Meet our 2021 Law Practice Today Expo Speakers
Listed in alphabetical order
Christopher W. Adams is a criminal defense lawyer with Adams & Bischoff, LLC based in Charleston SC and is the President of the NACDL. Chris has represented 85 men and women facing the death penalty at trial without a death verdict. In 2013 Chris’ client won a life sentence after a three-month federal death penalty trial in Puerto Rico (USA v. Casey, 3:05-cr-277). Chris subsidizes his death penalty hobby with the other half of his practice, in which he defends people and businesses against criminal allegations in federal and state courts. Chris spent the first fifteen years of his career as a public defender and non-profit attorney. He teaches at the National Criminal Defense College and is a founder of the National College of Capital Voir Dire. He recently earned an M.A. in Oral Storytelling from East Tennessee State University (2016).
As owner of Bliss Communications since 1997, Mimi Bliss focuses on the core leadership skill of public speaking. Mimi prepares leaders to speak with confidence in any situation – speeches, media interviews, business presentations and the many informal speaking opportunities that we have in the workplace. As we've shifted to virtual meetings, Mimi has developed a high level of expertise in moderating virtual events, coaching professionals to speak comfortably on video, and structuring virtual meetings that are interactive and meaningful. Mimi has extensive experience in the fields of journalism and public relations. She was an on-camera reporter for ABC and NBC television affiliates and a freelance field producer for the Today Show and NBC Nightly News. She also served as a corporate spokesperson for a major restaurant company and managed media relations for a hospital system. Mimi earned a degree in public policy from Duke University. She lives in Nashville and has served in leadership roles for numerous nonprofit boards of directors. She is a graduate of Leadership Nashville, a member of the University School of Nashville Board of Trustees, and a member of the Duke University Alumni Association Global Board of Directors.
Brett Burney is always anxious to encourage legal professionals to take better advantage of the technology available to them, Mr. Burney primarily helps law firms and corporate legal departments overcome their e-discovery challenges. He regularly writes for Legaltech News and ABA publications, and authored the eDiscovery Buyers Guide (free download at www.ediscoverybuyersguide.com) designed to help small- and mid-sized law firms understand the options available for their e-discovery needs. In addition, Mr. Burney teaches lawyers how to integrate Macs and iOS devices in their practice and coauthored the ABA-published book Macs in Law: The Definitive Guide for the Mac-Curious, Windows-Using Attorney. You can also follow him on his Macs in Law blog (www.macsinlaw.com) and Apps in Law blog (www.appsinlaw.com) where you’ll find video reviews of apps and a helpful podcast. Mr. Burney served as the Chair of the 2015 ABA TECHSHOW Planning Board and regularly speaks around the country to lawyers and legal groups on a wide variety of technology-related topics. You may contact him at burney@burneyconsultants.com.
Erin Gerstenzang founded EHG Law Firm, which is located in Atlanta, Georgia. She provides client-centered legal services to clients facing drug and alcohol-related criminal offenses, and subscription legal services to new hemp businesses in Georgia. Early on in her career as a trial attorney, Erin discovered a passion for helping other professionals improve their craft, and she built a national reputation as a sought-after speaker on a variety of technology and practice topics, including legal ethics, design-thinking for law firms, automation, paperless systems, social media, and mentorship. Combining both her trial skills and talent for speaking, she excels at reducing the complicated and difficult down to the simple and actionable. Erin also runs the EHG Law Firm Collective, where she leads a collaborative female mentorship-based group focused on developing legal and business skills to accelerate solo law firm success. She was honored by Fastcase 50 in 2018 and recognized by the ABA's Legal Technology Resource Center as one of the honorees of the Women in Legal Tech 2019. She is on the ABA TECHSHOW Planning Board and she co-organizes the Atlanta Legal Tech Group. She serves on the board of directors of the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, and she was a recipient of their GAWL Visionary Award in 2019. She chairs the Judicial Recommendation Committee of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys and is on their long-range planning committee.
Assistant District Attorney General Heather Good received her Bachelor of Science Degree from East Tennessee State University, where she majored in Political Science and minored in Legal Studies. She then earned her Doctor of Jurisprudence Degree from The University of Tennessee College of Law, cum laude, with a concentration in Advocacy and Dispute Resolution. In law school, she received the McClung Medal for Excellence in Moot Court, the Moot Court Service Award, and the Judge James H. Haynes Award for Outstanding Achievement in Moot Court. She was also the recipient of the 2015-2016 Summers' Trial Advocacy Scholarship and was recognized as a distinguished clinic student in the Advocacy Clinic. After graduating law school in 2016, she began her legal career as an Associate Attorney at the law office of Ritchie, Dillard, Davies, and Johnson, P.C. Ms. Good subsequently joined the District Attorney General’s Office for the Sixth Judicial District in 2018, and is currently assigned to the Domestic Violence Unit within the D.A.’s Office.
Phillip Hampton is the founder and Chairman of LogicForce Consulting, LLC. He has over 25 years of experience in the field of information technology and since 1995 has consulted with numerous law firms and government agencies in the areas of practice management systems, technical litigation support, computer forensics, electronic data discovery, and trial presentation technologies. Mr. Hampton is a computer forensic specialist who has provided forensic services for attorneys on a wide variety of cases. Mr. Hampton received his B.S. degree in computer science from Lambuth College and his M.S. degree in computer science from Vanderbilt University.
Barron Henley, Esq. is one of the founding partners of Affinity Consulting Group, a legal technology consulting firm focused on automating and streamlining law firms and legal departments. He earned his B.S./B.A. (marketing and economics) and J.D. from The Ohio State University and is a member of the American, Ohio, and Columbus Bar Associations and the Worthington Estate Planning Council. He is a fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Technology and the Courts, and a member of both the ABA Law Practice Management and the Real Property Trust and Estate Law ("RPTE") Sections. He's also a former member of RPTE Futures Task Force, a former Board Member for the ABA TECHSHOW, and the former Chair of the Ohio State Bar Association Law Office Automation & Technology Committee. Mr. Henley heads Affinity's document assembly/automation and software training departments. Barron is also an expert in launching new law firms, overhauling existing firms, and documenting and re-engineering law firm processes. Finally, Barron teaches continuing legal education (CLE) classes throughout the U.S. and Canada, covering a wide variety of topics related to law practice management, technology, and ethics.
Professor Lucy Jewel is the Director of Legal Writing at the University of Tennessee College of Law, where she teaches Legal Writing, Entertainment Law, and Torts. She has also directed the law school’s Appellate Litigation Clinic, serving as lead-counsel on Sixth Circuit and administrative law appeals. She came to teach at UT from Atlanta's John Marshall Law School, where, in addition to teaching Entertainment Law, she taught legal writing and legal skills courses and also served as Director of Legal Writing. Her teaching is informed by several years of practice experience as a commercial litigator with the New York City firm of Wachtel & Missry, LLP. Professor Jewel's scholarship focuses on the intersections between culture, law, technology, and rhetoric, with a particular interest in unmasking how rhetorical and cultural forces impact legal and social outcomes. Her articles have appeared journals such as the Wake Forest Law Review, Maryland Law Review, the Columbia Journal of Gender and the Law, the Yale Journal of Law & Technology, the University of Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, Buffalo Law Review, and the Minnesota Journal of Law, Science, and Technology. Professor Jewel frequently presents at national and international academic conferences. Most recently, she has spoken at the American Association of Law Schools Conference, the Law & Society Conference, the International Legal Ethics Conference at City University Law School, London U.K., and the Legal Writing Institute's Biennial Conference. She is a member of the Legal Writing Institute and the Association of Legal Writing Directors. She has served as a member of the Executive Committee for the AALS Section on Legal Writing, an elected board member of the Association of Legal Writing Directors. She is a founding board member and President of ClassCrits, an organization of legal scholars dedicated to uncovering the connections between law and inequality. Professor Jewel is admitted to bars of New York (inactive), Georgia (inactive), and Tennessee. She is admitted to practice in the Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, Eastern District of Tennessee, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
Natalie Robinson Kelly is the Director of the State Bar of Georgia's Law Practice Management Program. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in Political Science from Spelman College and her Juris Doctorate from Atlanta's John Marshall Law School. Prior to attending law school, she taught Law Office Management as an Adjunct Professor at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School; and she held positions in education, commercial real estate, hospitality, and small law firm practice. In 2005, she was selected State Bar of Georgia Employee of the Year. At the State Bar serving as Georgia's PMA (Practice Management Advisor), she has conducted over 1,200 on-site management and technology consulting engagements with law firms and legal departments. She also now co-teaches Law Practice Technology as an Adjunct Professor at Georgia State University College of Law. Natalie has held multiple legal software certifications and has served on legal technology advisory boards. She was named to the American Bar Association's inaugural list of Women in Legal Tech, and in 2014, she chaired the ABA TECHSHOW Planning Board. She was selected as a Fastcase 50 honoree for being one of the law's smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders; and is a fellow and trustee for the College of Law Practice Management. Natalie speaks frequently and has presented in 15 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Canada. Natalie is active in the Law Practice Division of the American Bar Association and won the Division's highest publication honor, the Robert P. Wilkins Award for best feature in the Division's magazine, Law Practice. She is currently a member of the Division's Professional Development Board and is a member of the larger ABA Career Center Board and Practice Forward Steering Committee. She also writes the Law Practice Management and Legal Tech Tips column in the Georgia Bar Journal; and co-authors the blog, Georgia Practice Advisor, offering office management, ethics, and technology tips and advice to legal professionals in Georgia.
Sean J. Martin is a partner at Martin Heller Potempa & Sheppard, PLLC in Nashville. His practice is divided evenly between family law and personal injury. He is also the co-founder of Time Miner, a retroactive billing platform for lawyers who bill by the hour. Sean is an advocate of #legaltech. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with others, and is grateful to the bar associations across the country who provide him the opportunity to do so. Sean also enjoys hearing from people curious about how technology can improve their practice, so his information is provided below.
Michael Maschke is the Chief Executive Officer at Sensei Enterprises, Inc. Mr. Maschke holds a degree in Telecommunications from James Madison University. Mr. Maschke is an EnCase Certified Examiner (EnCE), a Certified Computer Examiner (CCE #744), a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and an AccessData Certified Examiner (ACE). Mr. Maschke is also a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). Mr. Maschke has significant experience with network troubleshooting, design and implementation, security, systems integration and computer engineering. He is also a member of the International Society of Forensic Computer Examiners (ISFCE). Prior to his current role, he oversaw Sensei’s digital forensics and information technology departments, which provided support to over 200 area law firms, legal entities and corporations. Mr. Maschke is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator and a Microsoft Certified Professional. He is an associate member of the American Bar Association and has spoken at the American Bar Association’s TECHSHOW conference on the subject of cybersecurity. He is currently an active member of the ABA’s Law Practice Division: Technology Core Group and is on the Fairfax Law Foundation Board of Directors. He is also a co-author of Information Security for Lawyers and Law Firms, a book published by the ABA in 2006 and The 2008-2019 Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guides (American Bar Association, 2008 – 2019).
Ian McFarland is an associate at Merchant & Gould's Tennessee office. Since receiving his license in 2011, Ian has focused his practice on patent and trademark prosecution, counseling, and related litigation. He is licensed to practice before the USPTO, the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit, the Sixth Circuit, and the Eastern District of Tennessee. Ian received his J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law after graduating with a B.A. in biology from the University of Missouri. While in law school, he was a member of the Tennessee Law Review and patent law moot court team. Ian emphasizes attention to detail to zealously advocate for his clients' intellectual property rights. Whether in the form of IP acquisition or litigation, achieving client objectives is extremely rewarding to Ian. Outside of his practice, Ian enjoys cooking, watching college football, and playing golf.
Hon. Gregory S. McMillan was elected in August 2014 and began hearing cases in Knox County Circuit Court, Division IV (4th Circuit) on September 2, 2014. He has practiced law in Knox County for 22 years. For the nine years prior to taking the bench, he practiced with Lewis, Thomason, King, Krieg & Waldrop, P.C. While there, his practice was concentrated on domestic relations matters, mediation of domestic relation cases, and defending civil litigation matters.
William A. Mynatt, Jr., a shareholder and Supreme Court Rule 31 Mediator, is based in the Lewis Thomason Knoxville office. Bill was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and grew up there with a decade divided by several years in Chicago, Illinois, and the Maryland suburbs of the District of Columbia. Mr. Mynatt’s practice emphasizes courtroom and pretrial litigation, primarily representing parties in domestic relations matters, but also including personal injury, worker’s compensation, and probate matters. Mr. Mynatt is a firm believer that parties can do a better job resolving issues without the court, but that being well-prepared and willing to go to the courtroom makes such a resolution more likely. Mr. Mynatt also provides estate planning advice, especially in areas of nontraditional families. Mr. Mynatt has been a Tennessee Supreme Court certified civil mediator since 2005, and has mediated many family law cases to resolution. He is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and the Knoxville Bar Association and has served as the Co-Chairman of the Family Law Section of the Knoxville Bar Association.
Nalini Prasad has worked alongside Seth Price — Managing Partner of Price Benowitz, LLP and Founder of BluShark Digital — to create a digital marketing agency focused on helping small law firms build their business and stand out online. Nalini frequently speaks to legal audiences across the country on the intersection of utilizing best practices of trending SEO techniques and generating quality leads online. Nalini also shares creative strategies to leverage traditional offline marketing efforts to build a firm’s brand and increase a firm’s online visibility. As Chief Strategy Officer at BluShark Digital, Nalini designs and implements cutting edge strategies across the four fundamental aspects of digital marketing — sophisticated content creation, creative link-building, savvy technical optimization, and community-driven local SEO.
William T. Ramsey grew up on a farm in Viola, Tennessee. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology where he graduated in 1973 with high honors in Mechanical Engineering. He received his law degree in 1981 from the University of Tennessee where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and the University of Tennessee Law Review. He was awarded the Michie Law Publishing Award for graduating first in his law school class. After graduating, Mr. Ramsey served as a law clerk for the Honorable Harry Phillips of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. After his clerkship, he joined Neal & Harwell. He has represented a wide variety of defendants in federal white collar prosecutions and investigations, including high profile bank, healthcare (Medicare and Medicaid), securities, tax, and mail and wire fraud cases. He has extensive civil jury trial experience in a wide variety of cases, including personal injury, business torts, computer and technology litigation and complex commercial transactions.