About Carole Hawkins
Carole Hawkins is full-time freelance journalist who has written more than 2,000 articles on business and public policy for The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville Business Journal and other regional newspapers. She has received awards from the Georgia Press Association and the Florida Press Club for business and feature writing.
Articles written by Carole Hawkins
Her Story Is Theirs
Duriya Dhinojwala came to the U.S. from India; now she helps other immigrantsIn 1990, 21-year-old Duriya Dhinojwala stepped off a plane in Chicago. “I was the wife of a foreign student, and we had no money,” she says. “But I still had a feeling of belonging here.” Today, Dhinojwala practices immigration and bankruptcy law as a partner at Brennan Manna & Diamond in Akron. Immigration is a niche here—only about 5% of Akron residents are foreign-born. But Dhinojwala’s immigrant status drew non-native clients from the start. They came because her story was …
Adopting Your Stepchildren
Stepparents play a very important role in a child's development and well-being. If you marry someone with children and help raise them, it already feels like you're their parent. However, without adoption, stepparents have very limited legal rights. Adoption allows stepparents to formalize their relationship with a child. Through the legal adoption process, the adoptive parent can access full rights by becoming a child's legal parent. Here is a brief overview of the most important things …
Paying It Forward
Adopted as an infant, Jay Aldis went on to volunteer for the agency that found him a homeJay Aldis has spent his career navigating the world of employment law, but his most profound journey began long before he entered a courtroom. Aldis was adopted when he was just a few days old, through Methodist Mission Home, a San Antonio-based child placement agency. Forty-three years later, the Gray Reed partner would serve on the board of that same agency, now called Providence Place, helping the organization serve other children. For six years, he was the board’s HR legal consultant. …
Tricky Business
Emily Gant helps her cannabis-company clients navigate the legal stumbling blocksA dozen years ago, a few eyebrows would lift when Emily Gant told people what she did for a living. Even while attending her daughters’ soccer games with husband Denver, Gant would inevitably be asked about her job. “Alcohol and cannabis attorney,” she’d reply. “You defend DUIs?” they’d ask, puzzled. She would explain that, no, her role was to help cannabis companies comply with government regulations. “Some were like, ’Dude, that’s so cool,’” Gant says. Others not so …
Defending the Disabled
Edward Dabdoub on using the power of law for goodThe case that stands out for Eddie Dabdoub felt personal. After the 2013 birth of her daughter, Julissa Bradshaw suffered a stroke so disabling, she couldn’t hold the baby. Her life insurance company denied her long-term disability benefits on the basis that her pregnancy was a preexisting condition that contributed to the stroke. The trial court ruled in favor of the insurance company. The case caught the attention of Dabdoub, managing partner at Dabdoub Law Firm in Miami, where he focuses …
‘Who I Am’
How Kessia Cericola battled grief and built a career repping people with stories like hersKessia Cericola’s first child died in her arms on April 22, 2016, three days after she was born. In a single moment, the legal career Cericola had worked so hard to rebuild after immigrating from Brazil didn’t matter. “I died with her, everything about me just died. The strong lawyer persona, the way I dressed, the way I looked, my hair, everything about me felt like it was old and it didn’t work anymore,” Cericola says. “I struggled with PTSD and had suicidal thoughts.” She …
You Say ‘Emoji’ …
The generation gap works to advantage for father-daughter team Dan Ross and Margo PillischerMargo Pillischer introduces her senior law partner as Dan. After hours, she’ll be switching up a letter and calling him Dad. “We’re very professional, but it’s impossible to fully separate our family relationship from the fact that we’re lawyers working in the same firm,” Pillischer says. Like many parents, Dan Ross occasionally finds himself on the receiving end of his child’s humor. “Sometimes,” he says with a laugh, “if I’m talking too long, she’ll send me a text …
When Success is Symbiotic
Andre and Lauren Dayani found their synergy in partnering upAndre and Lauren Dayani compare their law partnership to the symbiotic relationship between the goby fish and the pistol shrimp. The goby can’t dig, so the shrimp creates a burrow where they both sleep at night. The shrimp has poor eyesight, so the goby keeps an eye out for predators. “Each of them has their own talents, and when they work together, they can really thrive,” Lauren says. This is the key ingredient behind the husband-and-wife team of Dayani Law Firm, a Seattle-based …
Does ‘France’ Belong to the French?
And other domain-name disputes handled by David LudwigDoes the French government own the word “France?” This was the question at the heart of a domain-name lawsuit that came David Ludwig’s way in 2018. His client, a dual French-American citizen, had operated France.com since 1994. The site sold tours to popular French destinations and other travel services. Then, six years ago, France decided it wanted the name. A French court ordered France.com to turn over its domain to the French government, or agree to lease or license it. “The domain …
When Should I Seek Legal Help for Sexual Harassment?
It may start with an off-color joke, a crude “compliment,” or worse. Workplace sexual harassment is humiliating. It’s also illegal. How companies react to situations involving sexual harassment complaints can vary widely, says Jeanne Christensen, a partner at Wigdor LLP who represents workers in employment cases. It can depend on corporate culture, the amount of influence of the harasser, the tenure of the harassed employee, and the level to which things have escalated. But one common …
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