| March 2010 White Station repeats as mock trial champ White Station High School of Memphis claimed its second straight championship earlier this month, defeating St. Mary's Episcopal School in the 30th annual Tennessee State High School Mock Trial Competition. The team now will represent Tennessee at the National High School Mock Trial Competition in Philadelphia May 5-9. The two-day state competition, held on March 19-20, involved 14 teams and 200 volunteers, including lawyers, law students and paralegals. Sitting judges in the state presided over the trial rounds at the Metro Davidson County Courthouse in downtown Nashville and Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Janice Holder presided over the championship match. For a complete list of teams that participated and how they ranked, presiding judges, attorney coaches and award winners, as well as photos from the event, visit the 2010 mock trial competition page Election petitions due Thursday YLD Vice President East Tennessee Governor Middle Tennessee Governor West Tennessee Governor Secretary Treasurer District Representatives from Even-Numbered Districts District 13 Representative opening YLD to conduct diversity survey The YLD will conduct its first survey of member diversity next month via Survey Monkey. Members will receive an email with a link to the survey webpage. Questions include the member's firm size, practice setting, race, gender, age and religion. Responses are anonymous and will be tallied for a report that will be presented to the YLD President in May. All members are encouraged to take a few minutes to complete the survey. Be on the look out for your invitation to participate! If you have any questions about the survey or the division's diversity efforts, please contact Diversity Committee Chair Effie Bean Cozart at (901) 680-7339 or effie.beancozart@butlersnow.com. Public and legal service projects Attorneys in the state have several opportunities to get involved in legal and public service projects over the next few months. Kingsport Wills for Heroes -- The TBA will present a Wills for Heroes clinic in Kingsport on Saturday, April 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will be held at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kingsport. Attorneys are needed to draft wills, advance directives and powers of attorney. Non-attorneys are needed to serve as witnesses. If you are able to help, please contact District 1 Representative Adam Moore at damoore@tndagc.org or (423) 245-2604. Knoxville Wills for Heroes -- The TBA will hold a Wills for Heroes clinic in Knoxville on May 1. Contact District 3 Representative Sonda Gifford at sondagifford@hotmail.com for more information. Hops for Hope -- The annual Hops for Hope fundraiser -- benefitting New Hope, the Blount County Children's Advocacy Center -- will be held May 7 from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at the Dancing Bear Lodge in Townsend. Tickets are $50 and include a souvenir tasting mug, heavy hors d'ouevres, handcrafted beer, a live band and access to a silent auction. There also will be informative beer tastings to be conducted by several regional breweries. And for those who dare, the Second Annual Hops Trike Race will test the coordination and agility of attendees. For those who want to stay overnight, accommodations are available at the lodge by calling (865) 448-6000. Tickets may be purchased from New Hope by calling (865) 981-2000. For more information about the event contact District 4 Representative Justin Martin at jmartin@kizer-black.com or (865) 980-1629. Chattanooga Wills for Heroes -- The TBA will hold a Wills for Heroes clinic in Chattanooga on May 22. Contact District 5 Representative David McDowell at dmcdowell@gplce.com or (423) 756-5171 for more information. Membership events planned for April Knoxville -- Young lawyers in Knoxville will gather for a tailgate party at the Orange and White Game April 17 at 2 p.m. Contact Hanson Tipton at htipton@watsonroach.com or (865) 637-1700 for more information. Jackson -- Young lawyers in Jackson will gather for a Diamond Jaxx game on Monday, April 19. The event will begin at 6 p.m. in the stadium suite with the first pitch to be thrown out at 7:05 p.m. For tickets or more information contact Nathan Shelby at nshelby@raineykizer.com or (731) 267-1394. Chattanooga -- Stay tuned for details about a membership event in Chattanooga in May. New Chattanooga YLD president takes office The Chattanooga Bar Association Young Lawyers Division has a new leader. Jason D. Demastus took the reigns of the division from Brian O'Shaughnessy last month. Demastus earned his law degree in 2004 from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. He began his career at Kennedy, Koontz & Farinash as a law clerk and now practices in the areas of criminal defense, matrimonial litigation, general litigation, business formation, debtor/creditor relations and corporate workout and bankruptcy. He is licensed to practice in both Tennessee and Alabama, as well as in the federal courts for Eastern District of Tennessee and the Northern and Middle districts of Alabama. Demastus is a member of the Justices Ray L. Brock, Jr.- Robert E. Cooper American Inn of Court. He recently was appointed as a special prosecutor by the Tennessee District Attorney General's Conference. By virtue of his position, Demastus now holds a non-voting seat on the TBA YLD Board. He can be reached at jddemast@kkflawfirm.com or (423) 622-4535. Nashville hosts ABA YLD for site visit Chicago lawyer Michael Bergmann was in Nashville with American Bar Association (ABA) support staff two weeks ago to check out the city as a potential meeting location. Bergmann, who works at the Public Interest Law Initiative, will take office as president of the ABA YLD the summer of 2011. He is considering holding the division's spring 2012 meeting in Music City. TBA YLD leaders met with Bergmann one night, while TBA leaders met with him the next night. He spent most of his time during the day touring hotel and event venues around the city. Bergmann says he loves country music but will make sure the full range of Nashville's musical talent is on display during the conference. Stay tuned for final word on whether the ABA YLD will be coming to Middle Tennessee. A number of local young lawyer groups have activities planned for April. They include: Jackson Madison County Bar Association YLD -- The April meeting will be held April 22 in conjunction with a wine tasting at the Downtown Tavern. Young lawyers also will participate in the bar association's Law Day Luncheon on April 30. For more information about these events, contact Chuck Holliday at holliday@spraginslaw.com or (731) 424-0461. Memphis Bar Association YLD -- Young lawyers in Memphis will participate in Law Week activities with two projects. On April 17, the YLD will launch "They Had a Dream Too" -- a high school curriculum project sponsored by the ABA that explores the role young people played in the civil rights movement. On April 20, young lawyers will participate in the annual Legal Lines service project by taking calls from members of the public with legal questions live on Channel 3 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. The TBA YLD is excited to be helping with that event. The Memphis Bar Association has three other events planned for Law Week: a launch party in Court Square Park on April 16 from 5-7 p.m. (bring a canned good!), the annual memorial service for lawyers and judges at noon on April 20 at Calvary Episcopal Church, and a naturalization ceremony on April 26. For information on any of these projects or events contact Memphis YLD President Kyle Wiggins at kwiggins@bakerdonelson.com or (901) 577-8264. Northeast Tennessee YLA -- The association will partner with the TBA YLD to host a Wills for Heroes clinic on April 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will be held at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kingsport. For other information about the YLA contact President Carter Massengill at massenlc@netscape.net or (423) 764-1174. Upper Cumberland YLA -- The association will hold its next meeting on April 22, at 6 p.m. at Crawdaddy's Restaurant in Cookeville. For more information, contact President Phil Hatch at pahatch@tndagc.org or (931)528-5015. April 8 As jury trials become less frequent, litigators increasingly spend their time handling out-of-court tasks such as document production, depositions and settlement negotiations. While this trend may have benefits for the legal system, it often means that lawyers miss the opportunity for on-the-job training in the courtroom. Designed for both new and seasoned attorneys, this course will fill that gap by recreating a "real" jury trial with lawyers, witnesses, jurors and a presiding judge. Attendees will observe all aspects of a basic trial including voir dire, opening statements, direct and cross examinations, and closing arguments. At each stage of the process, the trial participants will recreate the courtroom scene, provide commentary on their arguments and tactics, and then open the floor to questions and group discussion. At the end of the trial, jury members will comment on the presentation of the case and what arguments and tactics they found convincing. By the end of the day, participants will be better equipped to handle themselves and represent their clients in the courtroom. Memphis Knoxville Presiding Judge: U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan Questions about CLE? |
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Vol. 8, No. 9 IN THIS ISSUE FROM THE EDITOR You are receiving E-DICT as a member benefit of the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. E-DICT features information about upcoming YLD events and ways to get involved, while at the same time showing that we do not take ourselves too seriously. E-DICT is sent monthly to all TBA young lawyer members, law student members, affiliate representatives and TBA YLD Fellows. If you have comments or suggestions regarding the newsletter, please contact the editor at htipton@watsonroach.com Hanson Tipton Knoxville ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION Statements or opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Tennessee Bar Association, its officers, board or staff. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION |
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