18 holes of lawyering

Personal injury lawyer Michael Regas has found teeing off can be a good way to do business  By John Carroll, Special to the Daily Report

Michael G. Regas II, right, with law partner Bradley Houck, holds the Contingency Cup, a trophy given to the winning law firm in their annual team-oriented golf match with another plaintiffs' firm. (Zachary D. Porter/Daily Report) Personal injury lawyer Michael G. Regas II enjoys playing golf for pleasure, but he says it's often good for his business. He even once settled a case after playing a round with his opposing counsel. "It's easier dealing with somebody when you have played golf with them," explained Regas, a 45-year-old name partner at Houck, Ilardi & Regas. "It takes the edge off. You develop a rapport with them that is more than just business. It makes it easier to pick up the phone and call them." Regas recalled the time when he settled a case involving a crosswalk death. He said his opposing counsel called and suggested a round of golf together might lead to a settlement. So the two lawyers met at Druid Hills Golf Club, where Regas is a member, and played 18 holes. "He had the authority to settle and suggested if we spent a day on the golf course that we could work something out," said Regas. "We did a lot of posturing on the golf course and shared a lot of conversation. Afterward, we had a beer in the clubhouse and sat there for an hour, got serious and then got the case resolved." As a 7.2-handicap golfer, Regas annually plays in a handful of golf tournaments and charity golf outings. He is president of the Buckhead Lions Club and past-chairman of the organization's annual golf outing that raises money for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Last year, the club gave $35,000 to the pediatric hospital. This year's tournament on May 23 will generate another large financial gift for the hospital, said Regas. "This is our primary fundraiser, and it's nice to make such a generous donation each year," Regas said. "I was chairman of the tournament for four years. We always have a super turnout, and it's for a great cause." Contingency Cup Also on the lawyer's golf radar is the third annual Contingency Cup, a team-oriented golf match set for May 26 pitting Regas' law firm against rival firm Cash, Krugler & Fredericks. "We call it the Contingency Cup because we are all plaintiffs' lawyers," said Regas. "We compete for cases with these guys, but the golf course has given us a great forum to become friends." Regas and his law partners—S. Bradley Houck and Frank A. Ilardi—won the Contingency Cup last year and have the hardware to prove it. A 2-foot-high trophy is on display in the lobby of the firm's Dunwoody office. "It is appropriately ostentatious," said Regas. To round out the foursomes in the Contingency Cup, each law firm chooses a defense attorney for their team. Thomas E. "Ted" Lavender III plays with Houck, Ilardi & Regas, and Daniel J. Huff plays with Cash, Krugler & Fredericks. Hooked in college A 1991 graduate of Georgia State University College of Law, Regas took up golf with a passion while attending the University of Georgia in the mid-1980s. A Lambda Chi fraternity brother, William C. "Chip" Collins Jr., invited him to play golf one day, and Regas said he "immediately fell in love with the game." The two friends played golf as often as they could in college, which included regular rounds at the University of Georgia Golf Course. "We ventured out to every golf course within a 60-mile radius of Athens," said Regas. "We had the most fun." The attorney said he and Collins, now a lawyer at Burr & Forman, still play golf together and are teaming up for the Druid Hills member-guest golf tournament in June. Regas said he has played in several member-guest and member-member golf tournaments over the last two decades. He teamed with attorney Michael D. Flint of Flint & Adler to win two member-guests—one at Druid Hills, the other at Capital City Club, where Flint is a member. Regas also won the Druid Hills member-guest in 1995 while playing with his father-in-law, Harry Lockwood. "That solidified our relationship," joked Regas, who married Lockwood's daughter, Mary, in 1993. Masters moment As a long-time Georgia resident, Regas said he has always been a big fan of the Masters Tournament played annually in Augusta. In April, the lawyer took his son, Joe, to the Masters for his 13th birthday. "We were gone from sunup to sundown," said Regas. "It was a very memorable experience, being able to take my son and spend the day with him at the Masters. We had a ball." Father and son were sitting at the 16th hole and saw eventual-winner Charl Schwartzel make birdies on 15 and 16. "We saw a lot of golf," said Regas. "The guys were grinding hard. You could see it in all of their faces." While taking in the golf action, Regas said Joe was telling him what club he would hit on every hole. "He asked me if I could get us on the golf course. It was priceless." Regas said the 2011 Masters was the most exciting tournament since the 1986 Masters, when Jack Nicklaus won his last major championship in dramatic fashion. "I was at the '86 masters," recalled Regas. "I was there on Friday and Saturday. I watched it on TV on Sunday. The whole fraternity house watched it in the TV room. It was awesome. People were going crazy. Jack was big back then. People were huge fans of Nicklaus and definitely our crowd was."

18 holes of lawyering

Lawyers at the Masters

Georgia lawyers took some time off to enjoy the Super Bowl of golf
By John Carroll, Special to the Daily Report

It is only fitting that the legal community was well represented in the galleries of the Masters. The tournament was founded by the late Atlanta attorney and golf legend Bobby Jones. Below are a few anecdotes from lawyers and a judge who attended the Masters earlier this month.

Judge Jackson and son, Isadore, on the first hole.

Judge and son do the Masters

Atlanta Municipal Court Judge Gary E. Jackson enjoyed the Masters this year with his 12-year-old son, Isadore. The two golf fans took in the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday and witnessed tournament action on Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

"We had a blast," said Jackson. "It was the most exciting Masters I can remember in years—what a finish!"

The Jacksons sat at the 18th green Sunday and watched South African Charl Schwartzel birdie the final hole to win the 2011 Masters. They then stayed for the awards ceremony after the tournament and saw 2010 Masters champion Phil Mickelson present Schwartzel with the green jacket.

Other highlights from the week, per Jackson:

• At the Par 3 Contest, Isadore stood in the autograph section behind the 9th green and collected more than 50 autographs from golfers on a Masters replica flag.

• Father and son ate lunch Friday on the clubhouse lawn under an umbrella table.

• They saw every golfer. The judge's favorite moment was seeing Jack Fleck playing the Par 3 Contest. His favorite memory was watching his son "scarfing down" pimento cheese sandwiches.

This was Jackson's 26th consecutive year attending the Masters. His first Masters in 1986 is still his "all-time best Masters memory." That was the year Jack Nicklaus won in dramatic fashion.

Looking thru the pines at No. 13.

Local attorney entertains friends

Raymond J. Doumar lives two miles from Augusta National Golf Club. He usually rents his house during the week of the Masters and skips town for vacation with the family. Doumar is pretty sure that there is "not a lot of law being practiced in Augusta during the Masters."

This year the plaintiffs' attorney opted to not rent his house and returned early from vacation so he could attend the Masters with his 8-year-old son, Jackson, on Saturday.

"It was his first Masters," said Doumar. "He did well. He got a little tired. It was hot and humid."

Father and son enjoyed sitting at the 14th tee so they could see golfers play 13 and hit their drives on 14.

"Bubba Watson bombed it," said Doumar. "Tiger hit 3-wood on 14. His swing looks under control."

A former collegiate golfer at Clemson, Doumar had friends in town from Florida for the weekend and entertained them at the Masters on Sunday. The group was positioned at hole 16 when Tiger Woods made a charge on the front nine.

"The roars were pretty loud when Tiger was making his move," said Doumar. "You could hear it from the back nine what he was doing on the front nine. I thought he was going to go low on the back."

Doumar and friends left the tournament around 5 p.m. so they could watch the finishing holes on TV at his nearby house. "It gets really crowded the last two hours," he said. "We had a good time."

Love is in the grass

John A. Ernst Jr. and wife Monica L. Vining, both Atlanta attorneys, attended their first Masters together this year. They went on Saturday for the tournament's third round of play.

The couple enjoyed seeing Woods, Matt Kuchar, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson. They saw eventual-winner Schwartzel play through on hole 2.

At hole 7, the couple saw Mickelson tee off and then reach over the ropes to high-five his daughter.

Ernst said attending his first Masters brought out the "little kid" in him. When he saw turtles in the pond at 16, he exclaimed, "Look, turtles!"

"I had no idea they had turtles in the pond at 16," said Ernst. "I thought that was cool."

The couple was impressed by the beauty of the golf course.

"It's high-level horticulture," said Ernst. "I've never seen any grass any greener."

"The azaleas were gorgeous colors," said Vining. "John tried to find a weed, but couldn't do it."

The most unusual thing they saw occurred at Amen Corner, the section of the golf course at holes 11, 12 and 13. They were sitting in the stands there when they witnessed a marriage proposal in the nearby grass.

"She said yes," said Vining. "A lot of people were around and started clapping."

Super Bowl of golf

Athens attorney Kevin G. Sweat was sitting in the bleachers at No. 16 on Sunday when the score was posted for what McIlroy made on No. 10: Seven.

"Everybody in the stands was taken aback," said Sweat, an associate at Cook Noell Tolley & Bates. "Nobody could believe he made a triple bogey on 10. Then to see him fall further, my heart went out to him. He was playing as hard as he could, but was unable to hold it together."

McIlroy started the final round with a four-shot lead, but stumbled under the pressure and fell out of contention on the back nine.

As a 14 handicap, Sweat said he plays golf in Athens at the University of Georgia Golf Course and Lane Creek Golf Club. This year was his fourth time attending the Masters. He went with a friend who had badges. "It's one of the hardest tickets to get in sports," said Sweat. "I compare it to going to the Super Bowl."

The most memorable shot he witnessed this year was Adam Scott's "near ace" on 16 in the final round. He also saw Woods miss a short eagle putt on 15.

"You could tell that took the wind out of his sails," said Sweat. "He was still dejected as he played 16. If he would have made that eagle, I think he would have charged to the finish. That was a crucial putt. He needed to make 3 there if he was going to win."
This article was originally printed in the Daily Report on April 22, 2011.