The Litigator: A Litigation Section Publication

In This Issue

Joint Breakfast with the RealEstate Section

Save the Date for the Bench &Bar Reception

Work/Life Balance

An Update on the FultonCounty Business Court

Are Corporations Ready To BeTransparent And Share

Irrelevant Documents WithOpposing Counsel

September 2012 Breakfast

October 2012 Breakfast

November 2012 Breakfast

December 2012 Breakfast

January 2013 Breakfast

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March 2013

Editors: Stephen P. Cummings and Jonathan E. Hawkins   Litigation Section Board of Directors

Chair: John "Jake" R. BielemaVice Chair/Chair­Elect: J. Matthew Maguire Jr.Secretary: Leigh M. MayTreasurer: Kevin P. WeimerImmediate Past Chair: Stephen T. LaBriola

Members­At­LargeChristina BaughTerrence L. CroftStephen P. CummingsThe Honorable Susan E. EdleinJonathan E. HawkinsRobert S. Huestis Edward C. KoniecznyCindy S. Manning

Emeritus MemberH. Lane Young, II

Thank You to Our Section Sponsors

Applied Technical ServicesEsquire Deposition SolutionsGlobal E­DiscoveryHabif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP JAMSThe Partners Group

Georgia Appellate Litigation from the Judges'Perspectives Section CLE Program

Tuesday, March 26, 2013Registration: 8:30 amProgram: 9:00 am to 12:10 pm

3 CLE hours, including 3 Trial Practice hours

Topics Include:­ Litigating Successfully Before the Georgia  Court of Appeals: A Panel Discussion on  Best (and Worst) Practices­ Nuts and Bolts of Appellate Practice ­ Litigating Successfully Before the GeorgiaSupreme Court:   A Panel Discussion on Best (and Worst)Practices

Register online and view more information  

Joint Breakfast with the Real Estate Section 

Friday, April 19, 2013 ­ 7:30 am at the Colonnade

"Observations About the Courtand Appellate Practice"

Speaker: The Hon. Keith R. BlackwellJustice, Supreme Court of Georgia

Section Members ­ $20Non­Section Members ­ $30Add $5 for 1 CLE hour

Register online or return the detailed brochure  

Save the Date!  Annual Bench & Bar Reception

Tuesday, May 21, 2013 ­ 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough In Atlantic Station201 17th St NW,  Suite 1700Atlanta, GA

Logan Bleckley Award recipient,registration and more information tobe posted soon.  Please check youremails and the Atlanta Bar website for updates. 

Work/Life Balanceby Anthony L. ("Tony") Cochran, Chilivis, Cochran, Larkins & Bever, LLP

This is an excerpt from a webinar presented On March 13,2013 by the Sole Practitioner/Small Firm and the AtlantaCouncil of Younger Lawyers Sections of the Atlanta Bar.

Let me begin by having each of youthink about your typical day.  Do youcheck your e­mail before you get outof bed?  Often eat lunch at yourdesk?  Constantly multi­task, e.g., cellphone calls while driving?  Find itnearly impossible to keep up with thevolume of e­mail you receive?  Leavework later than you'd like, and still feelcompelled to check e­mail in theevenings?

Since I began practicing in 1976, thingshave speeded up exponentially with

all of our technological advances with e­mails and texts andother types of electronic communication. We now use thoseoften instead of face­to­face meetings or using thetelephone.  All of this creates for me a feeling like the linefrom Alice in Wonderland where Alice said, "The hurrier I go,the behinder I get."  All of the technology speeds things upand inundates us with information which makes it difficult tomaintain a work­life balance.

view the entire article  

An Update on the Fulton County Business Court ­Seven Years Inby Megan K. Johnson, Program Director and Staff Attorney,Fulton County Business Court

Seven years ago, Georgia was only the eleventh (11th) stateto establish a dedicated complex commercial division for

certain qualifying business cases. In 2005, Fulton County SuperiorCourt, in partnership with leadersof the State Bar of Georgia,launched the Business CaseDivision ("Business Court") as apilot program to allow complexbusiness litigation out of the usual

stream of criminal, family and civil cases heard by activeSuperior Court Judges.  Since its inception, the Business Courthas continued to evolve to better accommodate the needsof civil litigants and to meet the growing demand for itsservices. 

In 2007, the Business Court Rules were amended to make iteasier for litigants to transfer cases to Business Court byeliminating the requirement of joint consent.  Cases may nowbe assigned to Business Court at the request of only one partyor by the judge initially assigned to the case.

view the entire article  

Are Corporations Ready To Be Transparent AndShare Irrelevant Documents With OpposingCounsel To Obtain Substantial Cost SavingsThrough The Use Of Predictive Coding?by Ronni D. Solomon, King & Spalding LLP

The discovery process does notrequire a producing party to produceirrelevant documents in response to arequest for production under Fed. R.Civ. P. 34. To the contrary, the scopeof discovery is expressly limited todiscovery that is relevant to anyparty's claim or defense, or if goodcause is shown, to the subject matterof the case. Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 26(b)(1). The purpose of discovery is to providea mechanism for making relevant

information available to the litigants. See 1983 AdvisoryCommittee Notes to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). This sameprinciple clearly does not apply to irrelevant information.

Pursuant to Rule 26(b)(1), corporations that are producingparties have routinely objected and refused to produceirrelevant documents in response to discovery requests.

view the entire article 

Mike McGlamry Speaks to the Section at theSeptember 2012 Breakfastby John "Jake" R. Bielema, Bryan Cave LLP

On September 14, 2012, at7:30 a.m. at the ColonnadeRestaurant, the LitigationSection held its first breakfastmeeting of the year.  Thespeaker was Mike McGlamryof Pope McGlamry Kilpatrickand Morrison and the topicwas "The NFL ConcussionLitigation: Background, Key

Issues, and the use of the MDL".  Mr. McGlamry discussed hisrepresentation of a large number of former NFL players inlitigation against the NFL for alleged concussion related injury,which the lawsuits allege were avoidable and/orexacerbated by the League's failure to protect its playersadequately.  The presentation also discussed some of theprocedural challenges and complexities that the litigationpresents, with hundreds of diverse plaintiffs, and the use of theMDL procedural mechanism.  Mr. McGlamry, a quarterback

at Wake Forest in his college days, discussed that the goal ofthe litigation was not to put professional football out ofbusiness, but to secure compensation for very real injuries thatformer players have endured, and to make the game saferfor those that continue to play the game, and those that willplay in the future.  

The Honorable Michael Boggs Speaks to theSection at the October 2012 Breakfastby Kevin P. Weimer, Fellows LaBriola, LLP

At the October 12, 2012 Litigation Breakfast Program, Court ofAppeals Judge Michael Boggs spoke on the topic of CriminalJustice Reform.  As the 2012 Co­Chair of the Criminal JusticeReform Council, having been so appointed by GovernorDeal, and having served as a prosecutor and as a StateLegislator, Judge Boggs was well qualified to discuss this

important area.  In 2011,Judge Boggs served on anearlier iteration of thisCouncil, whichrecommended reforms tothe State's juvenile code. The State Legislature took therecommendations of theCouncil and codifiedsignificant changes to the

State's juvenile code.  The 2012­2013 Council identifiedseveral challenges to the State's growing inmate populationand to policy decisions needing to be made to the length ofsentences and to the effectiveness of sentencing onpreventing recidivism.  In a question and answer sessionfollowing the presentation, Judge Boggs answered questionsfrankly, including his view on the so­called "scared straight"programs, which he stated unambiguously had not worked. Given that Judge Boggs haled from Waycross, Georgia, formany in attendance, his presentation afforded a firstopportunity to observe and hear him speak in person.  

Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens Speaks atthe November 2012 Breakfastby Kevin P. Weimer, Fellows LaBriola, LLP

On November 9, 2012, theSection was honored tohave Georgia AttorneyGeneral Sam Olens as itsspeaker.  Attorney GeneralOlens discussed the issuesthat have confronted hisoffice in an array of differentareas.  He promoted an

overhaul of the Open Records Act, which includes areduction in the cost to copy responsive documents and arequirement that documents be turned over within threedays.  He encouraged requestors to call his office if the newrules are not being followed.  On water rights, the State won arecent ruling before the Eleventh Circuit, but the AttorneyGeneral cautions that any viable long­term solution will needto involve a management plan with the Army Corps ofEngineers.  Other issues that the office is addressing includeprescription drug abuse, the Savannah harbor expansionproject, immigration, the Affordable Care Act, and cross­state air pollution rules.  

Panelists discuss Litigation in the New Economy atthe December 2012 Breakfastby Edward C. Konieczny, Edward C. Konieczny, LLC

At the December 14, 2012 Litigation Section BreakfastMeeting, five in­house litigation counsel from large Atlanta­based companies discussed issues relating to "Litigation in the

New Economy."  They toldthe sell­out crowd how theirpurchase of legal serviceshas changed within the lastfew years, and howpermanent they expectedthose changes to be.   In alively discussion moderatedby Litigation Section BoardMember Ed Konieczny, the

panelists took on topics such as Fees and Billing, Defining andMeasuring Value, Budgets, Case Management, Selection ofOutside Counsel, and Corporate Legal Departments. 

The panel included:  William P. BarnetteCounsel  ­ Commercial Litigation, The Home Depot

Neal S. BerinhoutAssociate General Counsel, AT&T Services

John C. ChildsAssistant General Counsel ­ Litigation, Georgia­Pacific LLC

Jane JordanDeputy General Counsel and Chief Counsel for Health Affairs,Emory University

Michael  McQueeneyAssociate General Counsel ­ Litigation & Employment, TheCoca­Cola Company

For more information, please view the Daily Report article  

Terrence Croft and Halsey Knapp Speak to theSection at the January 2013 Breakfastby Kevin P. Weimer, Fellows LaBriola, LLP

On January 18, 2013, theLitigation Section presentedits breakfast program on thetopic of mediation.  Veteranmediator, Terrence Croft,and experienced litigator,Halsey Knapp, presentedfrom their respectivevantage points.  Mr. Croftdiscussed the need to

present a detailed mediation statement prior to themediation and emphasized that a good mediator does his orher homework by discussing ex parte with counsel for eachside of the dispute before the mediation date.  Among othernuggets of good information shared, Mr. Croft discussedletting the mediator know of emotional points of contentionso that a smart business decision is capable of being reachedwhile avoiding explosive issues that could unravel themediation.  Mr. Knapp spoke of the need to select mediatorswho honored confidences and noted the perils litigators facewhen mediators disclose more information than permitted. He also spoke of the importance of having thought carefullythrough the negotiation moves he would advocate his clientfollow prior to the mediation, and he discussed when alitigator should break off discussions and walk away from themediation.  Both presenters showed that the process ofmediation is part art/part science.  Their comments were wellreceived by an audience of attorneys and judges who filledthe Colonnade to capacity. 

The Litigator is Looking for Articles of Interest The Litigator is looking for articles of interest to Atlanta trialattorneys.  If you would like to submit an article forpublication, please email the editors, Stephen P. Cummings.

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