Legal Aid Information & Training Seminar

Mission First Legal Aid Office

Poverty Law CLE Seminar
Mission First, Jackson, Mississippi
Friday, February 29, 2008

Schedule:

8:00 - 8:30 Registration

8:30 - 8:45 Welcome (Gandy/Thigpen)

8:45 - 9:45 Domestic Violence. (Wagner)

9:45 - 10:00 Break.

10:00 - 11:00 Bankrupcy/Mortgage Crisis. (Coxwell)

11:00 - 12:00 The Child Welfare System: The Youth Court's Role and Parental Rights When Child is in Foster Care. Recently the State of Mississippi entered into a settlement agreement with Children's Rights, a group from New York that brought suit against the State of Mississippi on behalf of children in the foster care system. We will briefly look at what the State agreed to in the settlement. We will also discuss what rights parents have when their child is removed from their custody and placed in foster care. Finally, we will examine the role of the Youth Court when a child enters the child welfare system. (Perry)

12:00 - 1:30 Lunch; Overview of the Legal Aid Office; Volunteer Sign-Up. (Gandy)

1:30 – 2:30 Ethics. (Williams)

2:30 - 2:45 Break.

2:45 – 3:45 Christian Conciliation.We will discuss the role of Christian conciliation in poverty law. Which disputes may be resolved through Christian conciliation? May parties utilize Christian conciliation even after a lawsuit has been filed? Will Christian conciliation result in a legally binding agreement or decision? What are the major differences between Christian conciliation and other types of mediation, mediation/arbitration or arbitration services? Is it biblical for a Christian to sue another Christian? When is litigation an appropriate course for a Christian? What are the benefits and disadvantages of Christian conciliation? What is the role of an attorney in conciliation? How can Christians glorify God by resolving disputes in a conciliatory rather than an adversarial manner? (Ladner)

3:45 - 4:00 Volunteer Sign-Up & Evaluation. (Gandy)

Faculty:
Frank Coxwell, Esq.
Coxwell & Associates PLLC

Mr. Coxwell is a 1978 graduate of Jackson School of Law at Mississippi College and practices law in Jackson with Coxwell & Associates, PLLC. He is a member of all the usual organizations and has handled criminal defense, domestic, civil and mass tort cases. He is currently happiest with a individual practice that emphasizes consumer bankruptcy representation along with litigation against creditors for discharge and stay violations and mortgage servicers for predatory lending and predatory loan servicing. He is pleased to be a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and the National Association of Consumer Advocates. Mr. Coxwell is frequent speaker on bankruptcy, foreclosure and mortgage issues and loves the technology of law practice.

Patricia C. Gandy, Esq.

Patti Gandy is the founding Director of the Mission First Legal Aid Office. Patti began her legal career as a receptionist and legal secretary. She received her Bachelor’s degree with special distinction from Mississippi College in 1988 and that same year formed an employment agency specializing in the placement of legal support staff in the metro Jackson area. A 1998 graduate of Mississippi College School of Law, Patti clerked for the Honorable Billy Bridges at the Mississippi Court of Appeals before practicing with Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens & Cannada, PLLC for approximately seven years. Patti and her husband, Johnny, have four children and are active members at Ridgecrest Baptist Church. Patti has volunteered extensively through her church and in her community. In addition to the Mississippi Bar and Hinds County Bar Associations, she is an active member of the Christian Legal Society and serves on the Board of the Mississippi chapter.

Melinda McCool Ladner, CCC, CFDM, CGFM

Melinda is the only Certified Christian Conciliator™ in Mississippi. She is also a Certified Family and Divorce Mediator, a Certified Governmental Financial Manager and an instructor and mentor for Peacemaker Ministries. Melinda’s primary focus is providing conflict coaching, mediation, arbitration and training services to individuals, churches, ministries, businesses and organizations to assist in resolving conflict in a biblically faithful manner. These services are provided to clients through her ministry, Blessed Unity, utilizing the Institute for Christian Conciliation™, a division of Peacemaker Ministries, Guidelines for Christian Conciliation Rules of Procedure. Melinda is married to Randy and they have two children, Ryan Shuler, 23 and Melanie Watson, 27, from her first marriage; and a dog named Harley. They are also the proud grandparents of Micah Watson, 4, Melanie’s son. Melinda and Randy are members of First Baptist Church of Jackson.

Sue Perry, Esq.
Special Assistant Attorney General

Sue Perry was born and raised in Hinds County. She earned a bachelor of science degree in social work from Mississippi State University and holds a master of social work degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. She is licensed by the state of Mississippi at the master’s level. She recently completed her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Mississippi College School of Law and is a member of the Mississippi State Bar. She was hired as a Hinds County “front-line” Social Worker with the Division of Family and Children’s Services in 1989. She has worked as an Advanced Social Worker, an Area Social Worker Supervisor, Deputy Administrator of Family and Children’s Services, and finally as the Director of the Division beginning May 1, 1996. Under her leadership major improvements in the child welfare system resulted in improved outcomes for children and families that received national recognition. Ms. Perry served in the position of Director for six years, longer than any other director in the history of the division. Ms. Perry resigned from the Director position in May of 2002. She began working for the Attorney General’s Office in June of 2002 in the Children’s Division as a Special Projects Coordinator. She is now a Special Assistant Attorney General. Sue was recipient of the 2001 Alyce Clarke Award for Leadership in Family Support and recipient of the 2007 Wright Family Law Award. She resides in Madison County with her husband, Kapp, and her sixteen-year-old son, Miller.

Lee Thigpen, Executive Director, Mission First, Inc.

God called Lee Thigpen from a successful career in insurance to develop a concept envisioned by then pastor, Dr. Frank Pollard to minister within the local community. Out of that vision and calling, Mission First opened its doors in February of 2001. The greater Jackson area is served by Mission First’s Medical and Dental Clinic and the Legal Aid Office, along with the after school programs which provide tutoring, mentoring, sports, and recreation programs for children and teens. Future plans include computer and job skills training within a neighborhood commercial business setting. Presently, Lee serves as Director of Community Missions at First Baptist Church, Jackson and as the Executive Director of Mission First, Inc. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi. Lee and his wife, Angie, have 3 children, Carter, Kyle and Olivia.

Heather P. Wagner, Esq.
Special Assistant Attorney General

Heather Wagner is a graduate of Millsaps College with B.A. in History (‘89) and University of Mississippi School of Law (‘92). She has practiced governmental law for 14 years. Three of those years were spent in representation of the City of Jackson in the Office of the City Attorney, where she spent much of her time on matters involving municipal planning and zoning issues, as well as advising the City Council. Heather has worked for the Mississippi Attorney General in various capacities for 11 years. From 1999 until September of 2006, she was assigned to the State and Local Government Division, where her main duties involved researching and drafting Official Attorney General Opinions on various issues of state law and participating in a number of training programs for state and local governmental officials and attorneys. Heather is now the Director of the newly created Domestic Violence Division of the Attorney General’s office. In this capacity, Mrs. Wagner works closely with law enforcement officials, private attorneys and advocates in the area of domestic violence in providing training and assisting in the drafting of legislation, and has been a featured speaker for numerous community groups on the damaging aspects of domestic violence on victims, children and society. She has trained for the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy for the past five years, and trains for many other local law enforcement agencies on the topic of domestic violence laws, as well as conducting training for prosecutor offices and judges at statewide conferences, and has also provided training for MS Legal Services at their annual conference. Heather currently resides in Jackson, Mississippi, with her husband, Jeff, who is a partner in the firm of Baker, Donelson.

Thomas E. Williams, Esq.
Butler Snow O’Mara Stevens & Cannada, PLLC

Tommy Williams began practicing law in 1980 with Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens & Cannada in Jackson, Mississippi, after having received both his undergraduate (B.P.A., Urban Administration, 1977) and law degrees (J.D. with honors, 1980) from the University of Mississippi. He has practiced continuously with Butler Snow since and is currently both a member of and General Counsel to that firm. Tommy has been active in the Mississippi Bar, having both served on and chaired the Mississippi Bar’s Ethics Committee. In 1998, he received the Mississippi Bar’s Distinguished Service Award. He also is a member of the Mississippi Bar Foundation, as well as the ABA’s Center for Professional Responsibility and the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL). Over the past several years, Tommy’s practice has been focused in the areas of commercial litigation, agricultural product litigation and healthcare law. In addition, he has represented a number of lawyers and other professionals in professional liability claims and has worked for a number of years in the areas of ethics and professional responsibility. As General Counsel to Butler Snow, a position he has held since 2004, Tommy works daily with lawyers both inside and outside his firm addressing ethical, professional responsibility, and risk management issues. He and his wife Elise have two daughters, Marie Elise (17) and Swayze (9), both students at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, where Tommy serves on the Board. The Williams are active members of Galloway United Methodist Church. Tommy works with Galloway’s missions and outreach team and also serves as a member of Voice of Calvary Ministries’ Board of Servants.