JUDGE ASHLEY WYSOCKI JUDICIAL PROFILE DBA 2020 INAUGURAL DINNER & DANCE EVENT SPOTLIGHT ATTORNEY OF THE MONTH CHRIS LEWISDawn M. Smith Managing Partner Personal Injury, Toxic Exposures and Medical Negligence. "Putting our clients First." Toll Free: 855.898.7800 Phone: 214.953.1900 • Fax: 214.953.1901 325 N. Saint Paul St., 29th Floor, Dallas, TX 75201 dawn@smithclinesmith.com www.smithclinesmith.comAttorney at Law Magazine is published by: Target Market Media Publications Inc. Ken Minniti PRESIDENT & CEO Howard LaGraffe VICE PRESIDENT Caitlin Keniston EDITOR Patty-Joan “P.J.” Hines DALLAS PUBLISHER Jaqueline Dávila GRAPHIC DESIGN Susan Cushing Veronica Jauregui ASSISTANT EDITORS Kay Van Wey CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Dan Baldwin Dimple Dang Nancy Myrland Kim Peret Tracy Steiner Aaron Strauss CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Hatley Studios PHOTOGRAPHY Copyright ©2020, Target Market Media all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is strictly prohibited. Advertising rates on request. Bulk third class (standard) mail. Although every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy of published materials, Attorney at Law Magazine & Target Market Media cannot be held responsible for opinions expressed or facts supplied by authors. Corporate Office : 5828 North 7th Street, Suite 200 Phoenix, AZ 85014 Phone (480) 219-9716 www.tmmpublications.com • info@tmmpublications.com FROM THE Publisher CONTRIBUTING Editor KAY VAN WEY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE Northern Alabama | Atlanta | Chicago | Dallas | Ft. Lauderdale Jacksonville | Los Angeles | Miami | Minnesota North Carolina Triangle | Ohio | Philadelphia | Phoenix | San Antonio Salt Lake City | Middle Tennessee | Washington D.C. Greetings, Welcome to the first issue of 2020! As we enter another decade, we here at At- torney at Law Magazine, are entering our sev- enth year of delivering magazines to you in the Greater Dallas legal community, celebrating our 25th issue. It’s an exciting time for all of us. In this exciting new issue, we’re proud to feature, as the first Attorney of the Month and cover story for 2020, Chris Lewis, recognized among the best criminal defense attorneys in Texas, and debuting his new law firm, Chris Lewis & Associates, P.C. Please check out his story, “Leveling the Playing Field in Criminal Defense” on page 16. Our first Judicial Profile for 2020 is Family Court Judge, Ashley Wysocki, appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to the 254th Judicial District Court, and she will be running for re-election in November 2020; her profile is on page 10. In this issue’s Event Spotlight, Attorney at Law Magazine covers the Dallas Bar Association 2020 Inaugural Dinner & Dance, for the 111th DBA President, Robert L. Tobey, held at the Westin Galleria, starting on page 6. Also check out the movers and the shakers in Talk of the Town on page 28. Our popular local columnist, Kay Van Wey (Medical Malpractice) brings to our readers another insightful and informative article, focus- ing inside the O.R. in “Distracted Surgery.” Also, in the mix are helpful business and marketing-related articles from national experts in their field. I hope you enjoy. If you’d like to discuss getting more involved with the magazine with an article or interview, please feel free to reach out to me. Please SUBMIT nominations for features, profiles, and special rec- ognitions at: https://attorneyatlawmagazine.com/nominate/. SUB- SCRIBE AND SHARE – it’s FREE! https://attorneyatlawmagazine. com/subscribe. Carpe Diem, Patty-Joan P.J. Hines PUBLISHER (214) 597-5920 PJHINES@ATTORNEYATLAWMAGAZINE.COM WWW.ATTORNEYATLAWMAGAZINE.COM/DALLASTABLE OF Contents 16 10 6 Dallas Bar Association’s 2020 Inaugural Dinner & Dance Event Spotlight 9 Distracted Surgery By Kay Van Wey 10 Judge Ashley Wysocki Judicial Profile 12 10 Lessons on Culture That Every Managing Partner Can Learn from Zappos.com By Aaron Y. Strauss 16 Chris Lewis Attorney of the Month 22 Support for New ABA Model Rules 7.1-7.3 Can Spur Success By Kim A. Perret and Nancy Myrland 24 2020 What’s the Vision for Your Law Practice? By Tracy Steiner 26 Build a Powerful Network for Your Law Firm Using Linkedin By Dimple Dang SPECIAL SECTIONS 28 Talk of the Town AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 5Event Spotlight DALLAS BAR ASSOCATION’S 2020 INAUGURAL DINNER & DANCE The inauguration of Robert L. Tobey, DBA’s 111th President, was held at the Westin Galleria Dallas. It was an elegant evening, with fashionably dressed guests, a silent and live auction, a casino party, and dancing. Photos courtesy of P.J. HinesAttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 78 ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · DALLAS· VOL. 7 NO. 1We’ve all heard the statistics about preventable deaths caused by distracted driv- ing. Approximately 4,000 preventable deaths per year was enough for the Texas legislature to make distracted driving a crime. Heck, pedestrian injuries and deaths are also on the rise because of distracted driving and walking. Smart phones are everywhere, glued to ev- eryone at all times. Have you ever stopped to consid- er that when you or a loved one are knocked out cold on the operating room table, that one or more mem- bers of the surgical team may be dis- tracted by their phones? As of now, no one has coined the phrase, “oper- ating while distracted” or “anesthetiz- ing while distracted”, but I assure you it is a real concern. Distractions in the O.R. are not new. There are decades old case reports about doctors reading magazines or newspapers in the O.R. There was a decade old case involving an anesthe- siologist who was on his cell phone and not watching the monitors as his patient’s oxygen saturations dropped and she eventually died. You will all remember the doctor who snapped a picture of Joan Rivers while she was undergoing surgery. Alarms have been ringing for quite some time about this issue. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons and other reputable orga- nizations have been on this issue for a decade, but until recently, there was no uniform or mandated requirement and no way to determine whether hospitals were enforcing safety stan- dards related to cell phone use in the O.R. In August 2017, the Joint Commis- sion on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations issued a safety alert recommending that hospitals imple- ment policies and procedures similar to the “sterile cockpit” taken from avi- ation law. To provide a silent, distrac- tion free “zone” during critical stages of the surgery, the recommendations limit the use of all electronic devices in the O.R., especially cell phones. In aviation law, pilots are not al- lowed to do anything except for those activities which provide for the safe operation of the plane during take- off, landing, and other important maneuvers. Why should surgery be any different? That is, initial anesthe- sia, opening, closing, and predictably complicated moments during the sur- gery should be completely distraction free. Many hospitals have already begun to address the issue by implement- ing policies and procedures based on these new recommendations. Some have gone as far as outright banning all cell phone use from the O.R., while others have a slightly more relaxed approach banning all undisciplined/ unapproved uses of cell phones. Cer- tainly, cell phone records during criti- cal times in the O.R. may prove to be valuable evidence in some malprac- tice cases. Now, let me say that smart phones also have a positive use in medicine. There are all kinds of apps that doc- tors can and do regularly access and it may be quicker for a doctor to text her nurse or another physician and get a quicker response. However, there simply isn’t a way to determine if the doctor is texting their spouse or sig- nificant other, or both (see what I did there?), surfing Facebook, or looking up critical information needed at that exact moment to provide optimal care for the patient. As well there are other issues that cell phones create, such as poten- tial interference with other sensitive medical equipment in the O.R. And, bringing filthy germ laden phones into the O.R. creates a potential for spreading germs and causing patient infections. You’ve all seen the stories about how much filth and bacteria and even fecal content that live on our phones. GROSS. Why should that be in the O.R.? We turn off our cell phones in court. Hopefully, the next time you board a plane you’ll feel confident that the pi- lot is focusing on flying the plane, not posting pictures to Instagram. And, heaven forbid you or a loved one are in need of surgery, we have the right to expect that the entire surgical team saves their Facebooking and texting until they are off work. KAY VAN WEY | Medical Malpractice Kay Van Wey is a plaintiff’s medical malpractice attorney. After more than 30 years, her goal is to make herself extinct by helping to eradicate preventable medical errors. Voted Texas Super Lawyer for 15 consecutive years and named to D Best Magazine in tort product and medical liability litigation: plaintiff. Kay is board certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and named a Trial Legend by the Dallas Bar Association. Kay serves as adjunct professor at SMU Dedman School of Law , teaching on Law and Medicine. Contact Kay online at: vwpwlaw.com or kay@vwpwlaw.com. Distracted Surgery Many hospitals have already begun to address the issue by implementing policies and procedures based on these new recommendations. AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 9Next >