Category Archives: General Legal

Who Can You Count On?

07/21/2021 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Woody, from Toy Story, was always someone Andy could count on.

However, Woody is fiction and so is the vast numbers of people you can count on.

Today’s post is not a pessimistic world view, but you can count on five people, maybe.

You can count on your parents, usually. You can count on your siblings, oftentimes. You can count on bestfriends, sometimes. You can count on professionals, reasonably speaking. You can count on your spouse, about half of the time. Anyone else? Don’t count on it.

That co-worker that said the orange shirt looked good on you told your other co-worker it looked like you worked at Orange Julius. That friend from the gym, isn’t so friendly behind your back. That acquaintance from tennis that always smiles, is not smiling when they’re recounting the latest bit of gossip, that they know is not true…

A wise man once said, “If you have no expectations of people, you will not be disappointed.”

Humans are imperfect creatures. We all mess up. Sometimes in big public ways that lend themselves to public scorn, sometimes in private, discreet manners that result in no harm, no foul. However, we all mess up. Remember that.

Matthew Thompson is a family law/civil defense attorney and often gives the advice- prepare for the worst, hope for the best, and you’ll usually end up somewhere in between.

divorce, General Legal

Divorce is a Lonely Process

07/20/2021 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

I was recently at a conference where the speaker, an attorney from Austin, TX, made this profound statement.

It struck a chord, as it is a very true statement…

Divorce is hard and when going through the depths of it, it can seem overwhelming. Your family, friends and neighbors may avoid you like the plague.

Sides are picked, lines drawn and sometimes what you think is a sure thing is not.

If you find yourself going through a divorce or about to, identify a good lawyer that can represent you, get a recommendation of a good counselor that can help deal with the emotions and drama, and strive to maintain your support system.

Matthew Thompson is a divorce and civil defense attorney and encourages you to have a support system when going through a divorce.

(601)850-8000 www.ThompsonLaw.ms

Child Custody, General Legal, Visitation

Happy Father’s Day!

06/20/2021 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

General Legal

Memorial Day – In memoriam

05/31/2021 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

Memorial Day is a day to remember and honor those who have died in service to this Country.

On Memorial Day, the flag of the United States is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.

The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon, their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.

Crime, General Legal, humor

Legal Citation of the Decade: Madison the City, an Old Scandal and FOUL language…

05/20/2021 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

A recent decision ended the litigation between the Estate of Mark Mayfield vs. The City of Madison. It was a sordid affair involving the Cochran nursing home scandal, a hotly contested U.S. Senate race, a tragic death and multiple twists that prove time and again that truth is stranger than fiction.

You can read the full Order here and see a myriad of comments from legal scholars that post to the Blog; Jackson Jambalaya…

Today’s post just focuses on one quote from Federal Judge, Carlton Reeves’s Opinion.

“At the third and final step, the Mayfields must come forward with evidence that a jury could use to conclude that the City’s probable cause was, for lack of a better term, bullshit. See generally HARRYG. FRANKFURT, ON BULLSHIT (2005) (attempting to define the term). The questions at step three are supposed to be tailored to the particular circumstances of the case…”

“…In this case, the framework suggests that we should ask a series of questions. Did the investigation follow the evidence to its targets, or did the police “round up the usual suspects? ”Was there anything unusual about the timing or the manner of the City’s investigation? Is there any other case where the City Attorney met with the District Attorney and the investigators everyday to discuss charges and be involved in how those charges would proceed? Were persons who engaged in similar conduct also arrested, or were they let off the hook because of more agreeable political beliefs? See Nieves, 139 S. Ct. at 1727.An examination of the evidence adduced in this case satisfactorily answers these questions. Instead of rounding up the most vocal McDaniel supporters, City investigators followed the evidence from Kelly to Mary to Mayfield. The police were given free rein to conduct their investigation as they saw fit, without direction from the Mayor, a Cochran supporter. There is no evidence that before the Rose Cochran incident, the City of Madison was itching for an excuse to go after McDaniel supporters. And there is no evidence of differential treatment of McDaniel and Cochran supporters. As an example, there is no evidence that Cochran supporters entered a McDaniel relative’s home in Madison, after which the City refused to prosecute them.”

It’s not often you see Bullsh*t attempt to be defined in a judicial opinion.

Matthew Thompson is a civil litigation/family law attorney and “LOL-ed” when reading this Opinion.

A Picture is Worth a Decillion Words…Mississippi Politics; Cochran vs. McDaniel

divorce, General Legal

Does it Take an Act of Congress to Get a Divorce…in Mississippi?

05/11/2021 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

The Mississippi Constitution of 1817, Article VI, Section 17 , provided that “Divorces from the bonds of matrimony, shall not be granted but in cases provided for by law, by suit in Chancery; provided that no decree for divorce shall have effect until the same shall be sanctioned by two-thirds of both branches of the General Assembly.”

At the time Mississippi became a state it took a vote by 2/3 of the legislature to get a divorce, after a Judge determined you had grounds for divorce.

This requirement for legislative approval was removed in 1869 and likewise did not reappear in the 1890 Mississippi, the state’s current Constitution.

So, no, it does not take an act of the legislature to get a divorce…anymore, but it can still be difficult and possibly impossible in Mississippi without provable fault grounds.

Matthew Thompson is a divorce and civil litigation attorney in Mississippi.

Bow Tie, divorce, General Legal

When the GATES Come Crashing Down; Bill Gates’ Divorce and How it Impacts YOU.

05/05/2021 BowTieLawyer 1 Comment

The celebrity divorce du jour is Bill & Melinda Gates.

After over a quarter century of marriage, Melinda Gates has sought a no-fault divorce from Bill Gates in the state of Washington. The parties appear to be working on an agreement to resolve the dissolution of the marriage and the division of assets.

Of note, Bill Gates was already a billionaire when the parties met and married. Media reports indicate there was no prenuptial agreement and Washington is a community property state, which bodes well for a 50/50 split of assets.

So, how does this impact you?

It’s a lesson that no matter how much money you have it does not guaranty wedded bliss;
You never truly know the health of a marriage from an outside perspective; and
It really doesn’t impact YOU. It has no bearing on the strength of your relationships.

Matthew Thompson is civil litigation attorney and reminds you that other people’s divorces are not really your drama.

divorce, General Legal

Chancery Courts, Covid and YOu.

09/16/2020 BowTieLawyer Leave a comment

The Capital Area Bar Association (CABA) recently held it’s second in a series of offerings featuring local Judges in the area discussing the Court’s efforts to adapt to continuing with Court in this Covid-era.

Featured were Chancellors Owens, Grove and Roberts. Yours truly was the moderator for the panel. Some 40-odd attorneys were in attendance for this Zoom conference.

The Judge’s comments were similar with the challenges presented by Covid; some court delay with cases involving multiple litigants/attorneys, technical difficulties, and a little too-lax formality when Zooming.

The pro’s were commented on as well; more economical for parties, more efficient for the Court in certain cases, and allowed for out of town, out of state parties/witness to be accommodated with Zoom hearings.

The consensus is Covid and Zoom are both going to be here for a while so attorneys need to adapt. Additionally, some level of Zoom is here to stay and that will make Court and attorney’s more efficient for clients in the future.

If you are interested in learning more about CABA click.

Matthew Thompson is a civil litigation attorney in MS and managing in a Covid-crazed world.