News - Friday, September 30, 2016

When was the last time you saved a life? If you’re a member of the Chattanooga Bar Association, then the answer to my question might surprise you. Last week, as you zealously represented clients and labored to complete the many tasks attorneys handle, you helped save a life.

Jeffrey W. Rufolo has become a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. The induction ceremony took place before an audience of about 800 people during the College’s 2016 annual meeting in Philadelphia, Penn., on Friday, Sept. 16.

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel has secured a leading position in the sixth annual BTI Litigation Outlook 2017 report.

BTI, a nationally known legal consulting firm, recognized Chambliss for its client service in six areas of litigation: securities and finance; class actions; intellectual property; product liability; commercial; and employment litigation.

Berke, Berke & Berke firm members Ronnie Berke, Emma Flynn, and Charles Flynn have been honored for their nationally recognized legal work.

The National Trial Lawyers recognized Ronnie and Emma as part of the The National Trial Lawyers Top 100. Emma was also selected for The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40. The National Trial Lawyers is a professional organization composed of trial lawyers from across the country. Membership is by invitation only.

Polsinelli shareholder Bill Killian has received an appointment to serve his alma mater as a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Tennessee Knoxville Alumni Association.

Killian is a well-known former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee who joined Polsinelli’s national Government Investigations and Compliance – Civil and Criminal Practice in December 2015. Polsinelli has more than 20 offices coast to coast; Killian serves clients nationally out of the firm’s Chattanooga and Nashville locations.

The presidential election is little more than a month away. Like all elections, this one has generated considerable interest, and, as a citizen, you may well be following it closely. But as an investor, how much should you be concerned about the outcome?

In the wake of the devastating floods that swept through southern Louisiana, the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors (GCAR) is putting into place an ongoing donation effort to provide needed support for not only recent victims but also future survivors of natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

Hindsight is twenty-twenty, even when it comes to household expenses. Consider the following scenario from the National Association of Realtors’ HouseLogic.com. You’ll quickly start reconsidering which of your household expenses to eliminate.

The Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers (CRB) has awarded Debbie Derryberry-Styles, principal broker of Lookout Real Estate Investments, the CRB (Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager) designation.

The CRB is an affiliate of the National Association of Realtors and the professional organization for brokerage management.  The council provides professional development programs, products, and services to its more than 7,000 members. The CRB designation is recognized throughout the industry as the highest level of professional achievement in brokerage management, Lookout Real Estate Investments said in a press release.

The family home is usually the most significant asset in divorce and elder mediation, and often, significant debt is involved.

However, the value of the home (the appraisal) minus the mortgage (what the homeowners owe the bank) does not equal actual equity. This incomplete equation can leave a house overvalued, which works against the participants in a mediation for divorce or elder matters.

As home buyers in the Chattanooga area continue to enjoy low mortgage interest rates and steady growth in employment, an increasing number of families are moving into their dream homes. But even after loans are approved and sales contracts are finalized, the final step could potentially be the most stressful: packing up and moving in.

Whenever I hear about another remake coming to theaters, I begin shuffling through the library of images that exists in my brain of iconic moments in the original film.

My memories of the 1960 version of “The Magnificent Seven” are stored between clips of Tatum Channing’s shirtless torso in “Magic Mike” and Jennifer Lopez dancing with Ralph Fiennes in “Maid in Manhattan.” 

Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise (CNE) has tapped the Incremental Development Alliance (IDA) to help design Missing Middle Housing, multi-family housing with the look and feel of single-family homes, for Chattanooga’s neighborhoods.

Voter registration drive

A taskforce comprised of community leaders and pastors have teamed up to launch GOVoteCHA. Through this nonpartisan effort, organizers have hosted voter registration rallies throughout the Greater Chattanooga Area to educate residents about the importance of civic participation and to encourage them to register to vote. The final outreach event and voter registration rally will be held Saturday, Oct. 1 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Westside Baptist Church, located at 4001 Hughes Ave. Volunteers will be on hand to answer questions, register voters, and update registrations. The registration deadline to vote in this year’s presidential election is Oct. 11, and early voting in Hamilton County begins on Oct. 19. For more information or to volunteer, visit www.GoVoteCHA.org or email GoVoteCHA@gmail.com.

State Rep. William Lamberth balks at the notion Memphis and Nashville are softening the punishment for simple pot possession.

Lamberth, a Republican and former assistant district attorney from Cottontown in Sumner County, is ready to punish the cities, too, by passing legislation in 2017 to hold back state transportation funds – $119 million in Davidson County – for municipal governments whose penalties conflict with state law.

Tennessee football coach Butch Jones went from goat to hero in a matter of hours last Saturday.

The Vols trailed Florida 21-0 in the first half – and 21-3 at halftime – and appeared headed to their 12th consecutive loss to the Gators.

Season 12 of “Grey’s Anatomy” really ticked me off! Recycled themes, sophomoric body-part jokes, endless throwbacks to earlier episodes, plots and departed characters.

I should write Shonda Rimes a letter. But I won’t.

Saturday, Oct. 1, 1966

Appointment of Walter K. Hall, director of financial planning at Colby College, Waterville, Maine, as vice president for development at the Univ. of Chattanooga, effective Oct. 3, was announced by Dr. William H. Masterson, UC’s president.

Saturday, Sept. 30, 1916

Funeral services for Major Charles De McGuffey were held this morning at the first Presbyterian Church. His body was taken to Knoxville for burial. Many Chattanoogans accompanied his son, Marius McGuffey, on his sad mission.