Protected or Prisoner Part 1: One Mountain Brook woman’s experience with a broken conservatorship system
When you meet Joann Bashinsky you don’t have to use your imagination to picture her as a force to be reckoned with in her youth. At 88 years old she’s just as fiery and self-aware as someone decades younger. She played a pivotal role in the management of the Golden Flake company that her husband started. She’s also created a name for herself throughout Alabama as one of the most charitable philanthropists in the state. It was her philanthropy work that caught my attention. However, in talking with her for a brief moment it didn’t take long for her to share details of what I’d describe as a fight for her life and livelihood. It seems she has found herself battling some of her formally most trusted employees and the very individuals a Jefferson County court declared, without any input from lawyers or witnesses on her behalf, was necessary to protect her. In a continuance of her ongoing fight for independence, Bashinsky (known to many as Mrs. B or Mama B) told me a story of intimidation, scare-tactics and questionable ethical actions by two powerful and well-known attorneys. It’s a story that would sound as if it were ripped straight from the headlines of any long-running t.v. crime and legal drama, or was the plot of a novel if not for the fact – there’s audio. The lawyers involved, are Greg Hawley and Amy Adams. Hawley is the former law partner of U.S. Senator Doug Jones. Adams is an attorney from Balch & Bingham, firm long considered a state and national powerhouse. The facts below are supported by a recording that was made by Mrs. B on a day she unsuccessfully fought back efforts to retain her voting rights in SYB Inc, a company whose board she’d been a part of for decades. The conversation and actions between Hawley, a man the court-appointed to protect Mrs. B’s interest, and Amy Adams, a woman who in her own words Mrs. B said used “scare tactics” to intimidate her into firing her current counsel and hiring her are painful to read or listen to, but let me summarize them for you below. What happened was Hawley pulled Mrs. B aside before and then again after the board meeting, refusing to allow her chosen attorney Fisher Law at King & Spalding, in the room and leaving her alone with Adams for a period of time. Their goal: have Mrs. B fire her current legal council and hire Adams. When that didn’t happen, Hawley hired her anyway himself. Here are 3 of the most alarming parts of the conversation: Financial scare tactics The first, yet not even the most concerning issue arises in the first couple of minutes when Amy Adams meets Ms. B and says “I’ve seen your finances”. Those documents are or at least should be confidential. At this point, Adams (Balch & Bingham), had not been retained by anyone in the case nor had Mrs. B. given her permission for them to be reviewed. She wasn’t even expecting to meet with Adams that day or at any other point. But what’s worse? Not that Adams has seen the documents, but that she misrepresents them repeatedly. She tells Mrs. B that she could potentially lose her house and staff and run out of money. These “scare tactics” as Mrs. B calls them is repeated, no fewer than 10 times over the course of their 2 conversations. With Adams saying things like, “You’re not going to have enough money to live off of the rest of your life if you keep going through your money the way you’ve gone through it the last couple of years.” “It takes a lot of money to stay in your house and you’re not keeping enough money to stay in your house. You realize that right?” “Okay. I’m just telling you – I’ve looked it you’re not keeping enough money.” She doesn’t stop there at the threat that Mrs. B losing her house. She goes on to suggest that Mrs. B might need to fire some of those who help her at her home. Trusted employees, some of whom have been with her for many years. Adams says this about them, “We might have to get rid of some of the people that are on your staff.” The problem is Mrs. B owns her house and has tens of millions in liquid assets not including stock. This painful conversation goes on for several minutes at a time off and on during both meetings. The basic theme of Adams being if you want to stay in your house you need to hire me or my firm Balch & Bingham — at $425 per hour. She goes on to joke though if retained drinks with her would for free, “I wouldn’t charge you for that,” she says. When Hawley returns to the conversation he makes it clear all that Adam’s repeated misrepresentations about Mrs. B being in dire financial straights can’t be verified, “What I don’t know yet is, I don’t have the whole financial picture so I can’t say, I can’t say that yet.” That doesn’t stop her from saying it a few more times as the conversation continues though. *Note I put Hawley’s audio first because it puts Adams’ “scare tactics” in perspective. 2. HIPAA compliance questions Mrs. B sat for several competency tests. The results of which she describes as showing she is perfectly capable of managing her own affairs. Again, results that the court never even heard. That said when Hawley brings up one of the initial tests, it was clear his office sent them to Adams. While Hawley is looking for them himself, Adams says, “I might have it on my phone.” Note this report would fall under the category of private health information (PHI) covered by HIPPA. She proceeds to check, confirming that Hawley’s assistant Margaret sent private and confidential medical records. Hawley’s casual dismissal of the fact she has them and his office sent
Women of Influence: Former Alabama State Rep. April Weaver
Starting her political career just 10 years ago in the Alabama State House, April Weaver has built quite the work-horse reputation having served in numerous national and state legislative leadership roles. Earlier this month, she left her third term for the opportunity to work in the Trump Administration as the U.S. Health and Human Services Regional Director for Region IV. First elected to represent House District 49 in November 2010, Weaver wasted no time moving up the ranks in the State House. After just five years, she became the first woman in Alabama history to be appointed as Chairman of the House Health Committee in 2015 where she has been instrumental in shaping healthcare policy in the Yellowhammer State. Her work in improving the state’s healthcare didn’t stop in the State House. She has also served on numerous healthcare-related boards and task forces, including the Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council. Perhaps her passion for helping others stems from the fact that she’s a registered nurse who holds a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration. Under her belt, she has over 23 years of leadership and management experience working in urban, suburban and rural hospitals, and has been recognized across the State of Alabama for her healthcare leadership. Within the Trump Administration, Weaver will oversee HHS operation in Region IV, consisting of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, and North Carolina, as well as the Region’s six federally recognized Tribes. “Serving in the Alabama House of Representatives has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. It has been a tremendous honor and privilege to represent the people of House District 49 for the past ten years,” said Weaver. “I am forever grateful for the trust and confidence they have placed in me as their Representative and I am deeply honored to have been chosen to join the Trump Administration. I am excited to be able to use my skills and experience at a national level during this unprecedented time and I look forward to supporting President Trump’s initiatives and serving the people of our nation.” In addition to her role as Chairman of the House Health Committee she also served as Chair of the Shelby County House Delegation as well as a member of the Rules, Internal Affairs and State Government committees. Additionally, she served in the national roles of Vice-Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and Vice-Chair of the Energy Council.
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