Wednesday, September 10, 2014

ASL Co-Presents Health Care Law Symposium



http://www.wellmont.org/futurecare/

ASL Co-Presents Health Care Law Symposium

09/22/14, 8:00am
Monarch Auditorium at Bristol Regional Medical Center


ASL, in collaboration with Wellmont Health System and the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at UVA, will present a symposium that will deliberate the maze of legal and practical issues of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), one of the most pressing challenges facing the U.S. and this region today. 

"The Future of Health Care: Moving From Policy to Implementation" will be the subject of great debate and discourse among nineteen distinguished panelists Monday, September 22, 2014 in the Monarch Auditorium at Bristol Regional Medical Center in Bristol, Tenn.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Marilyn Tavenner will deliver a keynote address, along with two others. Also speaking will be Thomas P. Miller, Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and co-author of "Why Obamacare is Wrong for America," and Dr. Bill Hazel, Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources.

Four panels will focus on various aspects of the ACA: its impact on businesses and employers, health care innovations, the status of state health care exchanges in Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia, and how we move from ACA policy to implementation.

The one-day Symposium is the result of a months-long collaboration between the Appalachian School of Law (ASL),Wellmont Health System, and the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at UVA.

CLE Credit (6.0 hours) has been approved in Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Read more about the symposium here.

If you have questions about the Healthcare Symposium and need to speak with a representative, please contact Beth Rhinehart at Beth.Rhinehart@wellmont.org or (423) 230-8405.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Contact Donna Weaver at ASL for information. dweaver@asl.edu or call 276.244.1241.

Reserve your spot today. Register for the 2014 Future of Health Care Symposium.



 

Monday, June 30, 2014

Appalachian School of Law’s 18th Annual Golf Tournament to Tee Off August 16, 2014



Appalachian School of Law’s 18th annual Golf Tournament will be held Saturday morning and afternoon, August 16, 2014, at the Willowbrook Country Club, Breaks, Virginia.

The Tournament will be Captain's Choice and is open to all guests who wish to play. In order to reserve a place in the field of 130 players in six flights, three each session, please send your check made payable to "Appalachian School of Law," memo "Golf Tournament" in the amount of $200 per person/$1,000 per five-member team no later than August 8, 2014 to the attention of Tonya Moore. Click Here for a signup sheet

Your donation to ASL's golf tournament, less benefits such as greens fee and meals, is tax deductible. ASL is a 501 (c) (3) organization.

Up to five member teams will tee off with a shotgun start at either 7:30 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. If you have less than a five-member team, your players may alternate as the fifth player, but no more than five will be allowed. Mulligans, red tee advantages and free throws are included in the $200 entry fee. Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Places will be reserved in the order in which they are received.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Tonya at 276-244-1201 or tmoore@asl.edu



ASL Offers Mineral Title Search and Examination Course

August Intersession 2014 - Mineral Title Search and Examination

 
 
06/16/14
On-Campus Summer Course:

Mineral Title Search and Examination - 2 cr.

Professors Howard and Baker

August 4-7 9am - 4pm

August 8 9am - Noon

This 2 cr. course will familiarize and provide the students with an overview of the process of examining mineral titles and rendering legal opinions on title in the context of mineral production and development. Students will gain hands-on experience by conducting mineral title examinations in regional courthouses as well as drafting title opinions. The course will focus on examining title to Appalachian mineral properties, including natural gas and coal. The course will include a hands-on title search component where students will research the title from public records, learn how to identify conveyances and exceptions, and how to construe a mineral severance deed. The course will cover examining the title and identifying potential problems with the title, such as mortgages, easements, inadequate legal descriptions, improperly acknowledged documents, powers of attorney, foreclosures, bankruptcies, unpaid taxes, deed restrictions and reverters.

For ASL 2L's and 3L's

Also available for Non-ASL students.

Registration open until July 28. For more information, contact the Registrar at 276.244.1297 or email ekleist@asl.edu.

 

Friday, April 25, 2014

A Record Year for ASL's VITA Volunteers


            For seven years, students at the Appalachian School of Law have provided free income tax preparation for low-to-moderate income residents at a People Incorporated sponsored VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) site.  Although the VITA site location has varied over the years from ASL’s library to the basement of the Courthouse to a class room at the college, one thing hasn’t changed and that is the commitment of the students who provide this service. 

            During this past tax season, 16 volunteers studied and completed the required IRS training to be certified as a VITA volunteer.  This is more volunteers than has participated in any previous year.  Along with the increase in the number of the volunteers, there has been a gradual increase in the number of residents accessing this service. This year’s increase was the largest in the site’s history.  The number of federal income returns prepared this year at 127 nearly doubled the number done last year.   
 
            ASL volunteers saved taxpayers approximately $15,200 in professional tax preparation fees while helping taxpayers get back federal tax refunds in excess of $50,000.  Additionally, the volunteers prepared and submitted 56 state income tax returns that netted another $14,000 for the individuals that they helped. The average adjusted gross income of individuals or households using the site was $11,792.

            Any student interested in being part of this worthwhile community service project can contact Laney Comer at lcomer16@my.asl.edu or Cathy Houlihan at choulihan15@my.asl.edu.  Cathy was the 2013-2014 ASL VITA President and Laney is the upcoming 2014-2015 president of ASL’s VITA club.   

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

ASL Community Saddened by Passing of Gaynell Street Fowler



We at Appalachian School of Law are sorrowed by the loss of longtime Grundy resident and ASL benefactress Gaynell Street Fowler.  Mrs. Fowler passed away Thursday night, April 17, 2014 in Florida.
"Mrs. Fowler was a one-of-a-kind person, a friend, and generous supporter of the School," said Dean Lucy McGough.  "She was the first person I met when arriving in Grundy and was immediately welcoming and helpful to me as I began my tenure as Dean of ASL. Her financial support was instrumental in assuring a successful start to the Appalachian School of Law."
 Mrs. Fowler's continued contributions to the law school are many and varied.  She supported fundraising efforts, like the Annual Golf & Gala, gave financial support to law programs, such as the Natural Resources Law Center and Distinguished Visitors series, and to numerous scholarship funds for law students.
Mrs. Fowler is the mother of our Trustee, Dawneda Fowler Williams, and grandmother of Lucy Williams Bowman of the Street law firm in Grundy.
A portrait of Mrs. Fowler was commissioned by the School and unveiled at her 95th birthday in 2013. The portrait hangs on the east wall next to the Dean's Office on the second floor in the main building of the School. The brass plate reads "Devoted Friend of the Appalachian School of Law."
Visitation services for friends and family will be held at the Buchanan First Presbyterian Church in Grundy, Wednesday, April 23 from 4-6 p.m.
Funeral Services will be held at the church the next morning at 11 a.m., Thursday, April 24.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire family.
 
 

ASL Hosts Virginia State Bar President Sharon Nelson and John Simek



The Appalachian School of Law Career Services Department was pleased to host Virginia State Bar President Sharon Nelson and her husband and business partner, John Simek on Monday, April 14th. The title of their presentation was “The Future of Law and How to Prepare For It.” Ms. Nelson and Mr. Simek discussed the current state of the legal profession and provided students with advice on how they can “reinvent law using technology” to be competitive and successful in the changing legal market.
Ms. Nelson is the President and Mr. Simek the Vice-President of Sensei Enterprises, a digital forensics, information technology, and information security firm in Fairfax.