Courts

Help With The Hard Stuff: ‘Getting Commitment, not just Agreement’

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HELP WITH THE HARD STUFF:
 
Part 8 (of 10)–“Getting Commitment, not just Agreement”
By GINI NELSON, JD, MA
 
I ended my last column promising to explore some of the older and newer alternatives to a conventional law practice that exist and are evolving in legal services. To me, it’s an access to justice issue. How can you, the person who needs help with the hard stuff, get that help effectively and affordably from lawyers? I think it’s hard, especially when the issues have you especially stressed and the involvement is tumultuous, as is common in divorce.

I think it’s especially hard because Read More

State Farm Releases Top 10 States for Dog Bite Claims

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Courtesy/State Farm
 
STATE FARM News:
 
State Farm Insurance just released its annual Top 10 states for dog bite claims for 2012.
 
The company also is partnering with the USPS and AVMA during National Dog Bite Prevention Week® to provide information to prevent dog bites.
 
While not in the Top 10 for 2012, New Mexico reported 25 dog bite incidents that resulted in claims in New Mexico – nearly double the number of claims reported for 2011 – that number was 13. The average claims cost was just under $30,000 per incident – a cost for which the dog’s owner could be responsible
Read More

Council Continues Hearing Appeal of Smart Meters Bid Award

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Attorney Wayne Bingham begins questioning County staff in tonight’s Smart Meter bid award protest hearing. Print Screen photo

Assistant County Attorney Dan Gonzales, left, objects to a line of questioning by GEW attorney Wayne Bingham at right. Print Screen photo

Staff Report

Los Alamos County Council tonight is continuing, in its capacity as a quasi-judicial body, the hearing related to the protest appeal by GEW Mechanical (GEW) of a bid award for Smart Meters to Landis + Gyr (“L+G”.)

Council Chair Geoff Rodgers opened this evening’s meeting advising the attorneys Read More

Help With The Hard Stuff: ‘The Goldilocks Principle’

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HELP WITH THE HARD STUFF:

Part 7 (of 10)–“The Goldilocks Principle”
By GINI NELSON, JD, MA

I ended my last column, promising that we’ll next consider some of the specific problems clients can have with selecting their attorney and the approach to solving their legal problem.

After this column, we’ll explore some of the newer experiments and alternatives that exist and are evolving in the provisioning of legal services.

We all know the story – a lost, hungry, tired little girl finds herself lost in the forest and stumbles upon a house whose inhabitants are absent. In the house she finds three chairs, Read More

Letter to the Editor: Unequivocal Support for Aspen Principal

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Letter to the Editor

The April 21 story reporting a lawsuit filed by Zeynep Unal against Los Alamos Public Schools and Kathryn Vandenkieboom, principal at Aspen Elementary, was incredibly disheartening. 

The story, particularly the wording in the lawsuit, portrayed Kathryn much differently than the child and family advocate we know. We would like readers to know that Kathryn.

Five years ago, when it was announced that Kathryn would lead Aspen as our principal, cheers of joy rang out! We were thrilled to be working with a woman fresh from the classroom and one we all respected to make decisions, Read More

Help With The Hard Stuff: ‘Contain if Necessary’

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HELP WITH THE HARD STUFF:

Part 6 (of 10) –“Contain if Necessary”
By GINI NELSON, JD, MA

My last column continued William Uri’s “third-sider” roles lawyers can play that might help you with the hard stuff, focusing on the “resolve” roles of Mediator, Arbiter, Equalizer, and Healer.

This week I want to talk about Uri’s “contain” roles of Witness, Referee, and Peacekeeper, and also a hybrid activity I believe exists especially within the context of what can be called “Divorce Wars”: equalization and containment.

I agree with Uri that “unresolved conflict escalates because no one is paying attention Read More

Teacher Files Lawsuit Against Los Alamos Public Schools

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By CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Daily Post

A Los Alamos Public Schools Special Education teacher is suing the district, its superintendent, and the principal of Aspen Elementary School.

Attorney Kate Ferlic of Egolf, Ferlic & Day, LLC in Santa Fe filed the lawsuit Thursday, April 18 in District Court with a complaint for relief and jury trial demand on behalf of her client Zeynep Unal, a Turkish-born special education teacher, for violations of the New Mexico Human Rights Act, defamation and breach of contract.

In the suit, Aspen Elementary School Principal Kathryn Vandenkieboom, who served Read More

Jemez Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Assault Charge

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE—Jerome Dominic Concha, 20, a member and resident of Jemez Pueblo, pleaded guilty this morning to a federal assault charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Concha was arrested Jan. 10, on a criminal complaint charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon. In February, Concha was indicted and charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

According to court records, on Jan. 1, Concha repeatedly struck another Jemez Pueblo man in the face and head with a hatchet in a residence on Jemez Pueblo.

During this morning’s proceedings, Concha Read More

Help With The Hard Stuff: ‘Best of all Prevent’

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Help With The Hard Stuff

Part 4 (of 10) –“Best of all Prevent”
By GINI NELSON, JD, MA

My last column introduced “third-sider” roles that might help you with the hard stuff. I also asked you to think about how a lawyer might help you prevent an escalation of conflict.

When there are latent tensions, intervention may prevent the tensions from erupting into violence. Many say prevention is the best intervention, and Ury suggests three prevention roles: Provider,Teacher, and Bridge-Builder.

Cross the threshold of these three opportunities, he says, and there is destructive conflict, violence Read More