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11th Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Ruling
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the U.S. District Court-Northern District of Georgia's ruling granting Buckley Brown's Motion for Summary Judgment on behalf of Henry County, Georgia, in a First Amendment employment case. Timothy J. Buckley III and Tracy K. Haff secured summary judgment in a lawsuit filed by James Schuster alleging he was demoted and subsequently terminated from his employment with Henry County in violation of his First Amendment rights. In entering summary judgment in favor of Henry County, the court found that a public employee is not entitled to First Amendment protection for speech that rests within the foreseeable scope of duties he was expected to perform on behalf of his employer. The court relied upon Garcetti v. Ceballos, __ U.S. __, 126 S.Ct. 1951, 164 L.Ed.2d 689 (2006), and its progeny. The court denied a motion to amend/reconsider filed by Plaintiff.
Buckley Brown Welcomes
Semler to the Firm
Bob Semler, a preeminent Georgia lawyer with over 33 years of litigation experience, has brought his practice to Buckley Brown and will be Of Counsel to the firm. Semler most recently served as a founding named partner at Carlock Copeland Semler & Stair. Joining Bob is Denise McDaniel, a litigation paralegal with 17 years experience, who has been working with Semler for nearly 9 years. Bob will continue to focus his practice on representation of his institutional clients focusing on Construction Defect Defense & Coverage Disputes; Workers' Compensation and General Liability Defense & Coverage Disputes. Bob is also involved as a mediator in these practice areas. The addition of Bob Semler continues the firm’s growth to meet its clients’ expanding and changing needs.
Buckley Reflects on Mustard Seed Mission Trip
In February, Tim Buckley embarked on his third mission trip to Jamaica with Mustard Seed. Mustard Seed Communities strives to serve and “to uplift the most vulnerable members of society, especially handicapped and abandoned children”. Tim describes his experience working with the children:
Surely, serving Dwight, Laura, Mary, Ty Ty – all children racked by severe physical and mental disabilities yet all as full of love as they are empty of physical ability -- and the other children would lift my spirits. And there were great highlights in these experiences. Dwight and I have a history and seeing him in person was a wonderful replacement to the screen saver on my cell phone where his smile resides the other 51 weeks of the year. Seeing Anthony, a victim of hydrocephalus, lift his head, smile, laugh – miraculous. Laura, who in previous years did little more than pass a glance and a grunt, now greeted me through the days with truly understandable requests: for a “hug?”; to wear my hat; and, to color. Most amazing was the reality that the sole identifiable source of the vast improvement in these children was the incremental love they are receiving from people on mission trips along with the massive doses of love they are given daily by the full time caregivers at Mustard Seed. It was proof indeed of a phrase learned from a Reggae disc jockey in Kingston: “time spent lovin’ is never wasted.”
Mustard Seed has expanded its service from Jamaica to include homes in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Zimbabwe. For more information on Mustard Seed go to www.mustardseed.com. To read Tim’s full reflection on his experience click here.
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Buckley Brown Joins
Atlanta Legal Community for
9th Annual Service Juris
Attorneys, staff and friends of Buckley Brown turned out on Saturday, June 30th, for Hands on Atlanta's annual legal industry community service event. Over 800 volunteers spent the day painting, landscaping, and cleaning at Atlanta Charter Middle School. For more information and photos of the event click here. Look for a few Buckley Brown folks taking a break after painting a classroom in the school's new wing.
Florio and Hellmund Join Buckley Brown as Summer Associates
Ryan Florio comes to us from the University of Miami School of Law where he is the managing editor of the International & Comparative Law Review. Ryan also interns at the Health Law Clinic at U of M where he consults with HIV/AIDS patients who need assistance with drafting wills, immigration issues and other legal matters. A native of Chicago, Ryan received his B.A. in Psychology from Northwestern University. After graduating from Northwestern, Ryan spent a year working as a legal assistant in a litigation firm before going on to law school.
Jennifer Hellmund was raised in Snellville, Georgia, and attended Georgia State University where she was a magna cum laude graduate with a degree in Business and Marketing. Jennifer then spent four years working as a litigation paralegal with Duane Morris and Carr, Tabb & Pope. She has just completed her second year at the University of Georgia School of Law. At UGA, Jennifer serves as the Vice Chair of the Mock Trial Executive Board and was a semi-finalist in the 2008 American Association for Justice Mock Trial Competition.
Ryan and Jennifer will spend the summer researching cases; observing trials, hearings and depositions; and gaining exposure to Buckley Brown’s primary practice areas of Municipal Liability, Insurance Coverage, Products Liability, and Personal Injury Defense.
Carolyn Wright to Speak to SEOPA
On September 18, 2008, Carolyn Wright will speak to the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association at the organization’s national conference in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Carolyn will speak on Copyright law. For more information on the conference on or SEOPA, check out http://seopa.org.
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