The Creekmore Law Firm PC

Events

• Salem Red Sox Games

  8/31/2013 2013 Schedule: Play Ball! Join us at Salem Memorial Ballpark for a Salem Red Sox baseball game, food, drink and good fun. New this year, we also will host our monthly Shark Bite series (see our Shark Bite Luncheon schedule on this same page for our programs from this past year, and watch for our 2013 schedule to be released soon) at the ball park at 5:30 p.m. prior to the game. See our schedule below for designated dates, mark your calendars now, and email Diana Francis at diana@creekmorelaw.com to reserve your spot!  FULL SALEM RED SOX LINEUP    April 12: v Myrtle Beach Pelicans @ 7:05 Post-Game Fireworks! April 23: SHARK BITE at 5:30 v Wilmington Blue Rocks @ 7:05 April 26: v Lynchburg Hillcats @ 7:05  Monkey Rodeo! May 7: v Carolina Mud Cats @ 7:05 May 18: v Frederick Keys @ 6:05 FAMILY NIGHT Bring Your Little Ones! Pink Tuxedo T-Shirt Giveaway! May 22: SHARK BITE at 5:30 v Winston-Salem Dash @ 7:05 May 31: v Myrtle Beach Pelicans @ 7:05 FAMILY NIGHT Bring Your Little Ones! Post-Game Fireworks! Superhero Night! June 5: v Winston-Salem Dash @ 7:05 June 12: SHARK BITE at 5:30 v Wilmington Blue Rocks @ 7:05 June 29: Closed Event v Carolina Mud Cats @ 6:05  Live Pre-Game Music by The Worx July 10: SHARK BITE at 5:30 v Myrtle Beach Pelicans @ 7:05 July 24: v Frederick Keys @ 7:05 July 30: v Potomac Nationals @ 7:05 August 8: SHARK BITE at 5:30 v Winston-Salem Dash @ 7:05 Elvis Night August 10: v Winston-Salem Dash @ 6:05 FAMILY NIGHT Bring Your Little Ones! Will Middlebrooks Bobblehead Giveaway August 17: v Carolina Mud Cats @ 6:05 FAMILY NIGHT Bring Your Little Ones! Faith Night August 20: v Carolina Mud Cats @ 7:05 August 28: Closed Event v Frederick Keys @ 7:05 August 31: v Lynchburg Hillcats @ 6:05 FAMILY NIGHT Bring Your Little Ones! Mayberry Deputy Appearance

• Shark Bites

  12/31/2012 318 N. Main St. Blacksburg, VA 24060 Shark Bites 2013 Join us for another year of Shark Bites at The Creekmore Law Firm! Explore various legal issues that will help you both personally and professionally as you grow your business. Each program includes a meal and is free of charge. Shark Bites run from 12:00 to 1:15 p.m. at our building, 318 N. Main St. in Blacksburg. New this year, during baseball season, we also will host part of our series at The Salem Memorial Ballpark at 5:30 p.m. prior to game time. Please email Diana Francis at diana@creekmorelaw.com to reserve your spot today.  February 19 A Practical Engagement: Breaking Down the Attorney-Client Relationship Lawyers court their clients, hoping for an engagement.  As with any other relationship, a clear understanding of each party’s needs and a good line of communication will help stave off a divorce.  Join us this month for a practical, very candid discussion about all you need to know regarding engaging and working with an attorney, whether in times of general business peace or when litigation strife is bearing down on you.                                     March 19 “Show and Tell” or “Catch Me If You Can” Now that you’ve developed the know-how to make your business successful, how do you protect it? Some information may be patent eligible, so deciding whether to keep it a secret or disclose it to the world through the patent process requires careful consideration of both the short and long-term economic value of and business goals for the information. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of both approaches and help you determine which avenue of protection is right for your business.                                           April 23 (At Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium) Building Blocks for Your New Business Just getting started?  Ready to move your business from the home office to Main Street? Or growing a small and promising business that already has a sound foundation? Don’t rely on a generic one-size-fits-all approach from a box or book ordered off the Internet.  Let us help you customize an individualized program for success for your new and growing business.         May 22 (At Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium) Navigating the Turbulent Waters of Dispute Resolution Have a business dispute brewing? Before you set sail on a course from which you might not be able to steer easily, make sure you know the alternate paths to your goal.  We’ll discuss the various options available for dispute resolution, from informal mediation to arbitration to litigation.  Are there rules for mediation? Is arbitration a cheaper alternative?  What if you don’t like the result you obtain—are you locked in once you start?  In which court would your dispute be heard—federal or state court—and would it be determined by a judge or jury?  Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative will help you better understand how to approach disputes when they first arise. June 12 (At Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium) Create with Confidence Theirs, yours or fair game — who owns what rights in movies, music, books, photographs and other creative works of art? If you didn’t create it, can you use it?  If you did create it, what can you do to protect it? What about the impact of widespread Internet and social media use—how does this new era of “electronic sharing” change things, or does it?  Come find out what you need to know to create and protect your original and creative works with confidence. July 10 (At Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium) Umm, Boss, the EEOC is Calling In the event that you find your business under investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or Department of Labor, you’d better know the essential Do’s and Don’ts of your proposed response – before you take that call.  We’ll discuss the hot buttons for government interventions and discuss what employers can and should do to minimize the chance of such a call, or the damage that may result if it does come.                                                                                                                               August 8 (At Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium) What’s in a Name? Wasn’t it Shakespeare who said Coca-Cola by any other name would taste as sweet, but it sure wouldn’t have the same pop?!  Maybe we’re mixing our branding metaphors a bit, but your customers shouldn’t be mixed up at all when it comes to identifying your company’s brand, its products or services.  Selecting a name, brand, logo or slogan requires careful thought and planning, and a good understanding of the nuances of trademark law in order to steer clear of trouble from competitors and create a lasting, and protectable, impression. September 17 No Good Deed Should be Fraught with Peril Many of us gladly contribute our time to not-for-profit entities, sometimes making tough decisions with big consequences. Do you know the ramifications of such a decision-gone-bad? Can they come back to haunt you personally? We’ll discuss common law and statutory duties, requirements and areas of potential liability for directors and leaders of not-for-profit entities so that you and your board can lead with confidence.                                                                                           October 15 Business Blunders It’s just business, right? Well, mostly. There definitely are areas of traditional business wrongs that can lead to the courthouse—and then the jailhouse—for individuals involved. We will focus this month’s presentation on the most common offenses that businesses commit that constitute criminal acts, and what potential consequences can result for both the business and individual actors. November 19 The Ten Commandments of Competition Businesses constantly fight over market share, customers, employees, trade secrets and other valuable business information. This month we’ll examine the most common types of business disputes, civil actions that result, as well as basic agreements—such as non-disclosure, non-solicitation and non-competition agreements—and best practices that can help hold your ex-employees and competitors at bay.

• Speaking Engagements

  12/31/2012 UPCOMING:  September 10  The Torch Club: Keith Finch will be giving his now famous Hokie Trademark presentation at the Torch Club at 7:00 pm.  PAST ENGAGEMENTS: -2013-  January 8 NFA Trusts: Roanoke Collaborative Group Meeting at the Law Office of Huffman and Nixon (12:00 p.m.) & The Second Tuesday Constitution Group at the Tanglewood Holiday Inn (6:30 p.m.): Come and learn from Keith Finch how an NFA Gun Trust can help you protect your privacy, reduce paperwork, and protect your family and friends from inadvertently violating the law should they come into contact with or possession of your lawfully-owned automatic, short-barreled, or otherwise restricted firearms or AOWs.  Learn what options they have should you become incapacitated or pass away.  Also learn about how an NFA Gun Trust can help reduce the risk of legal charges when allowing others to use restricted items. January 10  Liberty University School of Law: Andrew Connors will guest lecture at a Liberty University School of Law research and writing class. February 7 Roanoke Collaborative Professionals: Keith Finch will be presenting information about Federal Firearms Law and National Firearms Act Trusts. March 6 VT CRC Human Resources SIG: James Creekmore will speak to the HR SIG about Social Media in the Workplace –Balancing Employee Rights Against Employers’ Interests. April 15 Liberty University: Andrew Connors joins James Creekmore tonight for a presentation on registration basics for trademarks and copyrights as well as covering intellectual property licensing generally, and tomorrow discussing the bedrock principles of business planning, both at Liberty University School of Law. April 16 Liberty University:  Andrew Connors about Intellectual Property to a business planning class.   April 24  Virginia Tech: James Creekmore will be speaking to a Virginia Tech Marketing Class about social media marketing for professional services.  April 25  Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law, Knoxville, Tennessee: Blair Wood will be speaking to the 3L class about Tennessee Bar Exam preparation and study advice. -2012- March 8 Blacksburg Rotary Club: Keith will speak to the Rotary about the ins and outs of Copyright Law. March 16 New Member Orientation, Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce: Keith Finch will speak to new Chamber members about benefits they can glean from the network.  August 7 Virginia Tech CRC HR SIG: James Creekmore will speak about Intellectual Property issues that arise in day-to-day business transactions.  September 7 Making Your Criminal Case to the Court of Appeals of Virginia: Andrew Connors will lead a discussion on “Making Your Criminal Case to the Court of Appeals of Virginia” at the Liberty University School of Law.  September 13 New River Valley Apartment Council: Keith Finch will discuss Trademark Law with specific examples drawn from the Virginia Tech Hokie litigation. September 28 “The Business of Filmmaking”:  Andrew Connors will speak to a class at Liberty University about copyright law and other intellectual property issues relevant to the filmmaking industry.  See more about the Zaki Gordon Cinematic Arts Center.  October 5 VALL Annual Meeting:  Andrew Connors will be part of a panel discussion on the changing expectations of lawyers and law clerks at the Virginia Association of Law Libraries’ annual meeting at the University of Virginia. October 16 Trademark Overview: Keith Finch will be giving a general trademark overview to a Virginia Tech class studying IP Law. October 19 Intellectual Property Law for Businesses, Entrepreneurs, Artists and The Counsel Who Advise Them: James Creekmore, Keith Finch and Andrew Connors will each speak about aspects of intellectual property – including trademarks, copyrights and patents – are the foundational elements for every successful business, entrepreneur and creative venture today.  October 24 Pfizer Senior Vet Student Dinner: Keith Finch will talk to the Virginia Tech Vet School students about employment contract terms and negotiations, noncompetition clauses,and nonsolicitation clauses. November 8 AIGA (previously knows as American Institute for Graphic Arts): Andrew Connors will speak about IP issues of interest to graphic designers, with an emphasis on copyright and trademark issues.  See the AIGA Facebook page at Liberty for more updates.

• Our Community Events

  11/24/2012 We are both honored and proud to serve in such a fine community.  Check back soon for upcoming events:   Annual Post-Thanksgiving Tailgate Saturday, November 24: Thanks to everyone who came out to our annual tailgate bash!  Please see our tailgate event on our Facebook Page for more pictures!

• Whet Your Palette Art Shows

  11/7/2012 THE ARTFUL LAWYER, A FINE GALLERY INC.   Check out our new Website! Quarterly Art Shows Feast your eyes on an array of art from varied artists as you listen to great music, sip fine wine and enjoy fantastic company! 2013 SCHEDULE: Wednesday, January 16 On Display from January 16-April 10: Alex Crookshanks, Aislinn Lowry, Rob Jones, Felta Virginia, Megan Zalecki                 Wednesday, April 17: Recycled Arts On Display from April 17-July 10 Harding Avenue Elementary Students Carly Burke, Mountain Light Jewelry Jessica Lloyd, Worth a Shot Gallery Nancy Norton, Very Mixed Media, BRAA Martha Olson, Recycled Paper, BRAA Isaac Preston, Recycled Wire Diane Relf, Rust and Recycled Art, BRAA Peter Sforza, Satellite Art Jennifer Cease, Bicycle Bags (fundraiser for the Police Unity Tour Fund)                       Wednesday, July 17: Burgeoning Artists July 17-October 9 Wednesday, October 16: A World of Color October 16-January 9, 2014