FROM THE ALABAMA LAWYER- Are There Constitutional Issues With Alabama’s Gubernatorial and Legislative Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Audio version available - Filed Under: The Alabama Lawyer Articles
The coronavirus known as COVID-19 reportedly infected the first American on January 21, 2020.[1] According to the Alabama Department of Health, Alabama has to date suffered 19,890 deaths[2] and 45,976[3] hospitalizations from the virus. In this same time period, 1,053,969 Americans have died,[4] while 92,761,865 Americans have been confirmed as infected.[5]
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FROM THE ALABAMA LAWYER- Alabama Qualified Dispositions in Trust Act
Audio version available - Filed Under: The Alabama Lawyer Articles
Historically, grantors of trusts have had little asset protection afforded them where they name themselves as a beneficiary of a trust, even an irrevocable trust. Section 505(a)(2) of the Uniform Trust Code and its Alabama counterpart, § 19-3B-505(a)(2), Code of Alabama (1975), provide that “[w]ith respect to an irrevocable trust, a creditor or assignee of the grantor may reach the maximum amount that can be distributed to or for the grantor’s benefit.”
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FROM THE ALABAMA LAWYER- Who Do We Think We Are?
Audio version available - Filed Under: The Alabama Lawyer Articles
In the final scenes of the movie “A Few Good Men” – one of the great classics of legal cinema – under dramatic, but extremely risky cross-examination by Lt. Daniel Kaffee (played by Tom Cruise), Col. Nathan Jessup (played by Jack Nicholson) admitted to directing the kind of “Code Red” discipline which led to the unintentional death of a Marine stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
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Alabama Lawyers Hall of Fame Inducts 5 New Members
- Filed Under: Press Releases
Montgomery, AL – The Alabama State Bar has inducted five new members into the Alabama Lawyers Hall of Fame. “We are so proud to announce the five new inductees to the Lawyers’
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SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT OF CLERK OF COURT JULIA JORDAN WELLER, APPOINTMENT OF MEGAN BYRNE RHODEBECK AS SUCCESSOR
- Filed Under: Uncategorized
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Supreme Court of Alabama is pleased to announce that it has selected Mrs. Margaret “Megan” Byrne Rhodebeck to be the next Clerk of Court, effective August 1, 2022.
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FROM THE ALABAMA LAWYER- Says Who? Why Good Citation Matters (and Why It’s Easier Than You Think)
Audio version available - Filed Under: The Alabama Lawyer Articles
A lawyer is a professional writer, but a lawyer’s purpose is not self-expression. A lawyer speaks (and writes) for someone else, to achieve a certain outcome, in a system governed by rules upon rules upon rules. It is technical, detailed work. Its hallmarks are clarity and precision. The purpose of legal writing is not principally to stir the soul but to satisfy a skeptical mind. A lawyer hoping to persuade another lawyer or judge to accept some position must write in a way that answers obvious questions.
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FROM THE ALABAMA LAWYER – Birmingham School of Law: Prominent Female Graduates
Audio version available - Filed Under: The Alabama Lawyer Articles
In 1915, Judge Hugh A. Locke had a vision for a non-traditional law school that would serve men and women who wanted to pursue a legal education, but had neither the time nor money that a full-time law school required. Birmingham School of Law was born out of that vison with classes originally being held at Birmingham-Southern College.
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FROM THE ALABAMA LAWYER – Mixed Signals
Audio version available - Filed Under: The Alabama Lawyer Articles
Introductory signals, according to The Bluebook, help legal writers “organiz[e] authorities and show how authorities support or relate to a proposition given in the text.” In a perfect world, The Bluebook would be easy to follow, all lawyers would use it uniformly, and there would always be a case on point. But the practice of law is rarely perfect.
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FROM THE ALABAMA LAWYER – Alabama Online Dispute Resolution
Audio version available - Filed Under: The Alabama Lawyer Articles
On January 18, 2022, the Supreme Court of Alabama issued an order establishing the Online Dispute Resolution for Small Claims Cases pilot project and included the Rules Regarding the Online Dispute Resolution for Small Claims Cases.[1] Morgan County will be the first pilot county.[2] Other counties that want to be added to the pilot project may be at the discretion of the Administrative Director of Courts.[3] As of May 2022, it is also live in Autauga, Baldwin, Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Colbert, Etowah, Geneva, Greene, Lee, Madison, Montgomery, Perry, Pike, Shelby, Talladega, Tuscaloosa, and Washington counties.
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President Joe Biden to Bestow the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Alabama Attorney Fred David Gray
- Filed Under: Press Releases
Next week, President Joe Biden will bestow the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Alabama Attorney Fred David Gray. Gray, who served as the 127th president of the Alabama State Bar, will receive…
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