JD Scoop : JD Supra’s Blog : Content Publishing, Document Sharing, Expertise Marketing for Legal Professionals

So many of our contributors have interesting and distinguished histories. Here are just a few of them:

J. Hue Henry - "Some highlights of Mr. Henry's appellate practice include a case of first impression establishing a client's right to access his attorney's files, and other cases of first impression recognizing torts in Georgia for embracery (jury tampering) and breach of hospital bylaws. The appellate decisions resolving those issues are posted on this site [JD Supra]."

Thomas H. Clarke, Jr., Senior Partner at Ropers Majeski Kohn & Bentley - who previously served as Principal Consultant (Chief of Staff) to the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and worked for President Carter in the Executive Office of the President, Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).

Michael Hamden - former executive director of North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services and co-editor, The Law & Policy of Sentencing & Corrections (7th ed. WestLaw American Case Law Series, 2005).

Gary B. Freidman, partner at  Greenfield Stein & Senior, LLP - former appellate law assistant to the Justices of the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, Second Judicial Department.

G. William Hubbard of Hubbard Business Counsel - formerly an infantry officer in the U.S. Army in Berlin and, after law school, as a Staff Judge Advocate in Augsburg, Germany, where he prosecuted more than 100 courts-martial and managed the law office. Author and co-author of numerous publications in his field of practice, as business legal counsel to primarily closely held corporations.

Kristen Patty - legal ghost writer who clerked for for the Hon. James A. Pusateri of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Kansas in Topeka.

Jay Bernstein of Kirsch, Gelband, & Stone - former legal clerk for the Ministry of Justice, State of Israel, in Jerusalem, and original founding member of the NJ Mass Disaster Legal Response Program, which has served families of the 9/11 Terror attack, and hurricane and flood victims in the region, giving free legal aid and services.

Jimmy L. Verner, partner at Verner & Brumley - former law clerk to the Honorable William C. Keady, Chief Judge, United States District Court, Northern District of Mississippi.

Stephen J. Hyland -  appointed by Governor Jon Corzine to the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission, for which he is the Secretary. He was also appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court to serve a two-year term on the Family Practice Committee of the Administrative Office of the Courts. In December 2007, Mr. Hyland was honored with a Distinguished Legislative Services Award by the New Jersey State Bar Association Board of Trustees.

David Newdorf of the San Francisco City Attorney's Office - earlier in his career took a one-year hiatus  to clerk for Judge Charles A. Legge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Michael W. Dolan - former law clerk to Judge Catherine B. Kelly, District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Here's a roundup of some of the newest members of the legal community to join JD Supra. We're proud to say that they create a wonderfully diverse group:

Electronic Privacy Information Center - a public interest research center in Washington, D.C., established in 1994 to focus attention on emerging civil liberties issues and to protect privacy, the First Amendment, and constitutional values and to promote the Public Voice in decisions concerning the future of the Internet.

Immigration Legal Counsel, LLC - the firm's president, Sonia Munoz, is a multi-lingual attorney admitted to the Florida Bar with experience in litigation and legal counsel, research and writing in both the private sector and the judicial system. Ms. Munoz has worked as a political analyst with top secret clearance from the CIA; resided and worked in the European Union and for the International Court of The Hague; co-authored a bench book regarding International law and its application and effects on domestic hearings. Barred in several courts.

Hodes, Pessin & Katz, P.A. - with offices in Towson, Columbia, Bel Air, Bethesda and Cambridge, Maryland, HPK’s attorneys are experienced in more than twenty practice areas including corporate law, litigation, environmental, insurance and wealth preservation, to employment, elder law, real estate, white collar criminal defense, and intellectual property and patent law.

Kimbro Legal Services, LLC - a completely virtual law office powered by Virtual Law Office Technology (VLOTECH). The technology is a secure, hosted, software as a service (SaaS) application. Focuses on estate planning, small business assistance and some family law services. Principal: Stephanie Kimbro.

 Melody A. Kramer - Ms. Kramer began her career as Deputy Public Defender in rural Columbus, Nebraska, but soon returned to Lincoln to open her own law firm specializing in criminal defense, juvenile law, and general civil litigation. Never deterred by seeming impossibilities, Ms. Kramer has taken on challenging, sometimes seemingly unwinable cases, with a marked level of success. (Co-founder of the National Association of Freelance Legal Professionals.)

Amal Law Group,  LLC - an Illinois-based law firm law founded (and run) by six Muslim women with diverse ethnic backgrounds including African American, Arab, South Asian and European American. Areas of practice include civil rights,commercial law & contracts , family law, immigration law, real estate, estate planning, and more.


To our latest and members and all of you we say, again: thank you for participating!

Building community - that's one of the many things that excites us about what we're doing here at JD Supra.

Sure, yesterday saw the launch of a new online legal research tool that also happens to be an excellent marketing platform for lawyers and members of the legal community - but, we so often return to that last word: community. With the arrival of each new JD Supra contributor, we are seeing the birth of a new and vital community network. That thrills us to no end. Good reason to start off JD Scoop with a quick look at some of the people (and firms) joining ranks right here, right now.

Friends, without further delay, we give you a small slice of the growing JD Supra community. Forgive us if you're not included here today; we have plans to feature as many of you as possible in this blog, just not all at once. (Note: much of the text below is quoted directly from the profiles of the people we've included.) Drum roll, please:

Edward Zuger III - seeking employment: currently residing in Chicago, IL; recently admitted to the Kentucky Bar and hoping to relocate with family to that state. (Also contemplating opening a solo practice.) Before graduating (Valparaiso University School of Law, J.D.) served the Indiana state civil courts through a Lake County clerkship.

Lisa Solomon - for over a decade has focused her practice exclusively on assisting attorneys with all of their legal research and writing needs, including preparing and arguing appeals and drafting substantive motions and trial memoranda. Works in almost every area of law, teaming with her clients to determine the best strategy to apply to the unique facts and legal issues in each case.

Jim Walsh - law librarian and professor teaching legal research and writing at Mercer University Law School in Macon, Georgia.

Alicia Butler - has spent her eleven-year legal career primarily working as an advocate for ordinary people victimized by corporate wrongdoing. Since January 2006, she has served of counsel to the Law Offices of Joel M. Fineberg, P.C., in Dallas, Texas, handling medical malpractice cases and providing as-needed help on commercial class-actions.

Law Offices of Michael L. Wise, LLC - focusing on procuring patents in a diverse set of technical areas including electrical, semiconductor, software, chemical, optical, and mechanical technologies. Principal attorney (Michael L. Wise) has a Ph.D. from Stanford University in physical chemistry and over nine years of experience as an engineer in the semiconductor industry. Also offered: trademark registration services.

Cato Institute - founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, a non-profit public policy research foundation headquartered in Washington, D.C. (and named for Cato's Letters, a series of libertarian pamphlets that helped lay the philosophical foundation for the American Revolution). Included in the institute's mission: [seeking] to broaden the parameters of public policy debate to allow consideration of the traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, free markets and peace. (Eds.: at time of writing, the CI is a top-10 contributor.)

Lane Powell PC - a full-service law firm that has helped emerging and established businesses navigate the Pacific Northwest and beyond for more than 130 years. A survey of Fortune 500 general counsels lists Lane Powell as one of the prestigious "Go-To Law Firms of Top U.S. Companies." Clients include: Nordstrom, Wells Fargo, Nike, among others.

John Hagan - John D. MacArthur Professor of Sociology and Law at Northwestern University and Senior Research Fellow at the American Bar Foundation in Chicago. Editor of the Annual Review of Law & Social Science. His research with a network of scholars spans topics from causes of crime to war crimes and human rights. He is the author most recently with Alberto Palloni of “Death in Darfur,” which will appear in a September issue of Science.

Amy L. Becerra - with an office conveniently located in the heart of the Historic Triangle, Hampton Roads, Tidewater Areas of Virginia, Ms. Becerra provides counsel and representation to clients in matters of U.S. immigration and naturalization law.

The Harlow Group LLC - health care law and consulting. Principal David Harlow's experience in the public and private sectors over the past twenty years affords him a unique perspective on legal, policy and business issues facing the health care community. Health care providers, vendors and payors of all shapes and sizes rely on him to help them navigate the maze of regulatory and business issues facing them on a daily basis.

Sheila M. O'Sullivan - bankruptcy, estate planning, probate, real estate and small business formation. Ms. O'Sullivan is a Title 11 Guardian ad Litem in Snohomish County, Washington, and volunteers with the King County Bar Association's Neighborhood Debt Clinic and the King County Superior Court Probate and Guardianship Review Calendar. She was selected as a "Rising Star" for 2002, 2003 and 2004 by Washington Law & Politics magazine.

Joseph Kershenbaum - COO and General Counsel of The Mortgage SuperCenter. Formerly worked as COO of E-Solutions Integrator, Inc., and as a corporate attorney with Day, Berry & Howard, advising clients on strategic business and legal issues. Experience includes mergers & acquisitions, securities, corporate governance, contracts and contractual issues, financial transactions, real estate/leasing, human resources / employment law, insurance / risk management, regulatory issues, IP and litigation management.

Faith L. Charles - a member in Mintz Levin's Corporate practice. Focusing on corporate, commercial and securities matters, including strategic transactions and corporate structuring. Among other things, handles all aspects of public offerings and private placements, representing issuers, underwriters and placement agents. (Eds.: at time of writing, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo is a top-10 contributor, with a number of practices included in the JD Supra ranks.)

Electronic Frontier Foundation - championing the public interest in every critical battle affecting digital rights. (And at time of writing, coming in as our top contributor!)

We'll stop here for now, but only for the sake of space. Browsing the stacks, the profiles, is wonderfully satisfying - and so, for now, we say: here's to you, our contributors, the people behind the law, the new members of our new legal community. Thanks to all of you for joining us!