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A family in Gwinnett County are very upset when their 13-year-old child was suspended after voluntarily turning in a pocket knife he had found in his school bag. After complaining, school officials agreed to decrease the number of days he was suspended and rethink the suspension policy.

The young child found the pen knife in the backyard that his aunt had bought second hand at a yard sale and given him as a Christmas gift. As soon as he found the knife, he immediately turned it into his teacher.

Even though it was obviously not the young man’s fault, common sense did not follow and the school foolishly gave the boy a four day in school suspension for violating the school policy on weapons.

Since then, though, school officials have now reduced the boy’s suspension to two days and claim they will “rethink” the policy. Says the boy’s father: “He is a very good child. We’ve never had a discipline problem with him; he is in Boy Scouts, he is very good natured.” Additionally, he told his son, “Jack, you did the right thing. What else could you have done?”

Severe and automatic punishments evolved from the ‘zero-tolerance’ movement which started in the eighties in keeping with the federal anti-weapons and drug policies. But as the AJC reports: over the years, Georgia students have been suspended under zero tolerance “for kissing a girl on the forehead, wearing a studded belt, bringing a French teacher a gift-wrapped bottle of wine and carrying a Tweety Bird wallet with a chain on it.”

In 2009, a similar incident happened when a middle school student accidentally brought a fishing knife to school and ended up being expelled, arrested, convicted of a felony and sent to an alternative program even though he voluntarily gave up the knife to the principal.

This is an example of the type of absurd, common-sense lacking decisions that sometimes occur among school districts as experienced by some of Good Georgia Lawyer’s clients. Fortunately, in response to the 2009 incident, state Senator Emanuel Jones, a Democrat from Decatur, sponsored legislation that required a hearing before taking a student into custody and prohibits charging a student as a designated felon unless the weapon is used in an assault or it is a gun. This bill was signed into law in spring of 2010 by the Governor.

If your son or daughter becomes a victim of this type of common senseless injustice, it can be very helpful to contact an attorney right away to protect your child’s legal rights. Georgia law provides that if there is the potential of a suspension longer than ten days, then O.C.G.A. § 20-2-753 requires a disciplinary hearing where the requirements of O.C.G.A. §20-2-754 are met including providing written notice, entitling the student to be represented by legal counsel and to present evidence.

In this instance, if the period of discipline is shorter than ten days, an attorney is still helpful to protect your child’s rights in these types of extreme instances. If other issues are involved–such as violations of Georgia bullying law or federal disability laws–there can be even greater need to obtain legal counsel.
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teacherstudent.JPGWilliams Oinonen LLC is happy to report recent success in representing a Georgia educator with decades of experience who had her contract non-renewed with the Fulton County School District. To add insult to injury, the school district denied her employment benefits putting this divorced mother at risk of losing her home and not being able to provide for her young children right before the Christmas holiday.

Williams Oinonen LLC generally bills clients in all employment matters but in this case, we accepted this matter on a pro bono basis as this successful educator had been a loyal client of ours in the past and was in an emergency situation in need of urgent help. It was the least we could do to help a dedicated and committed educator who had served the Georgia public schools for so many years.

We are happy to say that we were able to win our client’s appeal and she was awarded back pay and her unemployment benefits just in time for Christmas. We were humbled to receive from her the following email which she gave permission to share:

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teacherteacher.JPGHere is one letter that Williams Oinonen LLC recently received from a satisfied client who walked out of our office with a very fat check after hiring us to handle her case. This client was a school teacher who lost everything and was severely injured due to someone’s negligence. While we can’t tell you the Defendant’s name or the amount of money they had to pay her to compensate her for these injuries due to a confidentiality agreement, we can share with you what she states in her own words about us:

“Hi, my name is Nicole and I retained services from Williams Oinonen LLC. This was my first time hiring a lawyer so naturally I was very skeptical. But, my experience with Williams Oinonen LLC has been a fantastic experience. When I first sought out a lawyer, I emailed countless of law firms and most law firms didn’t even respond to my email. One law firm responded and told me I didn’t have a strong case. Williams Oinonen LLC is the ONLY law firm that even considered taking my unique case.

Ms. Oinonen took my case because she truly cares about her clients. After speaking to her for the first time, I trusted her because she was very knowledgeable about my situation and she was very compassionate, therefore I hired her (plus no one else offered to take my case!)

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Here is one email that Williams Oinonen LLC received from a highly, satisfied client who obtained good sized check after hiring us to handle his case. This client was a professional who was injured due to the negligence of a corporation he had been a customer at. The result of his injuries affected his appearance and in turn, his self-confidence on the job and in his day to day life. While we can’t tell you the Defendant’s name or the amount of money we got them to pay in order to compensate our client for these injuries due to a confidentiality agreement, we can share with you what he states in his own words about us:

“I was new to the Atlanta area and had a case that was not important to anyone until I talked to the law office of Williams Oinonen LLC and after that I started to see thing move for me. I am so satisfied with all the effort that Williams Oinonen LLC did for me. I don’t think I would have received this kind of loyalty or support from any other firm in GA. They made it easy for me to understand what was going on every step of the way. They explained every law term in plain English with me. I have and will continue to refer people to this firm. I have yet to hear any complaints from anyone that I have sent their way. So I highly recommend the law office of Williams Oinonen LLC. If I ever need a law firm this is the only one I will call. I cannot say enough about this office. You guys are my lawyers for life!”–Tim T.

Williams Oinonen LLC represents Georgians all across the state in employment matters, personal injury, business litigation, business disputes, education and civil rights matters. We are passionate about our clients and fight hard for them to obtain the justice they deserve. As the 2011 year ends, we are grateful for the opportunity to serve our Georgia community and look forward to future service.

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The family at Good Georgia Lawyer, Williams Oinonen LLC, wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving and holiday season.

We are very thankful for all our many blessings this year. God has been good and it is only through Him that we derive our strength and being.

We wish all our clients and fellow neighbors of the Georgia community a safe and happy holiday. Enjoy the turkey, your loved ones– family, and friends.

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Good Georgia Lawyer is very sad to report that another child has tragically lost their life due to suicide as a result of bullying. The Illinois family of a 10-year-old honor student named Ashlynn Conner who committed suicide last week stated that their daughter had been a victim of bullying at her elementary school and in her community.

Ashlynn, a student at Georgetown Ridge Farm Elementary School, told her mother two weeks before her death that she was being bullied for years and did not know how to react to the bullies.

Last week, Ashlynn asked her parents if she could be home-schooled. Shortly thereafter, her sibling found her hanging in her closet. The Police are now investigating the bullying claims through Twitter and emails.

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At the request of Georgia State Bar President-Elect Robin Frazer Clark, President Ken Shigley appointed Julie Oinonen, partner at Williams Oinonen LLC to serve on the Georgia Fair Market Practices Committee.

The Fair Market Practices Committee will have two tasks:

First, this committee will review over potential amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2 on legal advertising and a nonbinding Statement on Professionalism in Lawyer Advertising that will address practices that the federal courts do not let us prohibit.

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emory.jpgWilliams Oinonen LLC partner Julie Oinonen was recently appointed as a Fellow at the Emory University School of Law Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution.

Previously, Ms. Oinonen has been a Dean’s Teaching Fellow and Post Doctoral Fellow for Emory University School of Law. She is also admitted into the prestigious Order of Emory Advocates, in addition to being awarded the Kathleen Kessler-Eidson Trial Advocacy Award and International Academy of Trial Lawyers Award by Emory University School of Law. Ms. Oinonen has a Masters of Education and Masters of Business Administration graduating Magna Cum Laude. She completed her undergraduate education at Covenant College, a Christian college located on Lookout Mountain, Georgia.

Ms. Oinonen now joins her partner, Mr. Mario Bernard Williams, who is also a Fellow at the Center. Prior to Mr. William’s career as an attorney at Williams Oinonen LLC, he worked in the field of International Human Rights throughout South America. Mr. Williams graduated with honors from Morehouse with a degree in Political Science and has extensive experience with opponent research, policy analysis and political consulting. Additionally, Mr. Williams and Ms. Oinonen have had much success working on opponent research campaigns for elected officials throughout Georgia.

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teacherteacher.JPGToday a Barrow County judge ruled against a former teacher who alleged that she lost her job due to a posting on Facebook.

Ashley Payne resigned from her job as a teacher at Apalachee High School in the Fall of 2009 after an individual who stated they were a parent sent a complaint about postings Ms. Payne had made on Facebook showing her drinking alcohol and stating that she was headed to a game of “Crazy Bitch Bingo” at an Atlanta restaurant. Ms. Payne claims she was under pressure to resign however the school district disputes this claiming she volunteered.

Ms. Payne is now graduate student at UGA and filed suit asking the court for a determination stating she was entitled to a due process hearing. It is unfortunate that Ms. Payne did not ask for a due process hearing, speak to her union advisor, or consult an attorney prior to resigning.

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