News - Friday, June 23, 2017

As word circulated in late 2015 that criminal defense attorney Meredith Ziebold was starting her own practice, most people expressed enthusiasm for the endeavor. Ziebold was known to be a smart, dedicated, effective advocate for her clients, and after more than a decade of working for other people felt it was time for her to spread her wings.

Many lawyers have been immortalized on canvas. But it’s unlikely any of those regal portraits bear a resemblance to the painting artist Cessna Decosimo did of criminal defense attorney Stevie Phillips.

When Decosimo took brush to palette, he did not create a realistic likeness of Phillips for hanging in a conference room or the lobby of a law firm. Instead, his harsh brush strokes and blending of soft blues, browns and oranges create the faint impression of a female warrior.

Olsen Law Firm is welcoming law school students Amos Bailey and Caleb Elwell as summer associates. Each associate will have the opportunity to work on matters involving immigration issues and international law.

A Chattanooga native, Bailey is attending Belmont University College of Law in Nashville, where he will graduate with his Juris Doctor in May of 2018.

I, like you, am a commuter. Not that I can complain. I get to miss rush hour – both ways – with my cushy radio schedule (The Clubhouse, noon-2 p.m. weekdays on WAAK, 94.7 FM). But each day I have to head out, my producer riding shotgun, and return home.

What was I thinking? How did the thought of seeing “Transformers: The Last Knight” and coming back to you with encouraging words bubble up in my head?

Of course it’s terrible. It’s a Transformers movie directed by Michael Bay. He’s made five of these things and hasn’t gotten better at it.

Chattanooga Realtor Andy Hodes has been awarded the Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) designation by the Council of Residential Specialists, a not-for-profit affiliate of the National Association of Realtors.

Realtors who receive the CRS designation have completed advanced training and demonstrated outstanding professional achievement in residential real estate. Less than 3.5 percent of Realtors nationwide have earned the credential.

Pinnacle Chattanooga welcomes Oksana Kramar, Kerre Resides and Carly Berry to its Shallowford office which opened this summer.

Kramar brings 10 years of financial services experience to her role of client service specialist. Previously, she spent 10 years at SunTrust Bank, where her roles included client service manager, teller coordinator, assistant branch manager and financial services representative.

There are numerous factors that affect quality of life and thus home values in a community, and one of those is the availability of quality health care.

Consider for a moment you are a retiree who is evaluating different areas to spend your “golden years.” Would available health care options be important to you?

Stormy weather season is upon the Chattanooga area, making this a good time to get a jump on things and prepare your home for any extreme weather that might come.

Regardless of the weather, you’ll head into summer having finished some home maintenance that you’d want to have done anyway if you follow these tips. And in case there is a storm, you’ll have what you need to batten down your house and be ready for contingencies.

It’s summer again – time for many of us to take a break and possibly hit the open road. But even if you go on vacation, you won’t want your investments to do the same – in summertime or any other season.

How can you help make sure your portfolio continues to work hard for you all year long?

Interviewing is hard work. If you’re looking for something new, you know that finding a job is a job.

From preparing your favorite suit to revising your resume to networking and rounds of interviews – there are times it feels like it will never end.