< PreviousFreeman Law, PLLC 7011 Main Street Frisco, TX 75034 214-984-3410 www.FreemanLaw.com PRACTICE AREAS Business Litigation Tax Litigation (Civil and Criminal) White-Collar Defense Forensic Accounting and Expert Services Cyber and FinTech Litigation International and Offshore Tax Compliance Tax Planning EDUCATION Juris Doctor, High Honors, The University of Texas School of Law Master of Arts in Professional Accounting, The University of Texas at Austin Bachelor of Business Administration, The University of Texas at Austin HONORS Best Lawyers in America, U.S. News & World Report Rankings On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers in America Award, American Bar Association Top 100 Up-And-Coming Attorneys in Texas, Super Lawyers Magazine Best Lawyers in Dallas, Tax Law and White-Collar Defense, D Magazine, 2015-2020, Best Attorneys Under 40, D Magazine Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers Magazine Rising Stars, Super Lawyers Magazine Leading Tax Controversy Litigation Attorney in the State of Texas, AI, 2019 Young CPA of the Year Award, Texas Society of CPAs Rising Star, Texas Society of CPAs 40 Under 40, Dallas Business Journal COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Leadership Dallas Alumni North Texas Chapter of the American Academy of Attorney-CPAs, President Texas Society of CPAs, Incoming Chairman Dallas Society of CPAs, Chairman Tax Section of the Texas State Bar, Council Member Forbes Magazine, Contributor SMU Dedman School of Law, Adjunct Professor He says there is no better way to become an expert than to prepare to teach that complex material to bright students who ask good, in- sightful questions that test you and that’s especially true in a complex legal arena like tax law. The interplay with students hones his analyti- cal skills. “I love the classroom part. I love the interactive part. I love not knowing what’s coming next from them and working through and explaining complex topics. And I enjoy working with the students. Thinking critically about how to teach effectively and how to convey concepts really forces you into the minds of the listener – to think about things like whether you are assuming knowledge that isn’t there and learning how to truly connect. So much of what we do as lawyers is teaching. So the last eight years or so of teaching at SMU have had a huge impact on my approach as an advocate.” Freeman says there is a common denominator among most of the things that lead to being a successful lawyer and that is the ability to connect, to have empathy, to genuinely care. He believes authenticity is 99 percent of the job when it comes to influence – whether it’s be- ing a leader or trying to sway a jury. “And as simple as that sounds, it’s really not. We work in a profession that often creates feelings of imposter syndrome, it comes with a lot of forces that lead you to ques- tion yourself and to feel like you need to be something that you’re not. One of the most significant insights I’ve had is that people – whoever they are – can genuinely connect with other people of all types and viewpoints. If people see you as authentic, chances are much greater that they’ll listen and consider what you have to say. A lot of the tech- nical advocacy skills that we constantly work on as lawyers are skills at the margin – they’re important, but they only do so much good if you don’t have authenticity.” PERSONAL LIFE Freeman still plays the piano. He and his wife, Laura, a Realtor, have three kids: Gia, Chloe and Beckett. The family attends church at Hope Fellowship and is very involved in their community. Freeman says he has tried to pass along his appreciation for music to his children. The kids often join him at the piano and with a number of musical instru- ments. “We have a lot of instruments. They bang on everything,” he says. After family, it is still the law that rewards, enlivens and fascinates his life. “I love the diversity. I love the learning aspect of it. The single most enjoyable thing has to be making a difference for clients, literally changing someone’s life for the better. It’s such an honor to have the opportunity to practice law and to represent my clients. It’s something I’ll do until the day I die.” A T A GLANCE HA TLEY S TUDIO S ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · DALLAS· VOL. 7 NO. 3 20DBA Women’s Equality Day Event with Nina Totenberg, NPR, Correspondent, Legal Affairs, interviewed by Judge Tonya Parker. The event celebrated the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment. Velda Powers, Jorge Gutierrez, Austin W. Brister and Curt Horne virtually attend the “Energy Law Section 35th Annual Review of Oil & Gas Law.” “Negotiating Plea Bargains: Perspectives of a Prosecutor and a Defense Attorney,” Speakers: Chalana Oliver (far left) and Ebony Turner (2nd from right) Sharon Corsentino and Tommy Adams. ZOOM on the TOWN – Dallas Bar Association Events “DBA Virtual Town Hall: A Conversation about Race Relations and Policing in Dallas,” Panelists: Chief Reneé Hall, City of Dallas Chief of Police; Tonya McClary, Director of Office of Community Police Oversight Monitor; Pastor Richie Butler, St. Luke Community United Methodist Church; Rob Crain, Crain Brogdon Rogers, LLP; and Amy M. Stewart, Stewart Law Group PLLC, Moderator. 22 ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · DALLAS· VOL. 7 NO. 3Law Student Professionalism Program “Supreme Court Update,” Speakers: Professor Brian Owsley, Daniel Geyser, Jason Steed and Kathryn Cherry. Peer Assistance CLE – “You & Stress, LLP.: How To Make Stress a Positive Partner,” Speakers: Dr. Jana Rentzel and Kelly Rentzel. Probate and Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (DVAP) Day AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 23Over the past couple of years, the pitfalls of the arguments for change are becoming increasingly apparent, but overzealous reformers have been seemingly tone deaf to criticism or any at- tempt to measure results. As this ill-fated ship steams ahead toward certain disaster, we are approaching the point at which we must ask whether the advocates for change even care about the results? Statesman and activist Frederick Douglass is quoted as saying “I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.” He had the foresight to understand that vision and principle were inter- twined in our nation’s quest for a better society. In recent times we have witnessed many examples of failed bail re- form throughout the country. In 2018, Alaska’s state legislature adopted many of the reforms suggested by advocates, but within six months, problems arose. A year after its passage, state lawmakers asked sup- porters of the changes to explain the dubious results. Backpedaling fu- riously, the advocates argued that Alaska’s measure of success needed to be changed and that more time was needed. The state responded by rolling back many of the pie-in-the-sky reforms. More broadly, reformers developed a risk assessment tool which they touted would predict the probability of an individual to reoffend and to not appear for their court dates. They spent millions of dollars to support usage of the tool, providing grants to cities, counties and states in an effort for them to give it a try. However, the tool did not deliver as promised and the results of early research raised questions about its use. Still, reformers held tough. The bottom fell out in the last year or so. Some of the largest technol- ogy companies in the world, including Google, IBM, Apple and Ama- zon, issued a joint statement saying that risk assessments should not be a part of any criminal justice reform. The statement declared that the tools had been rushed and not prop- erly studied before being put into use. It added that they were good at predicting what a group would do, but failed at predicting the behavior of an individual. Also, in predicting group behavior, risk assessment tools look at a groups’ demographic and socioeconomic history. Mul- tiple studies confirmed that these racial elements formed an integral component of risk assessment tools, concluding that they should not be any part of criminal justice reform. As recently as the beginning of this year, the Vera Institute supported the use of risk assessments until pulling their support in February. While all this was going on, New York state’s new bail laws took effect on January 1, adopting many reforms which required certain offenders to be released without bond. Not surprisingly, the effects of the changes were felt immediately with a sharp spike in crime across the state. The repercussions were so bad that even with the COVID-19 pan- demic raging, the New York legislature rolled back many of the reforms. Again, the response from reformers was to ask for patience, claiming CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM Do Advocates for Change Even Care About Results? BY KEN W. GOOD America is precariously perched at a tipping point in history in which strong-arm efforts to reform our criminal justice system seem to be rooted in change for its own sake — and damn the lamentable consequences. In our country’s early colonies, the concept of right and wrong was rooted in “common law,” based upon the history of previous decisions made by judges. Over time, criminal laws became formally adopted by the various states, as well as the federal government.that the promised positive results sim- ply required more time. In Harris County, Texas, reforms have been in place for over a year and have caused such delays that the numbers of pending cases in misde- meanor courts have doubled during that time. In June, a reform group reported to the commissioners court that the state’s criminal justice system was close to collapse. To prevent this occurrence, its advice was to simply dismiss between 12,000 and 18,000 criminal cases. Program Director Thomas Eberly of The Justice Management Institute stat- ed, “I know it’s uncomfortable, but you’ve got to cut your losses.” Eb- erly argued that doing this would allow the county to deal with the backlog of cases. The standout element to these disastrous developments is a fail- ure on the part of reformers to per- form any kind of critical analysis to determine what works and what has caused the poor results of their reform initiatives. The most common problem arises from a lack of accountabil- ity. The reforms promoted by ad- vocates for change tie the hands of authorities within the system and removes accountability in the pro- cess. A defendant who fails to ap- pear for court cannot be punished even though this is a new crime. An individual who has received a PR bond and is arrested on new al- leged crimes is released on another PR bond. If one violates deferred probation, no motion to revoke is filed. Similarly, cases are still dismissed even after a failure to attend mandated classes. Each of these actions sends a clear message to the people going through the system that they will not be held to account. Career criminals have taken this as a green light to com- mit more crime. Throughout the country, signs of this are evident wherever bail reforms have been attempted. Bail reformers seem commit- ted to criminal justice reform for its own sake without any appar- ent thought as to the ultimate consequences of their actions. If, as a society, we are truly commit- ted to making improvements to our system of government, then we must do it together. As Frederick Douglass would have admonished, all parties must unite if we are to find effective ways to improve our criminal justice system. Removing accountability and setting up the criminal justice system for collapse are not improvements. Do reformers even care? IN 1989, KEN W. GOOD RECEIVED HIS LAW DEGREE FROM TEXAS TECH SCHOOL OF LAW, WHERE HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE TEXAS TECH LAW REVIEW. MR. GOOD HAS ARGUED CASES BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS AND THE TEXAS COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS, ALONG WITH NU- MEROUS COURTS OF APPEALS, INCLUD- ING THE UNITED STATES COURT OF AP- PEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT. MR. GOOD IS MARRIED AND HAS TWO DAUGHTERS. THE NEXUS OF DIGITAL & TRADITIONAL EVIDENCE John D. Shirley, CFE Chief Investigator (817) 894-4424 (817) 894-4424 “We maximize the relevancy of ALL evidence, no matter the source”. Contact@Intrepid-Investigations.com www.intrepid-investigations.com • Fraud Investigations • Intellectual Property Investigations • Non-Compete Enforcement • asset tracing • Criminal Defense • 360o due dilligence• Digital Forensics • Surveillance / Undercover • Fraud Investigations • Intellectual Property Investigations • Non-Compete Enforcement • asset tracing • Criminal Defense • 360o due dilligence• Digital Forensics • Surveillance / Undercover TX Lic# A07356101 Y O U R A W A R D W I N N I N G H O M E T E A M ON THE WELL DESERVED HONOR OF ATTORNEY OF THE MONTH! WE LOVE CELEBRATING YOUR SUCCESSES WITH YOU! cheney group | jeff@cheneygroup.com 214-550-8200 | One Cowboys way ste 160 Frisco, TX 75034 Congratulations Jason Freeman AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 25We are now a solid three months into the pandemic of 2020 and have achieved a new norm-ish. As best we can tell, things will never go back to normal and life will never be the same. That norm is much more distributed and virtual. People will use office space differently. Courts are and will con- tinue to operate much more virtually, increasing access to justice and reduc- ing costs to clients based on travel for hearings. As lawyers, our business models have needed to adjust to a distributed work force where we minimize con- tact with our clients and co-workers. We are doing more video calls and video appearances than ever before. Video is undeniably more effective than voice alone and the ability to screen share and chat with whomever you are meeting with makes Zoom, Go-To-Meeting, and other platforms very popular for meetings with your team members, clients, and court hearings. Many people fall into the trap of acting less formal and less pro- fessional on video. We simply can’t afford to have our productivity or professionalism suffer due to the pan- demic or for any other reason. The good news is that our distrib- uted work force can be just as produc- tive and effective as our pre pandemic workforce with the right systems and processes. While video is just one piece to that remote/distributed for- mat, it’s a major piece we should all be tackling. Here are some rules and tips to make the most of the video software. Silence your notifications . Mini- mize interruptions from texts, slack, or upcoming calendar invites. Make sure the camera angle is straight on. You will likely need to prop up your computer or phone to avoid a lovely view of your double chin or up your nostrils. You can use books or any other flat platform to raise your device to eye level. Look into the camera, not the screen. You want your conversation to be as real as possible, so make eye contact with the camera, and avoid watching yourself or getting distract- ed by other screens, phones, emails, etc. Lighting is critical to looking good on camera. Either position your computer across from a window or invest $30 in a ring light for your desk. Lighting makes a massive differ- ence, so take some time to play with the settings and warmth to find what works best for you. Zoom has a setting to “touch up your appearance” and it’s amaz- ing! Get an immediate facelift + air- brush with this under preferences in the video section. Check your background. Wheth- er you are working from home or the office, check your background to make sure it is tidy and professional. This may take some thought and in- vestment, but it’s worth it! If you don’t have the ability to get your back- ground set up as you would like, use a virtual background. You can find some great ones for free on Canva, or make your own and simply upload to Zoom. Be just as formal in your speech, appearance, and word choice as you would be in your office. That means the way you dress, your hair, makeup, and word choices should communicate the message and brand you want. Colors really brighten a video call, so consider wearing color or having color in your background. Get a good microphone. You can use air pods, or another mic to make sure your sound is crisp and clear. Use the screen share to collab- orate on documents, go over fee agreements, or prepare for trial/ settlement conferences. Have whatever visuals you need prepped and ready to go before your confer- ence. If you are having a company meeting or a meeting where many people are present, there are a few additional rules to make the most out of the meetings: Mute yourself when you are not talking. This will save bandwidth and reduce background noise. Keep your video on and stay fo- cused on whoever is speaking when possible. The exception is if you need to move. If you need to move or you are eating, by all means, kill the video temporarily. Have a microphone available to pass around a conference table so that those who are participating remote can actually hear everything that those at the table can hear. Minimize interruptions. Consider a wide view camera that will capture everyone in office for ev- eryone at home or remote. BILLIE TARASCIO IS THE OWNER OF MOD- ERN LAW, A FAMILY LAW FIRM IN THE GREATER PHOENIX AREA AND MODERN LAW PRACTICE, A CONSULTING FIRM FOR ATTORNEYS LOOKING TO SYSTEMATIZE AND MODERNIZE THEIR PRACTICES. SHE IS THE AUTHOR OF DECODE YOUR DI- VORCE, AND CO-AUTHOR OF TIGER TAC- TICS, POWERFUL STRATEGIES FOR WIN- NING LAW FIRMS. FIND HER ON TWITTER @MYMODERNLAW. Advanced Zoom Techniques BY BILLIE TARASCIO ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · DALLAS· VOL. 7 NO. 3 26Top 10 - Forbes Best Banks Western Alliance Bank specializes in banking for law firms and settlement administrators. We bring you years of expertise in supporting all phases of the settlement process from escrow through distribution with a single point of contact. Our committed team offers a highly personalized and transparent banking experience with a focus on exceptional service, honesty, integrity, flexibility and responsiveness. We provide a broad range of customizable solutions, a commitment to building relationships and access to decision-makers. 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Gregory Deans and Katherine Stepp, both of whom were partners at Deans & Lyons LLP, founded Deans Stepp Law in January of 2020 to concentrate on litigating complex business and tort cases. Maninger practice focuses on com- mercial litigation, insurance cover- age, all types of tort cases including negligence, premises liability, wrong- ful death, products liability and busi- ness torts, construction litigation, and trademark infringement. Prominent labor and employment attorney Christie Newkirk has joined Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal, LLP, as a partner in the firm’s Dal- las office.Ms. Newkirk has more than 20 years of counseling, litigation, investigative, and train- ing experience representing employers on HR and compliance matters. Also joining the firm is labor and employ- ment and commercial litigation asso- ciate Chelsea Glover. Ms. Glover joins the firm from Gibson Dunn’s Dallas office, and her practice will fo- cus on employment and litigation matters. Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Bart Biggers will join the firm as a part- ner in its Dallas office. Mr. Biggers will be a member of the M&A and Private Eq- uity global practice groups and a co- leader of the aviation practice. He was previously the chair of both the Corporate, Commercial Transactions & Outsourcing Practice Group, and the Airlines Industry Group at Win- stead PC. The Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS) announced the appointment of re- nowned Civil Appel- late Law, Personal Inju- ry Trial Law, and Civil Trial attorney David Fowler Johnson (Dallas-Fort Worth) to its Board. He will be work- ing with board members in oversee- ing the administration of the Board Certification program, including the organization’s finances, enhancing the value of Board Certification as well as increasing its public aware- ness. The Dallas Regional Chamber announced the 46th class of Lead- ership Dallas, the pre- mier leadership development pro- gram in the Dallas Region, including Stephen Angelette, of Polsinelli. Founded in 1975, Leadership Dallas prepares a diverse group of leaders through intensive curriculum that explores critical issues, creates posi- tive change, and serves as an oppor- tunity for acknowledged and aspiring leaders to continue their professional development and cultivate a demon- strated commitment to serving the community. Signify Health, a leading provider of technology-enabled healthcare solutions designed to keep peo- ple healthy and happy at home, has appointed Taj Clayton, Partner and Chair of the Domestic Alternative Dispute Resolution practice at Win- ston & Strawn LLP, to its Board of Di- rectors. A founding partner of the Dallas office of Winston & Strawn, Clayton chairs the firm’s Domestic Alternative Dispute Resolution Prac- tice and co-chairs the Global Black Lawyers’ Network. Also appointed to the board was Vivian Riefberg, for- mer Leader of McKinsey & Compa- ny’s America’s public sector practice and past co-leader of the U.S. health- care practice. Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP has added commercial/ SUBMIT PRESS RELEASES FOR NEXT MONTH’S TALK OF THE TOWN AT WWW.ATTORNEYATLAWMAGAZINE.COM/SUBMIT-NEWS/ AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENTS PRESS RELEASES EVENTS PROMOTIONS ACTIVITES HONORS RECOGNITIONS TALK TOWN of the Laura Maninger Bart Biggers David Fowler Johnson Taj Clayton Stephen Angelette Chelsea Glover Christie Newkirk ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · DALLAS· VOL. 7 NO. 3 28construction litigation partner Matthew Motes and associate Bryan Kelly join the Fort Worth office, both from Decker Jones. Mr. Motes represents gener- al contractors, builders, subcontractors, devel- opers, suppliers, and owners in real estate and construction litiga- tion. He is a former chair of the Tar- rant County Bar Association Con- struction Law Section and is a member of the National Association of Home Build- ers, Texas Association of Builders, and the Greater Fort Worth Builders Asso- ciation. Mr. Kelly’s con- struction practice touches all areas of construction law from commercial entities to single-family and large, multifamily resident ia l project cli- ents. The com- plex bank- ruptcy and restructuring law firm Forshey Prostok L.L.P. is pleased to an- nounce the addition of Mi- chael D. “Mickey” Ricketts as Of Counsel in the firm’s Fort Worth headquarters.Mr. Rick- etts, who handles bankruptcy and commercial litigation, has also done extensive work as an intellectual property litigator, successfully repre- senting plaintiffs and defendants in complex patent infringement cases across a wide range of industries, in- cluding 3D computer graphics, aug- mented reality, GPS-based asset tracking, and hand tools. Before be- coming a lawyer, Mr. Ricketts was a software/systems engineer in the U.S. defense industry. KoonsFuller Family Law congratulates Pla- no Managing Share- holder and President, Rick Robertson, on being selected as a Nominating Chair for District 1 by the Texas Bar Foundation. Nominat- ing Chairs of the Foundation are se- lected for their outstanding profes- sional achievements and their dem- onstrated commitment to the Texas Bar Foundation. He is Board Certi- fied in family law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENTS PRESS RELEASES EVENTS PROMOTIONS ACTIVITES HONORS RECOGNITIONS SUBMIT PRESS RELEASES FOR NEXT MONTH’S TALK OF THE TOWN AT WWW.ATTORNEYATLAWMAGAZINE.COM/SUBMIT-NEWS/ Awards • Announcements • Press Releases • Promotions Events • Activities • Honors • Recognitions Matt Motes Rick Robertson Mickey Ricketts Bryan Kelly BRG and Rob Maher Congratulate Jason Freeman INTELLIGENCE THAT WORKS THINKBRG.COM AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 29Next >