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Firm Happenings
The firm is pleased to announce the return of Eric Eberwine as a litigation associate. Eric was with the firm from 2003 to 2005, but left for other pursuits. He has returned effective the first of this year, and we are thrilled to have him back. Eric is licensed in both Indiana and Kentucky.
At the same time, we must say farewell to litigation associate George Budd. George and his wife Tammy have, at least for a time, decided to scale back and concentrate on the important aspects of life in their first year of marriage. He traded his office here for their home on December 31, 2009. George is not leaving for another firm or other work and certainly not because we asked him to do so. We will surely miss him and all his contributions. We wish George and Tammy well.
We also recently welcomed two new additions to our staff. Mary Burch joined the firm in October as a legal assistant. She will be working with Ken Doane, Tricia Hofmann and Sandra Heeke. Jennifer Frasier has just come on board as a new litigation paralegal, starting in December. We are excited to have both of them with us.
Les Merkley, who practices family law in our firm, is the author of Divorce Law Indiana -- an interactive blog devoted exclusively to divorce and family law. The site has news, analysis and information on family law issues such as divorce, custody and child support. It is one of three such blogs in Indiana and the only one south of Indianapolis. If you want to visit the site, please click here. Our firm website also features a podcast devoted exclusively to divorce and family law entitled, “Divorce Matters,” which Les hosts. Look for more changes and additions to the family law pages of the website very soon.
Rodney and Lisa Scott are pleased to announce that their daughter Meghan is carrying their first grandchild. July can’t get here fast enough. Congratulations to Meghan and Matt.
Jennifer Brown celebrated her ten-year anniversary with the firm in July. We are lucky to have her. Congratulations on the milestone, Jen! Teresa Summers is next in line with a big milestone anniversary, as she will have been here for five years in March of 2010.
Floyd County’s Teen Court program has now been operating for nearly a year and a half, and now regularly conducts trials of minors charged with non-violent misdemeanors and status offenses. Scott Tyler and Tricia Hofmann have been working with Teen Court since its inception, presiding over trials and training the student participants. Les Merkley began actively participating in the program in May.
Les Merkley also recently hosted a radio show on Kool 1570am called "Divorce Matters" where he discussed changes in Indiana child support and the impact of social network websites in a divorce.
Rodney and Lisa Scott are happy to announce that their daughter Emma was awarded the Singletary Scholarship from the University of Kentucky. “Go Big Blue” has suddenly become so much easier for Rodney to say.
The Executive Board of the Sherman Minton Inns of Court selected Scott Tyler to serve as President for the 2009-2010 year. The Sherman Minton Inns of Court is a chapter of the American Inns of Court, an organization designed to improve the skills, professionalism and ethics of the bench and bar. American Inns of Court help lawyers to become more effective advocates and counselors with a keener ethical awareness. Members learn side-by-side with the most experienced judges and attorneys in their community. Scott is honored to have been chosen to lead the organization this year.
Jennifer Brown is proud to announce that her daughter, Bayley, was accepted into the National Junior Honor Society at Clarksville Middle School.
Tricia Hofmann’s daughter, Casey, was invited as a kindergartener to join the chess team at Hayfield Montessori School, and will begin competing against other schools shortly. She can already checkmate her mother in embarrassingly few moves. Her younger sister, Madison, attends full-day preschool at Hayfield, and will likely be able to beat her mother in another year, if that.
Rodney and Lisa Scott proudly announce that their daughter Katie played the lead female actress in the Walden Theatre production of “It Came from Indiana.” Particularly appropriate title given the miles logged between the Theatre and Sellersburg.
Scott Waters and his wife, Anne, are pleased to report that their daughter, Megan, held a State Department internship with Ambassador Susan Rice at the U.S. Mission to the United Nation during the summer of 2009. Megan is also married and working on her Masters degree at New York University.
Les Merkley recently joined the Board of Directors for the Clark County Family Health Center. The center provides health care to the low-income underinsured and uninsured residents of southern Indiana.
Chad Smith and Jennifer Brown won the first ever WTSHD cornhole tournament this summer. We are confident that competition will be fierce for bragging rights in the future.
Rodney and Lisa Scott are also proud to announce that their daughter Mackenna was recently invited by Northside Christian Church to attend a leadership retreat for Junior High students.
Scott and Anne Waters’ daughters, Mallery, Michelle and Molly, are busy with various work and educational endeavors. Mallery is employed at a natural health practitioner’s office and enjoys living in downtown New Albany. Michelle attends Moody Bible Institute in downtown Chicago. Molly is a sophomore at New Albany High School.
Les Merkley was interviewed by Babble.com – an online parenting website – about the concept of “bird nesting.” It refers to a child custody arrangement where the divorced parents, rather than the children, move in and out of the marital residence.
The firm continues to be an active participant in the “Talk to a Lawyer” program, sponsored by Legal Volunteers, an Indiana non-profit organization that organizes pro bono legal services. All five partners – Scott Waters, Scott Tyler, Rodney Scott, Tricia Hofmann and Ken Doane – actively participate in this valuable program. For those unfamiliar with it, Talk to a Lawyer is a monthly phone bank staffed by attorneys who make referrals and answer simple legal questions on a pro bono basis. The firm has been active with this program since its inception.
Last, but not least, WTSHD is on facebook! If you are a regular on that site, please become our fan. We’d love to have you!
