Family Law Convocation

Seminar Number 107276 CLE Hours (Self-Study Only) 3 CLE Hours including 1 Ethics Hour, 1 Professionalism Hour and 3 Trial Practice Hours	17th Annual CONVOCATION ON PROFESSIONALISM
	RECORDED JANUARY 13, 2010
	Co-Sponsor: Family Law Section, State Bar of Georgia
	Presiding: John C. Mayoue, Program Chair, Warner, Mayoue, Bates & McGough, Atlanta
	Welcome and Program Overview John C. Mayoue
	I. First Amendment Speech Inside the Courtroom Frivolous Litigation Sanctions and the First Amendment Canatella v. Stovitz., 365 F.Supp. 2d 1064 (N.D. Cal. 2005) Orly Taitz case II. Courtroom attire and the First Amendment Bank v. Katz, 2009 WL 3077147 (E.D. N.Y. 2009) Federal Judges Grouse About Lawyers’ Courtroom Attire,” The National Law Journal (May 21, 2009) “At a Symposium of Judges, a Debate on the Laws of Fashion,” The New York Times (May 22, 2009) “Judges and Attorneys Agree that Courtroom Attire Should be Professional,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (May 31, 2009) III. Frivolous Litigation “Silly, Baseless Lawsuits,” LAW.Com (August 24, 2009) Motion For Sanctions Must Itself be Non-Frivolous Northwest Bypass Group v. Army Corps of Engineers, 569 F.3d 4 (1st Cir. 2009) Shelley v. Shelley, 688 N.Y.S.2d 439 (N.Y. 1999) IV. Was David Letterman blackmailed twice? Ethics of Public Statements by Defense Counsel V. Technology and Legal Advertising Whether a Lawyer Can Pay a Non-Lawyer for Each Internet-Based Client Lead that the Non- Lawyer Generates—Unethical Referral Fee or Simply a Fee for Advertising? Louisiana: Challenge to Constitutionality of Amendments to Lawyer Advertising Limitations VI. Current Supreme Court Cases Regarding Professional Responsibility: “Prioritizing Professional Responsibility and the Legal Profession: A Preview of the Untied States Supreme Court’s 2009-2010 Term,” Professor Renee Newman Knake, 6 Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar, Volume 5:1, 2009. Professor Knake posits that the unprecedented number of professional responsibility cases scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court this term, when considered together, signal the Court’s prioritization of concerns related to the roles and obligations of attorneys. Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, P.A. v. United States: Attorney Advice and Advertising Whether bankruptcy code prohibiting debt relief agency from advising clients to incur debt in contemplation of bankruptcy is unconstitutionally overbroad; whether code’s disclosure requirements are reasonably related to government’s interest in protecting consumers from deceptive advertising. Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project: Attorney Advice Padilla v. Kentucky: Attorney Misadvice Wood v. Allen: Attorney Inexperience and Duties of Supervising Attorneys Holland v. Florida: Attorney Negligence Smith v. Spisak: Attorney Loyalty and Strategy Mohawk Industries, Inc. v. Carpenter: Attorney-Client Privilege Perdue v. Kenny A., ex. rel. Winn: Attorney’s Fees Justice Alito on the quality and honesty of trial judges: “Justice Samuel Alito Jr. said he was ‘very troubled’ by the notion of a judge taking 4-plus million dollars from the taxpayers of Georgia and giving it as a bonus to the lawyers in the case for good performance. ‘It seems totally standardless,’ Alito said. ‘I see a great danger that trial judges are going to use this as a way of favoring their favorite nonprofit foundation or their favorite cause or their favorite attorney.” High Court Justices Doubt Lawyers Should Be Paid Extra for Winning, Tony Mauro, The National Law Journal, October 15, 2009 Astrue v. Ratliff: Attorney’s Fees Pottawattamie County, Iowa v. McGhee: Attorney Immunity PANELISTS Hon. Robert J. Castellani, Judge, Superior Court, Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit, Decatur Hon. J. Stephen Schuster, Judge, Superior Court, Cobb Judicial Circuit, Marietta Hon. Gail S. Tusan, Judge, Superior Court, Atlanta Judicial Circuit, Atlanta Eugene P. Chambers, III, Esq., McGinnis & Chambers, LLC, Atlanta Rachel M. Snider, Esq., Levine & Smith, LLC, Atlanta