Bench & Bar

• Citation: Vol. 13 No. 7 Pg. 0056
• Publication year: 2008
• Pages: 0056
• topic: Business of Law,Trademark,Intellectual Property,Corporate / Commercial,Labor Law,Civil Procedure,Real Estate

Bench & Bar No. Vol. 13, No. 7, Pg. 56 Georgia Bar Journal June, 2008

Kudos

Thompson, Rollins & Schwartz LLC announced that senior partner Debra Schwartz was inducted as a fellow to the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Also, partners Julie Northup and Shanon Stevenson were named as Rising Stars. In addition, Stevenson was appointed by the Supreme Court of Georgia as a mentor to the Bar's Transition Into Law Practice Program.

Kilpatrick Stockton announced that partner Rupert Barkoff was elected vice-chair of the newly formed Franchise Section of the State Bar of Georgia. Barkoff has been practicing franchise, distribution and corporate law for 35 years. His franchise practice emphasizes solutions to registration and structuring issues and developing individual and collective solutions to franchisor-franchisee relationship problems.

Adwoa Awotwi, an attorney in the firm's corporate department, was selected to serve on the Truancy Intervention Project Georgia, Inc.'s, Board of Directors. Established in 1991, the Truancy Intervention Project provides advocacy and other resources to Georgia's children and their families to prevent school failure.

Partner Scott Dayan was elected vice president-secretary of the U.S. branch of the International Fiscal Association. Dayan will also serve as a member of the organization's executive committee.

Partner Randy Hafer was formally admitted as a fellow into the prestigious American College of Construction Lawyers (ACCL) in a ceremony held in San Antonio. ACCL membership is comprised of the top 1 percent of the construction bar in the United States and also includes lawyers and judges from Canada, Britain and France.

Managing Intellectual Property Magazine ranked Kilpatrick Stockton the top patent prosecution firm in the South and among the top nine patent prosecution firms in the country. The firm was ranked among the top 20 firms in the nation for BioLife Sciences.

The firm also announced that it was named the top trademark firm in the South. Kilpatrick was named the "Tier 1" firm in the entire South, achieving that "Tier 1" ranking for both trademark prosecution and trademark litigation.

Partner Neal Sweeney was appointed to serve on the Advisory Board of the Chastain Park Conservancy. The Chastain Park Conservancy was formed in 2003 to restore, enhance, maintain and preserve the 286-acre park.

Carlton Fields was recently named in MultiCultural Law's 2008 Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity list. The ranking was based on a diversity survey of minority and women shareholders and associates as a percent of the total number of attorneys, providing diversity totals for the firm.

Atlanta shareholder, Alison Danaceau, was recently appointed to the Atlanta Ballet Board of Directors. Danaceau is a member of the firm's business litigation & trade regulation and real property litigation practice groups.

McGuireWoods LLP sponsored five law student scholarships for minority women through the Leadership Institute for Women of Color Attorneys in Law and Business, Inc.'s, annual conference held in March. The Leadership Institute helps women of color attorneys develop their careers and manage diversity issues in the workplace. The firm also sponsors a two-year internship for minority women interested in pursuing a legal career in its Atlanta office with Spelman College, a historically black college for women in Atlanta.

Marshall & Lueder, LLC, announced that partner Ray S. Smith III was selected by Gov. Sonny Perdue to the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission. Smith focuses his practice in commercial real estate and probate litigation.

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP, senior partner John F. "Sandy" Smith was named founding chairman of the external advisory board of the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences at Stanford University.

Fish & Richardson was named one of the leading IP law firms in the U.S. by Managing Intellectual Property Magazine with top rankings in every category, including national and regional patent prosecution and patent litigation, national Bio Life sciences, and national International Trade Commission.

Frank K. Martin of The Martin Firm, LLP, in Columbus, announced the publication of his first novel, Sowega: A Tale of Southern Justice. It is the story of how two disparate young men come together in a common cause and the judicial proceedings that ultimately produced celebrity for one and southern justice for the other. Sowega is published by Authorhouse.

Mercer University recently honored John B. Miller, a longtime partner in the law firm of HunterMaclean, at the university's 2008 Law Day Weekend in Macon. Miller, one of 11 remaining members of the Walter F. George School of Law's Class of 1948, was recognized on the 60th anniversary of his graduating class. Miller presently serves as a senior director of the Board of Directors at SunTrust.

The 12th Annual Webby Awards has nominated LawHelp.org—a national network of state portals, including Georgia's LegalAid-GA.org—for the best law site of 2008. LawHelp.org offers state-based legal referrals...