By Hal Gray, Ragsdale Beals Seigler, Patterson & Gray, LLP

Welcome! I am privileged to serve as the Chair of the Dispute Resolution Section for 2013-2014. As this first newsletter is being published a little later than normal, we have already enjoyed three monthly breakfast meetings this Fall. Many thanks to those who have taken time to speak to us - Judson Vaughn of JurisPerfect, Glen Hendrix of Arnall Golden and AtLAS, and Nick Moraitakis of Moraitakis & Kushel and Henning Mediation. We will start our breakfasts back in January and continue through May. As most of you know, our breakfast meetings are generally held on the first Wednesday of the month (calendar permitting!) at the Buckhead Club beginning at 7:30 am. Our speakers go on at 8:00 am and we are through by 9:00 am. Attendance so far has been good, but we could always seat more - so please mark your calendars ahead of time and try to attend the meetings! Attending is a great way to keep up with developments in DR, to share fellowship with other DR practitioners and to pick up a quick (and cheap) hour of CLE.

We welcome input regarding this newsletter. If you have a topic that you would like to address, or a case note (or anything else) you believe to be important to the members of the Section, please contact either Greg Presmanes, the newsletter editor, or me.

On behalf of the Executive Committee and the Section Board, please accept our best wishes for a wonderful Holiday season!

Georgia Court of Appeals, July 8, 2013; A13A0694; A13A0695; 13 FCDR 2288, http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ga-court-of-appeals/1637955.html

This case involves a grievance filed against the county under its civil service policy by county law clerks claiming they were unfairly paid less than staff attorneys in the county attorney's office, despite performing similar work. The county board of commissioners had adopted a job pay and classification system. The system rated judicial law clerks & county attorney staff attorneys at identical classification and pay grades. During various periods of time staff attorneys received higher pay via additional 'premium pay' and through an additional pay schedule. The pay differential between the two groups was approximately 36%. The law clerks filed a group pay grievance claiming they were not receiving equal pay for equal work. The grievance claim was denied and that denial was upheld by the county manager.

In July, the Georgia Court of Appeals issued a disturbing decision that is decidedly at odds with the arbitration-friendly precedents of Georgia courts and of the U.S. Supreme Court. How disturbing? I will count the ways. But first, the facts of the case.

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3.) NOTE TAKING/CREATION/ORGANIZATION

EVERNOTE: iOS/Android

Stop asking your participants if you can borrow a pen. EVERNOTE let's you take notes, create to-do lists, voice memos, reminders, sync with other devices and share projects with colleagues all from your iOS/Android device. Also, makes a great trip planner!

William B. Barrickman