which have been approved by local school boards, but it may require the closure (or at least the loss of all local funding) of charter schools that have previously been approved by the State Charter Commission, including Ivy Preparatory Academy in Gwinnett County, Charter Conservatory for Liberal Arts and Technology in Bullock County, and Heron Bay Academy in Spaulding County, all of which were parties in the case.

In addition to Mr. Cox, the Charter Commission lawsuit also included former Georgia Attorney General Mike Bowers, now with the firm of Balch & Bingham, who represented the Gwinnett County School System; Attorney General Thurbert Baker representing the State defendants; and Bruce Brown of McKenna, Long & Aldridge representing the charter school defendants.

Carlock Copeland & Stair, a firm with more than 40 years of litigation experience, has established an Education Law practice. Mr. Cox leads the practice area that will focus on representation of public and private schools, school systems, and other educational institutions in significant litigation matters involving diverse issues, including student rights, education of students with disabilities, employment law, construction disputes, compliance with federal laws, open records and open meetings issues, charter schools and contract disputes.

Attorneys Sarah Wetmore and Laura Paris will spend Friday, May 6, reading to kindergartners and first graders at Murray-LaSaine Elementary School in Charleston, South Carolina.

 

After reading to each classroom, Wetmore and Paris will ask the children to pledge to read at home with their families, and then present each child with books of their own. The event is in coordination with Cocky's Reading Express, a program of the University of South Carolina Student Government and the University's School of Library and Information Science. Cocky is the University of South Carolina mascot. Wetmore and Paris became involved in the program through South Carolina Bar Community Week. The program focuses on pre-kindergarten through third grade because research shows children are more likely to succeed academically and graduate on time if they acquire strong reading skills by the end of third grade.

 

Wetmore attributes her involvement in children's programs such as this to her mother, a PhD in literacy and former college dean. As a law student, Wetmore always gave books to the children of the women she encountered through the Wake Forest University School of Law Domestic Advocacy Program and the Winston-Salem Legal Aid Program. Wetmore is a partner in the Charleston, South Carolina office and her law practice focuses on general civil litigation with specific emphasis in insurance defense, personal injury defense, professional liability defense and construction litigation.

 

Paris participated in the Cinderella Project last year in association with the SC Bar, leading the charge to collect donations for a boutique where underprivileged high school girls chose prom dresses. Paris has a background in family-based immigration law and began her practice assisting families in the Charleston area with family reunification. Paris also practices in the Charleston, South Carolina office, focusing on civil litigation with specific emphasis in construction litigation, insurance defense and general liability.    

 

Wetmore and Paris have participated in the SC Bar Community Week Program for many years, donating their time to numerous clothing, supplies and book drives. 

We are proud to announce that 21 of our attorneys have been selected for inclusion on the Georgia Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars lists for 2011.

Super Lawyers Honorees
Thomas S. Carlock
Wade K. Copeland
Kent T. Stair
Douglas W. Smith
David F. Root
W. Dan McGrew
Fred M. Valz, III
Johannes S. Kingma
D. Gary Lovell, Jr.
Scott D. Huray
Adam L. Appel
Gregory H. Wheeler
Eric J. Frisch

Only five percent of the lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers. The selections for this esteemed list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of the Thomson Reuters, Legal division based in Eagan, MN. Each year, the research team at Super Lawyers undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check.

Rising Stars Honorees
Shannon M. Sprinkle
Asha F. Jackson
Renee Y. Little 
Peter Werdesheim 
Heather H. Miller
Spencer A. Bomar
Ryan B. Wilhelm
Marquetta J. Bryan

Rising Stars is a listing of exceptional lawyers who are 40 years or under, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less and have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 2.5 percent of the total lawyers in the state are honored on the Rising Stars list.

Cheryl Shaw, Partner in CCS' construction litigation practice group, was featured in the Daily Report's New Partners 2011 editorial on February 21, 2011. The article introduces some of Atlanta's newest legal partners, provides background and fun facts about each attorney, and explains what it takes to become a law firm partner.

Visit the Daily Report online for the full article or to watch Cheryl Shaw's interview.

Mike Ethridge will be presenting "Insurance Law From A to Z" on February 17, 2011. This seminar will provide a legislative update on insurance law as well as strategic tips and tactics in handling insurance claims.

Our Trucking and Transportation Practice Group has launched a new blog. Gary Lovell and Renee Little will host The Southeastern Trucking and Transportation Defense Blog, where they will discuss the latest topics effecting the industry including legal updates, opinions on recent matters, and analysis on relevant news. They will also provide information on industry specific events, seminars and publications. Please add this blog to your feeds, and visit weekly for the latest Trucking and Transportation trends. Comments and feedback are welcome, and can be sent directly to Gary Lovell or Renee Little.

Eric Frisch was featured in the "Leadership Spotlight" of the Defense Research Institute's (DRI) The Voice. The profile spotlights his legal practice, his education, and his community involvement.

Eric is currently the webpage chair for DRI’s Trial Tactics Committee. He has also served as the Young Lawyer Liaison to the Trial Tactics Committee and is a regular contributor to DRI publications.

Click here to read the full article.

Pete Werdesheim was quoted in "Suit against K&S is a tall order," a Daily Report article about a $195 million legal malpractice suit against King & Spalding.

Adam Appel will be presenting on "Minimizing Damages in the Nursing Home" at the Nursing Home Workshop hosted by the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association on November 11, 2010.

Gary Lovell and Mike Ethridge are invited speakers at the annual South Carolina "Insurance Coverage Litigation" seminar sponsored by the National Business Institute. The conference will be held on December 7, 2010 in Charleston, South Carolina. Mike's topics will cover "Common Types of Insurance Coverage Disputes” and “Interpreting Coverage Under the Insurance Contract." Gary will discuss all aspects of “Litigating the Insurance Claim.” Please contact Mike or Gary for more information on the seminar or to request presentation materials.

Joe Kingma will be speaking again at the 'Keep it Short and Simple" program for trial lawyers on November 5, 2010. The State Bar of Georgia says that this day long annual event is one of its most successful programs. Joe is speaking on the use of expert witnesses and the program is being telecast from the Georgia Public Broadcasting Studios to 20 locations around Georgia.

Doug Smith was the guest speaker at the 2010 CNA Risk Management Seminar in Atlanta, GA on October 22, 2010.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP announced today they will be moving their Atlanta office to One Ninety One Peachtree Tower in the middle of 2011. "Our entire Firm is excited about relocating our headquarters to One Ninety One Peachtree Tower," said Greg Wheeler, Managing Partner of Carlock, Copeland & Stair.

The move will relocate the Atlanta-based firm just a few blocks from their existing space in downtown Atlanta. "We have great space in the Marquis Two Tower and we have enjoyed our 17 years here, but the opportunity to move to One Ninety One Peachtree was simply too good to pass up. Cousins is a great organization and One Ninety One Peachtree is one of the premiere buildings in Atlanta and the Southeast. Our firm has had consistent growth in Atlanta and this move will accommodate our needs for many years. We thank Cousins and our broker, Ben Raney of Raney Real Estate, for working with us to make this happen."

One Ninety One Peachtree Tower is a 50-story, 1.2 million-square-foot tower of Class A office space, retail, and restaurant space located at 191 Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta. With Carlock, Copeland & Stair, the building continues to show significant leasing momentum.

“Cousins’ investment in One Ninety One Peachtree Tower helped bring life and foot traffic back to Peachtree Street and continues to successfully attract respected tenants, like Carlock, Copeland & Stair,” said Walter Fish, Senior Vice President at Cousins. “We’re thrilled to have the firm relocate to One Ninety One Peachtree Tower and we look forward to building a strong relationship with company executives.”

One Ninety One Peachtree Tower, which has achieved Silver-level LEED certification for Existing Buildings, was built in 1990 through a partnership of Cousins Properties, Hines Interests and Dutch Holdings Institutional Corporation. In 2006 Cousins invested more than $12 million to renovate the tower’s street presence and grand atrium lobby, adding amenities to attract and retain tenants. In 2009, Cousins opened Resolution Fitness, a LEED for Commercial Interiors Gold certified fitness club, which overlooks the atrium from the third floor.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair lawyers were selected by their peers for 4 listings in 5 categories of legal expertise in the 2011 edition of Best Lawyers®.

First published in 1983, Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive annual peer-review survey. For the new U.S. edition, more than 50% of the lawyers listed in Best Lawyers cast more than 3.1 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in the same and related specialties.

The Carlock, Copeland & Stair lawyers ranked in the 2011 edition are:

Commercial Litigation:
Thomas S. Carlock (1991) Atlanta, GA

Construction Law:
Kent T. Stair (2006) Atlanta, GA

Legal Malpractice Law:
Johannes S. Kingma (2009) Atlanta, GA
Kent T. Stair (2006) Atlanta, GA

Medical Malpractice Law:
Thomas S. Carlock (1991) Atlanta, GA

Personal Injury Litigation:
Thomas S. Carlock (1991) Atlanta, GA
Wayne D. McGrew III (2008) Atlanta, GA

(Year) first year the lawyer was listed

Because of the rigorous and transparent methodology used by Best Lawyers, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers "the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice."

The Spring 2010 Newsletter is now available online. Articles in this issue include:
- Professionals: Don’t Knuckle Under When a Trustee Wants To Claw Back Your Fees
- Employment Discrimination Law: Looking Back at 2009 and Forward in 2010
- Medicare Flexes Muscle on Recovery of Conditional Payments
- The Roller Coaster Ride for Limitation of Liability Clauses in Construction Contracts
- South Carolina Decision Seeks to Limit Punitive Damages Award
- Firm Announcements
- Recent Victories
- Presentations & Publications
- Non-Profit Directors & Officers Liability Defense

Click here to download the newsletter in its entirety. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter.

Notice: The Carlock Copeland Quarterly is a periodic publication of Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP and should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general information purposes only, and you are urged to consult counsel concerning your own situation and any legal questions you may have.

Wade Copeland delivered the winning argument to the Supreme Court in a case upholding major tort reform issue concerning  ER standards.  "Court Upholds ER standard." Alyson M. Palmer. Daily Report. March 16, 2010.

"Charleston law school sheds newbie status." Gregory Froome. South Carolina Lawyers Weekly.  March 15, 2010.

We are proud to announce that Thomas S. Carlock  has been named to the Georgia Super Lawyers Top Ten List for the fifth consecutive year. He was among ten attorneys who received the highest point totals in the Georgia nomination, research and blue ribbon review process.

We are proud to announce that 20 of our attorneys have been selected for inclusion on the Georgia Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars lists for 2010.

Super Lawyers Honorees
Thomas S. Carlock
Wade K. Copeland
Kent T. Stair
Douglas W. Smith
David F. Root
W. Dan McGrew
Fred M. Valz, III
Johannes S. Kingma
D. Gary Lovell, Jr.
Adam L. Appel
Gregory H. Wheeler
Eric J. Frisch

Only five percent of the lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers. The selections for this esteemed list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of the Thomson Reuters, Legal division based in Eagan, MN. Each year, the research team at Super Lawyers undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check.

Rising Stars Honorees
Ashley E. Sexton
Shannon M. Sprinkle
John C. Rogers
Asha F. Jackson
Renee Y. Little
Pete Werdesheim
Marquetta J. Bryan
Ryan B. Wilhelm

Rising Stars is a listing of exceptional lawyers who are 40 years or under, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less and have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 2.5 percent of the total lawyers in the state are honored on the Rising Stars list.

Volume 6 Issue 4: Winter 2010
Articles in this issue include:

- Third-Party Liability - South Carolina Addresses When a Non-Client Can Sue a Lawyer
- Is There Really a Safe Harbor? An Analysis of the Recent Fortner Decision
- Raising the Bar: New Standard of Review for Motions to Dismiss Actions in Federal Court
- Major Changes at The State Board
- 2010 Partner Announcement
- Recent Victories
- Firm Announcements

Click here to download the newsletter in its entirety. To subscribe to the newsletter, or to have your name included on our firm mailing list, click here.

Notice: The Carlock Copeland Quarterly is a periodic publication of Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP and should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general information purposes only, and you are urged to consult counsel concerning your own situation and any specific legal questions you may have.

For the sixth consecutive year, Carlock, Copeland & Stair has been named by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as a "Top 25 Law Firm" in Atlanta. The 2009 - 2010 Book of Lists was published on December 25, 2009.

We are pleased to announce Spencer A. Bomar, Katherine G. Hughes, Michele R. Jones, Heather M. Miller, Paul E. Sperry, and Amy J. Urban have been named Partners. Additionally, Cheryl H. Shaw and Sarah E. Wetmore have been named Of Counsel.

Joe Kingma has been appointed as the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) Liaison to the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability, and a member of the Ethics and Professionalism Special Standing Committee within TIPS for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. TIPS has 37,000 members nationwide, and is the source of knowledge and leadership on trial practice and critical issues of justice that involve tort and insurance law.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP has been recognized as a Go-To Law Firm of leading financial services companies. Incisive Media, formerly known as ALM, surveyed the General Counsel of leading financial service companies to identify their primary outside law firm in each of nine practice areas: banking and finance, corporate transactions/mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, regulatory affairs and compliance, securities, Canadian and international matters. Carlock Copeland appreciates the confidence in our Firm expertise by AFLAC and American Family Insurance in naming us as their Go-To law firm in litigation.

David Overstreet of the Charleston office has recently been appointed to the Steering Committee of the Southeastern Chapter of PLUS (Professional Liability Underwriting Society).