News

General News:

The website caring.com, which provides information to assist seniors to find senior living communities or help with in-home care, has produced a very thorough publication on estate planning for seniors: A Guide to Estate Planning. Link embedded in the title.

How This Southern City is Becoming a Mecca for Startups — from Ozy (video)

Add Birmingham to Tech’s Growing List of Hubs — from Barron’s

Inside Birmingham’s Bid To Become The Southern Silicon Valley — from Forbes

You’re Going Where? Birmingham — from The Washington Post.

Gregory Law Firm News:

The Gregory Law Firm now sponsors programming on Jazz Hall Radio. Jazz programming is produced by the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in the historic Carver Theatre in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. To listen, just click the link.

Steven Gregory has launched a new channel on Youtube which will function as an advertising and information channel for the Gregory Law Firm. The first video is here.

Steven Gregory is now a mediator member of Divorceify.com, a national non-profit network of domestic relations professionals, including attorneys, mediators, financial professionals, and coaches. Check it out: https://divorceify.com/home#what-is-dv

Steven Gregory was selected by Mediation Media as one of twenty mediators in Alabama to attend their Master Mediator’s Forum in Birmingham in April 2019.

In December 2018, Steven Gregory was appointed as a member of the Ethics and Standards Advisory Panel of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.

In February 2018, the Gregory Law Firm sponsored a two-day training seminar in Collaborative Law for financial, mental health, and legal professionals to become certified in collaborative practice. Co-sponsors were the Birmingham Collaborative Alliance, the Alabama Center for Dispute Resolution, the Collaborative Law Committee of the Birmingham Bar Association, Walding, LLC, Level Four Wealth Management, Cabaniss, Johnston, Gardner, Dumas & O’Neal, LLP, and Kia Scott Law.

Steven P. Gregory has recently been named a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

On October 13, 2017, the Gregory Law Firm, in collaboration with co-counsel, asked the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to send the Equifax Data Breach litigation to the Northern District of Alabama.

The Gregory Law Firm, in collaboration with co-counsel, filed a nationwide class action against Equifax, Inc., on September 18, 2017.

Read an announcement regarding Steven Gregory in the Birmingham Business Journal.

In August 2017, the Gregory Law Firm became a member of the Birmingham Business Alliance.

In May of 2017, Steven Gregory completed domestic violence mediation training in Birmingham, Alabama.

In early 2017, the American Arbitration Association appointed Steven Gregory to its Commercial Panel of Arbitrators.

In the summer of 2016, Steven Gregory completed a week-long conference on Mediating Complex Disputes at the Harvard Negotiation Institute at Harvard Law School.

Steven Gregory joined the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals in late 2016.

Also in late 2016, Steven Gregory became a member of the Birmingham Collaborative Alliance, a network of legal, financial, and mental health professionals in Alabama dedicated to resolving conflicts through preservation of value and mutual respect.

Steven Gregory is a member of the roster of aviation attorneys qualified to perform legal services for members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association enrolled in the AOPA Legal Services Plan.

The Gregory Law Firm is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Investors — did you know that the Financial Regulatory Authority (FINRA) publishes an alphabetical list of all persons who have been banned from the securities industry? Here is a link to the list. Check it out and check out the Gregory Law Firm’s experience in securities litigation and arbitration.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program remains unchanged, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Why a Collaborative Divorce Makes Financial Sense from US News

This article from the New York Times (“Prince Needed a Will, But Maybe You Don’t”) on the failure of Prince to create an estate plan contains good general advice on wills and estate planning (though the correct term for a living will is “advance directive,” not “advanced directive.”). The form for a living will in Alabama is incorporated into the statute at Code of Alabama 22-8A-4.

Back in December, the SEC charged a number of immigration lawyers with accepting commissions for placing investors in EB-5 investment programs without being registered with the SEC. The SEC’s press release can be found here.

From The New York Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice

Why Can’t Refugees Get Lawyers (from The New York Times)

Does the Supreme Court Need a Code of Ethics (from The New Yorker)?

Lawyer Emails Put Visa, MasterCard Settlement at Risk (from The Wall Street Journal)

Cold callers and your pension….

From the Wall Street Journal: “Law Schools on Sale? Some Trim Tuition As Student Enrollment Drops”

FINRA Arbitration Panel Excludes Evidence in Retaliation Case; Claimant Asks State Court to Order Panel’s Withdrawal (from the New York Times)

Class Action Attorney Stanley Chesley Found Liable to Clients in Diet Drug Litigation.

Top Doctors, Dead or Alive

A physician is named to one of those “Best Doctors” lists, despite the fact that he died sixteen years ago. With only a few changes, this scenario could be applied to similar lists of lawyers.

Law School Applicant Pool Continues to Shrink

International Academy of Collaborative Professionals

Global Collaborative Law Council

American Arbitration Association

Trusts and Estate Planning

If you don’t currently have a will or trust, you may think you don’t have an estate plan.

An “estate plan” is simply a bundle of all the documents needed to accomplish these objectives. But you do. Your state legislature has written it for you! All states have a default plan for your family and assets in the event of your incapacity or death. That’s the plan you have now. Estate planning is “opting out” of the default plan and putting your own wishes in place.

Schedule Your Planning Meeting