JANUARY EDITION • 2012

From the President: Happy New year!

by Matthew McCoyd

I just want to take this opportunity to wish each of you a Happy New Year.

Since many of us probably made some New Year’s resolutions I thought I would offer some interesting facts about this tradition.

Origins of New Year’s resolutions:
It is believed that the Babylonians were the first to make New Year’s resolutions, and people all over the world have been breaking them ever since. The early Christians believed the first day of the new year should be spent reflecting on past mistakes and resolving to improve oneself in the new year. (From www.infoplease.com).

According to an article on USA.GOV, Dec. 13, 2011, some of the New Year’s resolutions that are the most popular year after year are:

1. Drink less alcohol
2. Get a better education
3. Get a better job
4. Get fit
5. Lose weight
6. Manage debt
7. Manage stress
8. Quit smoking
9. Reduce, reuse, and recycle
10. Save money
11. Take a trip
12. Volunteer to help others

According to Time magazine the most broken New Year’s resolutions are:

1. Lose weight and get fit
2. Quit smoking
3. Learn something new
4. Eat healthier and diet
5. Get out of debt and save money
6. Spend more time with family
7. Travel to new places
8. Be less stressed
9. Volunteer
10. Drink less

Whatever your New Year’s resolutions are, best of luck to all in keeping at them and best wishes for a happy, peaceful and prosperous New Year.

See You at the Bar Luncheon January 19

Be sure to RSVP by Monday, January 16, for the Bar Luncheon on Thursday, January 19, at the historic Old Courthouse on the Square, 101 E. Court Square in downtown Decatur. RSVP now by clicking here to register.

Here is the delicious menu for January, catered by Decatur’s own Sawicki’s Meat Seafood and More:

Entrées
Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Thyme
Beef Stew

Sides
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Roasted Yellow and Green Squash, Peppers and Capers
Arugula Salad with French Vinaigrette and Shaved Parmesan

Sandwiches
Sawicki’s Veggie
Sawicki’s Ham and Swiss

Save the Date! Bench and Bar Dinner Is March 29

The 2011 Bench and Bar Dinner had a record attendance.

Dear DBA Member,

Please save the date of Thursday, March 29, for our annual Bench and Bar Reception and Dinner honoring the DeKalb County Judiciary. The event location is the Emory Conference Center Hotel at 1615 Clifton Rd., Atlanta, Georgia 30329. More details about the evening’s program will be published here as they become available.

This event, which is jointly hosted by the DeKalb Bar Association and the DeKalb Lawyers Association, is made possible through the generous contributions of lawyers such as you.

We invite you, your firm, your business or your organization to participate in the annual Bench and Bar Reception and Dinner by selecting one of our sponsorship categories: Read more

Practice Corner: Successfully Collaborating with Co-Counsel

by Daniel DeWoskin
Trial Attorney
www.atlantatrial.com

Frequently I find myself partnering up with different talented attorneys on challenging cases. In addition to the obvious benefits that come with shared resources and accountability, I enjoy seeing the differing approaches my colleagues have toward tackling discovery, motion practice, and trial preparation. Over the years, I have learned, sometimes at significant cost, that it takes much more planning and consideration than simply a good friendship to make a good co-counsel relationship work. Read more

Raising the Bar: Everything Is Sales

by W. Blair Meeks
Communication Strategist
Jackson Spalding

Everything is sales. I heard that nugget from an up-and-coming sales star at a company we work with here in Atlanta. It was during a sales training workshop and the salesman was describing an exchange with his son about school. It seems a dispute between his son and a teacher about a paper topic meant the sixth grader was cornered into writing a paper about a boring topic. The salesman’s advice? He told his son to “sell” the teacher on a topic he’d prefer to write about. He told him to try to pique the teacher’s interest and earn her trust and to reinforce that trust by surpassing expectation. Of course, the teacher’s decision about a new topic would largely depend on the relationship she already had with his son. Read more

Holiday Party in Pictures

The DeKalb Bar Association enjoyed its annual holiday party early last month at The Solarium at Historic Scottish Rite in Oakhurst Village just south of Downtown Decatur.

Click any photo to launch a slideshow:

Thanks Again to Our Holiday Party Sponsors

These generous folks made our holiday party possible:
Honorable Johnny N. Panos
Brodhead Law, LLC
Esquire Solutions • An Alexander Gallo Company
Gary S. Freed
Fried & Bonder
Bruce A. Hagen • Personal Injury Trial Lawyer
Dixon James
 • WM. Dixon James P.C.
Robert N. Katz • Katz Stepp Wright & Fleming LLC
Andrew R. Lynch • Andrew R. Lynch, P.C, Attorney at Law
ML Healthcare Services LLC
Malone Law
Roger W. Orlando
 • The Orlando Firm, P.C.
The Marlay House
Steven Salcedo • Finch McCranie, LLP
VanLanduyt & Associates • 
Family Law Attorneys and Mediations
Chadwick R. Walker

Family Law Section: December Breakfast Recap

Family Law Section breakfasts are held on the first Thursday each month. Be sure to check the FLS page on the DeKalb Bar Association website for more information, sign up and register for the next rousing breakfast meeting.

Click any photo to launch a slideshow: