attorney

More

Racine Receives Legal Aid DC Honor

  • June 6, 2023



Former DC Attorney General Karl A. Racine received one of two Servant of Justice Awards from Legal Aid DC during its 33rdrd annual dinner at the JW Marriott Hotel in Northwest on April 19.

The Servant of Justice Award is designed to “celebrate people who have demonstrated faithful dedication and remarkable achievement in ensuring that all persons have equal and meaningful access to justice,” according to the organization’s program. Legal Aid DC assists over 9,000 low-and-middle income Washingtonians with civil cases and has a staff of 90.65 of whom are attorneys.

Previous recipients of the Award include Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (posthumously in 1993), former US Attorney General Eric Holder (1998) and retired founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund Marian Wright Edelman (2016).

Racine served as the District’s first elected attorney general from 2015-2023. He gained national recognition for supporting District statehood, advocating on behalf of a woman’s right to an abortion, and aggressively pursuing companies violating residents’ consumer and civil rights. He currently works as a partner for the Hogan Lovells law firm.

“Legal Aid DC is a juggernaut in the public interest,” Racine said to the gathering of over 300 people. “At the Office of the Attorney General, we used the law to help vulnerable residents.”

The co-recipient of the Servant Award was David Dantzic, a partner with the Latham & Watkins law firm. Other awardees were Cozen O’Connor law firm associate Josephine M. Bahn for the Klepper Prize for Volunteer Service. Resident Farhana Chowdhury and the Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project co-received The Partnership Award.

Notables attending the event included DC Superior Court Chief Judge Anita Josey-Herring and Erek Barron, the US Attorney for Maryland.

James Wright photo

James Wright Jr. is the DC political reporter for the Washington Informer Newspaper. He has worked

… Read the rest
LEGAL
More

Top Free State lawyer leaves Legal Aid SA

  • May 20, 2023

He joined the organization in March 2003. He became the Principal Attorney in Kimberley and Bloemfontein in 2006 and served as the Justice Center Executive in Bloemfontein and the Provincial Legal Manager for the Free State and North West before being appointed as the Head of Office in the Bloemfontein area in 2013.

Motloung admitted in a post on LinkedIn that his career milestone of 20 years of continuous service at Legal Aid SA “was not all rosy, not every day presented sunshine”.

“There were rocky paths, the thorns were brutal and uncompromising, but through it all, one thing remained and is still there: my willpower and passion for justice.

“In an age when job hopping is fashionable, the inner power to resist the temptation that comes with the incessant search for better opportunities and new experiences goes beyond loyalty.

He said the remarks of the Chinese philosopher Confucius resonate with him: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

“I have been able to push through and overcome the hurdles. My contribution to the protection and advancement of human rights is nothing less than a mark of strong passion for justice. Thank you, Legal Aid SA, for the platform. I believe the full circle is now complete.”

His LinkedIn post receives several comments, including this one from attorney Ryan Ishmail: “Those who know Ntate Motloung personally will know that even at social events, after hours, and wherever he is, he is likely to start a conversation on how to improve justice and competent legal services for all people in RSA. He truly believes in the vision of Lasa (Legal Aid South Africa), this is not just a job for him. So many candidate or junior practitioners have served under

… Read the rest
LEGAL
More

Brownwood library adds virtual court kiosk for legal aid

  • May 16, 2023

BROWNWOOD, Texas — “Better Call Saul.” Well, that would be great if he wasn’t a fictional lawyer who worked pro bono. But at Brownwood public library, there is free legal service that is available to the public.

“The main thing I think to say is, it’s free! It’s free legal help to people who need it,” said Suzanne Dowdy, Director of Children’s Services at the Brownwood library. “And that can use it for that purpose. Because legal fees we all know, cost a fortune. And they can do a lot of leg work here. A lot of free conversations with whoever their attorney is. Research their case. There’s a lot of stuff they can do here and save money.”

Getting legal help isn’t cheap. And lower-income communities often don’t have either the access for the help of an attorney or the technology to research their litigation. The Texas Access to Justice Foundation— a nonprofit—are donating virtual kiosks throughout the state. According to this nonprofit, the goal for now is to implement 250 of these legal aid kiosks in different regions of the state. Dowdy said the Brownwood library was recently awarded this kiosk and is thankful for it.

“I’ll tell you this, in this town, we’re close to 20,000 people, including Early,” she said. “And we do have people who come in with a lot of needs for legal services. And we didn’t have the resources. I mean we were like you know, you can check out a book. My best advice has always been Google it.”

On the legal aid kiosk, people can attend a court hearing virtually, get an understanding of their legal issues, file and submit court forms and get help finding a lawyer.

“But this just brings it to a one stop shop where people

… Read the rest
LEGAL
More

Are fees payable for acting as a power of attorney in Ontario?

  • August 11, 2022

The fee scale is currently:

  • 3% of capital and income receipts
  • 3% of capital and income disbursements
  • 0.6% of the annual average value of the assets

These amounts are not guaranteed, however, and they can be decreased or even increased by the court.

According to the Substitute Decisions Act, compensation may be taken monthly, quarterly or annually. You should contact the current attorney for property to raise this with them as a starting point.

Even if it has been a long time since you acted, Audrey, there may not be a limitation period to worry about. In terms of citing a precedent for this, Armitage v. The Salvation Army, 2016 ONCA 971 involved an application for compensation in 2013 for acting as an attorney as far back as 1990, 23 years prior to the request.

Specifically, the judge found that the two-year limitation period under the Limitations Act “does not apply because compensation for an attorney for property through the passing of accounts process does not constitute a ‘claim’ within the meaning of the Limitations Act, 2002. ”

An attorney for personal care can make a request for compensation to an attorney for property. There is no fee scale as is the case with an attorney for property. The request should be reasonable given the circumstances.

It bears mentioning that an attorney for property or personal care is not required to act and can decline or resign. It is an important reason to make sure you speak to someone before naming them in an estate document like a POA or a will.

Power of attorney fees and taxes in Ontario

Fees payable to an attorney are considered taxable income. If you are not in the business of providing POA services, the income should be reported on a

… Read the rest
ATTORNEY
More

Williamson County board appoints first woman to serve as state’s attorney for the county | News

  • August 1, 2022




Marcy Cascio-Hale.jpg




WILLIAMSON COUNTY, IL — The Williamson County Board of Commissioners has unanimously appointed the first woman to serve as state’s attorney in the county, Replacing current State’s Attorney Brandon Zanotti when his resignation goes into effect on July 22.

Zanotti announced last week that he will be leaving the position after serving as state’s attorney since 2014.

The county board accepted Zanotti’s resignation and voted unanimously on Wednesday to appoint Murphysboro attorney Marcy Cascio-Hale to replace him, the Southern Illinois reports.

Cascio-Hale, who has a total of 13 years of legal experience, has previously served as a research attorney for the Fifth District Appellate Court, the newspaper reports, and she has experience as a public defender in Jackson County.

Online media outlets WFCN News reports that Cascio-Hale is also the Williamson County Democratic Party’s pick to run for state’s attorney in the November special election.

The party shared a Facebook post congratulating her on the appointment Wednesday.

Last week, the county‘s Republican Party announced its pick to run in that election: attorney Ted Hampson. The statement released by the Williamson County GOP says Hampson has more than two decades of experience as a defense attorney and also previously served as the county prosecutor for Winnebago County.

… Read the rest
ATTORNEY
More

Mail-in ballots continue to favor Bates in Baltimore state’s attorney race

  • July 29, 2022

Though thousands of mail-in ballots remain to be counted in the Democratic primary for Baltimore state’s attorney, early returns Thursday favored defense attorney Ivan Bates, who also came out ahead of two-term incumbent Marilyn Mosby in Election Day and early voting.

Baltimore Board of Elections staff began canvassing mail-in ballots Thursday morning, launching a process that is likely to take several days as staff members laboriously tally more than 20,000 ballots sent in by city voters.

As of Thursday evening, about 10,000 ballots had been counted. Bates won more than 3,700 votes, topping Mosby’s 2,100 votes. Thiru Vignarajah, a former deputy attorney general, won the most mail-in ballots on Thursday, with just over 4,000, but the votes did not make up for his third-place performance on Election Day.

The early tally did not bode well for Mosby, who needs a significant number of mail-in ballots to make up for Election Day’s results.

Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby speaks before supporters and campaign workers at Melba's Place on primary election night in Baltimore. Mosby has to capture roughly half of the mail-in ballots in the three-candidate race to overtake Ivan Bates. (The Baltimore Sun via AP)

Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby speaks before supporters and campaign workers at Melba’s Place on primary election night in Baltimore. (The Baltimore Sun via AP)

With all precincts reporting, Bates had 41% of the Election Day and early vote, while Mosby had 32% and Vignarajah lagged behind with 26%. Mosby needs about half of the mail-in ballots to go her way in order to secure a victory, a prospect that began to look less likely as Thursday’s canvass got underway.

As of Thursday morning, more than 22,000 Democratic mail-in ballots had been returned, or just over 50% of those sent out to voters. It is difficult to predict how many ballots are likely to return in the coming days, given the changes in voting patterns that took place during the pandemic.

In 2018, for example, the statewide return rate on mail-in ballots was about 70%, but in

… Read the rest
ATTORNEY
More

Oklahoma law calls for governor to appoint new DA after Hammer death

  • July 9, 2022
District attorney candidate David Hammer speaks during a forum Monday night in Shawnee.

Following the death Sunday of David Hammer, who recently won the district attorney race for Pottawatomie and Lincoln counties, Oklahoma state law appears to call for the governor to appoint a new top prosecutor for District 23.

While earning more than 58% of the vote, Hammer, 47, handily defeated embattled incumbent Allan Grubb and Tanya Roland, each fellow Republicans, in the June 28 election.

Five days later, Hammer’s family announced his death on social media. Sources told The Oklahoman that Hammer died from a heart attack.

Hammer pledged to make trust and transparency the hallmarks of his office, saying “citizens deserve to have complete confidence in how public monies are being managed and spent with no excuses.”

Hammer was slated to take office in January. With Grubb expected to serve out his term, a vacancy wouldn’t arise until the new year.

Oklahoma law requires the governor to fill the vacancy through an appointment.

According to Title 26 of state law, which concerns elections:

“In the event a deceased candidate is certified by the appropriate Election Board as having won an election, a vacancy in the office shall occur upon the date the candidate would have taken office, and the vacancy shall be filled in the manner prescribed by law. ”

County election boards met July 1 to certify their elections.

Title 19 of state law, which concerns counties and county officers, says whenever the office of district attorney shall be vacated “by reason of resignation or death of the district attorney, the Governor of the State of Oklahoma shall appoint a qualified person to serve the balance of the unexpired terms of said office.”

Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt is vying to be re-elected to a second term in the November election against Democrat Joy Hofmeister.

Stitt recently has made

… Read the rest
ATTORNEY
December 2023
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031