In a historic deployment, the Texas National Guard 36th Infantry Division headquarters is deploying to southern Iraq.  See San Antonio Express News report.  This will be one of the very few times since World War II that a Guard headquarters has commanded active duty troops.  The first time since WWII occurred when when the 36th Division headquarters  deployed to Bosnia in the late 1990’s. The second was when the 42 Infantry Division headquarters, New York state Guard, deployed to Iraq.  I served in Iraq with the New York boys.  They were good soldiers.  

Now, in the seventh or eighth year of the war, many Guardsmen and Guardswomen have served multiple tours.  They serve with no regrets.  The 36th Headquarters will sit in Basra, a city that has been relatively stable in the past year or so.  The headquarters staff include some 800 senior officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.  

Because it is a Guard unit, you get a wide variety of ages, from 19 years old to 59.  The staff also includes seven married couples.  The news report does not mention other families, but since this is a Guard unit, I am sure there are a few father and son/daughter combinations and siblings serving on staff.  When I was In Iraq, I worked with a female warrant officer very closely.  Her son also deployed as an Infantryman.  The warrant officer, Tammy Kostoff from idaho and I went to Kirkuk for operational reasons.  She visited her son while we were there.  He got in the back of a HMMWV with his buddies and said bye.  CW3 Kostoff told him "I love you."  As he drove off, I teased her and said, "don’t say that in front of his buddies."  She laughed and said, no, they all know me."  

CW3 Kostoff was originally not slated to go to Iraq back in 2004.  But, since her son was alerted, she wanted to deploy with him.  She had to trade staff positions with another officer to find a way to go. 

There was a CW2 in the 42 ID.  The story he shared with me was that he was a Leiutenant-Colonel in Field Artillery.   He left the 42 ID awhile to attend training.  When he returned, he was supposed to command the Division Field Artillery and deploy with the 42 ID to Iraq.  That would have resulted in promotion to full Colonel. 

But, while he was gone, they put someone else in his position.  He was determined to deploy with his unit.  So, he resigned his commission and got some deal where he was made a Chief Warrant Officer instantly and deployed with the 42 ID.  He was a pleasure to serve with.  He never acted like he should have been a colonel.  He was just a good soldier, serving with little recognition for making a big sacrifice. 

Guard soldiers bring a unique skill set to the current wars.  Our civilian skills are as important as our military skills.  The two wars require killing, of course.  But, the path to victory depends more on public relations than killing bad guys.  We win when the Iraqis and Afghanis have enough faith in their governments to not support the rebels. 

So, backgrounds in running a small business, farming, or preparing statements of work for a project are critical in today’s wars.  When the 42 ID left, they were replaced by an active duty division headquarters, the 101st Division.  We had a lot of money to spend on projects.  We invested in projects to improve the Iraqi infrastructure.  These projects helped make the area more secure and showed the Iraqis we were not there simply to colonize them.  

My new boss, the 101st Division Chief of Staff was a tough Colonel from the Ranger regiment.  Soft-spoken, but very direct and smart as a whip.  I was describing the process of obtaining bids for projects.  I explained that one to two weeks was not enough time to solicit bids.  To obtain a bid from Iraqi contractors, our officers would communicate usually via email.  Contractors would respond when they would respond.  We were in a constrained environment, but we still expected detailed statements or work from the contractors.  Of course, being Iraqi, they would have to get the SOW’s translated into English.  So, the process was lengthy. 

These projects typically cost $15-50,000.  After I finished explaining, the Colonel, said no, one or two weeks is enough.  No debate, no question.  He had heard enough.  The colonel had only been in country a few weeks himself and in the "saddle" running this sector for one or two weeks.  I had been there for six months.  Surprised, i then realized he has probably never even seen a statement of work.  Being a very busy career officer, he he may have only purchased a home once or twice in his career, moving every 2-3 years.  He had no idea what was involved in preparing bid packages.  I never had that trouble with the Guard guys and gals from New York.  One of the key civil affairs lieutenant-colonels with the 42 ID had his own plumbing business.  Another key senior officer was a stock broker on Wall Street.  They knew what it took to run a business.  The active duty guys had no first hand experience.  

Go Guard!

The Department of Justice has filed suit against a school district in Illinois, near Chicago, because the school refused to allow a Moslem teacher time off to go on the Hajj.  The Hajj is a requirement for Moslems who are financially and physically able.  They make a trip to Mecca and pray.  It is said to be a very spiritual journey.  

The teacher asked for unpaid leave twice and was turned down both times.  Believing she had to choose between her religion and her job, she chose her faith.  She quit.  See CBS news report. 

She filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  Apparently, the Department of Justice filed suit.  The EEOC found cause.  That is, the EEOC found sufficient basis to believe the school district violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.  Such cases are then sent to the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. for review.  Apparently, DOJ filed suit, a rare move. 

It sounds like a good case.  Title VII requires employer to accommodate all religions.  Not allowing her time off would be a pretty clear failure to accommodate.  The school’s best defense is usually to claim undue hardship, that the teacher’s absence would cause too much hardship for a small district or because she was simply so essential.  

When I was in Iraq, traveling around northeast Iraq, I saw many flags flying from folks’ houses, and walled compounds.  Later, I learned they were flags indicating folks who had made the Hajj.  The Arabs even wear different robes based on whether they have made the Hajj or not.  It is no small thing to make the Hajj. 

 Don’t try this at work.  …  The Utah Supreme Court overruled a lower court which had found that an employer’s use of water boarding did not amount to Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress.  See report.  On a work retreat, the employer had employees hold down another employee while a supervisor water boarded the employee – he poured water over his nose and mouth.  This was said to be part of a "motivational exercise."  

The decision by the Utah Supreme Court allowed the suit to go forward.  Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, at least here in Texas, is a difficult case to prosecute.  Clients always tell me how bad they were treated at work.  I usually tell them, yea, but that most courts would not find that to be significant enough emotional distress.   Or, more often, the treatment is not bad enough.  Mere rudeness or incivility is not enough.  Water boarding, however, is rude enough.  Water boarding is not civil, despite what you may have heard in recent years.  It also could well produce enough emotional distress…….

 J. Scott Partlow is not a lawyer.  He is not even truly J. Scott Partlow.  His real name is Jeff Russell and he served time in Kansas before moving to Dallas, Texas and start claiming to be a lawyer.  He has a facebook page for J. Scott Partlow, attorney.  He has been representing himself as a lawyer since 2001. 

He appeared in court in Hunt County, near Dallas, drunk recently.  The presiding judge was so upset that he summoned deputies and told Mr. Partlow he would make sure he gets sanctioned by the state bar association.  In contacting the bar, the judge learned that no J. Scott Partlow was listed as a member.  Mr. Partlow is said to have taken thousands of cases in nearly ten years of practice. This will impact thousands of people.  He has appeared in courts in Hunt, Dallas, Tarrant, Denton, and Bexar Counties.  He has represented clients in legal actions against the IRS and the Texas Deparrtment of Family & Protective Services.  He has appeared in civil, family and criminal courts. In at least one case, he represented a mother in Hunt County.  Mr. Partlow failed to appear for a hearing and the mother lost custody of her child.  Hunt County is investigating that case.  

It is, of course, against the law to practice law without a license.  He is facing jail time for this.  His former clients may suffer more.  He says his clients always won.  See report.  That may change now that courts realize he was not licensed. 

Mr. Partlow never advertised his services.  All his clients came via word of mouth.  He worked out of his apartment, which he has subsequently lost after being jailed for contempt.  See DFW stories.  

In a recent interview, Mr. Partlow said he just could not keep dealing with the pressure and wanted a way out.  He was apparently explaining why he came to court intoxicated that day.  He did obtain a paralegal degree apparently while serving time in the 1990’s. 

In Texas, lawyers are required to provide their state bar number on all legal pleadings.  But, no entity or person routinely looks up the numbers or names.  If an opposing lawyer in a case gets upset, s/he might look you up.  I suppose no one has looked up Mr. Partlow before now because he has never antagonized an opposing lawyer before, – which is a rare feat in civil or criminal litigation.  

So, the next time, a client tells me he could have done what I did, I will respond maybe, but you could not do it for almost ten years……

 

Former heard of Pedernales Electric Co-Op is found guilty of money laundering, theft and mis-application of fiduciary property.  Bennie Fuelberg faces up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 per offense.   Mr. Fuelberg was the PEC General manager for 32 years until 2008.  See San Antonio Express News report. 

Mr. Fuelberg admitted on the witness stand to asking the law firm for PEC to hire his brother as a lobbyist and secretly bill the utility for the salary, $5000 per month.  The lawyer, Walter Demond who agreed to this arrangement is facing similar charges.  Mr. Demond was General Counsel for PEC at the time.

Mr. Fuelberg never told the board about the hiring of his brother, Curtis Fuelberg.  The board might still be on the hook if some rate payer can allege that the board should have known or failed to undertake due diligence.   In fact, one irate rate payer who attended the trial, Ernest Aultgelt says the board’s actions need to be reviewed.  

Non-profits and small utilities receive little oversight.  Too many such entities operate as minor fiefdoms. 

The jury has recommended 10 years probation and a $10,000 fine for Bennie Fuelberg.  See Express News report.  

The first Obama judicial appointment to be approved by the Senate is Magistrate Judge Diana Saldana.  Judge Saldana replaces Judge George Kazen in Laredo.  See story. 

This is an unfortunate reflection on the state of federal politics.  The Obama administration is two years old and just now, the first Texas appointment has been approved.  Numerous judicial vacancies remain.  Obama has provided several nominees to the Senate.  But, due to Senate politics, they remain unattended.  

Judge Saldana began life as a migrant farm worker.  She will bring much needed balance to a federal judiciary saddled with far too many judges who have never had a real job outside of a major law firm.  I have had too many job related lawsuits dismissed from court based on unrealistic expectations of the workplace by judges who have had little experience outside the paneled walls of a major law firm. 

You have to admire anyone who earns the world’s best in any category.  Hans Nadler of Nadler’s Bakery and Deli, a San Antonio institution, was been recognized as the world’s best baker.  See San Antonio Express News report.  The International Union of Bakers and Confectioners announced that Mr. Nadler will receive its baker of the year award in 2011 in Vienna, Austria.  

Mr. Nadler, now 80, moved here when he was 23 years old from Switzerland.  He says he came to the US because it offered more opportunities to build a future as a baker.  Hans Nadler is an immigrant. Everyday, immigrants come to this country and make it a better place. 

Body language can tell you how your next job interview is going.  If the interviewer starts drumming her fingers, sighing, leaning back, she is irritated.  If she loses eye contact, fiddles with her fingers, then she is bored.  Watch for these clues in your next interview.  

If the interviewer leans back with her hands behind her head, she may feel condescending or superior.  If she leans forward, then she listening.  if she suddenly changes positions while listening, she may feel the need to listen to what you have to say from a different perspective.    If you observe these clues, you can re-direct your efforts during the interview.  See more at the ABA Bar Journal article.  

The experts recommend that you make eye contact as much as possible.  Do not slouch or sit on the edge of your seat.  Watch how loudly you speak and how fast you speak.  

The new head of Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division is Jonathan Babiak.  Some readers may remember him as the former head of the appeals division at TWC.  He advised employers last Spring on how to game the system regarding unemployment claims.  See Houston Chronicle report.  Mr. Babiak told employers at a TWC hosted conference in Houston that they could give terminated workers the opportunity to resign.  If an employee resigns, s/he may falsely believe they have no chance to obtain employment benefits.  As Mr. Babiak explained, they will think they are not eligible for benefits and will probably not even file a claim.  I previously wrote about Mr. Babiak here.  He was removed from his position after the flap that followed his advice to employers. 

The agency is called the Texas Workforce Commission.  It used to be called the Texas Employment Commission.  It was never called the Texas Employers’ Commission.  It is supposed to be nuetral regarding unemployment claims.  That is because it is the same agency that processes claims and then later hears disputes about unemployment claims.  Mr. Babiak was the head of their appeals division until this past Summer.  

Now, he heads the Civil Rights Division.  The CRD investigates claims of discrimination.  The CRD is the state equivalent of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  I hope he has picked up a little more balance. 

The federal government has settled a case against a longtime San Antonio medical group.  Kellum Family Medical Practice Associates was accused of falsely billing the federal government.  The lawsuit, a qui tam lawsuit, also known as a whistle blower lawsuit, started when a former employee claimed the Kellum clinic submitted false bills for medicare and medicaid patients.  The former employee, Julie Hajek Stewart, claimed the practice was billing at physician rates for work performed by non-physicians.  

The Kellums denied the allegations but they have settled.  Qui tam lawsuits work like this one did: a former employee files the initial lawsuit.  The US Attorney’s office then joins the lawsuit if it thinks the evidence is strong enough.  The US Attorney joined this lawsuit sometime back and have now reached an agreed settlement.  The employee will get 10-25% of the settlement, says the San Antonio Express News.  See report.  Typically, settlements in qui tam cases are in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars. 

The Kellum family practice operates 10 clinics, with 6 in San Antonio.  They deny liability but have settled.  The settlement amount has not been disclosed, yet.  As part of the settlement, the Kellums will enter into a corporate integrity agreement, which essentially amounts to a five year probation.