in briefnewsletterJune 2016 - Volume 19 Number 1

Editor's Letter

YLS Events at the arkbar annual meeting

Hats Off

3

5

4

C o n t e n t

Tech Tips

YLS ReportMatthew L. Fryar

Victor Richardson

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10

New Bar Members 7

ArkBar Annual Meeting

14

What Judges Want8Molly Lucas

Lawyers Need Help, too: The Statistics and how to get assistanceJaletta Smith

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editorsYls in brief

Moore

Cooper

Cooper

WoosterSparkman

McBride

Editor-In-Chief Sarah Sparkman outgoing Editor-In-Chief Brooke Moore

Arkansas Traveler Co-Editors Trey & Mary Cooper

What Judges Want Editor Megan Wooster

Tech Tips Editor Victor Richardson

Flying Solo Editor Stefan McBride

YLS In Brief is published online quarterly by the Arkansas Bar Association.

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Lawyers are in the business of helping people. Sometimes, we have to be so focused on the help we give that we disregard our need for help. InBrief will be featuring stories the rest of the year regarding our well-being and what we can do if we need help.

This month's feature story is about attorney mental-health statistics and the Arkansas Judges & Lawyers Assistance Program ("JLAP"). If you've dealt with substance abuse or mental health problems, you're certainly not alone in the legal community. Jaletta Smith talks the numbers with us and then gives us the history of JLAP and the services they offer.

We also have some practice-practical articles this issue. Most of us probably have a disclaimer at the bottom of our emails that we've slapped on without really knowing what if anything they actually do. Victor Richardson, InBrief's new Tech Tips writer, goes into detail about what should be in an email disclaimer and what the practical effects are of including a disclaimer. Molly Lucas interviews Circuit Judge Mike Murphy for our What Judges Want section. Judge Murphy shares his ideas on how the practice of law has changed and his perspective from the bench.

As always, we love to have volunteers writing for InBrief. If you have an article idea or submission, send it my way to sparkman@gmail.com.

Editor-in-ChiefSarah Sparkman

e d i t o r s l e t t e r

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chairMATTHEW L. FRYARChair-ElectGREGORY J. NORTHENSecretary/TreasurerVICTOR RAY RICHARDSONImmediate Past Chair jessica s. yarbroughDistrict A Reps. AUBREY BARRWILLIAM M. PRETTYMAN IIISARAH A. SPARKMANDistrict B Reps. CALEB GARCIAABTIN MEHDIZADEGANGREGORY J. NORTHENDistrict C Reps.LESLIE J. LIGONERIC ANDREW MARKSCHRISTOPHER ALAN RITTENHOUSE

executive councilarkbar young lawyers section

At Large Reps.CHASE ADAM CHARMICHAELBROOKE MOOREJOHN RAINWATERU of A School of Law Rep.

DAVID TRENT HARRISONUALR School of Law Rep.

ERUORE O. OBOH

Chris McNulty and Molly McGowan got married on December 5, 2015 at Christ Episcopal Church in Little Rock. Chris is a partner at Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates, & Woodyard, P.L.L.C., and Molly is a law clerk to the Honorable Raymond Abramson on the Arkansas Court of Appeals.

Sarah Baber, attorney for Rainwater, Holt & Sexton, is celebrating her husband Barrett Baber's top-three finish on NBC's The Voice. Barrett has been performing across the nation since the season's end.

Betsy Turner has been named partner at Rose Law Firm in Little Rock. She was also recognized as a 2015 Mid-South Rising Star by Mid-South Super Lawyer.

Ellen Tinnin has joined Cypert, Crouch, Clark & Harwell, PLLC, in Springdale as an associate attorney. She will practice primarily in the fields of family law, probate, and guardianships.

Matthew Fryar of Cypert, Crouch, Clark & Harwell, PLLC, in Springdale was appointed to a two-year term as the Arkansas Bar Association's young lawyer delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates.

Katie Mehdizadegan has joined the firm of Gill Ragon Owen, P.A in Little Rock. Before joining the firm, she was the judicial law clerk to Honorable Judge Vann Smith in Pulaski County Circuit Court.

If you have information on YLS members who deserve a Hats Off or would like to submit ideas for articles, please contact the Editor of In Brief, Sarah Sparkman at ssparkman@springdalear.gov

h A T S O F FThe Annual ArkBar

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YLS Events at the Annual Meeting

YLS ANNUAL SECTION MEETNG10:00 AM ON FRIDAY, JUNE 17Rooms 203-204, Convention CenterJoin the section for their annual meeting. Chair Matthew L. Fryar passes the gavel to incoming Chair Gregory J. Northern. Members will elect new officers and district representatives. Refreshments will be pro-vided.

Legal Research with FastcaseMs. Christina Steinbrecker Jack, FastcaseMs. Cathy Underwood, Pulaski Technical College

The Ins and Outs of Starting a Law PracticeMr. Brandon K. Moffitt, Moffitt & Phillips, PLLC

Break

Trust Accounting for Attorneys, with Comments on Difficult Clients and How to WithdrawMr. Stark Ligon, Arkansas Supreme Court, Office on Professional Conduct

Lunch in the Exhibit Hall C & D

Plenary in Horner Hall

Tips & Tricks for Practice in (and the differ-ences between) District Court, Circuit Court, & Federal CourtMs. JaNan Arnold Davis, Rainwater, Holt, & SextonMr. Thomas J. Diaz, Rainwater, Holt, & SextonMs. Sarah A. Sparkman, City of Springdale

8:00 - 9:00 a.m.(1.0 CLE)

9:00 - 10:00 a.m.(1.0 CLE)

10:00 - 10:15 a.m.

10:15 - 11:15 a.m.(1.0 CLE Ethics)

11:15 - 12:30 p.m.

12:45 - 2:45 p.m.(2.0 CLE Ethics)

3:00 - 4:00 p.m.(1.0 CLE)

THURSDAY ROOMS 207-209 (YLS TRACK)

Wednesday, June 15 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Exhibit Hall C & D

Join us for a welcome reception immediately following Wednesdays CLE in the Exhibit Hall.

First-time attendees receive a gift from ArkBar and have a chance to interact with Bar leaders.

WEDNESDAY WELCOME RECEPTION

Hot Springs Convention Center

June 15-18, 2016

The Annual ArkBar

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techtips

Yls in brief

by victor richardson

Email confidentiality disclaimers are ubiquitous. They are used in almost every sector, ranging from government and business to personal. Their use is often predicated on various privacy laws, but a quick survey of federal and state privacy laws reveals no such mandate. Accordingly, any legal effect of email confidentiality disclaimers must be derived from broader concepts of confidentiality.

Often, email confidentiality disclaimers include a provision addressing unintended recipients. Such provisions generally request that an unintended recipient assist in the emails retrieval. In some cases, however, an email confidentiality disclaimer will assert that an unintended recipient has a duty or obligation to return the email and maintain the confidentiality of the information within. Such unilateral constraints are lacking in consideration, and, thus, can never be binding.

Two cases touching on email confidentiality disclaimers illustrate what legal effect they may have. In the first case, an email confidentially disclaimer provided evidence to support preserving

the confidentiality of an emailed customer list as a trade secret. B & F Sys., Inc. v. LeBlanc, 2011 WL 4103576 (M.D. Ga. Sept. 14, 2011). In the second case, a court found that an email beginning with the phrase PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATION evidenced the clients intent to seek legal advice and the clients belief that he [was] consulting an attorney, i.e., someone who [would] keep the communications confidential. Mattel, Inc. v. MGA Entm't, Inc., 2010 WL 3705902 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 22, 2010). Thus, in some situations there is legal support for the use of email confidentiality disclaimers.

Email confidentiality disclaimers may provide evidence that a communication between two privileged parties was intended to fall under that privilege. They may also provide evidence that a secret was meant to be kept. At the same time, the blanket and automatic use of confidentiality disclaimers in all communications may have unintended consequences for attorneys, and, as a practical matter, such disclaimers may lose their evidentiary value. In no identifiable situation,

however, do email confidentiality disclaimers prevent the recipient of an email from disclosing its contents to whomever they may wish. Furthermore, an email confidentiality disclaimer is almost certain not to protect the sender of an email from any liability arising out of their own inadvertent breach of confidentiality. Still, keeping legal realities and practicality in mind can transform email confidentiality disclaimers from a meaningless to meaningful tool.

When email confidentiality disclaimers are used, best practices indicate they should be used contextually to preserve both their effect and evidentiary value. The content of such disclaimers should not be static, and should specifically lay out the reason for their use in a particular situation. The placement of email confidentiality disclaimers is also important. To be most effective they must alert the recipient of an email that its contents are confidential before the email is read.

Using email Confidentially Disclaimers Effectively

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William Cain Avant Caroline Helene Beavers William Blake Belvin Simone Antonette Blagg John Walker Wr