South Carolina Bar News April 2011 : Page 1

SC BAR NEWS April 2011 | Vol. 23, No. 4 FEATURED ARTICLES: 2 3 20 21 Historical Society to present 2011 colloquium Constitution and Bylaw amendments proposed Address changes needed for Lawyers Desk Book Seminar offers tips for employee retention in law firms Pro Bono Honor Roll 26 IN EVERY ISSUE: 25 Bar Bytes Bar Foundation News Calendar CLE News Ethics Advisory Opinions Firm Announcements Health and Wellness Lawyers Helping Lawyers Legal Administrator News Lending Library Spotlight Risk Management North Myrtle Beac High wins state mock trial championship STUDENTS FROM NORTH MYRTLE BEACH HIGH SCHOOL PLACED FIRST among 11 other S.C. high schools that competed in the state mock trial competition on March 11 and 12 at the Matthew J. Perry Jr. Federal Courthouse in Columbia. Mock Trial, continued on page 5. 6 33 14 16 8 22 12 10 20 18 NEW! Update contact information online IN APRIL, THE SOUTH CAROLINA BAR WILL UNVEIL ITS NEW MEMBER PORTAL at www.scbar.org, which will allow members to self-manage contact information, pay dues and review past invoices, whether outstanding or paid. In the following weeks, the Bar will implement more efficient online CLE registration and publication pur-chases. This change will also allow “single sign on” to the Bar’s website. Web Updates, continued on page 20.

North Myrtle Beach High Wins State Mock Trial Championship

STUDENTS FROM NORTH MYRTLE BEACH HIGH SCHOOL PLACED FIRST among 11 other S.C. high schools that competed in the state mock trial competition on March 11 and 12 at the Matthew J. Perry Jr. Federal Courthouse in Columbia. The North Myrtle Beach team was presented with the Westbrook Award, created in 2006 in honor of the late Hon. Marc H. Westbrook. Judge Westbrook served as a presiding judge at state level competitions for more than a decade. As his commitment to the program grew, he began serving as presiding judge for the championship round only. Only the top two teams appeared before him, and he became someone of celebrity to the students. The award is presented each year to the high school mock trial state champion. The team was led by teacher coaches Robert DeCerbo and Amy Murphy and attorney coach Brad Smith. The team will advance to the national competition May 6-9 in Phoenix, Ariz. Strom Thurmond High School of Johnston, led by teacher coaches Denise Jackson, Jeffrey Bryan and Eddie Lyell and attorney coaches Shane Massey and Blair Ballard Massey, placed first runner- up. Other participating schools were Blythewood, Bob Jones Academy, Dutch Fork, Fort Dorchester, Fort Mill, Johnsonville, Lexington, Montessori High School of Anderson, Spring Valley and Wando. The competing teams were winners from February’s regional competitions that were held in Columbia, Greenville, Charleston and Conway. During both phases of the competition, students presented the plaintiff and defense sides of a fictitious case before a panel of volunteer lawyers. Additionally, students filled the roles of defendant, Witnesses and bailiff. This year’s fictitious case, Addison Neeson v. Town of Butler, involved the death of Addison’s son, Christopher Neeson, which occurred when the Butler Police Department recklessly pursued a minor traffic offense and his car was struck in an intersection. Addison Neeson alleged the reckless pursuit caused Christopher’s death. Each team was judged on its presentation skills rather than the legal merits of the case. This year, the roles of courtroom sketch artist and courtroom journalist were introduced to the competition to broaden participation across a more diverse group of students. Six entries from each category advanced to the state competition, where these students recorded their observations from the proceedings through sketches and articles. Entries were judged the week following the competition by local reporters, graphic designers and artists. Congratulations to Jane Xu of Dreher High School in Columbia, winner of the sketch artist competition, and Caylyn Bird of Spring Valley High School in Columbia, winner of the journalist competition. The winners will receive a certificate and framed copy of their work. The mock trial program is sponsored by the South Carolina Bar’s Law Related Education (LRE) Division, which was developed in 1976 to improve the ability of teachers to instruct law related education. The mock trial program is made possible through an IOLTA grant from the South Carolina Bar Foundation.

NEW! Update Contact Information Online

IN APRIL, THE SOUTH CAROLINA BAR WILL UNVEIL ITS NEW MEMBER PORTAL at www.scbar.org, which will allow members to self-manage contact information, pay dues and review past invoices, whether outstanding or paid. In the following weeks, the Bar will implement more efficient online CLE registration and publication purchases. This change will also allow “single sign on” to the Bar’s website. For example, once logged into www.scbar.org, members will automatically be logged into Casemaker, with no need to login to Casemaker separately. The old Casemaker login will continue for a period of time through a different link, but we encourage members to take advantage of the new member login feature. To begin this process, navigate to the Bar’s homepage and select “Login” in the top right area. Then click Forgot Your Password. You will then need to enter your S.C. Bar number. Your request will be sent to your e-mail address on file with the Bar. If you have trouble logging in, please review the FAQ page or e-mail scbar-info@scbar.org. In late summer, functionality for iPhone, Android, Blackberry and PDAs will be added.

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