(Greensboro, N.C., August 14, 2008) –Daniel L. Deuterman, a Greensboro attorney who is committed to helping injured workers while also improving his community, has been selected as one of the Triad Impact Leaders in Law by Business Leader Media.

Deuterman and 23 other attorneys from the Triad will be featured in the August issue of Business Leader magazine. These winners were chosen based on the impact they have made in their industry and in their community.

“I’m a firm believer that success should be measured in the amount of good you do,” Deuterman said. “That belief guides me professionally as I advocate for injured workers other injured people, and it also has motivated me to become involved in volunteer work. At the Deuterman Law Group, we all care about improving the community in which we and our clients live. That’s an important part of our identity as individuals and as a law firm.

“I’m honored to be recognized by Business Leader for the impact I’ve made professionally and personally."

Deuterman’s own pro bono work earned him honors earlier this year from the N.C. Bar Association and Business Leader Media. He won an Impact Pro Bono Award for work he and his firm did on behalf of the family of Jennifer Nielsen, the pregnant newspaper carrier who was murdered last summer in Raleigh.

Nielsen’s murder remains unsolved.

Initially, Nielsen’s employer denied her family death benefits under the state’s workers’ compensation law, arguing that she was an independent contractor and therefore not entitled to benefits. Deuterman helped negotiate a settlement for the future support of Nielsen’s other two children, who were just 3 years old and 10 months old at the time of her death.

In addition to his pro bono work, Deuterman supports a variety of charities and community groups, including New Garden Friends School, the March of Dimes and Kids’ Chance of North Carolina, a scholarship program for teens whose parent has been killed or seriously injured in a workplace accident.
Deuterman and his wife, Dawne, also endowed the Daniel Lyndon and Dawne Talbert Deuterman Scholarship, which is awarded annually to a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law.

The law firm has been recognized several times over as one of the best place to work in the state because of its family-friendly policies, unique benefits and employee-appreciation practices that make the Deuterman Law Group stand out among other employers.

Derived from the last line of the Pledge of Allegiance, “With Liberty and Justice for All,” 4ALL will address the unmet legal needs of the poor by:

• Increasing financial support for Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc. (LANC) through the
NCBA Foundation Endowment’s new Legal Aid Fund.
• Strengthening the North Carolina legal community’s commitment to pro bono legal service by holding a statewide service day
• Persuading state and federal legislators to give greater financial support to LANC, other legal services organizations and legal aid attorneys.
• Promoting public awareness of the growing number of North Carolina citizens living below the poverty level.

Tomorrow on the blog we’ll have more information on 4All and what we can all do to ensure that no one in our state is denied justice.

In the course of our practice it is not uncommon for a client, who is currently represented by another firm, to contact our office about their case. Unfortunately, the common complaint I hear is, "I have only met my attorney once, and all they said to me is what I should accept for settlement." That is sad.

As an attorney you are professionally servicing an individual as an advocate. But for me, its important to note the distinction between advocating a position and advocating for a person. I have had many cases wherein, from a purely legal perspective, there is only one course of action which would be recommended.

But, what does the client want? Perhaps obtaining more medical treatment is most important to them. Perhaps they would prefer to resolve a case in a manner that will allow them to return to employment with the same employer. Maybe, they would prefer to resolve the case fully and finally on a clincher(settlement agreement) and put the matter completely behind them.

If you don't inquire about the primary concerns and goals of the client, then who are you really representing? Bear in mind, that doesn't mean you have to agree with their position. You are their counselor in the matter, as well, and sometimes what a client desires is nothing short of an impossibility. But the roles of counselor and advocate are not mutually exclusive. By asking a client what they want, you can take the time to discuss the matter with them in full, and help them understand the pros and cons of the variety of choices they have associated with the resolution or pursuit of their claim.

Wal-Mart says 5% of its 1.3 million U.S. employees receive Medicare and 27% of its employees' children get healthcare through Medicaid or affiliated programs.

Maryland Law

Unions and activists say that more than 30 states are considering variations on a law recently passed in Maryland. That law requires companies (such as Wal-Mart) with more than 10,000 employees in the state to spend at least 8% of their payroll on employee health benefits or to make a similar contribution to the state's health program for low income persons/families. Many states have the latter types of programs (Wisconsin, for example, has a program called BadgerCare, many of whose recipients are Wal-Mart employees or members of their families).

Wisconsin Proposal

In most states, the bills being proposed are given little chance of becoming law. For example, hearings were held on Wisconsin's version, but the bill is all but dead in committee. Wisconsin democratic governor Jim Doyle has proposed his own version, a considerably more limited one, and singled out Wal-Mart in his State of the State Address in January. "Wal-Mart is one of the most profitable companies in the world, yet it has more than 1,200 employees and dependents on BadgerCare - far more than any other company in the State, and Wisconsin taxpayers are picking up the tab."

The governor's proposal would fine companies with 10,000 or more employees that have dumped employees into Medicaid and BadgerCare by cutting back on healthcare benefits. The "Wal-Mart bills" referred to above seem to have stemmed from the public outcry over the movie, Wal-Mart - the High Cost of Low Price.

Reprinted with permission from WILG