Today, Chris Patterson was the subject of a feature article in the Memphis Daily News as a result of his being selected as a “Mid-South Rising Star” by the industry publication, Law and Politics.
Chris Patterson is a member of the Metro Charter Commission. He was quoted in today’s Memphis Commercial Appeal:
Millington Mayor Richard Hodges passed out a list of small towns’ concerns about metro government, ranging from the quality of ambulance service to tax rates. He asked what guarantee there is that the Memphis and Shelby County school systems won’t merge.
Rev. Ralph White asked why the school systems should be separate. “I think we would want all of our children to have the same education,” he said.
That prompted a response by member Chris Patterson, who said the public wouldn’t accept it: “(If we keep talking about schools), the practical reality is this thing is doomed before it starts.”
The group is drafting a proposed plan for a combined Memphis and Shelby County government. It voted last year not to include a school merger in the proposed combined government that it will present to voters later this year.
Harold Byrd Withdraws from Shelby County Mayor’s Race
Byrd’s announcement will come as a surprise to many people.
“I think the inside-baseball people suspected that he wasn’t going to run, but I think the general public just assumed that he was in,” he said.
He said he hopes strong Republican candidates will run, and predicted that this year’s elections will be marked by tension between opposing trends: growing demographic strength for Democrats in Shelby County, vs. disappointment with Democrats at the national level.
One of our New Year’s Resolutions here at Patterson Bray is to use video testimonials as part of our website marketing — i.e. let our former clients tell about their experiences with our firm for the benefit of folks out there on the web looking for an attorney. Indeed, former clients are in the best position to explain why you should (or shouldn’t) hire a particular lawyer or law firm.
Nashville tort lawyer, John Day, summarizes recent Tennessee legal data at his blog Day on Torts.
Some highlights:
Most pharmacists do a wonderful job. However, preventable mistakes and pharmacy errors do sometimes occur.
In just the past few years, we’ve represented 2 different plaintiffs in cases involving 2 separate national chain pharmacies that mistakenly dispensed the wrong medication. And unfortunately, it had serious consequences in those couple of instances — so bad, in fact, that we ended up settling those cases for amounts exceeding six figures.
The best course of action for you is not to be a plaintiff in the first place. Resolve to be a responsible partner in your own healthcare. Communicate with your pharmacist and other healthcare providers. Ask questions and stay vigilant about your medications. Know what they are supposed to look like, and what your dosage is supposed to be.
It could save your life.
Call us at 901-372-5003 or email us here.
Patterson Bray PLLC
8001 Centerview Parkway, Suite 103
Memphis, Tennessee 38018
(901) 372-5003 Office
An estate plan isn’t all you need. While providing our children with a better life than we had may be a noble goal, the goal is often lost in translation because of the means we choose. As the saying in America goes, it is “shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves in three generations.” In fact, studies show that 60% of transferred or inherited wealth is lost by the end of the second generation, and 90% of family wealth is lost by the third generation.
Is money really the root of all evil? Is giving our children a life of affluence replacing more traditional values such that our descendants cannot manage wealth?
Approaching an estate plan from strictly a tax, asset protection, or other objective standpoint may indeed add to the problem. These issues certainly need to be addressed as part of any comprehensive estate plan, but perhaps the seeds of a legacy are planted during lifetime instead of at death and have little to do with a dollar figure.
Leaving a legacy may involve telling our children and grandchildren how the wealth was accumulated, the work ethic that helped us achieve what we have achieved, and the hard times we went through to get there. It may involve teaching our children, even adult children, how to manage money, invest wisely, plan well, and save for retirement. In that case, even if the money is gone or depleted, we have left a legacy far greater for our descendants because we have truly given them the tools to accumulate and maintain their own wealth. Indeed, isn’t this giving them the better life we had envisioned for them?
One of our primary goals in working with clients and prospective clients is helping them design an estate plan that fits in with their overall goals and values, rather than fitting their goals into a “cookie-cutter” estate plan. If we can help you, please call (901) 372-5003 or email us here. Your initial consultation with us is always free of charge.
