The article, titled “Med Mal Attys Chasing Docs’ Digital Tracks To Patient Wins,” details how attorneys are using health care records from insurance companies to win cases. These digital footprints were previously unavailable, but more and more providers are making the records an industry standard.  Click the picture below for the full article.

Andrew Greenwald is an accomplished medical malpractice attorney with over 50 cases with recoveries of over one million dollars. 

 
Joseph Greenwald & Laake principal Veronica Nannis recently accepted a new leadership position on the Ayuda Advisory Council. Ayuda is an organization solely focused on serving clients in the DMV by providing free legal work, social work and language access  services to immigrants from 104 countries, 70 percent of whom are Spanish-speaking. 
 
Nannis has spent time this past year supporting Ayuda through various events with the organization. In September, Nannis co-hosted the organization’s annual welcome breakfast that raised awareness and donations for Ayuda’s core mission supporting the immigrant community. The event fell during Hispanic Heritage Month, which is celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. She also co-sponsored Ayuda’s 44th Anniversary Fundraiser in May, with other JGL attorneys in attendance to show their support for the cause. This cause hits close to home for Nannis, who is the daughter of an immigrant, and who is proud of her Colombian heritage. 
 
Nannis is a seasoned attorney in the firm’s Civil Litigation department and has a pro bono commitment to immigrants’ rights and access to justice. In her work with JGL, she has had the opportunity to represent clients from the immigrant community in particular through her work on the firm’s civil rights cases. In 2011, she was one of four attorneys who represented the Espina family, who brought a case against Prince George’s County and Officer Steven Jackson for the 2008 shooting death of Manuel Espina in Langley Park. The jury returned a record-setting verdict in the amount of $11.5 million for the constitutional violations. Nannis was also one of the firm’s recipients of the Trial Lawyer of the Year award by the Maryland Association for Justice for her work in the Espina case. After the verdict, Nannis prepared Mrs. Espina to testify before the Maryland General Assembly regarding the monetary cap on judgments against local governments, which led to the cap being increased for the first time since 1987. 
 
For Nannis, this prestigious appointment fits into both her own personal commitment, and the firm’s commitment, to representing and protecting the marginalized members of society who are often the victims of crime, fraud and abuse. 
 
The seminar titled,“CLE: Military Retirement Benefits, Disability Pay, Related Issue” was sponsored by the Bar Association and Bar Foundation of Montgomery County.
 
During the seminar, panelists discussed topics such as disposable retired pay, waivers to receive disability pay and the impact of the Howell v. Howell, a recent U.S. Supreme Court case. Other seminar topics included discussions on recent statutory changes, best practices and protecting clients in agreements and court orders.  
 
Jeffrey Greenblatt has over 43 years of experience representing individuals in complex, emotionally-charged family law matters in Maryland. He has a strong emphasis in areas such as divorce, alimony, child custody and protective orders, and is a compassionate advocate for each one of his clients. 

Firm principal Jay Holland and Joseph Greenwald & Laake were sponsors of EveryMind’s anniversary gala on Wednesday, Oct. 18. Formerly known as the Mental Health Association of Montgomery County, the organization celebrated 60 years of dedication to providing mental wellness resources and advocacy to individuals and communities.

The gala honored mental health champions, such as U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen and news anchor Doreen Gentzler of Changing Minds, News4’s campaign to shed light on mental health issues. Ten JGL attorneys attended the gala, including Reza Golesorkhi, Vijay Mani, Jerry Miller, Eleanor Hunt, Veronica Nannis, Jason Sarfati and Timothy Maloney.

EveryMind is dedicated to changing stigma surrounding mental health, while also providing mental wellness services. Everyone, from children to senior citizens, can benefit from the organization’s programs. Their initiatives include educational seminars for the general public and professionals, counseling services and a crisis hotline.

Last Tuesday members of Prince George’s County and the Maryland legal community gathered to celebrate Neal T. Conway’s commitment to making justice accessible for all. The event included a keynote presentation by JGL principal Timothy F. Maloney and was attended by a dozen JGL team members. 

Conway currently serves as the chief financial officer of Community Legal Services, a nonprofit organization based in Prince George’s County. He began working with the organization as an intake paralegal, before moving up the ladder to become executive director and eventually to his current board position.

Community Legal Services works directly with low income members of the Prince George’s community. They provide legal advice, representation and education regarding civil law at little or no cost. 

The symposium, held at the College Park Marriott Hotel in Hyattsville, provided an advanced seminar and update on domestic relations practices and procedures. 
 
The symposium included multiple seminars during both its morning and afternoon programs. The program included a description of trust devices frequently used by wealthy family, along with a discussion on how divorce lawyers can assist their clients in protecting their assets. It also included a seminar on how to maintain civility and professionalism during the course of a family law case and throughout one’s entire career. 
 
AAML was founded in 1962 with the goal of providing leadership that promotes excellence in the practice of family law. AAML fellows represent individuals in all facets of family law, including divorce, annulment, prenuptial agreements, postnuptial agreements, and more. 
 
Jeffrey Greenblatt, Reza Golesorkhi Allison McFadden are highly skilled attorneys in Joseph Greenwald & Laake’s Family Law practice group. Greenblatt has over four decades of experience in representing individuals in complex family law matters in Maryland. He is also a pioneer in the emerging area of family law, Gray Divorce, or the divorce of couples over 50 years old. Golesorkhi regularly represents many of the most accomplished individuals and their spouses in the fields of finance, real estate, public service and entertainment, making him the go-to divorce lawyer for high-network individuals. McFadden is a passionate advocate who focuses exclusively on protecting and enforcing the rights of spouses, parents and children. Her practice covers every type of family law matter that impacts the lives of her clients. 

We may not all know the term emoji, but we have all seen them or used them. Emojis are small digital images or icons used to express an idea or emotion online. The term is only a couple of decades old and derives from the Japanese words e, a picture, and moji, a letter or character.

Emojis are cute, fun . . . and, at the risk of being a buzz-kill, can get you in a whole lot of legal trouble. As a labor and employment lawyer, I have seen that “emoji law” is becoming a larger and larger factor in litigation, particularly in cases that involve allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination.

In fact, employment attorneys should now start thinking about setting up emoji-awareness seminars for companies on how emojis are creating new questions, and perhaps conflicts, in workplaces. It’s quite appropriate to ask, “Is that winky-face emoji friendly, flirtatious or an instance of sexual harassment?”

I see three basic issues emerging from the use of emojis in the workplace. First, they are slang, and slang means different things to different people. In different cultures, a symbol may mean widely disparate things. For example, the “hands-up” symbol is a positive sign for most Americans, but for Chinese people, it is dismissive and means “stay away from me.”

The use of slang leads to misunderstandings in many contexts. For example, I saw tennis star Roger Federer being interviewed on TV, and a reporter asked him, “Why are you called a GOAT? Do you raise farm animals?” The reporter did not realize that GOAT is often used in sports slang as an abbreviation for the Greatest of All Time.  In fact there is a GOAT emoji. 

Secondly, the use of emojis can be said to imply a lack of seriousness and can take away from the significance of your message. If a boss receives an email from a subordinate that contains a smiley-face emoji, she may not take the message seriously. In other words, emojis can convey a credibility issue.

Furthermore, emojis can be racially coded or coded for gender without the writer even knowing it. An emoji with a certain skin color, if sent to a minority employee by a supervisor, can later serve as evidence of a racially hostile work environment. The standard that the courts use in these cases is whether the harassment is severe or pervasive – and emojis can be evidence showing that the harassment is indeed pervasive. This can create serious problems for employers since under the rules of discovery, these emojis can and will be turned over to the opposing party in litigation.

The broad lesson is that workplace communications simply should not be the same as casual conversations with our friends. They need to be formal and businesslike – and the use of emojis in business conversations can come back to haunt the employer.

In addition, emojis can be misinterpreted. There is often no consensus on what emotions an emoji is intended to represent. In a casual chat with a friend, any ambiguity can be readily cleared up, but in the workplace, a misinterpretation can linger and result in difficult questions in litigation.

In fact, I would advise a law firm that the use of emojis in communications between associates and partners, or between lawyers and clients, is never appropriate. The risk is just too high. Now, other companies have different cultures. It might be different in a small startup high-tech company, where the culture is far more informal. But for most companies, if you want to be safe, the risk of confusion and the risk of the emoji being used as courtroom evidence are just too great.

In fact, companies’ style manuals for staff ought to include policies on the use of emojis. It’s wise for employers to evaluate this issue and to understand how the use of emojis can create serious risks.

The event, titled “CLE: LGBT Parentage and Marriage Issues: An Essential Family Law Update and Analysis,” provided an up-to-date analysis and practical review of family law, LGBT parentage and marriage issues in the wake of cases such as Obergefell, Schmidt and Conover. 

Jeffrey Greenblatt has over 43 years of experience representing individuals in complex, emotionally-charged family law matters in Maryland. He has a strong emphasis in areas such as divorce, alimony, child custody and protective orders, and is a compassionate advocate for each one of his clients. He is also a pioneer in the emerging area of family law, Gray Divorce, or the divorce of couples over 50 years old.

 

The New York Times and The New Yorker first reported the accusations by more than a  dozen women that accused Weinstein of sexual harassment, assault or rape. More women came forward following the reports, and soon after, the Weinstein Company board of directors fired Weinstein from the company.

Holland told The Wrap, “The fact of the matter is that Harvey Weinstein was the face of the company, and he ran the company. And if he sexually harassed these women, the company might automatically be liable.”

Holland also predicted that the potential liability means that the company will almost certainly cease to exist as an enterprise, as reports have shown that the company is discussing a fire sale of its assets. Click the image below for the full article.

Jay Holland is a principal in JGL’s Civil Litigation Group, and the chair of the firm’s Labor, Employment and Qui Tam Whistleblower practice. He is a renowned employment and qui tam litigator known for taking on tough cases and achieving exceptional results. 

Principal Ann Grover, sponsored and participated in the Montgomery County Bar Foundation’s 25th Annual Golf, Tennis Charity Classic & Silent Auction.  JGL attorneys Matthew Focht and Matthew Kreiser teamed up and won their flight in the tournament.  The event has a special significance, as it serves as the primary fundraising event for many of the bar foundation’s community outreach programs.

Due to its charitable cause, the event drew a large crowd of golfers and non-golfers alike. Participants received a sleeve of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake Titleist golf balls and tees (most of which can now be found now in the woods and lakes at Manor Golf Course). 

In addition to the golf tournament the event also featured a tennis game and a silent auction. The tournament was held at Manor Country Club in Rockville Maryland.  

Holland supplied some insight on the employment rights of NFL players if his team, or the NFL, were to fire a player for “taking a knee?”  Could the player claim discrimination or retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act? Would the player have any success under the prohibition against retaliation under the National Labor Relations Act?  The answers hinge on whether the discrimination or retaliation was related to workplace conditions.

Jay Holland is the chair of Joseph Greenwald & Laake’s Labor, Employment and Qui Tam Whistleblower practice. He is a renowned employment and qui tam litigator known for taking on tough cases and achieving exceptional results. 

Click the image below for the full article:

Instant messaging has become an increasingly popular way for businesses to facilitate communication and collaboration. With these informal shorthand communication methods has come the rise of the pictographic characters known as emoji. While emoji can generally be a fun way for people to communicate, many lawyers are now encouraging employees to keep them out of business communication. 

Emoji-use can be misconstrued between multiple parties, and sometimes, the meaning of a particular emoji can change depending on the context and culture in which it’s used. It can also create problems in terms of workplace misunderstandings, in terms of areas like gender and race, that could potentially lead to legal issues down the line. In this podcast, Jay discusses that, and encourages the use of emoji-awareness seminars to educate employers and employees on the potential legal dangers of this type of informal communication.

To hear the full podcast, click here.

Jay Holland is the chair of Joseph Greenwald & Laake’s Labor, Employment and Qui Tam Whistleblower practice. He is a renowned employment and qui tam litigator known for taking on tough cases and achieving exceptional results. 

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