I’m starting to settle into my second new office of the summer. It is nice being home, although, I know downtown Birmingham about as well as I know downtown Orlando. 

On Monday, Rebecca Beers and I went to the Jefferson County Courthouse to volunteer at the Civil Help Desk, a legal aid initiative. This was an incredibly rewarding experience. Rebecca and I (mainly Rebecca), offered real help to two individuals in need of fairly complex legal aid. One of them needed help in determining the status of their mortgage, and the other needed help with a probate problem. We were able to give them a better understanding of their legal issues, and just as importantly, we directed them to people/places where they could receive more assistance. It was a tremendous learning experience for me. 

On Tuesday, I worked on my assignments: research on whether the outside business activities of a registered representative creates liability for a broker-dealer; research on what constitutes a “device” under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and a few others. The highlight of the day was lunch with partners Pete Tepley and Bert Spence. We went to a meat and three. Enough said.

Wednesday was another work day, but also included some play. After all, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” After work, Fred Clarke, Lauren Snyder, Rebecca Beers, and I went to the Birmingham Bar Foundation’s 25th Anniversary Celebration. The function was at Woolworth, a bar/venue in five-points, the posh area of downtown. Woolworth had some sort of crazy bowling alley, an oversized Pac-Man arcade game (it claimed to be the world’s largest), and other unique amenities. However, these things did not distract me from the food. This was a fun celebration, and it allowed us to meet numerous attorneys practicing in the area. I only hope Fred, Lauren, and Rebecca weren’t embarrassed to be seen with me.

Thursday and Friday were fairly quiet. Then again, the mock trial assignment was distributed Friday. We learned earlier in the week that Grace and I would be Team 1, the Stetson All-Pros. So after receiving the problem and peppering the competition director, Patrick Delaney, with questions via Zoom, Grace and I got busy working on our themes for the competition. Stay tuned to hear about our preparation.