By Ben Mathis

For over a decade, it has been my privilege to write this annual year-end note to our clients and friends on behalf of our firm. In doing so this year, I am reminded this is now the third consecutive time I’ve written with the shadow of the “Great Recession” on all our minds. (more…)

Robert “Bobby” B. Baker, Jr., will join the firm on January 1 as a Partner. Commissioner Baker is currently finishing his third term as a statewide elected member of the Georgia Public Service Commission.

At FMG, Mr. Baker’s practice will focus on strategic and regulatory advice and representation of clients (both private companies and local governments) with a focus on energy and technology issues. In addition, Mr. Baker will handle appellate and mediation matters. Bobby Baker was first elected to the Public Service Commission in 1992, and was the first Republican elected to a statewide constitutional office since Reconstruction. (more…)

By T. Bart Gary

On November 22, 2010, the Georgia Supreme Court reversed a decision of the Georgia Court of Appeals regarding the proper statute of limitation to apply to claims for professional malpractice. The case of Newell Recycling of Atlanta, Inc. v. Jordan Jones & Goulding, Inc.,Case No. S09G1974 (November 22, 2010) began as a malpractice claim against an engineering firm that provided design services for a new automobile shredding facility. The engineer, Jordan Jones & Goulding (JJ&G), prepared a proposal for the project entitled, “Draft Scope of Work” and sent it to the owner, Newell Recycling, in 1997. JJ&G followed up the draft with a letter with a cost estimate. The parties verbally agreed upon the work, and the project constructed with JJ&G’s plans was completed by the fall of 1999. (more…)

By Kelly Morrison

E-Verify is the federal government’s online system through which an individual’s legal work status is verified by checking their I-9 information against the information contained in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) and Social Security Administration (“SSA”) databases. More than 1,200 employers are registering to use E-Verify every week, but use of this tool is not mandatory for most employers. (more…)

By Mary Anne Ackourey and Betsy Bulat Turner

It is no secret that technology has irreversibly changed the workplace. Mobile email devices and remote access have blurred the distinction between business and personal time as employers often expect employees to be available on these devices after normal work hours. On the other hand, many employees now expect access to the Internet, including their personal email, social media, and other accounts, for personal use at work, and many employees use their company email accounts for personal business, further blurring the line between work and personal time. (more…)