July 2013 Newsletter

Hello,

This month's bar luncheon will take place on July 31 at noon in the Hotel St. Michael's ballroom.

Chris Jensen will present a CLE entitled, "Storytelling in Litigation." As many of you know, Chris is a longtime litigator and trial attorney who had been practicing law in the Prescott area for the last thirty five years. This CLE will qualify for one hour of CLE credit.

The menu options are a BBQ pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw, or a veggie sandwich with coleslaw. Please RSVP by the end of the day on June 18th.

I also wanted to again thank all of our members for their outpouring of time and generosity to the families of the nineteen Granite Mountain Hotshots who perished in the Yarnell Hill Fire. Over forty attorneys volunteered to provide pro bono legal services or advice to the families, and many, many more made donations to the various funds set up to help the Hot Shots' families and other persons displaced by the fire.

Finally, Alex Vakula and the State Bar have been working very hard to get legal services to the families affected by the Yarnell Hill Fire. For those who may not have received it, below is an email that Alex prepared regarding that very worthwhile effort.

Bill Hughes

Lawyers,

We need legal assistance to help the victims of the Yarnell Fire concerning pressing issues. I know this has been a difficult week for everyone, but if we can find some attorneys to volunteer on some staggered shifts, perhaps we can share the burden. We are looking for attorneys to travel to the Yarnell Community Center on Hwy 89. The Community Center has been set up under the Arizona Division of Emergency Management. Ms. Whitney Roberts is an Individual Assistance Program Specialist who is coordinating volunteers.

I am told that most of the legal questions are pretty routine. However, two primary area of legal questions are currently arising out at the Center: (1) People are desiring Powers of Attorneys (not sure why), and (2) Legal issues concerning real property, such as insurance claims, no insurance, and payment of mortgages and property taxes. Only a few lawyers are needed each day. The Community Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Perhaps we could work in 2.5 hour shifts?

If you can provide assistance, especially in the above areas, please contact Tahna Weber at my office 445-3500 for scheduling. I plan to be there on Saturday morning. Unless someone else can take on this responsibility, my office will coordinate for now. We will also be coordinating volunteers to make sure we find the right attorneys for the issues presented and that we don't have attorneys using their time unproductively. As we assess the need, we may inquire as to other attorneys in other practice areas.

Any assistance you can provide would be appreciated. Please feel free to share this email with other attorneys, if they can provide assistance. Attorneys in the Wickenburg area would seem to be the next logical choice. If the work becomes overly burdensome for our local bar, the State Bar will solicit state-wide after we can better assess the need.

P.S. the Prescott Association of Realtors have been there all week long!

Alex B. Vakula, State Bar Board of Governors

THE VAKULA LAW FIRM, PLC

203 East Union Street

Prescott, Arizona 86303

Telephone: (928) 445-3500

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