Smith, Welch & Brittain LLP, Attorneys at Law is proud to announce that Katie Fagan, a Clayton College & State University graduate has joined our firm as an associate. Ms. Fagan graduated cum laude from the Mercer University, Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law in 2008.

Mrs. Fagan began interning for Smith, Welch & Brittain in the summer of 2006. She is a member of the Georgia Bar Association, the Henry County Bar Association, the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers and also coaches for the Eagle’s Landing High School Mock Trial team.

Smith, Welch & Brittain, LLP was established in McDonough in 1873. The firm currently operates offices in McDonough, Stockbridge, Jackson and Barnesville. SWB includes 20 attorneys and more than 50 support staff.

Birmingham, Alabama — Sirote & Permutt Shareholder Daniel J. Burnick has launched the Alabama Employment Law Report , a blog discussing current issues in employment and labor law, with a particular emphasis on the state of Alabama. Mr. Burnick's blog is the first such online resource being offered in Alabama. Mr. Burnick is resident in Sirote's Birmingham office and is the former chair of the firm's Labor & Employment Practice. Initial blog entries have covered such topics as behavior at holiday office parties, military leave and the Family Medical Leave Act, sexual misconduct, and recent changes in the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Mr. Burnick will post entries on a a regular basis . To visit the Alabama Employment Law Report blog , go to http://www.alabamaemploymentlawblog.com

A lawyer for jailed evangelist Tony Alamo asked a federal court Tuesday to remove religious references from a lawsuit against his client, saying they have the potential to draw the court into theological debate to decide the case.

John Hall of Little Rock said in a court filing that claims made by two former members of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries were based on religious beliefs and not matters for argument in a court of law.

Hall gave as examples claims that Alamo engaged in practices to intimidate church members by withholding food, marrying young girls and performing severe beatings. Hall said Alamo's defense to each of these allegations was based largely on the Bible, and the filing cites numerous biblical passages.

"All of these fall within the ambit of defendant's religious beliefs," the filing says.

The suit, filed Nov. 25 in federal district court at Texarkana, claims that Seth Calagna and Spencer Ondrisek were beaten and subjected to abuse as teenagers in the church. The suit says the former church members, now adults, suffered physical pain, emotional distress, scarring and disfigurement. It seeks more than $75,000 in damages.