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Shareholder Joyce Gist Lewis was recently elected to one of two Statewide Representative-At-Large positions on the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers (GAWL) Board. In this position, Joyce will serve as liaison to the Multi-Bar Leadership Committee and to the Chapter Governance Committee. An active GAWL member for many years, Joyce is immediate past President of the Atlanta Chapter of GAWL. Joyce also served as Programs Chair during the 2000-2001 term, was Vice President of Programs Statewide from 2001 to 2003 and co-chaired the Leadership Committee Statewide for the 2005-2006 term. Since 2006, Joyce has also served on the Statewide Judicial Applicant Review Committee.
Amy Pettway took office of President of the Southside Chapter of GAWL (GSC) in May 2008, after serving as the Chapter's Vice President since its inception. Amy and six other female lawyers founded the Southside Chapter in July 2007. She and the other new board members of GSC were introduced to the area legal community at a recent event held at the historic Fayetteville Train Depot.
The Southside Chapter of GAWL is comprised of Butts, Clayton, Coweta, Fayette, Henry, and Spalding counties. For more information, visit www.gawl.org and click on "Upcoming Events."
Rob Hassett, a frequent author of articles which address issues relating to software, entertainment, internet, copyright and trademark law, recently had an article published in Northside Woman Magazine. Entitled "Choosing the Right Name for Your Business," the piece addresses some of the common pitfalls that should be avoided when selecting a name for a business. To read Rob's article, go to http://northsidewoman.com/
Articles-c-2008-05-05-71804.112113_Choosing_the_right_
name_
for_your_business.html.
George Shingler and Jonathan Granade got a preliminary injunction against their client vacated. The preliminary injunction had been issued against the client for alleged false advertisement and trademark infringement relating to the client's usage of Plaintiffs' registered trademarks as metatags on the client's website. In North American Medical Corp. v. Axiom Worldwide, Inc., ___ F.3d ___, 2008 WL 918411 (11th Cir. April 7, 2008), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated the district court's preliminary injunction, agreeing with our position that Plaintiffs were not entitled to the presumption of irreparable harm upon which the district court had relied. The Eleventh Circuit held that the Plaintiffs were required to offer evidence of irreparable injury before being able to obtain a preliminary injunction. This is the first appellate court decision to apply the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision eBay v. MercExchange, LLC, 547 U.S. 388, 126 S. Ct. 1837 (2006), to a preliminary injunction sought under the Lanham Act for trademark infringement.
Firm Associate Amy Pettway recently attended the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA) and Georgia Association for Women Lawyers (GAWL) first joint mixer planned for 2008. The event was held at Silk in Midtown Atlanta and was attended by solo practitioners, attorneys from large Atlanta law firms, and members of the Fulton County judiciary. The joint mixers expect to be one of many efforts to provide networking and marketing opportunities for female attorneys within the two organizations. Amy is a past officer of GABWA and recently took the office of President of GAWL's Southside Chapter (GSC). She has been instrumental in promoting GABWA/GAWL events and will continue to do so in her role as President of the Southside Chapter.
Bob Casey, Jim Gilson and George Shingler have been recognized as Georgia Super Lawyers for 2008. The Georgia Super Lawyer designation consists of the top five percent (5%) of lawyers in the State of Georgia. This recognition resulted from a survey conducted of more than 21,000 Georgia lawyers who were asked to identify the best lawyers they personally had observed in action. Each Super Lawyer was chosen by their peers as being among the best in their profession in Georgia.
Each of the firm’s Super Lawyers was profiled in both the March issue of Atlanta Magazine and Georgia Super Lawyers 2008, a magazine published for lawyers. The practice areas for which these attorneys received Georgia Super Lawyer recognition are as follows:
Bob Casey: |
Civil litigation defense, business litigation, and franchise/dealership. |
Jim Gilson: |
Civil litigation defense. |
George Shingler: |
Intellectual Property litigation, business litigation and general litigation. |
Casey Gilson P.C. is proud to have three of its lawyers chosen by their peers to be among the top lawyers in the State of Georgia.
Casey Gilson firm newcomer Amy Pettway recently co-hosted the first annual Judicial Luncheon of the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers (GAWL), Southside Chapter. Held at the historic Hazlehurst House in McDonough, the luncheon honored local members of the judiciary of the southside metropolitan area. The featured speaker of the luncheon was Henry County Probate Court Judge Kelley Powell. Highlighting the history of mental health care in Georgia and emphasizing the urgency for diversion programs in the criminal justice system, such as mental health courts, Judge Powell spoke about a mental health court which has been proposed in Henry County. Several other speakers discussed related topics, including managing inmate populations with mental health challenges and how mental health courts can alleviate jail overcrowding and markedly reduce costs for local governments.
Amy and several other members of GAWL started the Southside Chapter in July, 2007. Comprised of Butts, Clayton, Coweta, Fayette, Henry, and Spalding counties, the Southside Chapter is celebrating a successful inaugural year. Since its inception, it has hosted several networking events and taken part in community initiatives, including promoting a business attire drive to benefit Promise Place, a temporary shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence located in Fayette County. Amy currently serves as the Southside Chapter's Vice President.
George Shingler has obtained summary judgment in a trademark dispute before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a client who provides real estate and construction loans to contractors who purchase and rehabilitate residential and commercial properties. Our client had transacted business using its trade name for several years before it applied to register its trade name as a trademark with the USPTO. Its application was refused because a foreign financial services company had registered the same name as a trademark in Europe and with the USPTO. George brought a cancellation petition before the TTAB and, after discovery, moved for summary judgment. His motion demonstrated that the marks were confusingly similar, there was prior use by our client of the mark, and there was no use of the mark in the United States by the other registrant. Based on this overwhelming showing and the opposition's failure to rebut it, the TTAB granted George's motion for summary judgment.
Shareholders Jim Gilson and Matt Williams, and Rob Hassett (of counsel), are recognized by Georgia Trend magazine in its 2007 roster of the state's Legal Elite. Jim is recognized in the personal injury practice area, Matt in the area of real estate law and Rob in the field of intellectual property.
Appearing in the December issue of Georgia Trend, the Legal Elite listing reflects Georgia’s top lawyers selected by their peers as the most effective in 10 different practice areas. This year's list includes only several hundred of the more than 26,000 active in-state members of the State Bar of Georgia. This is the fifth year that Georgia Trend has presented a roster of the state's Legal Elite.
Joyce Gist Lewis spoke at an Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia seminar which was held on December 14, 2007 at the State Bar of Georgia Headquarters. The Jury Trial seminar was co-sponsored by the General Practice and Trial Law Section of the Bar. Joyce presented the topic "Shaping Your Case Through Motions in Limine and the Pretrial Order."
George Shingler got agreement from all 12 judges of the Georgia Court of Appeals and all 7 justices of the Georgia Supreme Court for his legal position in successfully appealing the dismissal of our client's case by the trial court. Our client sustained catastrophic injuries when a barn collapsed on her. The evidence showed that the barn was improperly constructed and that the defendant building inspector failed to inspect the barn before permitting occupancy. The building inspector contended he owed no duty to our client to inspect the barn even though it was his job to inspect buildings. While the trial court accepted this argument, it was resoundingly rejected by all 19 active appellate court judges in Georgia, finding that the public duty doctrine applies to the official acts of a county building inspector. It is believed this is the first time that all sitting Georgia appellate judges have sided with one party to an appeal. The case has since settled. The decision is Clive v. Gregory, 280 Ga.App. 836, 635 S.E.2d 188 (2006), aff'd sub nom. Gregory v. Clive, 282 Ga. 476, 651 S.E.2d 709 (2007).
Jonathan Granade was invited to participate in the second annual class of the State Bar of Georgia's Young Lawyers Division Leadership Academy. Modeled after leadership-training programs for young business, civic and community leaders, the YLD Leadership Academy focuses on training its members to serve as leaders within the legal community as well as within their local communities. Selected as one of approximately 50 participants statewide, Jonathan and the other class members convened once a month for six months, meeting with leaders from the State Bar of Georgia, the judiciary, the public interest sector, law schools, and the political arena to discuss different issues facing young lawyers today.
Shareholder Joyce Gist Lewis took office of the Atlanta Chapter of GAWL in May 2007, after serving as president-elect for the previous year. Active in the Atlanta Chapter for many years, Joyce served as Programs Chair during the 2000-2001 term, was Vice President of Programs Statewide from 2001 to 2003 and co-chaired the Leadership Committee Statewide for the 2005-2006 term. Since 2006, Joyce has also served on the Statewide Judicial Applicant Review Committee.
Rob Hassett has authored numerous published articles concerning software, entertainment, internet, copyright and trademark law. Rob's articles regularly appear in the Gwinnett Business Journal and can also be found at the links below:
Choosing the Right Entity for a New Business
http://www.wikigwinnett.com/content.cfm?Action=wiki&WikiID
=5720&CFID=1393069&CFTOKEN=22048928
Enforceability of Agreements Based Only on E-mails:
http://www.wikigwinnett.com/content.cfm?Action=wiki&WikiID
=5510&CFID=1374315&CFTOKEN=29890083
=wiki&WikiID=5221&CFID=1393069&CFTOKEN=22048928
Selling an Idea:
http://www.wikigwinnett.com/content.cfm?Action
=wiki&WikiID=5221&CFID=1393069&CFTOKEN=22048928
Privacy Polices for Websites:
http://www.wikigwinnett.com/content.cfm?Action=wiki&
WikiID=4990&CFID=1393069&CFTOKEN=22048928
Registering Trademarks and Service Marks:
http://www.wikigwinnett.com/content.cfm?Action=wiki
&WikiID=4939&CFID=1393069&CFTOKEN=22048928
Who Owns the Copyrights in Computer Programs:
http://www.wikigwinnett.com/content.cfm?Action=wiki
&WikiID=2603&CFID=1393069&CFTOKEN=22048928
Protecting Intellectual Property Rights Especially in Connection with Business Sales:
http://www.wikigwinnett.com/content.cfm?Action=wiki
&WikiID=2491&CFID=1393069&CFTOKEN=22048928
Joyce Gist Lewis participated in the State Bar of Georgia's Young Lawyers Division School Project in May, 2007. Sponsored by the Minorities in the Profession Committee, the program "If You Can See It, You Can Be It" consisted of hour-long presentations to Atlanta-area elementary schools on what it means to be a lawyer. The project's goal was to inspire the children to pursue careers as attorneys. Joyce gave presentations to two classes of fourth grade students at Stonewall Tell Elementary School, located in College Park. The YLD's School Project received special recognition for this project by the American Bar Association at the ABA's annual meeting in San Francisco, California last summer.
George Shingler has been recognized in the 2007 edition of Georgia Super Lawyers. The Georgia Super Lawyer designation consists of the top five percent (5%) of lawyers in the State of Georgia. This recognition resulted from a survey conducted of more than 23,000 Georgia lawyers who were asked to identify the best lawyers they personally had observed in action. Each Super Lawyer was chosen by their peers as being among the best in their profession in Georgia. George has been recognized as a Super Lawyer every year since 2004.
Joyce Gist Lewis has been recognized by Georgia Super Lawyers as one of its Rising Stars. Rising Stars recognizes the top up-and-coming lawyers in the state. Attorneys are asked to nominate the best attorneys who are 40 or under, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less. Only 2.5 percent of the state’s attorneys are named to the list.
Derwin Brown, the Sheriff-elect of DeKalb County, Georgia, was assassinated on December 15, 2000. After four years of investigation and litigation, a Gwinnett County jury awarded more than $326 million in compensatory damages to the widow and family of Derwin Brown and $450 million in punitive damages. These awards represent the largest damages award in a wrongful death action and the largest punitive damages award in the history of the State of Georgia. Collectively, the $776,136,398 judgment is the largest in the history of the state.
This wrongful death action was brought against the five co-conspirators in the murder of Derwin Brown - - former DeKalb Sheriff Sidney Dorsey, former Sheriff's Office employees Patrick Cuffy and Melvin Walker, Paul Skyers and David I. Ramsey. Dorsey, a one-term sheriff whom Brown ousted in the August, 2000 election, is serving a life sentence for his part in the murder of Derwin Brown and for running a corrupt office. Cuffy and Skyers admitted their roles in the conspiracy and testified against Dorsey and the other co-conspirators in exchange for immunity. The complaint alleged federal civil rights claims in addition to the state wrongful death claims. It also contended that Dorsey and the other conspirators plotted to and killed Derwin Brown because he had defeated Dorsey in the 2000 election. Dorsey thought that eliminating Brown would allow Dorsey to stay in office. Summary judgment previously had been granted to Mrs. Brown on her liability claims against Dorsey, Cuffy and Skyers.
* According to Bloomberg ® Data, the verdict reached by the Gwinnett County jury made several statistical milestones. In addition to being the highest verdict award in the State of Georgia, it is the fourth highest verdict award in the United States in 2004, the thirteenth highest personal injury verdict in the history of such records being kept in the United States, and it is the fourth highest verdict for a wrongful death of a single individual in the history of the United States.
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