Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog

Williams Oinonen LLC was delighted to welcome back a return group of Covenant College pre-law students in Atlanta. Special thanks goes out to the Fulton County Office of the Public Defender where students enjoyed visiting last semester and learning further about a career as a public defender from the Director Vernon S. Pitts (see above photos), Supervisor D'Andre Berry, and heard fabulous stories from Supervising Trial Attorney Elizabeth Markowitz.

Special thanks also goes out to Paul Howard at Fulton County District Attorney's office where Assistant District Attorneys April McConnell and Antonio Veal coordinated a very exciting afternoon for the students which included watching a murder trial.

The day also featured a special luncheon at the Commerce Club hosted by Williams Oinonen LLC with special guest and fellow alumni Jeremy Davis of Carlock Copeland.

Today, Williams Oinonen LLC hosted a law school admissions tour day where students visited Emory University School of Law and Georgia State University College of Law. The law firm hosted a luncheon for the students at Alma Cochina.

Next month, Williams Oinonen LLC will be participating in a law school panel and workshop for pre-law students at Covenant College, on Lookout Mountain in North Georgia, Dade County.

Williams Oinonen LLC enjoys regularly hosting visits for pre-law students from a diverse array of schools and backgrounds. If you know of a pre-law student who is interested in the legal profession please feel free to contact the law firm for further information on mentorship and visiting opportunities at 404-654-0288.

Williams Oinonen LLC and nine other Georgia Trial Lawyers Association firms hosted a career mixer event for Emory Law students at the law school. The event was sponsored by all ten law firms, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Emory University School of Law's Litigation Society, Tort & Insurance Society, the Center for Advocacy & Dispute Resolution & the Center for Professional Development.

Ms. Julie Oinonen and Mr. Mario Williams, partners at Williams Oinonen LLC are also fellows at Emory Law School's Center for Advocacy & Dispute Resolution.

The purpose was to expose Emory Law students to the Plaintiff practice and make connections for future employment. Williams Oinonen LLC is currently open to interviewing 2012 graduates who may be interested in an Emory Law Fellowship position with their firm.

This past Friday Williams Oinonen LLC hosted a group of pre-law students from Covenant College for an all day excursion. Students left at 6 a.m. from Lookout Mountain, Georgia to arrive at the downtown law office in Atlanta that morning to meet Ms. Oinonen, an attorney at Williams Oinonen LLC who led the day trip.

The day started out with a visit to Emory University School of Law. The group arrived at Emory University around 9:15 a.m. to do a brief walking tour of the larger university campus as a whole and ended up at the law school building. They started the visit by attending an admissions presentation in the Emory Law School Courtroom and then participated in a student led tour of the law school itself. Afterwards, they attended a property class taught by Professor Frank Alexander which according to students was the best part of their visit at Emory. His lecture focused on the constitutional issues surrounding eminent domain. Prior to saying goodbye, they were introduced to the Dean of Admissions, Ethan Rosenzweig 02L

After the Emory Law School tour, the group travelled to the Commerce Club, of which Ms. Oinonen is a member to attend a special private luncheon. During this time, she listened to all of the students share stories of their time at Covenant College and answered questions about law school and the legal profession.

After the luncheon, the group took a tour of Fulton County Courthouse. After the tour, they were able to observe a felony child molestation trial and got to watch the criminal defense attorney give closing argument before the jury in the courtroom of Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams of the Fulton Superior Court.

An alumna of both Covenant College and Emory University School of Law, Ms. Oinonen is currently a Fellow at Emory University School of Law's Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution, adjunct faculty member at the Trial Techniques Program and an alumni advisor at the Tort and Insurance Society Practice Group for Emory Law students. Her practice primarily focuses on helping plaintiffs injured or harmed due to a wrong or injustice specifically in employment matters, education, and personal injury cases. She recently stated: "Some of the best part of my law practice is when I have the chance to work with young people at Covenant College and Emory University School of Law. There is no better way to give back then helping others and the students at Covenant and Emory are a joy and pleasure to work with."

Good Georgia Lawyer wishes Chag Sameach to all our Jewish friends this Passover.

We also wish a Good Friday and Happy Easter to all who celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ this Sunday.

For all people, it is a good time to reflect on the newness and re-birth of the season this spring.

The lawyers at Williams Oinonen LLC are privileged to represent Georgians of all religious and non-religious persuasions. We are committed to helping people from a diverse range of various cultural backgrounds obtain the justice they deserve by exercising their Constitutional rights to the civil justice system as preserved in our Seventh Amendment.

On Saturday, February 4th, Julie Oinonen, Partner at Williams Oinonen LLC was a guest speaker at Covenant College, on Lookout Mt. Georgia where she spoke to Covenant students who are considering law school. Covenant College is a four year liberal arts Christian college on Lookout Mountain, Georgia of which Ms. Oinonen is an alumna. Ms. Oinonen shared with students tips on getting into the best law school, succeeding while you are there, and figuring out whether a law career is right for you. Ms. Oinonen particularly spoke of her profession as a calling and how her faith informs her practice.

Ms. Oinonen is a partner at Williams Oinonen LLC, a civil litigation firm that also provides political consulting, campaign strategy, and opponent research for election campaigns. This is her second time speaking at Covenant College within the past year as her law firm has made a special effort to reach out to pre-law students at the institution.

The two other alumni speakers at the event were Mr. Pete Johnson and Mr. Cal Marshall, both licensed attorneys in the state of Tennessee. Mr. Pete Johnson an attorney at his own firm, handles corporate, real estate, wills, construction and development law. Mr. Cal Marshall is an associate Chambliss Bahner and Stophel P.C. in Chattanooga where he practices business and health law, assisting clients on compliance with federal and state regulations and business planning.

Williams Oinonen LLC is currently planning to host Covenant College students on April 13th in Atlanta, Georgia where they will be given a tour of the state Capitol, downtown courthouses, luncheon at the Commerce Club, and tour of Emory University School of Law in the afternoon.

Ms. Oinonen is an alumna of Emory University School of Law and both she and her law partner, Mr. Mario Williams are Emory University law fellows with the Center of Advocacy and Dispute Resolution. Williams Oinonen LLC is the only law firm in Georgia that boasts having both law partners as current fellows at Emory University School of Law.

Said Ms Oinonen about her experience at Covenant College on February 4th: "It is always a privilege to be able to spend time with the students at Covenant College. They are thoughtful, engaging, intellectual thinkers who develop strong critical thinking skills, an important component for legal minds."

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.

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.

The scope of what can be done about lawyer advertising rules under federal court decisions on commercial speech is pretty much limited to adding a finite list of disclosure and disclaimer requirements. There have been recent federal court decisions arising in New York, Florida and Louisiana. Any proposal approved by this committee will be subject to approval by the Disciplinary Rules Committee, Board of Governors and Supreme Court of Georgia.

Second, this committee will develop a program for more effective enforcement of Rule 7.3, which prohibits direct solicitation of clients, particularly injury victims. For years some lawyers have systematically used "runners" to solicit personal injury cases in direct contravention of Rule 7.3 and OCGA 15-19-55. President Ken Shigley's opinion is that lawyers who conduct themselves in this manner poorly serve the consumers of legal services, unfairly compete against law-abiding attorneys who follow the rules, and degrade both the legal profession and the justice system. Stated President Shigley: "It is time to clean our own house. Thus, I am including both prosecutors and former FBI agents to serve on this committee."

Julie Oinonen is honored to accept appointment to the Fair Market Practices Committee and looks forward to serving.

Williams 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.

Ms. Oinonen's recent appointment as Fellow at the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution makes Williams Oinonen LLC the only law firm in the United States to have both Partners named as Fellows of Emory University Law School.

Currently, Williams Oinonen LLC is accepting new clients. We welcome you to contact us to schedule an appointment today.

Last week, Williams Oinonen LLC helped sponsor and organize a two day event at Emory University School of Law presented by the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution.

This past weekend, Williams Oinonen LLC presented a volunteer lunch and learn workshop for pre-law students at Covenant College. For more information on the event, you can view the printed flyer here: lunch and learn Poster fall 2011.pdf.

Covenant College is a four year liberal arts, Christian College that is the official college of the Presbyterian Church of America located on Lookout Mountain, Georgia. The topics covered during the workshop were:

- Deciding if law is the right choice for you
- Choosing your calling & career in law
- Getting into a top school
- Succeeding while you are there.

Next spring semester, Williams Oinonen LLC will be doing a field trip for Covenant College pre-law students to visit the state capitol, courts, and an admissions tour of Emory Law School. Good Georgia Lawyer believes that there is nothing better than working with young people--both college students and law students. Our law firm, Williams Oinonen LLC, plans to continue its work with colleges, universities, and law schools throughout Georgia.

For more information on scheduling a workshop covering a wide range of topics, contact Williams Oinonen LLC today at 404-654-0288.