Shareholder Giselle Carson Published in The Florida Bar Journal

Marks Gray Shareholder and Immigration Attorney Giselle Carson’s article, Breaking It All Down Employers’ Sanctions Under Immigration Law and OCAHO Litigation was published in the Labor and Law Column of the September/October issue of The Florida Bar Journal. Giselle outlines the ongoing and ever evolving employment verification processes and procedures employers must abide by and what is involved in representing employers in employment compliance matters.

Marks Gray's September Immigration Update

Marks Gray Immigration attorney Giselle Carson, released her September Immigration Update. Click here to read the latest news in Immigration Reform, E-Verify and the October Visa Bulletin.

Marks Gray Shareholder, Jep Barbour, is 'Behind Bars' for MDA

hareholder, Jeptha 'Jep' Barbour joins more than 150 business and civic leaders from throughout the Downtown Jacksonville area has been “arrested” and put “behind bars” for the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Lock-Up fundraiser held today at the Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Riverfront. Accused of having big hearts and being heavily armed with kindness, the “jailbirds” volunteered to be part of MDA’s Lock-Up in order to raise “bail” by encouraging friends, family, co-workers and business contacts to make contributions to MDA that will directly benefit families in greater Jacksonville area living with progressive muscle diseases. “I am glad to give my time to raise money to help assist in finding a cure for muscular dystrophy,” said Marks Gray attorney, Mr. Barbour. Each MDA jailbird’s “bail” is set at $4,000, which will allow him/her to be released for good behavior. “It’s amazing how our community jailbirds have rallied around MDA and are doing a great job as they continue to raise bail donations,” explained Lauren Herringdine, Executive Director. “The actual day of the Lock-Up will be a fun celebration of the work each person did to help families who live right here in our community.” Lock-Ups are one of MDA’s signature fundraising programs, benefiting local individuals living with muscular dystrophy, ALS and related progressive muscle diseases in the Jacksonville area. MDA is the nonprofit health agency dedicated to curing muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases by funding worldwide research. The Association also provides unparalleled health care services; advocates for the families it serves; and invests significant resources educating the medical and scientific communities, as well as the general public, about neuromuscular diseases affecting more than 1 million Americans. MDA maintains a nationwide network of some 200 hospital-affiliated clinics — 38 of which are designed as MDA/ALS centers — that provide unparalleled medical and health care services to adults and children with neuromuscular diseases. Families in greater Jacksonville are encouraged to visit the MDA clinics at Nemours, UF & Shands, and Mayo.

Shareholder Allison Hunnicutt honored by the Workers' Compensation Section of The Florida Bar

On Tuesday, August 20, 2013, Marks Gray Shareholder M. Allison Hunnicutt was elected to another three-year term to the Executive Council of the Workers’ Compensation Section of The Florida Bar. Ms. Hunnicutt was elected by her peers who are also members of the Workers’ Compensation Section of The Florida Bar. Ms. Hunnicutt is one of 15 defense attorneys elected to the Executive Council, along with 15 claimant’s attorneys from around the state. The Executive Council is charged with the responsibility of running the Workers’ Compensation Section of The Florida Bar. For the past two years, Ms. Hunnicutt has chaired The Forum Committee which organizes and oversees The Forum, a 2-day seminar which occurs annually in Orlando. The seminar is held in partnership with the Workers’ Compensation Claims Professional Association (“WCCP”) and had a record attendance of 516 attorneys, judges, mediators, adjusters and workers’ compensation professionals this past April at the Omni Orlando ChampionsGate. The course is a pre-requisite for any attorney who wishes to sit for the Workers’ Compensation Board Certification Examination. Ms. Hunnicutt received an award from the Executive Council for her leadership of The Forum Committee from Dawn Traverso, the outgoing section Chair at the annual meeting of the Executive Council on Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at the Orlando World Center Marriott.

Attorney Michael D. Kendall invited to International Conference of Ronald McDonald House Charities

Marks Gray attorney Michael D. Kendall was one of five members of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Jacksonville to attend the RMHC International Conference held in Chicago on August 19th. Nearly 1,200 representatives from around the world gathered to celebrate, explore RMHC programs’ impact on children and families and reinforce the important role local staff, volunteers and donors have in bringing our mission to life. Michael currently serves as Vice President of the Board of RMHC of Jacksonville. The local chapter plans to launch a major capital campaign for expansion at the end of the year. For more information on Ronald McDonald House Charities of Jacksonville, click here

M. Allison Hunnicutt Celebrates 10th Anniversary as a Martindale Hubbell AV® Preeminent Rated Attorney

M. Allison Hunnicutt has been AV rated for the second time, she was originally AV rated in 2003. She received a rating of 5.0 out of 5.0 from peers from the Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review. These ratings and recognitions are extremely helpful when evaluating a lawyer. The AV ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of The Florida Bar, the judiciary, and attorneys. The legal abilities on which Ms. Hunnicutt was rated are based on performance in five key areas. • Legal Knowledge - Lawyer’s familiarity with the laws governing his/her specific area of practice(s) • Analytical Capabilities - Lawyer’s creativity in analyzing legal issues and applying technical knowledge • Judgment - Lawyer’s demonstration of the salient factors that drive the outcome of a given case or issue • Communication Ability - Lawyer’s capability to communicate persuasively and credibly • Legal Experience - Lawyer’s degree of experience in his/her specific area of practice(s) Allison Hunnicutt received her Juris Doctorate from Emory University School of Law, Atlanta, Georgia. She was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1989 and the Texas Bar in 1995. Ms. Hunnicutt practices primarily in the areas of employment law and workers’ compensation. She defends employers (self and market-insured) and carriers throughout the state and at the appellate level as well as advises local and national self and market-insured employers, their carriers and third party servicing agents regarding return to work issues, third party liens, and medical management of claims. Ms. Hunnicutt is also a licensed Florida Property and Casualty Insurance Agent since 1997 and defends agents and agencies in administrative matters and Errors and Omissions claims. The AV® Preeminent™ rating is the pinnacle of excellence earned through a strenuous Peer Review Rating™ process that is managed and monitored by the world's most trusted legal resource - Martindale-Hubbell®

Immigration Attorney Giselle Carson Shares Details on the New Form I-9 Email Address section

When an employee provides an email address on the new Form I-9, employers using E-Verify must enter it into the E-Verify system. The government is using this email to notify employees of three situations: 1) that a tentative nonconfirmation (TNC) or record mismatch has occurred during their employment verification process and needs to be resolved; 2) that the employer referred the TNC case to DHS or SSA as a result of the employee's decision to contest the TNC and the employee has not contacted the appropriate agency to try to resolve the TNC; and 3) that the employee must update his/her records with the SSA post naturalization. This new email notification process does not replace the employer's obligation to notify an employee of a TNC. For additional information, click here. To contact Ms. Carson, click here