Today Governor Perdue vetoed raises for Superior Court judges and District Attorneys. In a statement released with the veto, the Governor said, “I have consistently expressed concern with raising judicial officers’ salaries without tackling the well above-market retirement benefits.” He also said that a study he commissioned showed that Georgia’s judges’ pay was competitive compared…
Continue reading ›Georgia law now provides for a single Advance Directive document as a hybrid of the living will and durable power of attorney for health care, eliminating potential conflicts between the two documents. Click here to download the form. The Shigley Law Firm represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases statewide in Georgia, and…
Continue reading ›I have written several times this year about proposals for toll lanes for trucks on metro Atlanta interstate highways. An article this week shows another reason why this may become a necessity. The Georgia Department of Transportation expects to spend $160 billion on road construction projects between 2005 and 2035. But revenues from the motor…
Continue reading ›Last month there was a news story about the New Jersey Committee on Attorney Advertising, a panel appointed by the Supreme Court of New Jersey ruling that attorney advertisements that tout listings such as the “Super Lawyers” listings violate professional responsibility rules against ads that compare lawyers’ services or create an “unjustified expectation about results.” …
Continue reading ›Two new Texas laws, backed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) may deserve consideration in Georgia. One new Texas law requires that if a driver is convicted of drunk driving with a blood alcohol level over .15, an ignition interlock device must be installed in their car. The convicted drunk driver will have to breathe…
Continue reading ›The Fulton County Daily Report (subscription required, $) published an article on 4/20/05, reporting that the tort reform lobby isn’t finished in Georgia. According to the article, there are plans to come back in 2006 with proposals to limit contingent attorney fees with some sort of sliding scale, and to make “collateral sources” (payments that…
Continue reading ›According to an article in the New York Times on 3/6/05, lawyers in states with caps on noneconomic damages have been largely successful in recasting damages to fit the available categories. The article is titled “Go Ahead. Test a Lawyer’s Ingenuity. Try to Limit Damages.” It cites a new study by Catherine M. Sharkey, a…
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