How can Atlanta Bar members support your business ? You can help support just by being aware that our field is out there and reaching out if you feel we can help or referring us if you hear another attorney bemoaning the medical aspects of their case . A legal nurse consultant can help with your case by streamlining complex medical records and clarifying and efficiently interpreting them . An experienced RN is a cost-effective way to get a cogent medical opinion on your case . Our most valued services include reviewing the medical records for a case to render an opinion on whether it has merit , medical record deficiency reports ( identifying missing or incomplete medical records ), chronologies ( chronological display of pertinent medical records with medical analysis and research ), and location of expert witnesses .
What advice might you have for other Bar members who are considering starting a side business ? The first book of Dr . Suess was rejected by publishers 27 times before finally being published , so keep your goal and passion in mind and do not ever give up , just adapt your strategies to conquer your obstacles .
JENNIFER PETTIGREW Pettigrew Legal Nurse Consulting pettigrewlegalnurse @ gmail . com
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EMILY WARD , SOUTHERN B E L L E How did you get started as a business owner ? I married into it ! When I met my husband Joey , he was working at
Gunshow but dreamed of owning his own restaurant . I believed in him and his talent to create delicious , beautiful food , so we worked for almost three years to develop a viable business plan that provided him with the creative platform he needed , raised enough money to get it started , and put together a team of other talented people who believed in Joey so we could make Southern Belle a reality .
Do you currently practice law full-time ? Part-time ? Not at all ? I ’ m a full time lawyer practicing white collar defense .
Does your legal training and experience impact your role as a business owner ? Absolutely . It was incredibly helpful to have a legal background at the outset of starting Southern Belle because I did 95 % of the drafting for our operating agreement , commercial lease , and vendor contracts . On the other hand , now that Southern Belle is open , I have to reign in my “ lawyer-ness ” on a day-to-day basis and try to not respond to every problem that comes up as a lawyer ; sometimes I need to be a business partner , friend , or wife and let things play out with a little more flexibility than a lawyer would like .
How has your business been impacted by the pandemic ? We had been operating for five months when the shutdown was ordered in March 2020 . I remember watching Joey break down in the middle of the restaurant when my dad ( our business manager ) and I told him we had no choice but to temporarily close . He was devastated over what this would mean for his dream , his career , and how being without a job would affect the amazing team of employees .
There were a lot of tears , frustration , and hours spent learning how to file for unemployment for our employees and for the PPP for our business , and then pivoting to reopen the restaurant as a takeout-only restaurant , a patio-only restaurant , and then a hybrid of the two .
Today , we are only open three days a week and business is not nearly as robust as it was before the pandemic , but we ’ re hopeful demand will pick up in the next three to six months and maybe get back to “ normal ” sometime in 2022 .
Any interesting surprises as a business owner ? Evidently no one negotiates ( or maybe even reads ) contracts ! I am constantly surprised when Joey sends me a contract for a television spot or partnership with a national organization that contains crazy waivers of liability or termination restrictions . I usually send these back in track-change format and am shocked when they simply accept all my changes without further negotiations . Although my ego wants to believe it is because I am such a fantastic lawyer , I think it is more reflective of the fact that most people in the restaurant industry look at contracts as a take-it-orleave-it proposition and are unaware of how they can be negotiated to neutralize some of the potentially overbroad , harmful clauses that have become standard .
How can Atlanta Bar members support your business ? It is easy – just eat , drink , and be merry !! Join us for dinner at Southern Belle or Georgia Boy ( which should reopen in December 2021 ), attend our guest chef dinner series or monthly wine tastings , and tell your friends , family , neighbors , and colleagues to come try us out !
What advice might you have for other Bar members who are considering starting a side business ? Ask for help from those who have done it before , be flexible , be patient , and enjoy the small victories that come from building something from the ground up .
EMILY C . WARD Smith Gambrell Russell eward @ sgrlaw . com
www . atlantabar . org THE ATLANTA LAWYER 29