TB’s David Cañas Running Today’s Boston Marathon


Thompson Burton Attorney David Cañas is running in today’s Boston Marathon, the fourth time he has run the iconic marathon. We plan to follow David’s progress online at http://raceday.baa.org/individual.html. David’s race bib number is 6268. David is already on the course, having run the first 5k of the race in 22:34 and the first 10K in 46:16. David was also one of several Nashville marathoners profiled last week by The Tennessean. His goal is to run several marathons a year. The team at Thompson Burton is proud of David and his outstanding passion.    

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Five “Cyber Hygiene” Tips for Businesses and Individuals


By Thomas Ritter At the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last year, a security company set up several public Wi-Fi hotspots around Quicken Loans Arena to see exactly how people behaved online. Thousands of users accessed these Wi-Fi hotspots; more than two-thirds had their identities exposed, 10 percent shopped on Amazon or another site and 1 percent accessed banking records. The company did not keep any of the records. But imagine if a hacker did this. This test proved the need for good information security, whether for your business or for you as an individual. As an attorney specializing in information security, I counsel companies and individuals on what I call “Cyber Hygiene” — best practices to protect your data and your privacy. Below, I have listed five cyber hygiene tips for both businesses and individuals. Five “Cyber Hygiene” Tips for Businesses Businesses are primarily concerned with protecting data they […]

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Thompson Burton’s New Cyber Security Practice


By Thomas Ritter Here are two words that should scare any business: business interruption. The thought of losing control of your business for a day or a week is enough to keep any executive awake at night. Business interruption is almost a guarantee when a company experiences a data breach or other cybersecurity problem. Every interruption comes with significant mitigation costs, including hiring experts to alleviate problems, lost productivity, the threat of lawsuits and much more. Helping businesses, especially smaller businesses, manage their cybersecurity risks is why I have started a dedicated cybersecurity practice at Thompson Burton. The practice includes three primary services: Understanding the confusing patchwork of regulatory requirements Drafting and reviewing security policies Providing legal counsel when a problem occurs The first two services fall under what I would call “preventative medicine.” For any business in possession of sensitive customer information and data, preparation is instrumental to prevention. […]

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TB Profile: Cathy Speers Johnson


When did you know you wanted to be an attorney? I thought I wanted to be a school teacher. Then, my smart mom, who was a fabulous, dedicated school teacher, said, “Honey, why don’t you go to law school?” So I did.  My mom was discouraged about the pay for teachers for the hard work that they do. In law school, I gravitated toward family law. I have a huge love for children and a desire to protect them. Being a divorce attorney, I do a lot of direct and indirect child advocacy.  I guide my clients to think about how their actions and statements in the midst of their divorce can help or hurt their kids. I have loved my career. In my type of work, much of what I do is counseling people going through very difficult situations. I like being able to help them navigate through the tough […]

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TB Profile: Phillip G. Young, Jr.


When did you know you wanted to be an attorney? I had my first inclination when I was in 8th grade. One of my teachers had to fill some time at the end of the semester and decided to hold a mock trial. She assigned me the role of defense attorney, and I earned an A+ for my work. The teacher pulled me aside afterwards and said I should consider being an attorney. I dismissed it at the time. I had no lawyers in my family and knew nothing about the practice of law.  I became curious about the practice of law during college, so I interned for a judge in my hometown of Montgomery, Ala., one summer. I took it on the chin financially because it was a free internship, but I quickly learned that this was a career path I wanted to pursue. How did you choose bankruptcy […]

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