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Jacob Cohn is a graduate student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he is studying for a master's degree in human security and conflict resolution, with a particular focus on migration and human rights protection. Before coming to Fletcher, Jacob served as an AmeriCorps VISTA member at the International Institute of Minnesota, a refugee resettlement agency in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he managed an adult education program for refugees and recent immigrants and tutored refugee students in writing. Jacob previously worked as an intern for the US Department of State, the office of US Representative Eliot Engel, and the National Security Network, and his writing has been published in local and regional news outlets. Jacob grew up in New York and California and received his B.A. in international relations from Carleton College in 2013. Jacob spent his 10-week Peace Fellowship in partnership with families impacted by Agent Orange. Upon returning, Jacob reflected, "I came into this fellowship knowing almost nothing about Vietnam or Agent Orange, and getting to learn about both firsthand, and to hear firsthand the stories of those most affected, was a deeply moving experience. I know I'll carry the lessons I learned as an AP fellow throughout my professional and personal life, and I'm incredibly grateful to Iain and everyone at AP for giving me this opportunity".
A Path Forward for Duong Thi An
From left to right: Duong Thi An, her daughter Hoa, and her son Huong.
Duong Thi An lives with two of her children in a village in Le Thuy district, located near the Pacific coast around an hour's drive south of Dong Hoi. A rural area, the district is perhaps best known for producing Vo Nguyen Giap, a celebrated North Vietnamese general during the country's wars with France and the United States. Mrs. An's modest wooden house lies on a dirt road, with a pond visible on the other side. The occasional motorcycle or bicycle passes by as we speak with Mrs. An, but overall the neighborhood is quiet; once again I'm joined by Mr. Thuan the outreach worker, my translator Ngoc and our AP associate Dat for this visit.
As we sit down with Mrs. An in her living room, we're joined by her son Huong and her daughter Hoa, adults who still require their mother's care due to the effects of Agent Orange. Mrs. An herself is in her sixties and seems melancholy and withdrawn—she speaks in a quiet voice I might struggle to follow even if I understood Vietnamese. It takes her a few minutes to respond to my first question about her first experience with Agent Orange, and as I wait for the translation I look around the living room; it's dark and fairly spartan, with a prominently displayed certificate honoring the military service of Mrs. An's late husband, Le Quoc Hung.
From left: Mrs. Duong Thi An, Hoa, and Huong in their living room.
Mrs. An tells me that her first exposure to Agent Orange occurred when her son Hoi, the first of three children, was born in 1976. Hoi's father, Mrs. An's husband Le Quoc Hung, had served in the North Vietnamese military during the American War and was exposed to Agent Orange in the late 1960s, while stationed in the forest around what was then the border between North and South Vietnam. As a result, Hoi was born with limited mental capacity, but he grew up to be functional enough to marry and start his own family; he now lives nearby, but a couple of his children scamper around the house during our talk. At one point, one of Hoi's daughters brings another kid to gawk at the strange visitors—they peek at us over the fence as we continue our conversation.
Mrs. An and Mr. Hung would have two more children before Mr. Hung's death in 1981. The first, Huong (now 38), was born normal, but at age 9 his eyesight suddenly began to weaken, forcing doctors to remove his right eye. The youngest child and only daughter, Hoa (now 35) was born with Down syndrome, and has never been able to go to school or grow into a functional adult. Mrs. An says that Hoa can only do simple household chores, but Huong was able to get a job as a masseur at a nearby massage parlor. However, his eyesight has been getting progressively worse since 2012 when he developed a detached retina in his remaining eye, forcing him to stop working.
Mrs. An's children, Hoa and Huong.
Huong tells me that he can now only see "big things"; his left eye functions at around 10% of normal sight. He's had four operations in the last five years to prevent from going blind, which has been a major expense for the family, but the retina becomes more easily broken after each reattachment, and Huong's has since become detached again. He and his mother are hopeful that another operation could stabilize his vision, but the cost is more than they can afford. Mrs. An has a small farm where she raises rice, sweet potatoes and other vegetables, and she also raises, pigs, chickens, ducks and geese, but she tells me that the family has still struggled to make ends meet. There have been periods where Mrs. An's family hasn't had enough to eat, which is particularly damaging for Hoa; without nourishment she can suffer serious fevers.
The solution we've developed with Mrs. An's help is to buy her family a buffalo, which Hoi and Huong will care for together. Mrs. An hopes to breed the buffalo and produce a calf that she can raise and sell—she can also use the buffalo for farm work, to generate fertilizer, and to rent out to other farmers in her area. Mrs. An seems dispirited for much of our visit, but she is noticeably optimistic about the possibility of improving her family's status with a buffalo. She's owned a buffalo in the past, she says, but had to sell it to pay for treatment for Huong; breeding her buffalo will allow her to build a more sustainable income, which she will use to buy much-needed food and medicine for Huong and Hoa.
Mrs. An's longer-term goal, she says, is a surgical procedure for Huong that could stop the decline of his vision. But this would involve a trip to the eye hospital in Hanoi (over 300 miles away) and a long-term stay so that doctors can monitor him; it would end up costing 50 to 70 million Vietnamese dong (around $2200 to $3000), which even with the buffalo is too much for them to afford. Mrs. An says that selling the calf, and possibly breeding the buffalo again, would help her eventually save enough money to afford the surgery for Huong. I ask Huong if there's a deadline for the surgery, and he responds that he isn't sure—but sooner would surely be better, while he still has eyesight left to preserve.
Dat will eventually talk with me about some of the nuances of this part of the conversation that don't get translated. As he will report, Mrs. An says that she's offered to give Huong one of her own eyes in order to repair his sight, only to be told by doctors that this wasn't possible. She then quotes a proverb that Dat has difficulty translating, but summarizes by saying that when you have a goal and there's a 99% chance of failure, that still leaves a 1% chance of success. In other words, as long as there's any chance at all of improving her children's lives, she'll sacrifice anything for them.
When Huong's eyes began to fail at age 9, Mrs. An recalls, she had to carry her son into the hospital and up a long flight of stairs for his operation. Thinking about this now, Mrs. An despairs. She wondered then, and wonders now, why none of her children were spared from the effects of the poison.
I ask about Hoa and whether there's anything that can be done for her—Mrs. An tells me that there is no cure for her condition, but that medicine can at least make her life more bearable, and a buffalo would bring in the income necessary to buy the medicine Hoa needs. At this point, Huong adds that his ultimate dream, assuming he can retain some of his sight, is to open his own massage parlor and use his training to support himself and his family. This is well out of reach for them even with the buffalo, though, and medicine for Hoa and surgery for Huong is a much more immediate priority. Ngoc adds that this may eventually be something AEPD could help with, however.
Mrs. An feeding her birds.
At this point we all go outside to look at the animals Mrs. An has now. Next to the house is a wooden barn, which will be the home of the buffalo once it's purchased, and the backyard includes a pond where dozens of ducks and geese live. It's feeding time, and Mrs. An gently calls the birds to her. As she scatters food for them to eat, she tells me that her larger fear is that nobody will be able to take care of her children when she's too old to provide for them, and that she hopes someone can help her find a place for them after she dies. I can only tell her we'll do our best, and that I hope we can raise the money for her new buffalo soon.
Posted By Jacob Cohn (Vietnam)
Posted Jul 7th, 2017
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Home Edu News FB knows it has 270 mn fake accounts
November 04, 2017 Saturday 03:35:25 PM IST
FB knows it has 270 mn fake accounts
London : Already under lens for its role in Russia's meddling into the 2016 US eelction, Facebook has admitted that up to 270 million accounts on the platform are either fake or duplicate.
The social media giant this week released its third quarter earning and buried in those results, it disclosed that there are tens of millions more fake and duplicate accounts than it had previously thought, The Telegraph reported on Saturday.
Around two-to-three per cent of its 2.1 billion monthly users in the third quarter of 2017 were "user-misclassified and undesirable accounts", Facebook said, adding the number were up from the one per cent it had estimated in July.
Another 10 per cent of its accounts are duplicates of real users, almost doubling its estimate of six per cent from last quarter's results, suggesting that in total, up to 13 per cent of its 2.1 billion monthly users (almost 270 million accounts) are "illegitimate".
The company said that improvements to the data used to identify fake accounts was behind the increase, rather than a sudden surge in fake users, the report pointed out. The disclosure could lead to increased scrutiny of the social network that is already under scrutiny after it revealed that the Russian content on its platforms reached more users than reported earlier.
According to a report in The Washington Post in October, Facebook was planning to tell lawmakers that 126 million of its users might have seen content produced and circulated by Russian operatives -- many times more than the company had previously disclosed about their reach. Facebook had previously reported that nearly 10 million users had seen those ads.
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Arrival Debut Album
General News, Media Appearances, Music Releases / October 19, 2020 October 4, 2022
NEW YORK, NY, USA, October 16, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ — When do you know that it's time to go full speed ahead? When does it stop being something you do on a small scale and start playing for keeps? When do you know that it's good enough to let everyone else experience it too? For Aliens Don't Ring Doorbells, and their forthcoming album ARRIVAL (which was released today), they know that time is right now.
Aliens Don't Ring Doorbells convey an undeniable ear for melody and a keen eye for the mainstream with their effortlessly timeless sound. When it comes to music, the band cites OneRepublic, Maroon 5, and Weezer amongst their influences. Their sound is an amalgamation of pop, rock, jazz, prog, and swing. Nowhere is this melting pot of influences more apparent, or more successful, than on the album's second single, "It's Your Night," which has been heating up the Top 40 radio charts. The perfectly themed video–set in space, of course–can be seen now on their official YouTube page.
Today also marked the release of their latest single, "Slipping Away," and an accompanying video which can be seen on the band's official YouTube page.
The trio (singer/guitarist Dorian Foyil, singer Adam King and singer/keyboardist Christian Pearl) originally hail from the U.S. and U.K. but are now living in Spain and the Bahamas. They connected years ago in the Costa Blanca region of Spain, and it wasn't long before they realized they had more in common than the love of an outrageous band name.
In the summer of 2019, they took their shared passion for music and songwriting into the acclaimed Sanctuary Studios in the Bahamas, laying down demos to attract the attention of top-notch producers. Attract they did, with Jeff Kanan (Kelly Clarkson, No Doubt, Sting), Matthew Tryba (One Republic, Maroon 5, Taylor Swift) and Dan Konopka (drummer of OKGO) stepping up to the plate. After spending three weeks at The Keep Studios in Denver, CO, these pros had 12 songs written and recorded, some were crafted pre-aliens, some written together and some on the fly. They all had one thing in common though: they were uncommonly good.
With the help of drummer Kevin Dean and bassist Earl Forbes, studio musicians from The Bahamas and former bandmates of Foyil, ARRIVAL is a stellar tour through the highs and lows of just living life. Infused with sincerity and an emotional wallop, aliensdontringdoorbells deliver lyrics that are philosophical without being sentimental, along with a musical dexterity that can only come from playing your whole life. Their songs serve as an edgy musical package that gives a nod to their influences while still sounding completely original, resulting in an auditory party that fans and newcomers alike won't be able to stop listening to.
Their breakout first single, "Story," which quickly gained an impressive 15,000 streams on Spotify in one month, was released July 17 and has also garnered radio airplay and press around the world. It can also be heard on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon. A poignant video can be seen now on the band's YouTube page.
In an early review of ARRIVAL, the Record-Journal (CT), declared, "The album is just filled with hit singles ("Important" and "Blind To See"), which are waiting to be uncovered." While Phil's Picks praised, "aliensontringdoorbells' debut album ARRIVAL is an interesting presentation from the up-and-coming independent pop-rock band. That is proven through its musical and lyrical content alike, which largely takes audiences back to the late 80s and early 90s… is a presentation that rock fans, in general, will find a good way to make "first contact" with the band."
These are exciting and early days for this international three-piece team of singer/songwriters, but the quest for building a solid fanbase is well underway. Proving that rock 'n' roll is alive and truly kicking, Aliens Don't Ring Doorbells are here to stake their claim on the territory which is rightfully theirs which is on every fan's playlist.


'I'm not ranting and raving,' Trump attacks the press at wild news conference
In a freewheeling White House press conference, Trump also said he asked the Justice Department to look into the intelligence leaks. "The leaks are real. The news is fake," he said.
By Darlene Superville
Ken ThomasThe Associated Press
Thu., Feb. 16, 2017timer3 min. read
WASHINGTON—U.S. President Donald Trump mounted a vigorous defence of his presidency Thursday, pushing back against media reports that his campaign advisers had inappropriate contact with Russian officials and vowing to crack down on the leaking of classified information.
Nearly a month into his presidency, Trump said in a freewheeling White House news conference that his new administration had made "significant progress" and took credit for an optimistic business climate and a soaring stock market.
The president reserved his harshest language for attacks on members of the media present for the news conference.
"Tomorrow they will say 'Donald Trump rants and raves at the press,' " Trump said at one point. "I'm not ranting and raving, you're just dishonest people."
Trump denounced reports of a chaotic start to his administration marked by a contentious executive order — now tied up in a legal fight — to place a ban on travellers from seven predominantly Muslim nations.
Read the latest on U.S. President Donald Trump
"This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine," Trump declared. He said he would announce a "new and very comprehensive order to protect our people."
Throughout the news conference in the East Room of the White House, the new president delivered repeated criticism of the news media, accusing it of being "out of control" and promising to take his message "straight to the people."
He dismissed recent reports in The New York Times and CNN that Trump campaign aides had been in contact with Russian officials before his election. Trump called Paul Manafort, his former campaign manager who has ties to Ukraine and Russia, a "respected man."
Trump called the reports a "ruse" and said he had "nothing to do with Russia." Trump added, "Russia is fake news. This is fake news put out by the media."
Amid reports of widespread leaks within his administration, Trump also warned that he would clamp down on the dissemination of sensitive information, saying he had asked the Justice Department to look into the leaks. "Those are criminal leaks," adding, "The leaks are real. The news is fake."
The president announced that Alexander Acosta, the dean of the Florida International University law school, would be his nominee for Labor secretary. It came a day after fast-food executive Andrew Puzder withdrew his nomination for Labor after losing support among Republican senators.
Trump, a reality television star and real estate mogul who was elected as an outsider intent on change, opened the hastily arranged news conference to bash coverage by the news media. He accused reporters of not telling the truth and only serving special interests.
Trump, angry at leaks revealing his team's contacts with Russia, wants an ally to lead a sweeping review of U.S. spy agencies
Trump says he will introduce a new travel ban next weekend
Donald Trump says Michael Flynn was 'just doing his job'
"The press has become so dishonest that if we don't talk about it, we are doing a tremendous disservice to the American people," Trump said.
The president said his ousted national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was "just doing his job," but said he was "not happy" with how information about Flynn's phone call to a Russian diplomat was relayed to Vice-President Mike Pence.
But Trump said what Flynn did "wasn't wrong" and said he had identified a strong replacement for Flynn, which made the decision to let him go easier.
Trump is said to favour Vice-Admiral Robert Harward, a former Navy SEAL, as his next national security adviser, according to a White House official. Harward met with top White House officials last week and has the backing of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. He is slated to meet with officials later Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Trump had a breakfast meeting with some of his staunchest House supporters.
The White House has said Trump asked for Flynn's resignation because he had misled Vice-President Mike Pence over his dealings with Russia and whether he had discussed sanctions with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. before Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration. Flynn previously had denied those conversations to Pence and other top officials.
On Thursday, he warned in a pair of tweets that "low-life leakers" of classified information will be caught. As journalists were being escorted out of the breakfast meeting, Trump responded to a reporter's question on the subject by saying: "We're going to find the leakers" and "they're going to pay a big price."


Ceramic plates for tourists at San Gimignano, Italy. Enough already!
Little Esther Phillips: Hound Dog (1953)
Graham Reid | Dec 12, 2011 | 1 min read
Although Big Mama Thornton was the first out of the block with Leiber and Stoller's Hound Dog -- subsequently a hit for Elvis Presley -- Thornton wasn't the only one to hear its bluesy potential.
Esther Phillips -- later to find fame in the disco era with her cover of Dinah Washington's What a Diff'rence A Day Makes (see here) -- almost got it to the charts before her.
Little Esther as she as billed -- born Esther Mae Jones in Texas -- was just 17 when she recorded this raw and incisive version in early 1953 with Johnny Otis' band, many of the same players who had been on Thornton's version recorded about six months previous.
Thornton's version wasn't released immediately but took off in early '53, not long after Phillips went in to cover it. Thornton's version sounds slow, earthy and menacingly mature in its quiet fury, whereas Phillips brings a snarl, youthful anger and a sense of vitriol -- unfortunately undercut by the hound dog howls of the band.
Phillips had some minor hits in the Fifties but heroin addiction claimed her until the early Sixties when she was discovered by, of all people, Kenny Rogers who got a record deal. She slowly climbed back until that cracking hit What a Diff'rence although her habit always lurked in the background.
She died in '84 at the age of 48, her body debilitated by drug use.
Phillips version of Hound Dog is found on the excellent compilation I Smell A Rat, a collection of early black rock'n'roll.
Interesting to speculate how Elvis' version of the song might have turned out if he'd only heard Little Esther Phillips and not Big Mama Thornton's version.
For more oddities, one-offs or songs with an interesting backstory use the RSS feed for daily updates, and check the massive back-catalogue at From the Vaults.
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'Doctor Strange' Fans Are Convinced Rachel McAdams Will Have a Bigger Role in the Sequel
One of the installments to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Doctor Strange. The next phase of the MCU will offer interesting developments for the characters. With a sequel in the works, some people question if Benedict Cumberbatch will leave the franchise.
His co-star, Rachel McAdams, will be coming back. In the first Doctor Strange film, the actress played a minor role. However, fans expect her to have more screen time.
Rachel McAdams plays a surgeon in 'Doctor Strange'
Doctor Strange is a superhero film about a neurosurgeon who learns magic after injuring his hands. The movie stars Cumberbatch and Tilda Swinton. Another star is none other than McAdams, and she plays a minor character.
In the film, the actress takes on the role of Dr. Christine Palmer. Christine is a fellow surgeon who supports Stephen Strange after he survives a car accident. Not only does Christine help Strange with his injuries, but she also aids him during the latter half of the film.
While Christine momentarily leaves his side after he says hurtful things, she continues to be loyal. Initially, she was going to be his love interest. Instead, Christine and Strange used to date until she broke up with him prior to the start of the movie.
Some fans felt that McAdams' character was underwhelming. Those who have seen the actress in other films view the role as a waste of her talent. A few fans were disappointed with the lack of a character arc and hope Marvel does more with Christine.
What Rachel McAdams has done so far
McAdams has been in a few popular films, such as The Notebook and Sherlock. In 2016, McAdams debuted in the MCU franchise as Dr. Strange's colleague. Since then, the actress has landed roles in several movies.
Recently, she acted in Netflix's Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. McAdams stars alongside Will Ferrell, and the two of them play a pair of Icelandic singers. In the film, the characters use the competition as an opportunity to show off their band.
In 2017, McAdams landed a part in the movie Disobedience. The film is a romantic drama about a strict Orthodox Jewish community. Her character is the love interest of the main protagonist. The actress also was in Game Night along with Jason Bateman. She plays the wife who partakes in a role-playing game that goes wrong.
There have been rumors that McAdams will return to play Irene Adler in Sherlock Holmes 3. However, not much is known about the upcoming film.
Fans hope Rachel McAdams will have a bigger role
Fans have anticipated for a Doctor Strange sequel since the first movie came out. Currently, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is going to arrive in theaters in 2022. Sam Raimi, the man behind Spider-Man, is directing this installment.
As evident by the name, the plot will be dealing with the multiverse. Fans will likely see different characters, which has led to rumors about who will star in the film. Reportedly, Emma Watson and Cillian Murphy might be joining the cast.
McAdams will be reprising her role, and fans wonder if her character will have a larger presence in the story.
On Reddit, users discussed the actress returning to Doctor Strange. Some of them mentioned they were glad to hear the news that she is in the movie. Other users hoped that the character gets the same treatment as Jane from Thor.
"I can't imagine she'd sign up without something more to do," one user wrote. Several have voiced that they think she is a talented actress and are convinced she will get a more prominent role.
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Ben Affleck comments on directing his own Batman movie
Ben Affleck is open to directing his own Batman movie, if he can get the script right. Luckily, it's rumored that Ben Affleck will have some help on the script from Geoff Johns, the Chief Creative Officer at DC Comics. In the December issue of Total Film, Affleck and producer Charles Roven spoke about the movie that's currently being referred to as The Batman online.
Roven wouldn't directly confirm that the movie is in the works, but did say it all depends on Ben Affleck's schedule.
"He's about to start a movie now [Live By Night]. And he's also got obligations to be in the Justice League movies. The calendar is a little bit tricky".
"Of course, the script obviously has to be worth of him wanting to direct it. And once that happens, it's still got to fit into the calendar. We're hoping we can make it happen. We're just at the beginning of the question".
Total Film also got Ben Affleck's take on the project, and it sounds like if they can come up with a good script, he's all for it:
"Look, if I could make it work, yeah. Obviously it would be like a dream. The trick is, as to any movie, is to make sure that you — if you're going to direct it — that you can make it good. You've got to have the right idea and the right take on it. Broadly speaking, it's something I'd be open to, for sure. It's a very exciting idea."
Hopefully Affleck and Johns can come up with a good script, and Affleck's schedule will allow him to make his very own Batman movie. Stay tune to Batman News for all the latest on that project, and check back later for more from the December issue of Total Film.
SOURCE: Total Film (December 2015)


Kudulis Reisinger Price
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Our attorneys have spent their entire careers working with credit unions and financial institutions. In fact, we represent more credit unions than any other firm in the country. We are in financial institutions every week. We know the industry from the inside out.
But what does that mean to our clients? It means we don't have to spend a lot of time researching or getting up to speed. There's no learning curve. No "we'll get back to you on that." In the words of one of our attorneys, "we know your questions before you ask them." And we know the answers, too.
All this adds up to something very important to any business: value. Because when you work with Kudulis, Reisinger, and Price, you get a legal partner you can trust to give you the right advice in an expeditious manner. And you get an outstanding return on your legal dollar.
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We can negotiate a retainer, or fixed annual fee, which is the preferred financial arrangement for many of our clients. That's because with a retainer comes comprehensive, unlimited legal services for a year. Unlimited. For one year. No surprises. No crazy bills. Just simplified budgeting and the confidence of knowing our attorneys are at your disposal whenever you need them. Every institution has different legal needs. Some require regular, ongoing access to legal services, while others might only need them periodically to support internal compliance or legal departments. What's more, budgets for legal services vary greatly from institution to institution. For these reasons, we offer real flexibility when it comes to financial arrangements.
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Jonathan's practice involves supervision of civil litigation for the firm's representative clients, as well as general regulatory and operational guidance. Jonathan handles a wide assortment of cases, in both federal and state courts, including vendor (contract) disputes, construction disputes, regulatory issues and bond claims.
Jonathan is a graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law. He is a member of the Alabama State Bar, Florida State Bar, Louisiana State Bar, Mississippi State Bar, State Bar of Texas and Virginia State Bar. Jonathan has been recognized as a "Top 40 under 40" and "Rising Star" attorney by multiple publications.
Edward Reisinger
Edward has a comprehensive understanding of the consumer financial industry's operations, processes, and procedures. His practice focuses upon employment matters, real estate and consumer lending, electronic and digital banking, mergers and acquisitions, creditor rights, and regulatory liability. Edward is a graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law and the Florida State University. At the University of Alabama Edward was the President of the Student Bar Association and the Edward M. Friend Scholarship Award Recipient. He is a member of the Alabama State Bar, Florida State Bar, and Tennessee State Bar.
ShannonPrice
Shannon received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alabama in 1990 and his law degree from Louisiana State University in 1997. Prior to attending law school, he worked for four years as an operations officer with Hibernia National Bank in New Orleans. Shannon has provided general counsel services to financial institutions in the southeast since 1999 and he specializes in the areas of financial institution compliance and regulatory law. He is a member of the Alabama State Bar and the Louisiana State Bar.
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