Published by the Alabama State Bar | www.alabar.org

October 2014

In this issue:

» MEMBER BENEFIT SPOTLIGHT: CosmoLex OffersAdditional Discount through EndOf November

» The “Distinguishable JudgeRoast”

» ALAP: Do Something Good forYour Profession and ParticipateIn Stress Study

» IMPORTANT NOTICES

Alabama Lawyers’ Hall of Fame

Judicial Award of Merit

Local Bar Award of Achievement

» MCLE Deficient?

» Methvin Named 2014 RecipientOf Albritton Award

» Tips on Fonts and Colors in Your Browser

» Survey of Threats and ViolenceAimed at Alabama’s Legal Profession

» Alabama State Bar Lawyers’Creed

» Making the Case for Casemaker:Contract Extended and Premium Services Added

Addendum, official online newsletterof the Alabama State Bar, is publishedsix times a year (December, February,April, June, August, October) by The Ala-bama Lawyer Board of Editors, P.O. Box4156, Montgomery 36101-4156. Contri-butions from members are welcomedand encouraged. Views expressed arethose of the authors, not necessarilythose of the board of editors, officers orboard of bar commissioners of the ASB.

Copyright 2014. The Alabama StateBar. All rights reserved.

CosmoLex Offers Additional DiscountThrough End of NovemberBy Laura Calloway, director, ASB ServicePrograms, laura.calloway@alabar.orgAs lawyers in smaller firms know, “ad-

ministrative” mistakes–such as misseddeadlines, inaccurate bills and improperor missed trust account reconciliations–can be costly, resulting in lost clients,malpractice claims and professional dis-cipline. Wise lawyers adopt systems toavoid these problems and take thefocus off administrivia, allowing them tospend their time doing what they dobest–practicing law.CosmoLex, one of the Alabama State

Bar’s newest member benefits, has justmade it much easier to stay on top ofpractice management functions withthe release of a state-of-the-art, com-prehensive, cloud-based practice man-agement tool, CosmoLex Cloud. And,while you may have seen prior versionsof CosmoLex, this new release takes the

service to an entirely different level.CosmoLex is unique in the way that

everything is integrated intuitively, builtfrom the ground up for the sole purposeof enabling law firm practice manage-ment, so everything, like tasks or ex-penses, is attached to a client matter.And meetings in the calendar can be setas “billable”–to flow into the invoicingstream upon completion. The trust ac-counts section prevents common trustbookkeeping mistakes such as over-drafts, and automates bank reconcilia-tions and three-way reconciliation,facilitating working with auditors.The Alabama State Bar has arranged

for you to receive a 10 percent lifetimediscount on CosmoLex Cloud, and an additional 5 percent lifetime discount isavailable for those who sign up beforeNovember 30, reducing the user fee to$43 per month (billed annually and proofof ASB membership required). Call (866)878-6798 or go to www.cosmolex.com for details on how to start your 30-dayfree trial. �

MEMBER BENEFIT SPOTLIGHT

|2| Alabama State Bar Addendum October 2014

The “DistinguishableJudge Roast”

MCBA Presents Ninth Annual Charity EventThe “Distinguishable Judge Roast” hon-

oring Judge Charles Price for his 31 yearsof service as a circuit judge in Mont-gomery County will be November 14 atthe Renaissance Montgomery Hotel &Spa at 201 Tallapoosa Street. Sponsoredby the Montgomery County Bar Associa-tion, the event begins at 5:15 p.m. with areception and silent auction. The dinnerand roast start at 7:00.Admission is $75 per person and dress

is cocktail attire. Tickets, sponsorships andother opportunities may be purchased atwww.mcbar.org, by calling the MCBA at(334) 265-4793 or by mailing a check to:

Montgomery County Bar AssociationP.O. Box 72Montgomery AL 36101

All proceeds benefit Mary Ellen’s Hearthat Nellie Burge Community Center, Med-ical Outreach Ministries and the Mont-gomery Volunteer Lawyers Program.A block of rooms has been reserved at

the Renaissance for out-of-town guests(http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mgmbr-renaissance-montgomery-hotel-and-spa-at-the-convention-center/).Purchase your tickets today! �

Price

The Alabama Lawyer Assistance Pro-gram announces its support of a stressstudy being conducted by University ofAlabama School of Law ProfessorPamela Pierson.Mental health issues, such as depres-

sion, anxiety, substance abuse and bipo-lar disorder, and the tragic reality ofsuicide among attorneys have becometopics of urgency among many aroundthe country. It is widely known that at-torneys suffer from depression and sub-stance use disorders at roughly twicethe rate of the general population, andthat the suicide rate is also twice that ofthe general population.Participation in this survey will not

take much of your time, and it may playan important role in identifying thosetraits that precipitate unhealthy stressand other mental health issues, as wellas those traits of “stress hardiness” thatseem to be possessed by those whohandle stress well.

The Alabama Lawyer Assistance Pro-gram applauds the efforts of ProfessorPierson and her colleagues, and encour-ages attorneys to take a few minutes tocomplete the survey.Survey results are completely confi-

dential. This version requires responsesso you will have to take it to review it. Tobegin the survey, go to https://universityofalabama.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_2tyV2k6G54KqReJ. �

Thornhill Pierson

A L A P :Do Something Good forYour Profession and

Participate in Stress Study

By Robert Thornhill, MS, LPC, director, Alabama Lawyer Assistance Program,robert.thornhill@alabar.org

IMPORTANT NOTICESAlabama Lawyers’ Hall of FameMay is traditionally the month when

new members are inducted into the Ala-bama Lawyers’ Hall of Fame located atthe state judicial building. The idea for ahall of fame first appeared in 2000 whenMontgomery attorney Terry Brownwrote state bar President Sam Rumorewith a proposal that the formersupreme court building, adjacent to thestate bar building and vacant at thattime, should be turned into a museummemorializing the many great lawyersin the history of the state of Alabama.The implementation of the idea of an

Alabama Lawyers’ Hall of Fame origi-nated during the term of state bar Presi-dent Fred Gray. He appointed a taskforce to study the concept, set upguidelines and provide a recommenda-tion to the board of bar commissioners.The committee report was approved in2003 and the first induction took placefor the year 2004. Since then, 45 lawyershave become members of the hall offame. The five newest members were in-ducted May 2, 2014.A 12-member selection committee con-

sisting of the immediate past president ofthe Alabama State Bar, a member ap-pointed by the chief justice, one memberappointed by each of the three presidingfederal district court judges of Alabama,four members appointed by the board ofbar commissioners, the director of the Ala-bama Department of Archives and His-tory, the chair of the Alabama Bench andBar Historical Society and the executivesecretary of the Alabama State Bar meetsannually to consider the nominees andmake selections for induction.Inductees to the Alabama Lawyers’

Hall of Fame must have had a distin-guished career in the law. This could bedemonstrated through many differentforms of achievement−leadership, serv-ice, mentorship, political courage or pro-fessional success. Each inductee musthave been deceased at least two years atthe time of their selection. Also, for eachyear, at least one of the inductees musthave been deceased a minimum of 100years to give due recognition to historicfigures as well as the more recentlawyers of the state.

The selection committee actively solic-its suggestions from members of the barand the general public for the nomina-tion of inductees. We need nominationsof historic figures as well as present-daylawyers for consideration. Great lawyerscannot be chosen if they have not beennominated. Nominations can be madethroughout the year by downloading thenomination form from the bar’s websiteand submitting the requested informa-tion. Plaques commemorating the in-ductees are located in the lower rotundaof the judicial building and profiles of allinductees are found on the bar’s websiteat https://www.alabar.org/membership/alabama-lawyers-hall-of-fame/.Download an application form at

https://www.alabar.org/assets/uploads/2014/08/Hall-of-Fame-Nomination-Form-2015.pdf and mail the completed form to:Sam RumoreAlabama Lawyers’ Hall of FameP.O. Box 671Montgomery AL 36101The deadline for submission is March

1, 2015.

Judicial Award of MeritThe Alabama State Bar Board of Bar

Commissioners will receive nominationsfor the state bar’s Judicial Award ofMerit through March 13, 2015. Nomina-tions should be mailed to:Keith B. Norman, secretaryBoard of Bar CommissionersP.O. Box 671Montgomery AL 36101-0671The Judicial Award of Merit was estab-

lished in 1987. The award is not necessar-ily an annual award. It must be presentedto a judge who is not retired, whetherstate or federal court, trial or appellate,who is determined to have contributedsignificantly to the administration of jus-tice in Alabama. The recipient is presentedwith a crystal gavel bearing the state barseal and the year of presentation.Nominations are considered by a

three-member committee appointed bythe president of the state bar, whichthen makes a recommendation to theboard of bar commissioners with respectto a nominee or whether the awardshould be presented in any given year.Nominations should include a detailed

biographical profile of the nominee and

a narrative outlining the significant con-tribution(s) the nominee has made tothe administration of justice. Nomina-tions may be supported with letters ofendorsement.

Local Bar Award ofAchievementThe Alabama State Bar Local Bar Award

of Achievement recognizes local bar asso-ciations for their outstanding contribu-tions to their communities. Awards will bepresented during the Alabama State Bar’s2015 Annual Meeting at the Grand HotelMarriott Resort & Spa in Point Clear.Local bar associations compete for

these awards based on their size–large,medium or small.The following criteria are used to

judge the contestants for each category:• The degree of participation by theindividual bar in advancing pro-grams to benefit the community;

• The quality and extent of the im-pact of the bar’s participation onthe citizens in that community; and

• The degree of enhancements to thebar’s image in the community.

To be considered for this award, localbar associations must complete andsubmit an award application by June 1,2015. Applications may be downloadedfrom www.alabar.org or obtained bycontacting Christina Butler at (334) 269-1515 or christina.butler@alabar.org. �

October 2014 Alabama State Bar Addendum |3|

Short articles of general interest are always welcomedfrom ASB members. All materialssubmitted for publication in theAddendum are subject to editingfor style, space and content.

Send submissions as Word docu-ments to margaret.murphy@alabar.org. The deadline for the December issue is

November 10.

|4| Alabama State Bar Addendum October 2014

M C L E D E F I C I E N T ?

Are You Chronically Deficient? Then You Really Should Read This!

By Angela Parks, director, ASB Regulatory Programs, angela.parks@alabar.org

Most Alabama lawyers are extremely conscientiousabout complying with the annual MCLE requirement–a responsibility imposed on all of us by the Supreme Courtof Alabama. The requirement is meant to ensure that we allcontinue to hone our skills and stay updated on changes inthe law. Of course, plans can go awry and sometimes prob-lems arise: a sudden illness, a death in the family or a jobloss can throw you off track. The Alabama State Bar hasways to help you through those events. One tool is theMCLE Deficiency Plan.Deficiency plans were designed for attorneys who, be-

cause of an unusual and infrequent circumstance, were un-able to fulfill their annual 12-hour MCLE requirement ontime. Most of the lawyers across this state will never re-quest a deficiency plan during their career, but that is nottrue for everyone. Slowly but surely, the number of defi-ciency plans requested each year has been climbing. Andthe reasons given for these numbers of deficiency plansare increasingly not unusual, unforeseeable or infrequent–often the reason is simply a lack of planning.The MCLE Commission has become concerned about the

number of attorneys who repeatedly request deficiencyplans. For some attorneys, a deficiency plan has become achronic need. In plain terms, the option for a deficiencyplan is being abused. This issue was partially addressed in

2011 with the addition of MCLE Rule 8.E, which providesthat requests for the approval of successive deficiency planswill not be considered without a showing of good cause.At the request of the MCLE Commission, on September

19, the Board of Bar Commissioners approved the adop-tion of MCLE Regulation 8.6, which provides that, “In orderto make a showing of good cause pursuant to MCLE Rule 8.E,after the approval of two successive deficiency plans, an attor-ney shall appear before a panel consisting of the MCLE Direc-tor, a representative of the MCLE Commission, and arepresentative of the Office of General Counsel to explain whya further deficiency plan should be granted. The attorneyshall be notified in writing of the decision of the panel.” Thenew regulation becomes effective immediately.The MCLE Commission has directed that a letter be sent

to the attorneys who will be affected this year by the newregulation, to advise them of the new procedure whilethey still have the balance of the year to take action toavoid another MCLE deficiency. Monitoring deficiencyplans in this manner each year will now become a routinepart of our annual responsibilities.If you have had two or more deficiency plans in the past

three years, we strongly urge you to make plans now to en-sure that you are MCLE-compliant by midnight, December31, 2014. �

October 2014 Alabama State Bar Addendum |5|

Throughout the design process for your new alabar.org, wehave aimed to present information in an easy-to-read format.However, we understand that the smaller font sizes and varyingcolors in some places, such as the results of our Member Search,may be difficult to read for some members and visitors. Mostmodern web browsers include the ability to zoom in on pages,increase minimum font size and modify the color settings ofwebpages. Below is a guide to making use of these features.

All BrowsersIn all browsers, it is possible to zoom in on a page by press-

ing the Ctrl (or ⌘ on a Mac) and + keys at the same time. Youcan press these keys repeatedly to zoom in further. To resetzoom, press Ctrl and 0 (zero).

Internet ExplorerIn Internet Explorer 8 and above, you can set your preferred

zoom level from the View menu. To reach these settings, pressthe Alt key on your keyboard to bring up the menu bar at thetop of the window and then click View.

If you wish to only zoom in on fonts, or to remove color fromwebpages, press the Alt key on your keyboard, click Tools andthen Internet Options. In the bottom right of the Internet Op-tions dialog, click Accessibility.

Tips on FontsAnd Colors inYour Browser

(Continued on page 6)

The Alabama State Bar recently an-nounced that Montgomery attorneyTom Methvin is the recipient of the2014 Harold Albritton Pro Bono Lead-ership Award.Methvin is a principal attorney with

Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis& Miles PC, where he is also the man-aging attorney. He began his careerwith the firm in 1988, shortly aftergraduating from the CumberlandSchool of Law. Methvin also gradu-ated from the University of Alabamawith a degree in corporate finance.Methvin is a past president of the Alabama State Bar (2009-

2010) and the Montgomery County Bar Association (1996). Hehas contributed greatly to the pro bono efforts across the stateto bring awareness to the need for volunteerism in the legalcommunity.“Tom has an intense commitment to the fundamental princi-

ples of equal protection and equal justice,” said Alabama StateBar President Rich Raleigh. “He has worked zealously, both dur-ing his presidency and after, to help Alabamians through out-standing pro bono service, encouraging every lawyer and lawfirm to become involved and emphasizing how every Alabamalawyer has a responsibility to render public interest legal service.”Created in 2011, the award is named for Judge W. Harold Albrit-

ton, who established the Alabama State Bar Volunteer LawyersProgram in 1991. It was presented to Judge Albritton at the 2011fall admission ceremony, honoring his vision and leadership. TheAlbritton Award is now presented annually to an attorney whohas shown leadership and commitment to improving pro bonolegal services to Alabama’s low-income citizens.“The overriding message of Tom’s service as president of the

Alabama State Bar was that lawyers had a duty to render probono service, and even after his presidency he actively encour-aged participation in local and state volunteer lawyer pro-grams,” said Mike Martin, executive director of theMontgomery County Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program.Other past recipients include Samuel N. Crosby and Alyce M.

Spruell. �

MethvinNamed 2014Recipient ofAlbrittonAward

Methvin

|6| Alabama State Bar Addendum October 2014

Here, you can choose “Ignore font sizes specified on webpages” to be able to choose your preferred font size from theView > Text Sizemenu, or “Ignore colors specified on webpages” to default to black type, white background, blue unvis-ited links and purple visited links. You can change these de-fault colors by clicking Colors at the bottom of InternetOptions and unchecking “Use Windows colors.”

FirefoxNote: Mac users do not need to press Alt when following the in-

structions below. The menu bar is always visible at the top of yourscreen.

To zoom in on web pages in Firefox, follow the tips aboveunder All Browsers. Firefox also allows you to easily zoom onlythe text on pages by pressing the Alt key on your keyboard,then clicking the Viewmenu, mousing over Zoom and click-ing “Zoom Text Only.” You can then press Ctrl (or ⌘) and + or- to zoom in and out.You can also set a minimum font size. Press the Alt key on

your keyboard, click Tools in the menu bar and then Optionsin the Tools menu. Click the Content tab and then the Ad-vanced button. Choose your minimum font size from thedropdown.

Here in Content, you can also choose your own Colors. Clickthe Colors button and then uncheck Allow pages to choosetheir own colors, instead of my selections above to overridewhat pages set.

TIPS ON FONTS AND COLORS IN YOUR BROWSER

(Continued from page 5)

October 2014 Alabama State Bar Addendum |7|

ChromeTo zoom in on pages, follow the instructions above under All

Browsers. Chrome does not offer built-in methods to changecolors, but you (or your IT department) can install an extensionlike Change Colors (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/change-colors/jbmkekhehjedonbhoikhhkmlapalklgn) to do so.To set a minimum font size, click the Menu button and then

Settings. At the bottom of the window, click Show advancedsettings… and scroll down to Web content. Click the Cus-tomize fonts… button. Near the bottom of the dialog thatcomes up is the Minimum font size slider. Click any point onit, or click and drag the sliding box, to increase or decrease theminimum font size.

Safari (Mac)To zoom an entire page, follow the instructions above under

All Browsers. To zoom in on text only, increasing the font size,click the Viewmenu in your menu bar and then check ZoomText Only.

You can then use ⌘ and + or - to increase and decrease fontsize. You can also set a minimum font size for web pages–clickSafari in your menu bar, then Preferences and then the Ad-vanced tab at the end. Check the box labeled “Never use fontsizes smaller than” and choose your preferred font size in thedropdown to the right.

Unfortunately, Safari does not offer a quick and easy way tooverride colors on a website. We recommend installing (or hav-ing your IT department install) Firefox or Chrome.

We welcome yourfeedback!If you have any other questions, or want to share your expe-

rience with your new alabar.org, please go to https://www.alabar.org/contact/ and send us a message. �

|8| Alabama State Bar Addendum October 2014

For more than 25 years, the mediaand legal commentators have identifiedan increase of work-related violence to-ward the legal profession. While there isno national method for reporting thesethreats and acts of violence at a statelevel, surveys conducted to date in 11states show that they do regularly occur.A survey has been created to ascer-

tain the nature and frequency of thethreats and violence. This survey will re-main open until November 30, 2014 andthe results will be submitted as a pro-posed article for The Alabama Lawyer.Please go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C2DQ2X6 and complete the sur-vey, whether or not you have experi-enced work-related threats or violencein the legal profession. �

Survey of Threats and Violence Aimed atAlabama’s Legal Profession

October 2014 Alabama State Bar Addendum |9|

Making the Case forCasemaker

To my clients,

I offer faithfulness, competence,diligence and good judgment. Iwill strive to represent you as Iwould want to be representedand to be worthy of your trust.

To the opposing parties and theircounsel, I offer fairness, integrityand civility. I will seek reconcilia-tion and, if we fail, I will strive tomake our dispute a dignified one.

To the courts, and other tribunals,and to those who assist them, Ioffer respect, candor and courtesy.I will strive to do honor to thesearch for justice.

To my colleagues in the practice oflaw, I offer concern for your wel-fare. I will strive to make our asso-ciation a professional friendship.

To the profession, I offer assistance.I will strive to keep our business aprofession and our profession acalling in the spirit of public service.

To the public and our systems ofjustice, I offer service. I will strive toimprove the law and our legal sys-tem, to make the law and our legalsystem available to all and to seekthe common good through therepresentation of my clients.

(Approved by the Alabama Boardof Bar Commissioners 4/10/92)

If Casemaker looks a little differenttoday, it’s because its premium servicesare now available to all ASB memberswithout charge. As a part of our contractextension, you now have access to asuite of tools that makes research fasterand easier, in addition to Casemaker’sbroad and comprehensive libraries,which cover all 50 states and also pro-vide federal materials–all as a benefit ofbar membership. The premium servicesinclude CaseCheck+, CiteCheck andCasemakerDigest.CaseCheck+works like Shephard’s®

and KeyCite® to notify you right away ofnegative treatment, identifying whetheryour case is still good law. CaseCheck+returns both positive and negativetreatments instantly as you research andlinks to negative treatments so you canquickly review the citation history. Itworks seamlessly inside the new Case-maker and doesn’t require any extrasteps to use.

CiteCheck analyzes every citation inyour brief (or your opponent’s) and pro-vides you with a report of good law,negative treatments and potential cita-tion format errors. In just moments, youhave this critical information.CasemakerDigest allows you to re-

ceive daily summaries of the latest stateand federal appellate decisions (within12-24 hours of publication) classified bypractice area. Choose one area, a few orall, and get exactly the information youneed when you need it.If you’re not already enjoying Case-

maker, you can obtain access to thebasic library and the new premium fea-tures by logging in at www.alabar.organd selecting the Casemaker link fromyour MyDashboard page. For help log-ging in to the website, contact the Prac-tice Management Assistance Program at(334) 517-2242. For help with your legalresearch, contact Casemaker Support at(877) 659-0801. �

Lawyer’s Creed

ALABAMA STATE BAR

Contract Extended and Premium Services Added