Mark Rogers and Joe Kingma of our Atlanta office combined with Patrick Norris and Clinton Magill of our Charleston office to obtain dismissal of a claim against an outside insurance adjuster in a dispute related to an 8-figure, multi-layer hurricane loss in South Carolina state court.  After briefing and oral argument, the judge granted the motion to dismiss relating to claims for breach of contract and injunctive relief.  The dismissal was without prejudice, so stay tuned for a potential round two in the near future.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma and Billy Newcomb represented an international law firm sued by a bank.  The bank claimed that the firm mishandled a multi-million dollar commercial foreclosure and caused it to lose the value of its collateral.  The bank demanded a pre-suit settlement which the firm rejected, arguing that the bank had not been damaged by the alleged mistake.  After the bank filed suit, Joe and Billy filed a motion to compel the bank to produce internal records and guidelines which they believed would show that the bank mishandled the foreclosure and caused its own alleged damages.  Rather than respond to the motion to compel, the bank dismissed the lawsuit.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma, John Rogers, and Megan McCue helped a client stop a foreclosure. Without the owner’s permission, a manager took out a loan and pledged some land as collateral. Carlock Copeland filed an emergency motion to stop the foreclosure. The creditor agreed to hold off, and this allowed time for a successful workout without the cost of continued litigation.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Matt Gass and Joe Kingma won a motion to dismiss against a seller. The seller alleged malpractice, misrepresentation and intentional interference; essentially that the purchaser wanted to get out of their agreement and used the accountant to achieve that result. Joe and Matt filed an early motion to dismiss and prevailed on all the claims. Claims arising from the accountant’s role in mergers and acquisitions are definitely on the rise.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Mark Rogers and Joe Kingma convinced a bankruptcy judge that a former trustee should not be sued for alleged misadministration of the estate.  The plaintiffs were bankruptcy debtors who sought to re-litigate claims that the trustee had failed to accept a $30 million dollar offer for assets that would have turned a deficit estate into a surplus estate.  Mark and Joe presented a wide range of arguments, from absolute judicial immunity to various preclusive doctrines, convincing the judge that most of the claims were previously litigated and anyone with a claim should litigate such claims in bankruptcy court rather than subject the bankruptcy court’s rulings to second-guessing in state court.  The motion was denied without prejudice on July 14, 2017, so there may be more to come in future updates

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the prior win by  Joe Kingma, Shannon Sprinkle, and Megan McCue who had secured summary judgment in DeKalb County for their clients, a local defense law firm and its former partner.  The Plaintiff, the law firm’s former client, sued the lawyer and firm for malpractice and breach of fiduciary seeking to recover for a $3.2 million dollar excess judgment awarded against the Plaintiff in an underlying personal injury trial.  The defendant lawyers did not try the case and had been substituted out months before trial. The Plaintiff contended that the defendant lawyers failed to proactively settle four competing claims, which had been asserted against the Plaintiff arising out of a multi-vehicle truck accident.  The Plaintiff had a single $1,000,000 insurance policy and faced two competing demands for the full policy limits.  The DeKalb Judge correctly found that the Plaintiff’s case failed as a matter of law, because the acts of the competing litigants and subsequent counsel constituted intervening acts that broke the chain of proximate causation.  The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's decision in an unpublished opinion.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Billy Newcomb and Joe Kingma defended the accounting firm and one of its CPAs against malpractice claims brought in a Florida court by a publicly traded company.  The Plaintiff alleged that the accounting firm negligently failed to detect and report an internal fraud which the Plaintiff claimed cost it over $10 million.  Six other defendants, including a top 10 accounting firm, settled with the Plaintiff at the outset of the case, leaving CCS’ clients as the sole defendants.  As part of their aggressive litigation plan to obtain an early favorable resolution for their clients, Billy and Joe filed a motion for summary judgment with their answer to the complaint.  At an early court-ordered mediation, the Plaintiff, perhaps a little too confident in its home court advantage, refused to lower its demand under $5 million.  Immediately after the mediation failed, the trial court granted summary judgment to CCS’ clients and dismissed all of the Plaintiff’s claims against them with prejudice.  The Plaintiff may appeal the Court’s ruling, but Billy and Joe are confident their clients’ total victory will stand.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma and John Rogers defended insurance brokers from client claims in a contract-based ERISA dispute. When a major airline filed for bankruptcy, the bankruptcy court appointed a committee of retirees to find health insurance for airline retirees who lost their benefits. The insurance brokers scrounged up insurance plans on short notice, and the retirees were happy. But then there was a changing of the guard on the committee, and a lawsuit followed. The committee attempted to cancel the contract and filed a prompt summary judgment motion. Carlock Copeland defeated that motion, and the case went into discovery. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the judge gutted the plaintiff’s case in a 74-page summary judgment order, rejecting the plaintiff’s argument that the brokers were ERISA fiduciaries. The case then settled on favorable terms.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma and Tyler Wetzel represented a law firm which served as trial counsel in a dispute over the dissolution of a real estate partnership.  The trial court awarded attorneys’ fees as a sanction, and Joe and Ty appealed the award and attacked its evidentiary support through the Court of Appeals’ discretionary application procedure.  The Court of Appeals granted the application and eventually agreed there was insufficient evidence by vacating the award and remanding the case.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma and Matt Gass prevailed for a CPA who had served as an expert in a high value divorce. Joe’s takeaways include: many divorce clients just can’t stop fighting; no accounting engagement is ever perfect; and, justice often triumphs!

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma and John Rogers represented an accounting firm that was sued in federal court in South Carolina for allegedly breaching their fiduciary duty and improperly auditing a manufacturer. The plaintiffs were absentee owners of a large textile company who claimed that the president and minority shareholder had funneled funds from the company which should have gone to them. They also claimed that the company’s demise was brought about by the minority shareholder and that the audit firm concealed his defalcation and aided him in the theft. The CEO settled out and the case went to trial. The lead plaintiff was the former head of a 1,000 lawyer international law firm who had served on the audit committee of numerous publicly traded companies. Joe cross-examined him for eight hours. The next morning, the plaintiffs collapsed and settled for less than 15% of their lowest pretrial demand.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma, Billy Newcomb and Matt Gass won a defense verdict in a seven day jury trial in March of 2016. Plaintiff had spent two million dollars prosecuting the defendant  law firm for defamation. Plaintiff was represented by a senior litigation partner at a large international law firm, as well as a recently retired partner from a large regional firm who was a commercial defamation expert.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

On January 22, 2013, the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled on a question certified from the U.S. District Court and held that juries imposing damages under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-6 are not entitled to see evidence of the defendant’s “worldly circumstances,” i.e., wealth. The question arose during an attorney malpractice trial before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia in Augusta. Pete Werdesheim, and Joe Kingma represented the defendant lawyer and his firm and, through skillful motion practice, eliminated all of the Plaintiff’s claims for actual damages and punitive damages. The District Judge noted that the only remaining damages were to the plaintiff’s wounded feelings, which are recoverable under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-6. Plaintiff asked the Court to permit the jury to hear evidence of the lawyer’s wealth, while CCS countered that the legislature had amended § 51-12-6 in the Tort Reform Act of 1987 to preclude such evidence. The District Judge relied upon the Court of Appeals decision in Tahamtanv. Tahamtan, admitted the evidence, and gave the pattern jury charge that instructed the jury to consider the lawyer’s wealth in assessing damages. The last testimony the jury heard was that the individual defendant lawyer made more than a million dollars in 2010 and that he owned two houses, two boats, a Lexus, and a BMW. The jury came back with an award of $700,000 to the plaintiff for his emotional distress. CCS filed post-trial motions and appealed. The District Judge held that whether evidence of a defendant’s wealth was still admissible under § 51-12-6 was unsettled and certified the question to the Georgia Supreme Court. Justice Hines, for a unanimous Supreme Court of Georgia, concluded that the statutory changes to § 51-12-6 precluded the admission of worldly-circumstances evidence, overruled the Court of Appeals decision in Tahamtan, and struck the pattern jury charge for § 51-12-6. If this decision had gone the other way, then aggressive plaintiff’s attorneys would undoubtedly seek out wealthy defendants who had “intentionally“ hurt a plaintiff’s feelings and then use evidence of the defendant’s wealth during the liability stage of the case to recover vast riches where there were no real damages. Fortunately for all of those who have accumulated assets as a result of their hard work, the Supreme Court of Georgia took the side of Tort Reform in this instance. Please click here for video.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Brian Spitler and Joe Kingma prevailed for their clients , an accounting firm/receiver, on June 1, 2015.  The receivership had been created in attempt to salvage a once thriving business that had been hamstrung by a bitter fight amongst its principals. While the receivership was still in place, one of the principals sued the receiver, claiming gross negligence and breach of fiduciary duty.  Joe and Brian filed a motion to dismiss which was granted, but that was just the beginning.  Two trips to the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court’s grant of certiorari followed. The defenses sprung from the confluence of official immunity, judicial immunity, and  statutory immunity under the Georgia Tort Claims Act. The plaintiff argued, amongst other things, that an accounting firm cannot itself be protected by official immunity because only its principal was the receiver.  In the years following Carlock, Copeland & Stair’s first motion, the Supreme Court had issued numerous opinions on immunity and, in this case, specifically asked that the parties describe all the various immunities which might protect a receiver.  At oral argument Joe was peppered with questions from the Justices who clearly had strong views on immunity.  At the close of the argument one of the lions of the Georgia Bar approached Joe and muttered “Bad Day at Black Rock” referencing the old western wherein a lone traveler is assaulted by all the members of a small town. A unanimous Supreme Court vacated much of the Court of Appeals immunity analysis but agreed with Brian and Joe that dismissal of the claim was required.  Please contact Brian or Joe if you would like to discuss the nuances of immunity protection for receivers.  

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

John Rogers and Joe Kingma represented New York accountants who audited the financial statements of a Savannah-based design/build water purification company. The company and its investors sought more than $10 million in damages. Joe and John limited the scope of the case by having the investors' claims and the punitive damages claims struck on summary judgment. TSG Water Resources, Inc. v. D'Alba & Donovan Certified Public Accountants, P.C., 366 F. Supp. 2d 1212 (S.D. Ga. 2004). The plaintiff still sought millions of dollars in damages when the case was tried in Savannah, GA. The jury awarded less than $300,000 and found there was no intentional wrongdoing by the accountants. The trial judge applied the engagement letter's provision prohibiting recovery of consequential damages and found the plaintiffs were entitled to nothing. The decision was affirmed by the Eleventh Circuit.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

John Rogers and Joe Kingma represented a consortium of builders who had contracted to purchase the last 45 buildable lots in Fayetteville, Georgia. The developer-seller decided that the contract price was too low and refused to honor the agreement. Worse, in an attempt to avoid his contractual obligations, the developer conveyed the lots to a corporation he controlled. The developer hired lawyers from one of the nation’s largest law firms and fought tooth and nail. After extensive motion practice, a jury trial, and two appellate court opinions, our clients won the lots. By this time, the real estate had increased in value over $2 million, nearly double the original contract price. The Fayette County jury also awarded attorney’s fees and punitive damages, and the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed. Stinchcomb v. Wright, 278 Ga. App. 136 (2006).

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma won a defense verdict for a Georgia bank sued for fraudulent lending and wrongful foreclosure on June 12, 2008. The plaintiff proved: he had diabetes; he had his eyes operated on a less than a month prior to the loan closing; he was driven to the loan closing by someone else; and that the bank loan committee had approved the larger loan he said he should have gotten. The bank had foreclosed on a family farm that had been in the plaintiff's family for several generations. Joe was successful in convincing the jury that the bank officers, and not the foreclosed borrower, were truthful.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Billy Newcomb and Joe Kingma represented a Real Estate Brokerage sued when a 12 story condo conversion failed. The Plaintiff had purchased a portion of the building and sued the Brokerage, claiming it had known about the need for asbestos abatement but did not inform him. He was ultimately foreclosed on and faced a large deficiency. Plaintiff asserted he would not have bought into the building had he known of the asbestos. Plaintiff also argued that the Brokerage’s dual representation of both the seller and the buyer and the Brokerage’s prior purchase of several floors for its own account created conflicts of interest. A former Brokerage employee testified that the Brokerage’s own manual required disclosure of all known facts about asbestos, and the Plaintiff’s expert agreed. The trial judge denied the Brokerage’s motion for summary judgment, and the case went to trial on the Plaintiff’s fraud, negligence, breach of contract and statutory violation claims. The Plaintiff also sought his attorney’s fees and punitive damages. While acknowledging the Brokerage had not told its client all it knew about the asbestos, the defense focused on the Brokerage’s proximate cause argument. An artful timeline showed that the delay in renovations due to the asbestos was only 4-6 months, and it was really other developer delays and the general decline in the real estate market that caused the Plaintiff’s losses. The Plaintiff’s attorneys were formidable trial lawyers on their home court, but the jury was convinced the Plaintiff was personally responsible for his losses and rendered a complete defense verdict.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma got a defense verdict for a lawyer in the Fulton County State Court on Friday, July 25, 2008. Plaintiff claimed that he had hired the lawyer to assist him with guardianship issues and that the lawyer had also been instructed by the deceased to draft a will leaving him real estate. Plaintiff's claims were bolstered by several independent witnesses who claimed that the lawyer had been engaged to represent Plaintiff and that the deceased had instructed the lawyer to so draft the will. Plaintiff claimed to have provided almost daily attendant care for the deceased. Joe was successful in discrediting the Plaintiff's testimony as well as that of his "independent" witnesses. The jury believed the lawyer who testified that he did not represent the Plaintiff and that the deceased had never told him to draft a will to leave the Plaintiff anything.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

On October 9, 2007 the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the defense verdict John Rogers and Joe Kingma had won before a Superior Court jury. The case, Barnes v. Turner, received massive nationwide publicity two years earlier when the Georgia Supreme Court reversed the grant of a motion to dismiss and sidestepped what the trial court and Court of Appeals had thought was a fairly easy application of the statute of limitations. See the full reported decision at 278 Ga. 788, 606 S.E.2d 849 (2004). The jury found that Barnes failed to prove that Turner proximately caused any damages and granted a verdict for the defendant. The Court of Appeals affirmed and ended the saga with a defense victory.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Billy Newcomb and Joe Kingma successfully defended a law firm sued after a Chatham County waterfront development failed. Claims against the law firm were brought by the title insurer and the borrower. The lender had been put into involuntary bankruptcy and its successor in interest, which had purchased the loan out of bankruptcy, was a party defendant as well. CCS filed a motion for summary judgment against the title insurer. It argued that the insurer had no duty to defend or indemnify its insured (the purchaser of the loan that it was already defending under the policy) because the potential for a discrepancy was made known to the failed lender by the law firm and thus the title insurer had no claim against the law firm that issued the policy. In the face of a strong brief, the title insurer settled its claim against the law firm rather than file a response. That left CCS free to tee off on the borrower. On summary judgment, CCS argued that the borrower’s claims failed because: 1) there was no attorney-client relationship; 2) the borrower could not show the law firm made a false representation on which the borrower was entitled to rely; and 3) the borrower, who had also declared bankruptcy, could not show damages proximately caused by the law firm’s alleged error.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma won dismissal of claims against a law firm that initiated foreclosure proceedings for a bank. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia dismissed the plaintiff’s claims for fraud, wrongful foreclosure, conspiracy, and violations of several federal statutes.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Bill Jones, and Joe Kingma obtained swift injunctive relief for a nationwide auto-dealer based on Georgia’s Computer Systems Protection Act and Trade Secrets Act. The competitor had recently hired the client’s former employees. After filing suit against the competitor and former employees, serving targeted written discovery and conducting forensic analysis, injunctive relief was secured and the case resolved.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Shannon Sprinkle, and Joe Kingma prevailed on a motion for summary judgment in favor of a local real estate lawyer. Carlock Copeland successfully argued that the Plaintiff, who was attempting to stand in the shoes of an original lender, was not a successor in interest and was not entitled to bring the malpractice claims asserted. Plaintiff, a distressed debt buyer, had purchased loans from a failing bank with a book value of more than $20M. As to one of the defaulted loans, Plaintiff alleged malpractice against the closing lawyer because certain title exceptions were not included as exceptions to a title insurance policy and allegedly not disclosed to the lending bank. Carlock Copeland succeeded in getting the case dismissed by demonstrating that Plaintiff lacked standing, because although it had purchased the rights to the loans, there was no written assignment of any malpractice claims. This case may be appealed so watch for further updates.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma won summary judgment for a law firm in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Plaintiff alleged the law firm had represented it in a relatively complex attempted stock purchase. It pointed to two separate draft engagement letters and testified it had relied on the law firm’s work. Needless to say, the acquisition failed, and one investor was out a substantial sum of money. Plaintiff claimed the law firm agreed to paper up the stock purchase, as well as line up new financing for the company. When the stock purchase was unsuccessful, it claimed the law firm breached its fiduciary duty by bringing suit on behalf of the disgruntled investor. The court ruled that despite the Plaintiff’s testimony, there was insufficient evidence to show that the Plaintiff and the law firm had an attorney-client or fiduciary relationship or that the Plaintiff was a third-party beneficiary of the law firm’s work. Plaintiff’s summary judgment motion was also denied. This case may be appealed, so watch this space for further developments.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma obtained a dismissal from the Superior Court of Gwinnett County of claims against a law firm arising out of foreclosure proceedings. The trial court rejected the plaintiff’s claims that the foreclosure was wrongful because her note and security deed had been split from each other and that the law firm had violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Georgia Residential Mortgage Fraud Act.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

John Bunyan and Joe Kingma obtained the dismissal of claims against a law firm arising out of foreclosure proceedings. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia concluded the plaintiff failed to state a claim for wrongful foreclosure, breach of contract, or fraud.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

John Bunyan and Joe Kingma obtained the dismissal of claims against a law firm arising out of foreclosure proceedings. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia concluded that the plaintiff’s wrongful foreclosure claims failed because he did not deny he was in default on his loan and lacked standing to challenge the assignment of his security deed.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma won the dismissal of claims against a law firm that initiated foreclosure proceedings. The plaintiff alleged wrongful foreclosure, negligence, and fraud claims, arguing that his security deed had not been properly assigned to the foreclosing bank. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia dismissed the lawsuit.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma won a dismissal from the Superior Court of Fulton County of claims against a law firm arising out of foreclosure proceedings. The plaintiffs argued that the foreclosure proceedings were wrongful because the defendants had failed to correct errors in the accounting of their loan payments and had not stated the address of their property in the foreclosure notice. The trial court dismissed the lawsuit because the plaintiffs had not tendered the amount due on their loan or alleged any violation of the foreclosure statutes by the law firm.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Brian Spitler and Joe Kingma obtained dismissal for their client, an accountant and his firm, on claims brought by the principals of a company in receivership. The motion to dismiss successfully argued that the accountant and his firm were immune from liability based on their official capacity as court-appointed receivers. After a drawn out fight, which included the filing and refiling of lawsuits and a visit to the appellate court, the trial court dismissed the case in its entirety bringing resolution to the case prior to any formal discovery. Order is subject to further appeal.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma obtained a dismissal from the Superior Court of Cobb County of claims against a law firm that initiated foreclosure proceedings. The trial court concluded that plaintiff’s broad allegations that the foreclosure proceedings were not conducted properly and that she did not receive a demand letter before the sale was scheduled were insufficient to state a wrongful foreclosure claim.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma won dismissal of an action against a law firm retained to initiate foreclosure proceedings. In granting Carlock Copeland's motion to dismiss, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia rejected Plaintiff's challenge to the assignment of his security deed executed by the law firm, concluding that Plaintiff lacked standing to challenge the assignment and that the assignment complied with Georgia's laws on transferring deeds. The district court also rejected Plaintiff's claims that the law firm violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by misidentifying his creditor because she did not allege that the firm was a debt collector. Finally, the court concluded that the correspondence attached to the Complaint showed that the law firm gave the Plaintiff the required notice of the foreclosure sale.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma won dismissal of an action against a law firm retained to initiate foreclosure proceedings. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia concluded that Plaintiff did not plead any allegations to support a claim under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or National Housing Act, did not allege that she tendered the amount due on her loan to state a claim under Georgia's Uniform Commercial Code, and did not explain how the law firm violated Georgia's foreclosure laws.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Billy Newcomb and Joe Kingma represented an accounting firm accused of professional negligence and breach of fiduciary duty for allegedly 1) failing to inform its client that an employee had been embezzling funds from the company and 2) failing to properly monitor and maintain the client’s financial records. The client-plaintiff alleged damages in excess of $2 million. Billy and Joe filed a pre-discovery motion to dismiss. Rather than opposing the motion, the plaintiff dismissed the lawsuit.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma won dismissal of a wrongful foreclosure action against a law firm retained to initiate foreclosure proceedings. Plaintiff raised wrongful foreclosure, breach of contract, and fraudulent misrepresentation claims alleging that the foreclosure proceedings were wrongful because the bank had failed to produce a verified copy of the promissory note showing it was the creditor authorized to foreclose, had breached the notice terms of the security deed, and had misrepresented that the foreclosure sale would be postponed while the plaintiff negotiated a loan modification. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia granted Carlock Copeland’s motion to dismiss, concluding that the plaintiff failed to state any claim for relief against the law firm.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma won dismissal of a wrongful foreclosure action brought against a law firm that was retained to initiate foreclosure proceedings. The plaintiff alleged that MERS was not authorized to assign his security deed, that the bank could not foreclose because his note and security deed had been split during the assignment process, and that he had been fraudulently induced to believe that foreclosure proceedings would be stayed while he negotiated a loan modification. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia dismissed the case because the plaintiff’s security deed authorized MERS to assign the power of sale and the foreclosing bank held the plaintiff’s note and security deed at the time the law firm initiated foreclosure proceedings.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma and Brian Spitler represented an auditor during an investigation which included testimony before the SEC.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Pete Werdesheim and Joe Kingma successfully briefed and argued a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment in an abusive litigation case in the State Court of Fulton County. Plaintiffs, who are represented by a well-regarded Atlanta law firm, seek over $10 million in damages, a sum they contend is attributable to a frivolous lawsuit and lis pendens that impaired the marketability of certain industrial property they owned. By granting partial summary judgment, Judge Susan Edlein eliminated one plaintiff’s claims entirely and struck the remaining plaintiff’s attempt to recover punitive damages, thereby eliminating well over half of the damages Plaintiffs hoped to recover from Carlock Copeland’s law firm client.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma had their motion to dismiss granted on November 13, 2012 in the State Court of Jenkins County. Plaintiff alleged that he lost rental properties as a result of the defendant attorney’s negligence, intentional misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and fraud. Plaintiff’s claims against the defendant lender remain. This order may be appealed, so watch this space for further developments.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma represented a CPA firm hired by a department of the State of Georgia to review records from a state contractor. Based on that review, the contractor was stricken from the program and was ordered to refund fees already received. The contractor sued the CPA in the Superior Court of Dekalb County. On November 5, 2012, the trial court granted Carlock Copeland’s motion to dismiss. This result may be appealed, so watch this space for further developments.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma won summary judgment in the Southern District of Georgia on September 25, 2012. Plaintiff owned a large retail operation that fell on hard times. The defendant law firm represented the plaintiff and his corporation in the defense of creditor claims and then in bankruptcy. While the corporation was in bankruptcy, plaintiff signed a personal guaranty on a big chunk of the store’s debt to avoid the appointment of a trustee. He also authorized the law firm to acknowledge service on his behalf and then fled the country. He was sued on the guaranty, and the defendant law firm accepted service on his behalf. No response was timely filed, and the suit went into default and was ultimately paid by the plaintiff. He sued the law firm, claiming it breached its duties in (1) advising him to sign the guaranty, and (2) allowing the suit to go into default. Joe argued, in part, that judgmental immunity protected the advice to sign the guaranty and that the plaintiff could show no damages proximately caused by the alleged failings. With this motion pending, the plaintiff, through his corporation, sought to bring adversary claims in the bankruptcy court against the defendant law firm.  Joe acted quickly to negotiate a settlement of those claims with the trustee. While the debtor corporation, through the plaintiff, vigorously opposed the settlement, the bankruptcy court approved it after a daylong hearing. Finally, the U.S. District Court granted summary judgment to the law firm on the individual plaintiff’s claims. The bankruptcy court’s approval of the settlement was appealed, and the grant of summary judgment may be as well so stay tuned. The district court’s well-reasoned 39-page order offered this observation, which is applicable to many malpractice claims: “The polished lens of hindsight makes easy play of counterfactuals so caution must be taken to guard against its prejudices.”

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma had his motion for summary judgment granted on July 26, 2012 in the State Court of Chatham County. Plaintiffs were wealthy investors from Savannah who helped to fund the acquisition and development of several buildings in downtown Savannah. While the project was initially successful in selling units at New York City prices, it eventually failed in the teeth of the real estate slump, and millions of dollars in investor money was lost. In separate actions the investors sued the managing members of their LLC, the LLC itself, the LLC’s contractor, and the LLC’s lender. The lender failed and was taken over by the FDIC, and the contractor filed for bankruptcy, although some of that litigation continues. Joe filed a motion contending that while his law firm client had represented the LLC which did the development and had drafted the organizational documents for one of the plaintiff investors, they owed no duty to the investor plaintiffs. The trial court agreed and granted the motion for summary judgment. While this case may be subject to appeal, for now all of plaintiffs’ claims are denied. Stay tuned for further developments.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma obtained a dismissal in federal district court for an attorney on alleged civil RICO and section 1983 conspiracy claims.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma represent a lawyer who allegedly gave bad advice in an employment matter. The plaintiff claimed that based on the advice, he quit his job, enrolled in law school, moved away from his family, and borrowed money to pay expenses. Joe moved for summary judgment, which the trial court granted in large part, including dismissing claims for emotional distress, attorney's fees, and punitive damages. The court sharply limited the damages that the plaintiff might recover. The Court of Appeals of Georgia affirmed the holding that the plaintiff could not recover any damages related to attending law school, because the defendant lawyer did not proximately cause those alleged damages. The Court of Appeals described the plaintiff's claim, that a lawyer must pay to remake a client's life, as "preposterous."

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

John Rogers and Joe Kingma obtained summary judgment in a putative class action suit against a law firm in the Southern District of Georgia. The plaintiffs were referred to the law firm by a chiropractor after a 2005 car accident. The firm handled plaintiffs' personal injury claims and settled on their behalf. Plaintiffs filed a class action alleging professional negligence, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty. They claimed the law firm wrongfully solicited them at the chiropractic clinic, engaged in a fee-sharing scheme with the clinic, and inadequately represented their interests. The allegations included the suggestion of an unholy alliance between the firm and the chiropractor against the clients' interests. Judge Lisa Wood granted the firm's motion for summary judgment on March 7, 2012, holding the plaintiffs could show no damage.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Shannon Sprinkle and Joe Kingma won the dismissal of a federal action against a law firm that was retained to initiate foreclosure proceedings. The plaintiff alleged that his promissory note and security deed were forged and that the collections law firm "robo-signed" the assignment of his security deed and failed to get government authorization before foreclosing. In dismissing the action, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia concluded that none of these allegations stated a plausible claim for relief.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Bill Jones and Joe Kingma prevailed on a motion to dismiss granted in the Superior Court of Gwinnett County on November 29, 2011. The case arose from a contract for the sale of 36.5 acres of raw land which was going to be converted to commercial. The sale fell through when a local municipality arguably changed the zoning rules and the developer sued the municipality as well as a local nonprofit. The developer claimed that the nonprofit employee, who was formerly the mayor of the municipality, had tortiously interfered with contractual relations and caused the loss of the sale. The developer prevailed against the municipality and obtained an advisory opinion for $1.8 million dollars. Carlock Copeland defended the claims against the nonprofit, arguing that even if the speech was made, which was denied, it was privileged and protected by the Anti-SLAPP statute. The case was vigorously argued on motion, which was granted by the trial court on November 29, 2011. The case has been affirmed by the Georgia Court of Appeals.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Brian Spitler and Joe Kingma won dismissal of claims against their attorney client in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The plaintiffs alleged that they lost their investments in a real estate company due to fraud. The plaintiff investors sued various defendants, including the attorney who performed corporate legal work for the company. The court agreed that the plaintiffs failed to state claims for securities fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, false certification of financial statements, and civil RICO against the attorney.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Pete Werdesheim and Joe Kingma obtained summary judgment in an abusive-litigation action brought against their clients in the Superior Court of DeKalb County. Plaintiff contended that Carlock Copeland's attorney clients pursued frivolous defenses and counterclaims in an underlying lawsuit that stemmed from the breakup of a technology business, seeking nearly $1,000,000 in damages. In an order entered June 10, 2011, just ten days before a specially set trial, Judge Linda Warren Hunter determined that no triable issue existed as to "malice," causation, or damages.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Brian Spitler and Joe Kingma obtained dismissal for their client, an accountant and a court appointed receiver, on claims brought by the principals of the company in receivership. The motion to dismiss was based on the receiver's official immunity. Following a hearing, Plaintiff voluntary dismissed the claims.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

343Joe Kingma obtained summary judgment for a certified public accountant in the Superior Court of Whitfield County. The plaintiff sued the CPA and others, alleging that the plaintiff was cheated out of profits when his employer was sold to another company. The court granted summary judgment to all defendants on claims including conspiracy, money had and received, and conversion.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Pete Werdesheim, and Joe Kingma won Summary Judgment for a law firm that acted as escrow agent in connection with a proposed $35 million dollar real estate development. The Plaintiff claimed that the law firm breached its fiduciary duty by prematurely releasing funds to a lender that backed out of the deal and kept the cash. Carlock Copeland argued that the law firm complied with the express terms of the escrow agreement. The Motion was granted on February 28, 2011, and the law firm was dismissed from the case.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Shannon Sprinkle and Joe Kingma won Summary Judgment on February 16, 2011, for a well-known law firm. The Law Firm had acted as escrow agent for a consortium of developers who built a network of sewer pump stations. The final cost exceeded the Seven Million Dollar budget and the primary contractor for the project demanded an additional $1.5M from the developers for allegedly completed but unpaid work. As the escrowed funds were insufficient to meet the new demands, the Law Firm filed an Interpleader action seeking to deposit the remaining escrow sums into court. One of the developers, against whom the additional demands for payment from the contractor was made, filed a counterclaim against the Law Firm alleging that it had mishandled the escrow account, resulting in undisclosed damages. Carlock Copeland aggressively defended the counterclaim demonstrating through the depositions of representatives for the counterclaimant developer that it had suffered no damages other than approximately $70,000 it had paid its lawyers to pursue meritless claims. The Court also found that the developer could not show that the Law Firm had done anything improper in its administration of the escrow account to cause any damages. Carlock Copeland's Motion for Summary Judgment was successful and the developer's claims were dismissed.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma obtained dismissal for a national insurance carrier in the Superior Court of Fulton County. The plaintiff brought claims directly against the carrier based on its insured's representation of the plaintiff in a contract action. The court dismissed the complaint in its entirety for failure to state a claim.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma obtained dismissal for their lawyer clients on claims brought by heirs in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The judge granted the motion based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction, the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, and res judicata.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

John Rogers and Joe Kingma prevailed on a construction bonding company's claims against an audit firm in the United States District Court in the Southern District of Georgia. The paving company that provided the asphalt for most of the Georgia Department of Transportation's road building projects failed and left the bonding company on the hook for dozens of incomplete projects. The bonding company claimed it relied on the defendant's audit reports in issuing the bonds. Prior to issuing the bonds, the Plaintiff reviewed the Defendant's audited financial statements and attended meetings to evaluate the asphalt company's ability to perform. Carlock Copeland filed a motion to dismiss under Twombly and Iqbal, arguing that the Plaintiff never stated what was inaccurate in the audited financial statements or how the Defendant breached the standard of care in its audit. On January 25, 2011, the Court granted the motion and dismissed the complaint in its entirety. This result may be appealed, so stay tuned for further results.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Shannon Sprinkle and Joe Kingma won the dismissal of a federal action against a law firm that handles collections matters throughout the Southeast. The Plaintiff alleged claims based on the law firm's initiating foreclosure proceedings against her. In dismissing the case, the Northern District of Georgia determined that the law firm was not engaged in "debt collection" under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act because it was enforcing its client's valid security interest in the Plaintiff's property. The district court further concluded that the assignment of the Plaintiff's loan and security deed was validly made retroactive under Georgia law. In addition to the FDCPA claims, the district court also dismissed the Plaintiff's state law fraud and civil RICO claims.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma won the dismissal of a federal court action alleging that a lawyer committed legal malpractice while representing a corporation in a breach of contract action. The Northern District of Georgia determined that the individual Plaintiff, who was the owner of the corporation, did not have standing to assert any claim for damages based on the lawyer's representation of the corporation in the prior litigation.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

On November 17, 2010, Shannon Sprinkle and Joe Kingma defeated claims by a recently divorced husband against a lawyer who at one time had represented both husband and wife. The husband claimed that the lawyer, while representing both the husband and the wife, drafted a divorce agreement which was adopted and made a part of the divorce decree. He claimed that there was a "side deal" to give parcels of land back to him after the divorce was final. The trial judge based his grant of summary judgment on the terms of the executed settlement agreement and his unwillingness to collaterally attack the divorce decree which had not been vacated. Additionally, the judge ruled that the husband's assertions amounted to a confession of an attempt to defraud his creditors. "The principal that a plaintiff who has participated in wrongdoing may not recover damages resulting from the wrongdoing," in pari delicto, is a common defense in accounting malpractice cases, but is seldom seen in attorney malpractice cases. This result was appealed and upheld.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma represented a law firm that was sued by a Builder in Georgia Superior Court. The claims arose out of a failed real estate development and a failed mortgage lender. The Builder had acquired lots financed by an acquisition and development loan that was closed by Joe's client. The development ultimately failed, as did the mortgage lender. The construction company sued the failed lender and its principal, a related builder, the Bank that had taken assignment of the A&D loans, and a Title Company. The lawyer faced claims of fraud and misrepresentation. The plaintiff also attempted to assert claims for conspiracy, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, and violation of the Georgia RICO statute. All of these claims were dismissed on summary judgment by the court's order on September 8, 2010. The case goes on against other defendants, and may be appealed, so check back for further developments.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Shannon Sprinkle and Joe Kingma achieved summary judgment for a City Attorney faced with allegations of malicious prosecution filed in Federal Court. The Mayor had been indicted on two counts of violating his oath of office after engaging in questionable transactions involving City funds and endangering a community development grant due to conflicts of interest. After that indictment was dismissed based on the technical invalidity of a City Ethics Ordinance, the Mayor sued the City Attorney, City Manager, and former and current City Council members. Carlock Copeland filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, which the Federal Judge granted on August 27, 2010. The Court found that there was no evidence that the defendant instigated the prosecution or that he knew that a city ordinance had not been properly passed.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma had his attorney client dismissed from a lawsuit filed by a title insurance company. Judge Barrett in Towns Superior Court granted the motion. This case may be appealed, so stay tuned for further developments.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Billy Newcomb and Joe Kingma were retained to represent an attorney being investigated by the Georgia Bar for possible ethical violations in connection with his legal representation of a client in a divorce proceeding. The Office of the General Counsel ultimately found no evidence that the attorney acted unethically, and dismissed the grievance filed by his client.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Billy Newcomb and Joe Kingma had their motion to dismiss on behalf of a lawyer defendant granted in federal court on December 11, 2009. The suit was filed by a factoring company who alleged that its security position was damaged when a textile operation sold its assets. The defendants included the textile operation, its purchaser, a related business and the lawyer with whom the seller consulted. The factors claims were for conversion as well as conspiracy to violate the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act. The court ruled that the complaint at most speculated that the lawyer conspired and that such speculation was not enough to withstand the motion. The suit continues against the other defendants.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Shannon Sprinkle and Joe Kingma won Summary Judgment for an Atlanta lawyer accused of malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud. The Plaintiff backed a multi-million dollar mixed-use development in Cartersville and sued after the project failed and he was called upon to satisfy his guaranty. In addition to his payment on the guaranty, the Plaintiff sought damages for lost investment opportunities, diminished credit rating, and more than $300,000 in attorney's fees. He claimed that the lawyer representing the borrower labored under conflicts of interest, owed him a duty, and gave bad advice. He bolstered his claim with the testimony of the author of a six volume Legal Malpractice Treatise, an Emory law professor, and one of the deans of the banking bar in Atlanta. Nonetheless, the Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment was granted. The case was appealed, but the appeal was dismissed and summary judgment stood.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Pete Werdesheim and Joe Kingma obtained summary judgment in an abusive-litigation action brought against their lawyer client in the State Court of Gwinnett County. In short summary, the plaintiff contended that Carlock Copeland's client maliciously pursued a groundless claim, which allegedly caused millions of dollars in lost business and financing opportunities. In an order entered November 24, 2009, Judge Pamela D. South determined that no triable issue existed as to whether Carlock Copeland's client had acted in good faith in prosecuting the underlying lawsuit against the plaintiff and reasonably relied on her experience in similar cases in concluding that her insurance-company client had a viable cause of action.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma represented a law firm that had closed the sale of a 342-acre tract in north Georgia. The purchaser, who had planned to create a large residential development, learned that an industrial waste landfill had been concealed on the property and sued the seller. The seller third-partied in Joe's client claiming that an escrow agreement and closing instructions had been violated. The purchaser's and the seller's cross-summary judgment motions were denied, but the law firm's motion, including a claim for indemnification from the seller, was granted. The seller has appealed so stay tuned.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

John Rogers and Joe Kingma represented a law firm which had assisted in an attempted 100-acre assemblage along with a separate 150 unit townhome development. Both projects failed midstream when the real estate market turned, and there was a falling out among the investors who had funded the projects. A New York investor alleged he had been defrauded through a complex nest of entities. Several lawsuits ensued, and our client law firm was ultimately named as a third party defendant in federal court in Atlanta. The investor was represented by first one, and then another, high-profile firm. Although the investor showed his money had been misallocated, the recipient was in jail in NYC convicted of murder. John and Joe got summary judgment as to all the claims against the law firm, which included fraud, conversion, and conspiracy. The case remains ongoing as to other parties, and the ruling may be ultimately appealed.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Plaintiff sued Pete Werdesheim and Joe Kingma's client for abusive litigation arising from a judgment it had obtained against him. After oral argument, Judge Robert W. Mock of the State Court of Gwinnett County granted our client's Motion to Dismiss. The order was entered August 26, 2008, less than 60 days after we filed an answer. This marked the second time in less than six months that Carlock Copeland's Commercial Litigation practice group was able to save this particular client money by obtaining a swift dismissal of a frivolous lawsuit.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

A church that purchased an existing sanctuary sued a host of defendants after discovering that they got less than they thought they should.Pete Werdesheim and Joe Kingma's clients—well-respected Atlanta real-estate lawyers—were caught in the crossfire. But Pete and Joe filed a motion to dismiss, which was granted on June 16, 2008 by Judge Patsy Y. Porter of Fulton County State Court.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

The plaintiff sued an insurance company and two local lawyers in federal court for allegedly violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act. He sought $2.5 million in damages arising from lost business opportunities. Pete Werdesheim and Joe Kingma filed a motion to dismiss, which was granted on April 23, 2008 by Judge William S. Duffey. U.S. District Court, N.D. Ga., 1:08-CV-00004.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

The grievance alleged that the lawyer violated the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct by duping his client into conveying two pieces of property to him for less than one-third of their fair market value. It was further alleged that the lawyer had a longstanding sexual relationship with the client. The State Bar's Office of General Counsel referred the grievance to the Investigative Panel of the State Disciplinary Board. Pete Werdesheim and Joe Kingma briefed and orally argued the issues to a member of the Panel. The grievance was dismissed on April 21, 2008, without any disciplinary action against the lawyer.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma got summary judgment for three defendants sued in Clayton County for allegedly interfering with a psychologist's business. The psychologist alleged that the defendant's wrongful actions had led to his discipline by the Georgia Psychological Association and the State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. Joe argued that the defendants were protected by a statutory immunity and that the plaintiff could not show any damages proximately caused by the defendant's alleged actions. Summary judgment was granted in the Superior Court of Clayton County on April 17, 2008.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Pete Werdesheim and Joe Kingma obtained summary judgment for a lawyer who had been sued by a bank. The lawyer had defended the bank in litigation which resulted in a $600,000 adverse verdict. The bank sued the lawyer alleging malpractice in the handling of the case. The lawyer's motion for summary judgment was granted on December 12, 2007, by Judge Pamela South in the State Court of Gwinnett County. Judge South held that the bank failed to show their alleged damages were proximately caused by anything the lawyer did and that the lawyer's actions were protected by the doctrine of judgmental immunity. The court also awarded the defendant attorney the fees he has not yet been paid from the underlying representation.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

John Rogers and Joe Kingma advised a Florida-based developer on issues arising from a contract to sell an apartment complex to a publicly traded REIT. The REIT used supposedly low occupancy numbers as a pretext to back out of the deal. Our client appeared to be on a collision course with expensive litigation. But we successfully helped them demand performance of the contract and the deal closed on schedule in August 2007.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

The plaintiff alleged that our Atlanta law firm client committed malpractice and violated RESPA by making an unauthorized cash distribution to the borrower in a real estate transaction. The plaintiff's allegations were bolstered by expert testimony from a prominent Atlanta lawyer who sits on the State Bar's Board of Governors. Pete Werdesheim and Joe Kingma argued that their client owed no duty to the plaintiff and the trial court agreed, granting summary judgment on May 10, 2007.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Shannon Sprinkle and Joe Kingma obtained dismissal of an accounting malpractice suit in the Superior Court of Bartow County on May 10, 2007. They represented an Alabama accounting firm that had performed attest services for a business that failed. The business and some of its principals claimed the accountants were responsible. After Shannon and Joe filed the motion to dismiss, the principals declared bankruptcy. After the dust settled and the bankruptcy concluded, the court dismissed claims against the accountants.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma represented a lawyer who was sued for alleged conspiracy. Judge Richard W. Story granted the motion to dismiss. Michael J. Murray, v. Thurbert Baker, et al., No. 1:06-CV-2516-RWS (N.D. Ga. Jan. 4, 2007). Joe Kingma represented a lawyer accused of falsifying evidence and suborning perjury. Judge John Langford in Fulton Superior Court granted Joe's motion to dismiss. CS Chong LLC v. Stephen Mackie, et al., No. 06-CV-124671 (Feb. 13, 2007).

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Shannon Sprinkle and Joe Kingma defended a national law firm against malpractice claims filed by a client dissatisfied with their result at trial. Finding that the plaintiff's claims were unwarranted, the trial court granted summary judgment to the firm and to the individual partners named in the lawsuit. The Court of Appeals of Georgia affirmed.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Payday lender Stewart Finance Company and two related entities failed and filed for bankruptcy. One hundred fifty-five purchasers of securities sued Stewart Finance's accountants and lawyers. Joe Kingma defended the accountants against multi-million-dollar fraud and RICO claims and filed motions to dismiss. The trial court agreed that the plaintiffs had not pled fraud and RICO violations with particularity, as Georgia law requires. The Court of Appeals of Georgia affirmed the dismissals with prejudice. Hawks v. Miller & Martin, PLLC, Case A06A0604; Sweetapple v. Miller & Martin, PLLC, Case A06A0605; Sweetapple v. Smith, Case A06A0606, not officially reported (2006).

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Shannon Sprinkle and Joe Kingma represented an Atlanta-based real estate investment company. The adjacent owner's building encroached upon our clients' property. After negotiations failed, we filed suit. Shortly thereafter, we reached an agreement with the adjacent owner to demolish the offending structure, and our client recouped damages and attorney's fees. Indigo Holdings, Inc. v. Greenclub Investment Corp., Fulton Superior Court, 2006-CV-114826.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Pete Werdesheim and Joe Kingma represented a real estate investor who purchased a home in foreclosure. The occupant fought the ensuing eviction action and sued our client and the mortgage lender for wrongful foreclosure, among other things. Austin v. Todd, Henry Superior Court, 06-CV-2476-M. We argued that our client was a bona-fide purchaser for value, and the court agreed and granted summary judgment.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

John Rogers and Joe Kingma represented a closing lawyer who allegedly participated in a conspiracy to defraud homeowners. The allegations included RICO, breach of contract and violations of RESPA and TILA. After lengthy discovery, the Court granted summary judgment to our client. Jackson v. Equicredit Corp. of Georgia, M.D. Ga., 4:00-CV-184-2.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma’s client—a north Georgia real estate investment company—acquired several parcels of land in Dawson County, GA. When a dispute arose with another developer regarding ownership of the property, our client submitted a claim on its owner’s title insurance policy. But the insurance company refused to defend any of the claims, and it hired an international law firm to file a declaratory judgment action against our client in federal court. American Pioneer Title Ins. Co. v. Mountainview Development Co., Inc., N.D. Ga., 2:03-CV-0133-WCO. After substantial discovery, our clients received $795,000 under an agreement reached at mediation.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

John Rogers and Joe Kingma advised an international real estate company that sought to acquire a large tract of land to develop a subdivision. The seller threatened to back out of the deal. All it took was one threatening letter from us to ensure compliance with the contract. The deal closed on time and our clients avoided potentially costly litigation.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Pete Werdesheim and Joe Kingma advised an Atlanta-based mortgage lender faced with a repurchase demand from one of the nation's largest mortgage-servicing companies. The servicing company claimed that our client violated underwriting guidelines by extending credit based upon allegedly inflated appraisals and improper inducements from sellers in various transactions. Accordingly, it demanded the repurchase of several loans. Negotiations ensued, the end result of which was the rescission of the repurchase demand.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma represented a lawyer who allegedly gave faulty employment law advice to a manager of a large company based in Japan. The manager claimed he was discriminated against based on his ethnicity and had to quit his job. Joe’s original summary judgment motion was granted in large part, dismissing most of the plaintiff’s claims. The Court of Appeals of Georgia affirmed, and he filed a second motion for summary judgment, arguing that the remaining claims were or could have been brought by the plaintiff in his lawsuit against his former employer. Thus the plaintiff could not show any damages proximately caused by the defendant lawyer’s advice. The state court granted the second motion, striking the plaintiff’s remaining claims.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Pete Werdesheim and Joe Kingma obtained partial summary judgment and succeeded in striking one of the plaintiff's experts in a legal-malpractice action in the United States District Court, Southern District of Georgia. In short summary, the plaintiff contended that Carlock Copeland's clients failed to timely file a personal-injury action against a railroad under the FELA. The underlying action was dismissed under the statute of limitations. But in a 43-page order entered March 17, 2011, Judge J. Randal Hall struck one of the plaintiff's experts and granted partial summary judgment to Carlock Copeland's clients on grounds that the plaintiff failed to establish a jury issue as to whether he would have prevailed in the underlying action. The case will proceed to trial on the plaintiff's remaining claim of breach of fiduciary duty.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

The Plaintiff participated in assembling and redeveloping more than 50 properties in midtown Atlanta. He was paid several million dollars for his efforts but tried to claim he was a partner in the project. He sued the lawyer who had largely funded the acquisitions as well as the lawyer's law firm. He claimed they had represented him, breached their fiduciary duty and committed malpractice. He also sought to dissolve the alleged partnership and recover for unjust enrichment. The trial court noted there was an unsigned Memorandum of Understanding that suggested an intent by the Plaintiff and the lawyer to become partners and that a partnership could be created by oral agreement. It also noted the law firm had stated in several letters that it represented the Plaintiff. Nonetheless, the court held the Plaintiff had failed to demonstrate the parties had agreed to all of the essential terms of a partnership and he could not have reasonably believed the law firm was representing him individually. Thus, all his claims collapsed and summary judgment was affirmed by the Court of Appeals on November 21, 2012. Billy Newcomb and Joe Kingma represented the law firm.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Developer’s claims arose from a failed multi-million dollar sale. The Court of Appeals decision, dated November 16, 2012, affirmed that the alleged tortious interference was instead protected speech. The court also held that a confidentiality agreement plaintiffs sought to rely on could not be enforced by third parties. In addition, the court held that the statements made were privileged. The plaintiff LLC had as investors some politically powerful local residents who won a verdict of 1.8 million dollars on the same facts against the City of Suwanee. Bill Jones and Joe Kingma developed the legal theories, and drafted and argued the winning motion. This case may be appealed to the Supreme Court, so stay tuned for further developments.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma prevailed in the Georgia Court of Appeals, which affirmed the dismissal of claims brought directly by the plaintiff against a national insurance carrier. The Superior Court of Fulton County had dismissed the complaint in its entirety for failure to state a claim.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

John Rogers and Joe Kingma represented a Tennessee accountant and his firm in two lawsuits arising out of a "business divorce." The plaintiffs alleged that the accountants were complicit in fraud and racketeering perpetrated by the CEO and claimed a loss of $125 million. The district court granted summary judgment, holding that all potential claims against the accountants had been released as part of two stock transfers. The Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court's order.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Shannon Sprinkle and Joe Kingma obtained denial of a petition for writ of certiorari from the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeals had affirmed the grant of summary judgment granted in favor of their lawyer client. Their client had been sued by an opposing party in a divorce case for claims of breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and conspiracy. Plaintiff's claims were an effort to un-do the divorce decree, which he said resulted in an unfair distribution of marital assets. The trial court had previously rejected all of Plaintiff’s claims against the lawyer as an improper collateral attack on the prior judgment and found that Plaintiff was barred by in pari delicto due to his own bad acts. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision, agreeing that the Plaintiff's claims were an improper collateral attack on the prior judgment. The Supreme Court's denial of the Plaintiff's petition for writ of certiorari marks the end of the Plaintiff's appeals and brings this case to a close in the client's favor.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma represented two attorneys and their law firms, who were sued in connection with the administration of an estate. The Northern District lawsuit was dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. The Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal on October 4, 2011.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

John Rogers and Joe Kingma prevailed in the Eleventh Circuit, which affirmed an order dismissing a multi-million dollar audit malpractice suit with no discovery. The case arose from the failure of a contractor that had provided most of the asphalt for Georgia DOT projects. The contractor's failure had led to a firestorm of litigation, including one verdict of $150 million. On July 14, 2011, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed Carlock Copeland's win on behalf of a Georgia audit firm. The appellate court agreed that a construction bonding company's complaint must be dismissed for failing to specifically describe the mistakes the audit firm allegedly made. Carlock Copeland emphasized the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions in Iqbal and Twombly and argued that the plaintiff bonding company had failed to articulate a specific error. The win was reported in a Law360 article on July 15, 2011.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

On June 16, 2011, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought against a lawyer/guardian ad litem. Shannon Sprinkle and Joe Kingma successfully argued that the plaintiff had not sufficiently alleged facts supporting the claim that the guardian had conspired with state actors and others to deprive the plaintiff of his constitutional rights.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

John Rogers and Joe Kingma obtained a denial of a petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court for a lawyer who had been appointed as a receiver for several convenience stores as the result of a state civil RICO proceeding. The RICO proceedings developed out of allegations that the previous owners of the convenience stores had engaged in a scheme to defraud their customers by tampering with the fuel pumps. The lawyer was appointed receiver and ordered to seize all assets and property of the stores. Nonetheless, the new owners of the convenience stores claimed that the lawyer unlawfully seized certain inventory property contained in the stores. The new owners filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia and filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. Carlock Copeland defeated the motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary junction and filed a motion to dismiss, which the district court granted on the basis of a lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The United States Court of Appeal for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court, holding that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear claims against a state court appointed receiver. Despite the plaintiffs'' repeated losses, they petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review the Eleventh Circuit's decision but were denied certiorari after Carlock Copeland's lawyers filed their brief in opposition.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

John Rogers and Joe Kingma successfully obtained dismissal of a federal lawsuit against a receiver. Carlock Copeland's client is the court-appointed receiver for three large truck stops, which had allegedly been operating as a racketeering enterprise. Following the receiver's threats to foreclose on a security deed, the new operators sued in federal court, claiming the receiver had wrongfully seized their property. On less than 24 hours' notice, Joe Kingma flew to Brunswick and blocked the plaintiffs' efforts to obtain an injunction. Meanwhile, back in Atlanta, Andrew Eaton took the lead on drafting a motion to dismiss the plaintiffs' claims with John Rogers contributing as well. The Court dismissed the lawsuit before the receiver ever had to incur the expense of discovery. The plaintiffs have appealed, so stay tuned for what could be a reported decision from the Eleventh Circuit. UPDATE - Eleventh Circuit Affirms Motion to Dismiss in Suit Against Receiver John Rogers and Joe Kingma had their recent grant of dismissal affirmed by the Eleventh Circuit on November 24, 2009. A federal judge in the Southern District of Georgia dismissed the lawsuit before discovery ever began, and the Eleventh Circuit unanimously affirmed. A Supreme Court appeal is possible, so stay tuned.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma represented three defendants sued for allegedly interfering with a psychologist's business. The Psychologist alleged that the defendant's wrongful actions had forced him from private practice and caused his discipline by the Georgia Psychological Association and the State Board of Examiners. The trial court granted summary judgment and the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed finding that the defendants were protected by immunity and that the plaintiffs had failed to show harm arising from the alleged interference. (Case No. A09A0103 Georgia Court of Appeals, March 30, 2009)

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Pete Werdesheim and Joe Kingma's client—an accountant in northwest Georgia—faced serious accusations in a lawsuit in Whitfield County, including misappropriation of trade secrets and conspiracy to breach fiduciary duties. Within 30 days of entering an appearance, Pete and Joe obtained a dismissal and the trial court also awarded our client attorney's fees. On September 12, 2008, the Georgia Court of Appeals issued an opinion that upheld the dismissal and fee award.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

The plaintiff alleged that our law firm client committed malpractice and violated RESPA by making an unauthorized cash allowance to the borrower in a real-estate transaction. The plaintiff's allegations were bolstered by expert testimony from a prominent Atlanta lawyer who sits on the State Bar's Board of Governors. Pete Werdesheim and Joe Kingma successfully argued to the trial judge (Judge Michael Hancock of DeKalb Superior Court) that their client owed no duty to the plaintiff. The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for Pete and Joe's client in an opinion dated June 24, 2008.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Brian Spitler and Joe Kingma prevailed on behalf of their accountant clients when an array of rich investors sued trying to recover their Ponzi Scheme losses. The trial courts grant of summary judgment was affirmed on March 18,2014. The case arose when a hedge fund that, for years, operated as a Ponzi Scheme, failed. The principal of the failed fund pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was incarcerated in the federal penitentiary. Two hedge funds that had invested in the failed fund, along with several trusts and wealthy individuals sued the accounting firm for: fraud; breach of fiduciary duty; violation of the Georgia Securities laws; RICO; and breach of contract. The Plaintiffs were represented by a large, prominent, financial and securities law firm. Plaintiffs alleged that the accountants sent them monthly statements which vastly overstated their investment values and were also internally inconsistent. The complaint further alleged that the accountants must have known of the scheme because the accountants knew: that the hedge fund was required to have an annual audit; the fund’s partnership agreement identified the accountants as its auditors; that the fund had never been audited; that investors had sent letters to the accounting firm referring to it as the funds auditors; and that the monthly statements that the accountants sent out for years referred to an annual audit. The trial courts well-reasoned decision first noted that the monthly bore a clear disclaimer and that it was undisputed that the principal had lied to all the parties to conceal his thefts. The Court then went on to systematically dismember the claims. The negligent misrepresentation claims failed because the monthly statement’s disclaimers destroyed any claim of reasonable reliance. The accountants were also not liable for the funds offering documents and the accountants themselves never said they were the funds auditors. The plaintiffs failed to show the specific reliance necessary for their “Holder Claims” to prevail under Georgia law. Finally the Plaintiffs failure to exercise due diligence also defeated the negligent misrepresentation claims. The Court also dismissed the fraud claims because the plaintiffs could not show reasonable reliance or scienter. The claims under the Georgia Securities Acts of 1973 and 2008 failed because there was no evidence the accountants were guilty of “severe recklessness “ and because accountants are not “ Sellers” under the Acts. The Rico claims failed because there was no evidence that the accountants participated in the Ponzi scheme or that they had any criminal intent. The court found that minor, inadvertent, document destruction was routine and immaterial. The remainder of the claims were wiped out by the In Pari Delicto Doctrine. The court specifically held that even though the failed fund had innocent shareholders, the adverse interest exception to the In Pari Delicto Doctrine did not apply. The Court of Appeals adopted the trial courts analysis and findings without publishing an opinion.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Tyler Wetzel and Joe Kingma represented a lawyer who allegedly gave faulty employment law advice to a manager of a large company based in Japan. The manager claimed he was discriminated against based on his ethnicity and had to quit his job. Our original summary judgment motion was granted in large part, dismissing most of the plaintiff’s claims. The Court of Appeals of Georgia affirmed, and CCS then filed a second motion for summary judgment, arguing that the remaining claims were or could have been brought by the plaintiff in his lawsuit against his former employer. Thus the plaintiff could not show any damages proximately caused by the defendant lawyer’s advice. The state court granted the second motion, striking the plaintiff’s remaining claims and the Court of Appeals affirmed on July 7, 2014.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

Joe Kingma won 11th Circuit affirmance of summary judgment for a law firm that had represented the plaintiff and his retail corporation in bankruptcy. Plaintiff claimed that the law firm breached its duties in advising him to sign a personal guaranty of one of his store’s debts to avoid the appointment of a trustee and allowing a suit filed by his creditor to enforce the guaranty to go into default after he fled the country. In affirming summary judgment for the law firm, the 11th Circuit agreed with Joe’s argument that the law firm’s advice to sign the guaranty was an honest exercise of professional judgment entitled to judgmental immunity. The 11th Circuit further agreed that plaintiff could not show that any alleged wrongdoing by the law firm proximately caused him damages because there was no valid defense to the enforcement of the guaranty. Joe also thwarted the plaintiff’s attempt to bring adversary claims against the law firm through his corporation in the bankruptcy court by negotiating a settlement of those claims with the trustee, which the bankruptcy court approved after a daylong hearing.

For informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in future cases.

  Carlock, Copeland & Stair is proud to have once again sponsored the Jawbones & Sawbones annual basketball event, a benefit for the Side By Side Brain Injury Clubhouse.  This year, Team Jawbones & Sawbones with Carlock Copeland's Joe Kingma played The World Famous Harlem Wizards. Click here to be redirected for future sponsorship opportunity information.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair are proud to announce the following attorneys selected for inclusion on the Georgia Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars® lists for 2018. 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.   Super Lawyers® Thomas S. Carlock - Civil Litigation: Defense Wade K. Copeland - Civil Litigation: Defense Eric J. Frisch - Personal Injury Medical Malpractice: Defense Johannes S. Kingma - Professional Liability: Defense D. Gary Lovell, Jr. - Personal Injury Medical Malpractice: Defense Rolfe Martin - Personal Injury General: Defense David F. Root - General Litigation Douglas W. Smith - Personal Injury General: Defense Kent T. Stair - Professional Liability: Defense Frederick M. Valz, III - Insurance Coverage 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. Rising Stars® Lauren Meadows - Civil Litigation Defense Jay M. O'Brien - Personal Injury General: Defense

Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP held a Risk Management for Audit and Accounting Firms Seminar on August 11, 2017 in Brentwood, TN. The seminar was a success and  designed to help CPAs and accountants deal proactively and efficiently with audit and accounting industry related risk. Program information is listed below.  If you were unable to attend, but interested in this presentation or other presentations and webinars tailored to your business; please contact Michelle Mattox at mmattox@carlockcopeland.com. Shannon Sprinkle, Firm Managing Partner, Carlock, Copeland & Stair presented Cyber Liability Concerns for the Accounting Professional and Protecting Against Cyber Liability. Joe Kingma, Partner and Commercial Litigation Practice Group Leader, Carlock, Copeland & Stair presented Engagement Letters/Contracts. Joe Kingma moderated a panel presentation on Red Flag Clients with panelists Sarah Ference, CPA, Risk Control Director, CNA - Professional Services and J. Dale Crow, Corporate Counsel, Risk Strategies Company. All speakers participated in a segment on War Stories, Bad Cases and Good Outcomes. Brian Spitler, Partner, Carlock, Copeland & Stair  presented a segment on Subpoenas. Carlock, Copeland & Stair LLP is an approved provider with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors.  State boards of accountancy have final authority on acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit.  More information available at www.nasbaregistry.org.

Joe Kingma and the Commercial Litigation Team present in house programs on Risk Management for Audit and Accounting Firms to accountants, CPAs and insurance industry professionals throughout the year. The Commercial Litigation Team also presents annual client programs on Risk Management for Audit and Accounting Firms. Our 2017 Atlanta program was held at the Buckhead Club on June 8 as well as live-streamed to a remote audience. Please click on the short video clips below from the June 8th event by Shannon Sprinkle, Tyler Wetzel, Doug MacKelcan, Joe Kingma, John Rogers and Mark Rogers.

Joe Kingma participated in the 5th Annual Arts & Eats Fundraiser on April 30, 2017 at the Atlanta History Center. Joe Kingma is a member of the Board of Directors for Intown Collaborative Ministries (ICM).  ICM is a 501(c)3 nonprofit building relationships and finding permanent solutions to homelessness and hunger in our neighborhoods. Intown Collaborative Ministries' Board of Directors is a remarkable group of committed and experienced leaders from the business, legal, nonprofit, and religious communities of metro Atlanta.

ABA National Legal Malpractice Conference in Boston April 19-21st. Joe Kingma moderated “The State of the Insurance Market” a panel presentation on April 20 at 2 p.m.  

Shannon Sprinkle and Joe Kingma participated in the ICLE Not Your Typical CLE: What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate (Seminar Number 9495) on March 30, 2017. Early Registration is $155 and On-Site Registration is $185. Shannon Sprinkle presented Cross Examination (Plaintiff's Cross Examination of Defendant Lawyer Section). Joe Kingma presented Direct Examination by Plaintiff (Examination of Expert Witness Section). The event was held at the State Bar of Georgia Conference Center in Atlanta and via Video Conference at the Coastal Georgia Office of the State Bar of Georgia in Savannah and via Video Conference at the South Georgia Office of the State Bar of Georgia in Tifton.  The program was also offered via Webstream.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair was proud to sponsor the Jawbones vs. Sawbones annual basketball event, a benefit for the Side By Side Brain Injury Clubhouse. Joe Kingma participated again this year. This fundraiser allowed spectators to not only enjoy a competitive basketball game but also provided an incredible silent auction and live entertainment.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair was proud to sponsor the Jawbones vs. Sawbones annual basketball event, a benefit for the Side By Side Brain Injury Clubhouse. Joe Kingma participated again this year. This fundraiser allowed spectators to not only enjoy a competitive basketball game but also provided an incredible silent auction and live entertainment. Please click here for a recent article regarding the event written by Joe Kingma.

Joe Kingma attended the Plus International Conference at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, IL from November 9-11.

Takeaways from Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) International Conference 2016: 1.   Law firms fail because of: too much debt, rapid expansion, guaranteed salaries, and/or cultural divides. 2.  We are all expecting a U.S. law or accounting firm to get hit with a Panama Papers style data breach which brings down the firm and probably yields management liability claims as well. 3.   The IRS will continue its attack on captive insurance companies utilized to avoid tax with no real risk transfer. 4.   Mary Jo White will be missed and you might expect the SEC to focus less on Wall Street and more on Main Street in the next four years.

Carlock Copeland is proud to sponsor the Fall ABA Legal Malpractice Conference held in Chicago, IL from September 21-23. Joe Kingma, Brian Spitler and Tyler Wetzel participated.

Joe Kingma, Billy Newcomb and John Rogers will attend the ABA Annual Meeting held at the Marriott Marquis in San Francisco, CA on August 4, 2016. Joe was recently appointed President Elect of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Lawyers Professional Liability.  The LPL Committee has ten members, six of whom are in private practice, and it hosts two major conferences each year.  Joe has been active with the Committee for years,  suggesting topics and speaking or moderating panels at Conferences across the country.  Joe’s three year term will commence at the August 4th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.  Please contact Joe if you are interested in learning more about the Committee. Managing Partner David Root remarked, "the Firm is proud of Joe’s commitment to ABA and his dedication to excellence in Professional Liability practice." The ABA has almost 400,000 members and Joe says he feels fortunate to be appointed.  “The LPL Committee Conferences are a great forum for Law Firms, Insurance Brokers, and Insurers to meet, exchange ideas and work for the good of the profession." The Conferences draw 300-600 attendees and have special programs for Law Firm Managing Partners.  The Committee also aids state bars and law firms around the country by compiling data on claims;  sharing  information on E and O insurance policy. For more information, please click here.

Joe Kingma and the Accounting Malpractice Defense Team presented Risk Management for Audit and Accounting Firms at The Buckhead Club on  May 19. Please contact Michelle Mattox at mmattox@carlockcopeland.com for information regarding this program.

Joe Kingma was a host at the Intown Collaborative Ministries Arts & Eats Fundraiser on Sunday May 1 at the Atlanta History Center.  The event raised about $100,000.00 for Intown homeless and children who go hungry.  Joe says,"It’s a great cause with great live auction items and a real fun time.  Please join us next year or consider supporting ICM online today!"

Joe Kingma was a host at the Intown Collaborative Ministries Arts & Eats Fundraiser on May 1 at the Atlanta History Center.  The event raised about $100,000.00 for Intown homeless and children who go hungry.  Joe says,"It’s a great cause with great live auction items and a real fun time.  Please join us next year or consider supporting ICM online today!"

A wonderful event supporting Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse located in Stone Mountain, Georgia! The 5th Annual Jawbones vs. Sawbones (lawyers vs. doctors) Basketball Benefit game was held on March 12th. Our very own Joe Kingma was a coach and player for the Jawbones. This year the event featured a spectacular pirate show fittingly titled “Bounty of the Bones”. Jawbones were victorious this year breaking the tiebreaker with a 68-52 victory. Jawbones MVP was Joe Wilson of Hagen Rosskopf Earle and Sawbones MVP was Ogo Agubuzu of Emory Healthcare. You can count on Carlock, Copeland, & Stair LLP to be continuous supporters of this great event. Feel free to check out Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse at www.sidebysideclubhouse.org. Mark your calendar for next March for the 2017 Jawbones vs. Sawbones, don't miss out! Please click here to read a recent article by Joe Kingma entitled, Basketball and Trial, It's All About Teamwork. Watch the video!

Carlock, Copeland & Stair LLP sponsored the 2016 Jawbones vs. Sawbones Basketball Benefit at Decatur High School on March 12, 2016.  This was a signature event for Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse.  Joe Kingma participated again this year.

Joe Kingma is now a member of the Board of Directors for Intown Collaborative Ministries (ICM).  ICM is a 501(c)3 nonprofit building relationships and finding permanent solutions to homelessness and hunger in our neighborhoods. Intown Collaborative Ministries’ Board of Directors is a remarkable group of committed and experienced leaders from the business, legal, nonprofit, and religious communities of metro Atlanta.        

Joe Kingma moderated a panel and presented “Zone of Insolvency or Twilight Zone?” at the ABA Fall 2015 National Legal Malpractice Conference on Thursday, September 17th at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, AZ.  While consumer bankruptcies are down, it might take just one nice, juicy business failure to bring your law firm, or your insurance policy, to an end. If a law firm’s client goes bankrupt, the firm goes on the hit list of potential defendants with assets, and bankruptcy court sometimes seems designed to bring your assets into the estate without much consideration of liability. Trustees are smart and hyper-aggressive plaintiffs, and bankruptcy judges are often very close with the Trustees. Panel members discussed bankruptcy court matters such as 2004 exams, withdrawing the reference, core proceeding, and zone of insolvency. The session provided insight on ways to stay out of bankruptcy court as well as strategies to use the system to your advantage and find your way back to solid ground. Speakers included Rob Charles, Partner, Lewis Roca Rothgerber, Tucson, AZ Johannes Kingma, Partner, Carlock, Copeland & Stair LLP, Atlanta, GA Allison McCabe, Senior Claims Examiner, Aspen Insurance, New York, NY. ABA article - October 2015 - Joe Kingma Presentation     

Location: Scottsdale, AZ / Event Details/Registration

Risk Management for Audit and Accounting Firms Sponsored by Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP August 11, 2017 Location: The Meeting Center 201 Powell Place Brentwood, TN 37027 All of our programs are designed to help you deal proactively and efficiently with risk. Participants will: • Recognize the threats of cyber liability and ways to protect against cyber liability • Learn key elements of an engagement letter • Identify considerations involved in answering subpoenas (best practices) • Understand how to manage client risk; and identify the type of engagements that bring the most claims • Identify risk based on case stories and understand techniques of risk management • Better understand the impact of white collar crime on accountant risk Agenda: 8:00 a.m. - Registration 8:20 - Welcome and Introduction 8:20 - 8:50 - Cyber Liability Concerns for the Accounting Professional and Protecting Against Cyber Liability – Shannon Sprinkle, Partner, Carlock, Copeland & Stair (CC&S) 8:50 – 9:35 - Engagement Letters/Contracts – Joe Kingma, Partner, CC&S 9:35 – 9:45 - Break 9:45 – 10:35 - Panel Presentation on Red Flag Clients - warning signs that good clients have gone bad; client evaluation/selection; how to manage client risk; and types of engagements that bring the most claims Moderator: Joe Kingma Commercial Litigation Practice Group Leader Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP Panelists:  Sarah Ference, CPA Risk Control Director CNA - Professional Services J. Dale Crow General Counsel and Vice President Crow Friedman Group, a Risk Strategies Company 10:35 – 10:45 - Break 10:45 – 11:15 - War Stories, Bad Cases 11:15 – 11:45 - Subpoenas - Brian Spitler, Partner, Carlock, Copeland & Stair 11:45 – Noon - Questions Please RSVP Yes or No by August 5. Link to Registration Please click here to add to your Outlook calendar. In order to be awarded the full credit hours, you must be present, registering your attendance and departure on the attendance sheets at the registration desk. Participants will earn 3 hours of credit. Field of Study: Accounting Additional Information: Prerequisites:    Basic knowledge of accountancy and risk management Who Should Attend:   This session is appropriate for accountants, CPAs, tax attorneys, insurance professionals and attorneys involved in risk management and accounting malpractice defense. Advanced Preparation:  None Program Level:   Intermediate Delivery Method:   Group Live Refunds and Cancellations:   No fee/charge, refunds not applicable. For more information regarding complaints and/or program, please contact our offices at 404.522.8220. Please contact Michelle Mattox at mmattox@carlockcopeland.com for information regarding this program. If you are unable to attend, but interested in presentations and webinars tailored to your business; please contact Michelle Mattox at mmattox@carlockcopeland.com. Please feel free to share this invite with others (just let them know we need them to register by August 5, using link above). Carlock, Copeland & Stair LLP is an approved provider with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors.  State boards of accountancy have final authority on acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit.  Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org. Speakers: Brian S. Spitler Partner Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP 423.777.4693 | F: 423.648.2283 |  bspitler@carlockcopeland.com 920 MCCALLIE AVE, CHATTANOOGA, TN 37403 Johannes S. Kingma Partner Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP 404.221.2278 | f: 404.222.9482 | jkingma@carlockcopeland.com 191 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 3600, Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Shannon M. Sprinkle Firm Managing Partner Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP 404.221.2330 | f: 404.222.9482 | ssprinkle@carlockcopeland.com 191 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 3600, Atlanta, Georgia 30303 www.carlockcopeland.com Sarah Ference is a CPA that was in private practice for 15 years and is now the Risk Control Director, Professional Services for CNA. Sarah Ference, CPA Risk Control Director CNA - Professional Services 333 S. Wabash Ave., 36S 45-2 Chicago, IL 60604 sarah.ference@cna.com J. Dale Crow General Counsel and Vice President Crow Friedman Group, a Risk Strategies Company 104 Woodmont Blvd., Suite 400 Nashville, TN 37205 615.760.0376 c) 615.202.2573

Joe Kingma will participate as a guest speaker at Top Ten Tax Traps and How to Deal with Them. This program will be presented by David D. Aughtry of Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry at the Four Seasons Hotel, 75 14th Street, NE, Atlanta, GA, at noon on August 8. Accountants will obtain 1.5 CPE credits and Attorney CLEs are available.  Topics include claims for refund with omitted arguments, failure to timely contest denials, limitations extensions that lead to larger deficiencies, missed elections, inadequate disclosures and other dangerous practice problems.  The panel will cover the best ways to deal with the things that keep accountants and auditors awake at night. RSVP to Tiffiny Fayle at tiffiny.fayle@chamberlainlaw.com.  Fee of $45.  Online registration at www.chamberlainlaw.com.

Joe Kingma and the Commercial Litigation Team present in house programs on Risk Management for Audit and Accounting Firms to accountants, CPAs and insurance industry professionals throughout the year. The Commercial Litigation Team also presents annual client programs on Risk Management for Audit and Accounting Firms. Our 2017 Atlanta program was held at the Buckhead Club on June 8 as well as live-streamed to a remote audience. Please click on the short video clips below from the June 8th event by Shannon Sprinkle, Tyler Wetzel, Doug MacKelcan, Joe Kingma, John Rogers and Mark Rogers.

Shannon Sprinkle has been named Carlock, Copeland & Stair's Firm Managing Partner. David Root, Carlock Copeland's immediate past Managing Partner commented, "Shannon is one of many talented younger lawyers in our firm who are stepping up to provide leadership for us as we continue moving forward." Shannon previously served as General Counsel and Co-Chair of the Commercial Litigation Practice Group. In addition to firm leadership, Shannon will continue her practice as a Partner in the Commercial Litigation Practice Group. Commercial Litigation Practice Group Chair Joe Kingma noted "Shannon has excelled defending lawyers and accountants and also earned the trust of all our partners in her performance as General Counsel. Freeing Shannon from General Counsel and Practice Group responsibilities enables her to lead the firm and still continue to provide A+ service to her clients. We are all excited to have Shannon leading us towards the firm's sixth decade." Shannon's commercial litigation practice centers on professional malpractice, finance, real estate and business related claims. Shannon also frequently acts as outside general counsel to companies and professional service firms providing risk management advice and other consultations. Shannon was a 2016 honoree on The Daily Report's list of lawyers "On the Rise" and has been named on the Georgia Rising Stars list for many consecutive years. Executive Committee Members: Joe Kingma, Firm General Counsel and Chair of the Commercial Litigation Practice Group David Root, Chair of the Employment Practice Group Paul Sperry, Chair of the Construction Practice Group and Managing Partner of the Charleston Office Fred Valz, Chair of General Liability Practice Group Bill Jones, Partner in Design Professional Practice Group Brian Gedeon, Executive Director Other firm leadership roles announced include: Billy Newcomb, Risk Management Counsel and Assistant General Counsel Lynn Olmert, Co-Chair of the Workers' Compensation Practice Group About Carlock, Copeland and Stair, LLP Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP focuses on civil litigation and dispute resolution. Founded in 1970, the Firm has office locations in Atlanta, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; and Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Firm’s lawyers provide counsel and advice in the following practice areas: Appellate, Commercial Litigation, Construction Litigation, Employment Litigation, Environmental Litigation, General Liability Litigation, Health Care Litigation, Insurance Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation, Product Liability, Trucking & Transportation Litigation, and Workers’ Compensation. For additional information, please visit www.carlockcopeland.com.

Just last week, the ABA’s Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability (LPL) released its Survey of Legal Malpractice Claims 2012-2015.  Items of note include: 1.  Total legal malpractice claims increased by 20% from the 2012 survey.  This might appear to be a big increase but it looks small when you read on. 2.  There was a huge increase in the number of claims in which claimants received over $1 million.  There were only 52 such claims reported in the 2011 study but there were 440 such claims reported in the 2015 study for more than a 700% increase.  Perhaps you should check my math, as a lawyer with a calculator is a scary thing; nonetheless, we should all check our limits and make sure we have enough coverage in a world of big dollar claims. 3.  Total real estate claims dropped 21% when 2015 is compared to 2012.  This is true despite the fact that commercial real estate transactions have increased during that time and many commercial real estate lawyers are experiencing the best of times.  Not many real estate deals are failing and that helps keep the pressure off the lawyers who do the deals. 4.  46% of the claims arose from administrative errors, client relations or intentional wrongs.  While this is a slight reduction from prior surveys, it still emphasizes the importance of basic blocking and tackling. •Keep your administrative machine running smoothly, return client calls, be nice, don’t intentionally hurt your client, and your E & O risk is cut in half. •The seamless web of the law is vast and can’t be perfectly understood by any of us.  Let’s all do the easy stuff and reduce our risk dramatically. 5.  Claims against bankruptcy and collection lawyers have only dropped off about 4% from the 2011 study to the 2015 study.  Despite the precipitous decline in consumer bankruptcy filings, commercial bankruptcy filings are said to be on the rise and so are claims against the lawyers involved. The Standing Committee puts out the Profile on Claims every third year and also sponsors two great conferences annually.  If you are interested in getting involved in our work feel free to reach out to Joe Kingma or just say hello at our spring meeting in Boston.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair LLP congratulates the following attorneys who have been selected by their peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America® 2017: From Our Atlanta Office: Thomas S. Carlock

• Commercial Litigation
• Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
• Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
• Best Lawyers® Since 1991

• Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants
• Best Lawyers® Since 2009

• Insurance Law (Atlanta, GA)
• Best Lawyers® Since 2013

• Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants (Atlanta, GA; Charleston, SC)
• Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (Atlanta, GA; Charleston, SC)
• Best Lawyers® Since 2013

• Construction Law –Charleston (Atlanta, GA; Charleston, SC)
• Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants (Atlanta, GA; Charleston, SC)
• Litigation – Construction (Atlanta, GA; Charleston, SC)
• Best Lawyers® Since 2006

Congratulations to Joe Kingma on his recent induction as a Fellow of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL). Joe was inducted as a Fellow at the October 2015 ACTL meeting in Chicago, IL. Founded in 1950, the College is composed of the best of the trial bar from the United States and Canada. Fellowship in the College is extended by invitation only and only after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Lawyers must have a minimum of fifteen years trial experience before they can be considered for Fellowship. Membership in the College cannot exceed one percent of the total lawyer population of any state or province. There are currently approximately 5860 members in the United States and Canada, including active Fellows, Emeritus Fellows, Judicial Fellows (those who ascended to the bench after their induction) and Honorary Fellows. The College strives to improve and elevate the standards of trial practice, the administration of justice and the ethics of the trial profession. Qualified lawyers are called to Fellowship in the College from all branches of trial practice. They are carefully selected from among those who customarily represent plaintiffs in civil cases and those who customarily represent defendants, those who prosecute individuals accused of crime and those who defend them. The College is thus able to speak with a balanced voice on important issues affecting the legal profession and the administration of justice. Joe Kingma is a partner in the firm of Carlock, Copeland & Stair LLP and has been practicing in Atlanta for 31 years. The newly inducted Fellow is an alumnus of University of Pennsylvania School of Law.  “This is a huge honor for Joe and the firm,” states Atlanta managing partner Dave Root. “The American College of Trial Lawyers is the most prestigious organization for trial lawyers. It recognizes a career-long history of trial achievement at the highest level, and in Joe’s case it is an obviously well-deserved honor. I could not be more proud to have the accomplishments of four of my partners acknowledged in this way!” Please click here for more information.              

Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP congratulates partners Thomas S. Carlock who was selected for inclusion on the Top 10 list and Johannes S. Kingma who was selected for inclusion on the Top 100 list in Georgia Super Lawyers® for 2014. The lists recognize those attorneys who received the highest point totals in the Georgia Super Lawyers® selection process. Thomas S. Carlock has practiced in the civil trial arena in Georgia for forty-eight years and during that time has tried over five hundred jury trials. Throughout his career, Tom 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 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 frequent advocate before the Georgia Supreme Court on issues of civil procedure, negligence and other issues involving civil trials. He has also been a legislative advocate for the interests of businesses, insurance companies and medical providers before the General Assembly. Johannes S. Kingma has represented hundreds of accountants and lawyers in cases alleging malpractice, racketeering, securities fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract. He has represented directors and officers in claims involving finance, real estate, and corporate governance. Joe has particular experience in real estate issues including: RESPA; TILA; title insurance, real estate fraud, and secured lending. He is occasionally asked to try cases outside the state of Georgia usually in matters involving audit or complex attorney malpractice. He also assists insurers in drafting insurance applications, in risk management, and as monitoring counsel. 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 10 & Top 100 Lists. 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.

Billy Newcomb and Joe Kingma were recognized in DRI’s The Voice of the Defense Bar for their defense verdict at trial in Savannah, Georgia. The jury found that Billy’s and Joe’s client, a real estate brokerage, was not guilty of fraud, negligence, or breach of contract. The case arose from the failure of a high-rise condo conversion in Savannah’s Historic District. The article can be found here.

Joe Kingma and John Rogers were quoted in a May 16, 2013 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.

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 LawyersTop 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 Lawyersundertakes 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 14 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. 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 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.

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.

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 skill 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) 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).

The summary judgment obtained by Joe Kingma, 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.

We are proud to announce that 14 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. 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 Lawyersundertakes 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 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.

We congratulate partners Thomas S. Carlock, Wade K. Copeland, and Johannes S. Kingmafor 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. 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.

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

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. CarlockCommercial Litigation (Atlanta, GA) Medical Malpractice Law (Atlanta, GA) Personal Injury Litigation (Atlanta, GA) Best Lawyer® Since 1991 Kent T. StairConstruction 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 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.”

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.

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought against Clements Purvis, who was successfully 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.

We are proud to announce that 15 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. 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 Peter Werdesheim Heather H. Miller Spencer A. Bomar 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.

Joe Kingma spoke 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 spoke on the use of expert witnesses and the program was telecast from the Georgia Public Broadcasting Studios to 20 locations around Georgia.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair lawyers were selected by their peers for 4 listings in 5 categories of legal skill 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."

We are proud to announce that 15 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. 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 John C. Rogers Pete Werdesheim 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.

Commercial Litigation Blog Post by Joe Kingma. Earlier this week the Wall Street Journal and others reported that KPMG had hired former PCAOB staffers to reveal the secret list of KPMG audits that the PCAOB would examine.  The article reported that the SEC had indicted 5 former KPMG employees including 3 former partners for fraud.  KPMG apparently discovered the scheme in March of 2017 and self-reported.  Allegedly almost half the 2013 KPMG audits reviewed by the PCAOB in 2014 had been found deficient and the firm felt pressure to improve its audit quality.  The partners charged included those formerly in charge of national audit quality and another responsible for inspections. A few days later GE announced an SEC probe of its accounting practices along with a restatement of its 2016 and 2017 financial results.  At least part of the problem arises from revenue recognition issues in its jet engine and power turbine business.  Other problems stem from charges in its long term care insurance business.  Together the adjustments may total over 21 Billion dollars.  KPMG has served as GE’s auditor since 1909. These articles highlight the challenges even the largest audit firms face in detecting material misstatements in a client’s financials.  We face increasing complexity in public company financials and auditors are struggling to keep up with the standards in a difficult environment. For more information on our Commercial Litigation Blog, please click here.

Commercial Litigation Blog Posting by Matt Gass. Matt Gass and Joe Kingma won a motion to dismiss against a seller after a deal fell through. The seller alleged malpractice, misrepresentation and intentional interference; essentially that the purchaser wanted to get out of their agreement and used the accountant to achieve that result. Joe and Matt filed an early motion to dismiss and prevailed on all the claims. Claims arising from the accountant’s role in mergers and acquisitions are definitely on the rise, and we are handling several more of those now, so please check back for updates. Please click here for more information on our Commercial Litigation Blog.

Shannon Sprinkle and Joe Kingma presented Cyber Liability Concerns for the Accounting Professional webinar presentation on September 12, 2017. Please contact Patty O'Toole at potoole@carlockcopeland.com for more information.

Commercial Litigation Blog Posting by Joe Kingma. 1. Cyber Insurance is cheap and important to protect against risks not covered by E&O. Work with a knowledgeable broker and insurer and buy the coverage because the risk is real and growing. 2. Make sure your engagement letter includes: • a specific description of the work you will do; • limitation of damages provision where not precluded by standards; • indemnification where not prohibited by standards; • disclaimers where appropriate ( i.e. AUP’s); • jurisdiction, venue and choice of law provisions; and • a provision for the client to pay for time and expense you incur for subpoena compliance. Watch out for client changes including cyber representations and indemnifications of any kind. 3. Evaluate the risk to your firm before responding to subpoenas or document requests.  Consultation with your insurer or outside counsel may be time well spent.  The risk runs from minimal to existential and different risks require different responses. 4. You save money by not engaging with bad clients.  Red flags include: • financially stressed or unprofitable  clients; • clients whose work you are not really equipped to handle; • clients whose interests conflict with other clients; and • clients who lack management integrity. These all should be evaluated for disengagement. Consider firing  your bottom 5 or 10% and investing those resources into developing better opportunities. 5. All of us have clients who present some special risk.  Do what you can to mitigate that risk with: • thorough client acceptance procedures; • engagement letters; • robust conflict analysis; and • continuous reevaluation. Employ detailed financial management including precise billing entries, timely billing and early AR follow-up in order to spot problems quickly. Please click here for more information on our Commercial Litigation Blog.

Joe Kingma moderated a Panel Presentation The Impact of White Collar Crime on Accounting Risk at the Risk Management for Audit and Accounting Firms seminar at the Buckhead Club on June 8, 2017. Panelists: David Hoffman, Managing Director of Acuitas, Inc., a forensic accounting firm David Aughtry, Criminal Tax Litigator, Chamberlain Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry LLP Jeff Davis, Assistant US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia The presentation was also live-streamed. Please contact Michelle Mattox at mmattox@carlockcopeland.com if you are interested in learning more about any of these programs.

Blog Post by Joe Kingma. Takeaways from State of the LPL Market Panel Presentation at ABA National Legal Malpractice Conference -  Boston 2017

1. Big Data is changing Underwriting, Broking and Claims Handling and helps to keep the LPL and APL markets highly competitive and insurance reasonably priced.
2. P & C events, such as Hurricanes in the Caribbean, no longer  drive rates up for Lawyers and Accountants because carriers now distinguish between Casualty and Professional Liability risks.
3. The Great Recession, the largest economic crisis in 70 years, created a hard market that only lasted about six weeks.
4. Capital to insure professionals keeps pouring into the market, despite an increase in huge claims individually exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars.
5. Despite all the positive developments, premiums have increased between 2 and 4% on average for Lawyers E and O insurance in 2017.  While 20 years ago this would have been classified as an annual inflation adjustment, now  it may be the closest thing we will see to a hard market for some time.

Recent Blog Post by Joe Kingma. Billy Newcomb and I recently won summary judgment for a top 100 accounting firm and one of its CPAs against malpractice claims brought in a Florida court by a publicly traded company.  The Plaintiff alleged that the accounting firm negligently failed to detect and report an internal fraud which the Plaintiff claimed cost it over $10 million.  Six other defendants, including a top 10 accounting firm, settled with the Plaintiff just after suit was filed, leaving CCS’ clients as the sole defendants.  As part of their aggressive litigation plan to obtain an early favorable resolution for their clients, Billy and I filed a motion for summary judgment with their answer to the complaint.  At an early court-ordered mediation, the Plaintiff, perhaps a little too confident in its home court advantage, refused to lower its demand under $5 million.  Immediately after the mediation failed, the trial court granted summary judgment to CCS’ clients and dismissed all of the Plaintiff’s claims against them with prejudice. Billy has been licensed to practice law in Florida since 2002 and regularly handles legal matters all over the State of Florida.  He and I felt strongly about our liability and damages defenses, and we thought that spending our clients’ money on an unwarranted settlement just didn’t make sense.  Our clients agreed and had the confidence to stand up to the Plaintiff.  If early summary judgment had not been granted, Billy and I planned to build a discovery record to prevail on another dispositive motion or at trial. In the cases in which the early settlement demands are reasonable, we recommend settlement to our clients.  But when the plaintiffs are unreasonable and settlement makes no sense, we prepare to fight.   In those cases, as Churchill announced: we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender….. There are no sure things in litigation, but if you want to know what your case is worth, sometimes you must have the courage to fight. We are both very grateful to our clients for their courage in this case. For more information on our Commercial Litigation Blog or to subscribe, click here.

Commercial Litigation Blog Posting by Joe Kingma. Last Saturday I was, once again, Player Coach for the Lawyers in the Jawbones v. Sawbones Charity Basketball Game.  This is the 6th year of the Event and I have played, and Carlock Copeland has been a sponsor, every year. The event usually raises about $80,000 for the Side By Side Brain Injury Clubhouse and this year the Lawyers won again in a relatively close game.  While our team was once again stacked with some pretty good ex-college talent, that was not what I thought about while leaving the Mercer University gym.  The game started when a young woman was given a microphone in the middle of the Court and welcomed us all to the event.  She only spoke about 20 brave but halting words to the assembled multitude.  She had worked at the Clubhouse for five years trying to regain the powers of speech following a stroke. Her welcome was just a step along the way of recovery.  Other brain damage victims happily passed out towels or worked the concession stand.  After six years I have seen many of the same family members again and again. Many of us are blessed to practice law or medicine or accounting.  The joy of counseling clients and handling sophisticated work is something that we hopefully grow to value more and more over the years.  I was reminded on Saturday night that many are not so blessed and we should appreciate all that we have.  Link to learn more or support The Clubhouse:  http://www.sidebysideclubhouse.org/giving-volunteering/donate/. Please click here for more information on our Commercial Litigation Blog.

Recent blog posting by Joe Kingma. Takeaways from Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) International Conference 2016: 1.   Law firms fail because of: too much debt, rapid expansion, guaranteed salaries, and/or cultural divides. 2.  We are all expecting a U.S. law or accounting firm to get hit with a Panama Papers style data breach which brings down the firm and probably yields management liability claims as well. 3.   The IRS will continue its attack on captive insurance companies utilized to avoid tax with no real risk transfer. 4.   Mary Jo White will be missed and you might expect the SEC to focus less on Wall Street and more on Main Street in the next four years. Please click here for more information on our Commercial Litigation blog.

Recent blog posting by Joe Kingma. Just last week the ABA’s Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability (LPL) released its Survey of Legal Malpractice Claims 2012-2015.  Items of note include: 1.  Total legal malpractice claims increased by 20% from the 2012 survey.  This might appear to be a big increase but it looks small when you read on. 2.  There was a huge increase in the number of claims in which claimants received over $1 million.  There were only 52 such claims reported in the 2011 study but there were 440 such claims reported in the 2015 study for more than a 700% increase.  Perhaps you should check my math, as a lawyer with a calculator is a scary thing; nonetheless, we should all check our limits and make sure we have enough coverage in a world of big dollar claims. 3.  Total real estate claims dropped 21% when 2015 is compared to 2012.  This is true despite the fact that commercial real estate transactions have increased during that time and many commercial real estate lawyers are experiencing the best of times.  Not many real estate deals are failing and that helps keep the pressure off the lawyers who do the deals. 4.  46% of the claims arose from administrative errors, client relations or intentional wrongs.  While this is a slight reduction from prior surveys, it still emphasizes the importance of basic blocking and tackling.

• Keep your administrative machine running smoothly, return client calls, be nice, don’t intentionally hurt your client, and your E & O risk is cut in half.
• The seamless web of the law is vast and can’t be perfectly understood by any of us.  Let’s all do the easy stuff and reduce our risk dramatically.

Recent blog posting by Joe Kingma. I was fortunate to prevail in a bench trial for a great CPA firm in August and was reminded of these takeaways: 1)  A CPA’s work product will seldom be perfect but good workpapers can save you from many apparent sins. 2)  Identify sources of data in your work product or you may end up as guarantor of data you should not be responsible for. 3)  Smart and highly educated Plaintiffs who exaggerate their claims can be systematically destroyed, but only with a light touch. 4)  Credibility and likeability are critical in a factually complex case and lawyers and CPAs need to begin to establish both on day one of their engagement. 5)  Our trial system is not perfect, but it often yields the right result so defendants should not despair. Please click here for more information on our Commercial Litigation Blog.

Joe Kingma and the Accounting Malpractice Defense Team presented Risk Management for Audit and Accounting Firms at The Buckhead Club on May 19. Five Takeaways from the Carlock Copeland & Stair Accounting Risk Management Program 1. The Panama Papers, and Big Data in general, demonstrate the risk posed for accountants when clients hide or launder money offshore. An international consortium of major news sources is actively soliciting more leaks and tax officials from 28 countries met in April to plan a joint strategy to mine the Panama Papers for gold. High profile individuals whose names appear in the Papers searchable, online data base include: Lionel Messi, Jackie Chan, Simon Cowell, David Geffen, Pedro Almodovar, Nick Faldo, and Emma Watson. The database lists many U.S. CPA firms and diagrams their relation to various suspect transactions. Governments from Russia to Britain to Argentina have been rocked by the disclosures. Don’t get your firm's name added to the list and avoid overly aggressive strategies. Protect your own files from those who might like to steal your clients’ confidential information. 2. Professional judgment is what you get paid for, but can also be what you get sued for. Audit engagements in particular require lots of judgment calls. Make sure your firm’s work reflects good judgment and that those who make the judgment calls are properly trained and professionally skeptical. If you have young auditors in the field without onsite partner supervision, talk through the tough issues with them in advance. Do what you can to make your firm’s judgment solid and defensible. 3. Read your insurance policies. Policy provisions may be negotiable and you may gain value in ways beyond premium reductions. Be very accurate when filling out your application and compare it to your website. Submitting a neat and accurate application can save you real money. Price should not be your only consideration and you should check to see which carriers treat their clients well. Insurance coverage remains very reasonably priced and cyber coverage is a great deal. 4. Jurors hold outside accountants to high standards when a client suffers from internal fraud. You must keep your eyes and ears wide open even if you are just doing a tax return or a compilation. Take another look at your engagement letters to make sure you have included all the damage limitations and disclaimers the laws allows and avoid engagements where the client’s lack of internal controls creates too much risk. 5. Accountants are getting sued for defamation even when they make statements in good faith and in the course of their clients' engagements. Sometimes clients try to use your staff to say bad things about their employees. Don’t let your firm get sued for defamation that may not be covered by insurance.  

Joe Kingma led State of the Insurance Market for Accountants on May 19.  The blue chip panel included: Chris Piety of Aspen Insurance, an underwriter/former national accounting claims manager; Brad Barkin from Integro Insurance Brokers, an international brokerage which represents most of the top 100 US accounting firms; and Dale Crow, an attorney and broker with Risk Strategies Company, a national organization which represents CNA, the largest insurer of accountants in the US.  The panel explored the state of the errors and omissions insurance market for accountants, common application mistakes, key coverage provisions, premium and claims trends, and the impact of big data on risk.

Joe Kingma gave an accounting risk management presentation at the annual retreat of a large accounting firm, with offices in six different locations, on May 5, 2016. Please contact potoole@carlockcopeland.com regarding accounting and other professional liability risk management presentations.

The 5th Annual Jawbones vs. Sawbones (lawyers vs. doctors) Basketball Benefit game was held on March 12th. Our very own Joe Kingma was a coach and player for the Jawbones. Jawbones were victorious with a 68-52 victory. You can count on Carlock, Copeland, & Stair LLP to be continuous supporters of this great event. Feel free to check out Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse at www.sidebysideclubhouse.org. Please click here to read a recent article by Joe Kingma entitled, Basketball and Trial, It's All About Teamwork.

Joe Kingma recently wrote an article for entitled, Watch Out for Trust and Estate Risk.  The article discusses claims against lawyers arising from trust and estate engagements. Data reveals that claim frequency is 25% higher for trust and estate representations compared to all other areas of practice.  Multiple factors unique to this area of practice raise claim frequency. To read the entire article, please click here (with express permission to publish).

Law360 recently asked for Tips on Growing a Business and Joe Kingma provided the following advice: There really are not any shortcuts. You have to focus on your clients’ needs and not your own short term financial interests; hire, train and support great lawyers to help do the work; get out of your office and meet a wide variety of people and learn from them; spot changes in the world and anticipate opportunities; continuously develop a unique skillset and intellectual capital and write and speak about what you know; build a solid firm to support you and take care of your clients. Finally you need to be who you are and enjoy what you do. It also helps to win a few trials.

Joe Kingma moderated a panel and presented “Zone of Insolvency or Twilight Zone?” at the ABA Fall 2015 National Legal Malpractice Conference on Thursday, September 17th at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, AZ.   While consumer bankruptcies are down, it might take just one nice, juicy business failure to bring your law firm, or your insurance policy, to an end. If a law firm’s client goes bankrupt, the firm goes on the hit list of potential defendants with assets, and bankruptcy court sometimes seems designed to bring your assets into the estate without much consideration of liability. Trustees are smart and hyper-aggressive plaintiffs, and bankruptcy judges are often very close with the Trustees.   Panel members discussed bankruptcy court matters such as 2004 exams, withdrawing the reference, core proceeding, and zone of insolvency. The session provided insight on ways to stay out of bankruptcy court as well as strategies to use the system to your advantage and find your way back to solid ground. Speakers included Rob Charles, Partner, Lewis Roca Rothgerber, Tucson, AZ Johannes Kingma, Partner, Carlock, Copeland & Stair LLP, Atlanta, GA Allison McCabe, Senior Claims Examiner, Aspen Insurance, New York, NY.   ABA article - October 2015 - Joe Kingma Presentation

Joe Kingma's article "Legal and Accounting Trusts and Estates Engagements" was included in Carlock Copeland's Quarterly Newsletter.  Read the entire article here.  Please review the entire Quarterly Newsletter and complete the form to join our mailing list.

Joe Kingma and Shannon Sprinkle presented “Mock Cross Examination of An Accountant and Lawyer” at the Carlock Copeland & Stair Professional Liability Seminar on May 5, 2015 at The Buckhead Club.

Joe Kingma moderated a panel on "Malpractice Claims against Trusts and Estates Lawyers" at The ABA Standing Committee Conference on LPL on April 10th in Washington DC. The Conference attracted 400-500 attendees including General Counsel, Underwriters, Claims Professionals and Brokers

Joe Kingma gave a risk management presentation at the annual meeting of the partners at a large regional accounting firm on November 21, 2014.

The Georgia Supreme Court’s Chief Justice chaired a Convocation on Professionalism at the Carter Center on November 12,2014 .  Joe Kingma presented on a panel that included: Paula Frederick, General Counsel of the State Bar of Georgia;  Jeffrey Davis, Executive Director of the State Bar of Georgia;  Jenny Mittleman,  Deputy General Counsel of the State Bar of Georgia; and Nicole Iannarone, Professor of Law at Georgia State University.

Joe Kingma moderated a panel on accountant and lawyer risk at the 2014 PLUS International Conference.  After the presentation Joe was interviewed about the future of claims against lawyers and accountants. Watch interview

On June 23, Joe Kingma presented a mock cross examination for 130 accountants from a Top 100 Accounting Firm. Joe crossed an audit engagement partner complete with mock exhibits including: financial statements, fraud assesment workpapers, passed adjusting journal entries and engagement letters. If you need help with accountant risk management, or even just might enjoy being cross examined, contact Joe or one of the accounting malpractice experts at Carlock Copeland.

Joe Kingma wrote an article entitled "Establishing and Protecting the In-House Counsel Attorney-Client Privilege," which was published in the May 21, 2014 issue of Insights ( BNA). Reproduced with permission from ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct, Current Reports, 30 Law. Man. Prof. Conduct 349, 5/21/14. Copyright 2014 by The American Bar Association and The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) http://www.bna.com

The Summit took place on November 6, 2013 at Atlanta’s Woodruff Arts Center and was sponsored by Suntrust and Pritchard and Jerden. Joe was on a panel whose topic was “Employee Dishonesty - Prevention, Policy and Prosecution.” The audience consisted of CFOs, Executive Directors and Board Members of nonprofits.

Joe Kingma spoke with King & Spalding Partner Pat Brumbaugh on Wednesday, October 30 on Ethics and Risk Management for Transactional Lawyers.

Joe Kingma spoke at the Georgia Bar Property Law Section’s Title Standards Program on October 4, 2013.

Joe Kingma gave a risk management talk at the Atlanta office of Seyfarth Shaw on September 26, 2013.

Joe Kingma produced and moderated a two hour plenary panel for the ABA's Lawyer Professional Liability Committee in San Diego on September 20, 2013. The program was captioned "Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde: Evaluation, Preparation, and Transformation of the Difficult Lawyer's Testimony and Delivery." On the panel were two jury consultants, two defense counsel, and one plaintiff's lawyer. If you are interested in attending the Standing Committee's future conference, or if you have program ideas for the next meeting, which will be in Boston in April, don't hesitate to give Joe a call at 404.221.2278.

Joe Kingma, a partner at Carlock Copeland, and Pat Brumbaugh, Risk Management partner for King and Spalding, presented on Risk Management to the Managing Partners Committee of the Atlanta Bar Association on June 26, 2013.

Joe Kingma gave a risk management presentation to the partners and associates at Drew Eckl & Farnham, an 80 plus attorney firm in Atlanta, Georgia.

Joe Kingma spoke on Risk Management and Malpractice at the annual gathering of the Real Property Law Institute on May 11, 2013 at Amelia Island, Florida. The gathering drew over 300 lawyers from private practice, title insurance companies and general counsel offices.

Carlock Copeland Attorney Joe Kingma relentlessly ran the floor at the annual Jawbones vs. Sawbones Basketball Game held at Decatur High School to benefit the Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse. The Attorneys won 70 to 68 in the bloodthirsty battle between Attorneys and Physicians. Nearly 500 spectators enjoyed an incredible silent auction, live entertainment by the Atlanta Falcons cheerleaders and alumni as well as the Decatur High pep band. Hundreds of Side by Side supporters, community leaders, and brain injury professionals were equally entertained by the evening’s pregame and halftime performances featuring members of Side by Side and their stories of tragedy and triumph. In its second year, this signature event exceeded expectations and raised over $40,000. Carlock Copeland was among the 70+ sponsors which helped Side by Side raise funds via the inaugural event. The proceeds will go directly to providing lifelong support to Side by Side’s members, individuals living with brain injury. Unique in Georgia, Side by Side is the only nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting people with brain injuries along their rehabilitative journeys. Based in Stone Mountain, Side by Side operates a day program in which its 50 current members and staff work side by side to keep their Clubhouse running and to support members as they relearn skills, rebuild relationships, and restore meaning and purpose to their lives. These services, though less costly than comparable medical care, are not inexpensive. It takes approximately $100 a day per person to provide this rehabilitative support. The proceeds from 2013’s Jawbones vs. Sawbones will enable Side by Side to support many more in need. You can learn more about Side by Side at www.sidebysideclubhouse.org.

Joe Kingma spoke on lawyers E and O insurance considerations and then participated in a panel discussion of ethics rules at the Georgia Bar Mid-Year Meeting on January 10,2012.

Ford & Harrison is a labor and employment firm with 24 offices from Los Angeles to Boston to Miami. Joe Kingma gave his risk management for large law firms presentation to the Ford & Harrison partners on December 4, 2012. If your law firm needs help with risk management issues, don’t hesitate to give Joe a call.

Joe Kingma presented on expert witness examinations on Friday, November 16 at the “Keep It Short and Simple” trial seminar at the State Bar of Georgia center. This is the fourth consecutive year that Joe has presented at this popular program.

"Class Actions Against Foreclosure Lawyers on the Rise." John Bunyan and Joe Kingma. Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP Quarterly Newsletter. Volume 9, Issue 3. Fall 2012.

Joe Kingma spoke on the use of CPA experts on September 14 ,2012 at the Fraud and Forensic Accounting Conference. The Conference was sponsored by The Georgia Society of CPA’s.

Joe's panel presented at the American Bar Association’s Fall 2012 National Legal Malpractice Conference in Chicago.

On August 29, 2012, Joe Kingma co-presented a webinar (“The Adaptable Lawyer”) on lawyer risk management to 230 lawyers from Texas to Florida.

Joe Kingma presented his risk management program to Taylor English, a 120 lawyer commercial law firm, on August 21, 2012.

Joe Kingma presented a risk management program to CPAs and attorneys in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 21, 2012. The program was sponsored by the South Carolina Association of CPAs and the South Carolina Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.

Joe Kingma presented his risk management program to Smith Currie and Hancock LLP, a construction law firm with offices in 8 states on May 31, 2012.

The Commercial Real Estate Section of the Georgia Bar had their annual one day seminar in Atlanta on December 1, 2011. Joe Kingma spoke on malpractice avoidance to the attendees, which included attendees in Savannah and Tifton by video conference.

"Building a Solid Foundation," a risk management seminar for lawyers. Joe Kingma. Birmingham, AL on October 21, 2011.

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.

Joe Kingma was interviewed for "25 years of learning," an article in CAMICO's newsletter, Impact, that explores the history and current climate of fraud-related claims. Based on his extensive experience as a professional liability attorney, Kingma discusses the current climate of fraud-related claims and how the economy is causing a rise in these claims.

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.

Joe Kingma presented "Building A Solid Foundation," a 3-hour Risk Management Webinar to lawyers on May 17, 2011.

Joe Kingma moderated a panel discussion on FDIC claims against lawyers and law firms at the Spring 2011 ABA National Legal Malpractice Conference, that took place in Boston, April 28, 2011. Rick Osterman, Deputy General Counsel, FDIC; John Villa, Partner at Williams & Connolly LLP and author of "the" book on FDIC claims against professional officers and directors; and Dan Smith, Vice President at Attorneys' Liability Assurance Society, Inc., joined Joe in this presentation. The discussion focused on the FDIC's role, putting the current banking crisis in perspective, and best practices when dealing with the FDIC.

Joe Kingma recently gave presentations to several professional liability carriers in New York and Atlanta on attorney malpractice claims arising from real estate transactions.

Joe Kingma spoke to the Board of Directors and underwriters of CAMICO Mutual Insurance Company in San Francisco on Tuesday, February 8, 2011. His topic was Auditors' Risk Arising From Failed Financial Institutions.

"Building a Solid Foundation," a risk management seminar for lawyers. Joe Kingma. Birmingham, AL on November 11, 2010.

Joe Kingma spoke 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 spoke on the use of expert witnesses and the program was telecast from the Georgia Public Broadcasting Studios to 20 locations around Georgia.

Joe Kingma co-presented "Building A Solid Foundation" a 3 hour Risk Management Webinar to lawyers in 12 states on August 4, 2010 and October 8, 2010

Joe Kingma participated in a panel discussion on Auditors Risk Arising From Financial Institution Engagements in Chicago on September 15, 2010. The panel presented at the 2010 Best Practices Forum hosted by the Lemme Insurance Group. The Lemme Group represents, and the forum is attended by, many of the 200 largest accounting firms in the country.

"Counsel and Insurer Beware: Lawyer Reporting Requirements Under the Medicare Secondary Payer Act." Joe Kingma, Moderator. Fall 2010 National Legal Malpractice Conference. Scottsdale, Arizona on September 23, 2010.

"Building a Solid Foundation," a risk management seminar for lawyers. Joe Kingma. Atlanta, GA on September 2, 2010.

"Professionals: Don't Knuckle Under When a Trustee Wants to Claw Back Your Fees." Joe Kingma and John Bunyan. American Bar Association Professionals', Officers' and Directors' Liability Committee Newsletter. Summer 2010. Click hereto read to full article.

Joe Kingma will present "Risk Management During a Economic Downturn" to the Atlanta Bar Association's Sole Practitioner/ Small Firm Section on February 25, 2010.

Joe Kingma spoke on Errors and Omissions Insurance Procurement and Coverage at the midyear meeting of the State Bar of Georgia at the W hotel in midtown Atlanta on January 7, 2010.

"Building a Solid Foundation." Joe Kingma. Mobile, AL on October 2, 2009; Atlanta, GA on November 19, 2009; and Birmingham, AL on November 20, 2009.

Presentation on the preparation and examination of expert witnesses. Johannes S. Kingma. "Keep it Short And Simple...and Other Trial Tips" ICLE seminar. Atlanta, GA. October 2, 2009.

"Professional Liability Update." Joe Kingma. CPAmerica International Region 5 Partner Meeting. Atlanta, GA. August 7, 2009.

"The Failing Business Tsunami Threatens to Drown Professionals, Officers and Directors: Will You Surf the Wave or be Found Washed Up on the Shore?" Joe Kingma. American Bar Association Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL. August 1, 2009.

"Failing Business Claims Threaten to Drown Professionals." Joe Kingma. American Bar Association Professionals', Officers' and Directors' Liability Committee Newsletter. Summer 2009.

Joe Kingma spoke at the 5th Annual Conference of the Georgia Real Estate Fraud Prevention and Awareness Coalition (GREFPAC) on February 20, 2009 at the Cobb Galleria Convention Centre. GREFPAC is made up of Bankers, Title Insurers, Law Enforcement Officers, Lawyers, and others interested in fighting Real Estate Fraud. Joe discussed tactics for Real Estate Fraud avoidance, ethics for lawyers, and his recent defense verdict in an alleged "fraudulent lending" case.

Joe Kingma moderated "Skating On Thin Ice" a panel examination of the special risks presented to Professionals when their client becomes insolvent. The program was presented at the Professional Liability Underwriting Society's (PLUS) International Conference on November 6, 2008 in San Francisco. PLUS has over 6,000 members from around the world and over 1,000 attended the conference.

"Packing Your Parachute: Preparing for Practice Risk." Johannes S. Kingma, and Shannon M. Sprinkle. Insurance Risk Management Seminar for Attorneys. October 6, 2006 (Atlanta, GA); October 19, 2006 (Mobile, AL); October 20, 2006 (Birmingham, AL); November 6, 2006 (Charleston, SC); November 13, 2006 (Columbia, SC); September 14, 2007 (Atlanta, GA); September 26, 2007 (Greensboro, NC); October 9, 2007 (Mobile, AL); October 12, 2007 (Birmingham, AL); November 2, 2007 (Atlanta, GA); October 2008 (Atlanta, GA); October 2008 (Birmingham, AL); October 2008 (Macon, GA); November 2008 (Raleigh, NC).

"E&O Topics for Foreclosure Practitioners." Joe Kingma, John Rogers, Shannon Sprinkle and Pete Werdesheim. ICLE seminar; Atlanta, GA. April 2008.

"Accounting Malpractice Travelers' National Underwriters." Joe Kingma. Travelers Seminar. Hartford, CT. March 6, 2008.

Joe Kingma and John Rogers contributed to “Recent Developments Affecting the Liability of Professionals, Officers, and Directors” published in the American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Law Journal, Volume 42, Issue 2, Winter 2007. Read the article here. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or downloaded or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.

"Current Errors & Omissions: Topics for Foreclosure Practitioners." Johannes S. Kingma, Shannon M. Sprinkle, John C. Rogers and Julia A. Merritt. ICLE: Real Property Foreclosure ICLE: Real Property Foreclosure. April 16, 2004 (Atlanta, GA); April 29, 2005 (Atlanta, GA); April 6, 2007 (Atlanta, GA).

"Malpractice Avoidance & Ethics for Real Estate Lawyers." Johannes S. Kingma. December 7, 2006 (Atlanta, GA).

John Rogers and Joe Kingma contributed to “Recent Developments affecting the Liability of Professionals, Officers, and Directors” published in the American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Law Journal, Volume 41, Issue 2, Winter 2006. Read the article here. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or downloaded or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.

"Packing Your Parachute: Preparing for Practice Risk." Johannes S. Kingma. Insurance Risk Management Seminar for Attorneys. November 6, 2006 (Charleston, SC).

"Case Study: Claims Specialist, Counsel and Consultant." Johannes S. Kingma and John C. Rogers. Insurance Seminar. October 26, 2006 (San Francisco, CA).

"The Ten Easiest Ways to get Sued While Preparing a Tax Return." Johannes S. Kingma and John C. Rogers. North Atlanta Chapter of Georgia Society of CPA's. December 15, 2005 (Atlanta, GA).

"Smart Practice, Not Malpractice." Johannes S. Kingma and Shannon M. Sprinkle. Risk Management Seminar. June 22, 2004 (Atlanta, GA); June 28, 2005 (Atlanta, GA); October 28, 2005 (Mobile, AL); November 4, 2005 (Atlanta, GA); December 9, 2005 (Birmingham, AL).

John Rogers and Joe Kingma contributed to “Recent Developments affecting the Liability of Professionals, Officers, and Directors” published in the American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Law Journal, Volume 40, Issue 2, Winter 2005. Read the article here. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or downloaded or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.

"Real Estate Issues." Johannes S. Kingma. Insurance Seminar. October 5, 2005 (Chicago, IL).

"Defending Claims Against Closing Attorneys." Johannes S. Kingma. Lorman: Real Estate Litigation in Georgia. September 9, 2005 (Atlanta, GA).

"Professional Liability Coverage for Attorneys." Johannes S. Kingma. Insurance Seminar. June 29, 2005 (Tampa, FL).

"Abstractor's and Title Agent's Errors & Omissions." Johannes S. Kingma. Insurer Underwriting Seminar. April 13, 2005 (Atlanta, GA).

"Real Estate Contracts in Georgia." Johannes S. Kingma. National Business Institute. March 31, 2005. (Atlanta, GA).

"Errors & Omissions: Professional Liability." Johannes S. Kingma. The Seminar Group: Insurance Law Institute. March 31, 2005 (Atlanta, GA).

"Defending Claims Against Closing Attorneys." Johannes S. Kingma. Lorman: Real Estate Litigation in Georgia. September 29, 2004 (Atlanta, GA).

"Real Estate Contracts in Georgia." Johannes S. Kingma. National Business Institute. August 6, 2003 (Atlanta, GA).

"Legal and Ethical Considerations for Attorneys Involved in Real Estate Transactions." Johannes S. Kingma. July 13, 2003 (Atlanta, GA).