AROUND THE FIRM

Dear NONE,

Attorneys Jeff Rickard and David Marsh of the firm recently obtained a settlement on behalf of a Vestavia Hills woman left unable to walk after a Kinko's company vehicle hit her in 2002.

Joan Jones, 60, sued the company and its employee, Jennifer Dickerson, claiming Dickerson ran a red light and hit her September 19, 2002, at U.S. 280 and Cherokee Road.

Jones was en route to her job as a day-care worker at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Mountain Brook when she was hit.  She suffered head trauma, broken ribs, a punctured lung and leg injury.  As a result of the injuries and being bedridden for so long, Jones developed a condition that causes severe stiffness in her knees and ankles that prevent her from walking.

The terms and conditions of the settlement are confidential, but to learn more about the case, go to our web site.

Attorney Susan Silvernail of the firm recently chaired a program on Technology: Challenge and Change in the Courtroom for ABICLE at the University of Alabama School of Law.

The program reflected how technology is changing the way we practice law.  Discovery is changing in response to the pervasive use of computers.  For example, more and more cases involve e-mail, word-processed documents, spreadsheets, or records of internet activity.  For all its potential advantages, e-discovery can raise issues that are different from paper discovery and these issues were explored by the speakers.  And we use technology to enrich our presentations at trial because the lawyer who uses visual evidence is more likely to persuade the jury than the lawyer who uses only oral evidence.  Great examples of visual evidence were provided during the program.