The North Carolina Bar Association Elder and Special Needs Law Section (NCBA-EL) recognizes that, although the public perceives lawyers to be among the most affluent members of society, in fact, many attorneys struggle to make ends meet, need to pay off large amounts of law school debt, or sometimes suffer from economic hardship due to the poor job market, disabilities or other factors. The NCBA-EL wants membership in, and services from, the NCBA-EL to be available to attorneys regardless of their ability to pay. We understand that one of the greatest services available for members is the high quality continuing legal education sponsored by the NCBA. As a result, the NCBA-EL has established a Scholarship program for CLE program tuition for the 2021 Basics of Elder and Special Needs Law Program, being held In-Person Live and by Live Webcast on Friday, October 22, 2021. You can find more information on the program here.
At its July 2021 meeting, the State Bar Council approved a new aspirational provision in the Preamble to the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct, stating that a lawyer should treat all persons encountered in a professional capacity equally, courteously, respectfully, and with dignity, regardless of personal identifying characteristics. The proposed amendment will be sent to the North Carolina Supreme Court for potential adoption.
The NCBA Young Lawyers Division created the Law Student Representative program to empower law students to serve their schools and the NCBA through programming and networking. Law Student Representatives provide information to their colleagues about the NCBA and create opportunities for themselves and others to interface with the NCBA through events.
Below, meet the 2021-22 NCBA Law Student Representatives!
Anna Beck, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Why are you involved in the NCBA?
I am involved in the NCBA because the NCBA events I attended as a 1L helped me think about my future career and allowed me to practice networking. I also wanted to encourage students at my school to engage with the NCBA because networking is key to success as an attorney, and you never know where a connection might lead!
What advice would you give to a 1L?
Give yourself grace – law school is a learning curve for everyone!
What is your area of practice interest?
Litigation
Why did you go to law school?
I went to law school so that I could use my passions of writing and storytelling to help others.
I joined the NCBA because I was looking to be able to build a community and build professional connections within the state, as I am an out-of-state student from Georgia and had minimal contacts otherwise. So far, I’ve gotten just that and more. My time with the NCBA has made starting law school during an isolating and unusual time feel a lot more normal.
What advice would you give to a 1L?
(1) work smarter, not just harder, (2) go to sleep, and (3) always remember that it’s not what you know, or even who you know, but it’s who knows you.
Most new lawyers fall into one of two types. The first type knows that, although they worked hard and learned a lot in law school, they know very little about the actual practice of law. The second type consists of those who not only know everything but will also tell you they know everything. But no matter how great a new attorney is (or thinks he/she is), a new attorney can always benefit from the advice and guidance of a mentor.
In my experience, finding a good mentor and being a good mentor usually start with something lawyers are quite familiar with – asking the right questions.
Holding real estate through an S corporation may seem like a good idea at first glance. Almost all professionals, however, recommend a partnership over an S corporation as the preferred vehicle to own real estate. S corporations and partnerships are both pass-through entities, meaning the income or loss generated by these entities flows through to the owners, who are responsible for paying the tax due. However, there are a number of disadvantages of owning real estate via an S corporation compared to a partnership.
First, although S corporations are often excellent for reducing self-employment taxes, income from passive real estate investments do not benefit from that because such income is not subject to self-employment taxes.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00TAXhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngTAX2021-09-01 15:34:442021-09-10 15:56:42Should I Own Real Estate through an S Corporation or a Partnership?
Just kidding. However, since our Chair, Katie King, put up a constructive and positive blog post, I will try to be the antithesis this year as the Vice Chair. To that end, there’s a bunch of stuff we deal with on a daily basis that is problematic. This year is a good opportunity for me to vent and point out 10 of those little things (one per month or so) that drive me crazy about how things should be better. Perhaps there’s nothing groundbreaking, and if that’s the case, it should be easier to fix!
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00FamilyLawhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngFamilyLaw2021-09-01 11:41:382021-09-01 11:41:38Why All The Divorce Laws Are Wrong . . . And Other Thoughts
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