Register Now for the New(er) to In House Counsel Program and Networking Lunch!

Clara, a white woman with brown hair, wears a grey blouse and is smiling.By Clara Cottrell

Everyone says, “I want to be closer to the business,” but when we worked through the transition from private practice to in-house counsel, we found out it is a bit more than that. We have obligations to one client represented at times by various stakeholders and competing interests, not to mention a new legal group that can be one person or 100 people! There are no easy answers and sometimes even fewer resources, but the Corporate Counsel Section is here to help! We are excited to present the following program in order to share experiences and tips that may help guide you in your in-house practice.

Please join us on Thursday, October 27 for our “New(er) to In House” Program, which will be followed by a networking lunch free of charge. This program was designed for North Carolina based in-house counsel to meet colleagues and ask questions. We even have the amazing Sarah Levitt to talk to us about working with all those stakeholders and being a trusted member of the team. Member eligible in-house counsel may attend all or a portion of the program free of charge. Please pass along the program description (and registration link below) to your colleagues who may be interested. But do act fast: the deadline for registration is Tuesday!

New(er) to In House Counsel Program and Networking Lunch!

This exciting new program is an in-person only event that will provide opportunities for those newer to a North Carolina in-house counsel role (approximately 0-7 years) to meet and learn from their colleagues in other organizations. As an in-house exclusive event, attendees will find an open environment for asking questions and making connections.

In addition to dedicated networking times and spaces, we will also hear from the amazing Sarah Levitt, a premier executive coach, who brings her business experience to help leaders grow and deliver business results.  Join us to see Sarah in action and to find out how to elevate your own career and leadership paths! The panel includes Jane Paksoy, Geneva Yourse, and Brad Roehrenbeck and will be moderated by Alex Gwynn.

If you aren’t a “New(er)” In House attorney, feel free to join our Networking Lunch!

Date & Time | Thursday, October 27 | 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Program | 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.  – Networking Lunch

Location | The Bar Center, 8000 Weston Parkway | Cary

RSVP | by Tuesday, October 25 | 5 p.m. | Limited Seating

Questions | Contact Julianne Dambro – Senior Manager of Communities

This event is not for CLE credit.

 

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Celebrating Pro Bono Month

Elysia, a woman with auburn hair and brown eyes, wears a white shirt and blue and white jacket.By Elysia Prendergast-Jones

The month of October brings awareness to many causes. It is Cancer Awareness Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and Pro Bono Month.

Let’s talk about what we can do as family law attorneys to bring some awareness to Pro Bono Month.

The North Carolina State Bar asks each lawyer to commit to providing 50 hours of legal services to those who are unable to pay, according to Rule 6.1, which states in further detail: every lawyer should

“(a) provide a substantial majority of the (50) hours of legal services without fee or expectation of fee to:

(1) persons of limited means;

(2) charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters that are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means; or

(3) individuals, groups or organizations seeking to secure or protect civil rights, civil liberties or public rights, or charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters in furtherance of their organizational purposes, where the payment of standard legal fees would significantly deplete the organization’s economic resources or would be otherwise inappropriate;

(b) provide any additional services through:

(1) the delivery of legal services described in paragraph (a) at a substantially reduced fee; or

(2) participation in activities for improving the law, the legal system or the legal profession.

In addition, a lawyer should voluntarily contribute financial support to organizations that provide legal services to persons of limited means.” Read more

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Pro Bono Spotlight: Katie Jenifer

Katie has brown hair and wears a black shirt that reads, "Protect trans kids."

Katie Jenifer

By Sarah Hill McIntyre

Talk with Katie Jenifer about her work and pro bono experiences, and it won’t take you long to see the depth of her commitment or the magnitude of the positive effect she’s had in the community. The proud mom of two queer kids, Katie was driven to enroll in North Carolina Central University School of Law to start a second career at the age of forty-five after witnessing the legal and policy challenges her youngest daughter faced alongside her transition and the related need for more accessible legal services and advocacy in the community.

As a law student, Katie let her passion drive her. In her 1L year, Katie began researching and meeting with people holding name change clinics across the country to prepare to bring the service to NCCU. “I knew upon entering law school that I wanted NCCU to have a name change clinic/pro bono project to help overcome the barriers that my family faced,” she shares. “How could we make this process more accessible to more people? How could we ease the financial burden by providing legal assistance for free? How could we meet people where they were in the process and stay connected with them for as long as they needed us? How could we train law students how to work with LGBTQ+ clients to ensure no harm was done in the process of providing this service? How can we leverage NCCU’s HBCU legacy to reach more BIPOC clients who face additional barriers when accessing legal services? These were just some of the issues we contemplated when working toward creating the clinic/pro bono project.” Read more

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Join us for the 2022 Health Law Boot Camp CLE

Iain, a white man with brown hair, wears a pale blue shirt and grey suit.By Iain Stauffer

The Health Law Section is pleased to announce the inaugural Health Law Boot Camp CLE, an exciting new program for early-career lawyers, seasoned lawyers looking for a refresher, and other professionals serving the health care industry. Please join your health law colleagues in person for this exciting new CLE program, Friday, October 21, 2022, at the North Carolina Bar Center, 8000 Weston Parkway, Cary or by Live Webcast.

Read more

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Using a Language Interpreter in Mediation

Steve, a white man with brown hair, wears a pale blue shirt, red tie, and black jacket.By Steve Dunn

Miscommunication and misunderstanding are two of the biggest obstacles in mediation. In most cases, there is plenty to disagree about even when the parties understand each other clearly. Mixed signals and misinterpretations make it hard to settle cases, but they are quite common. When the parties speak different languages, the risk of miscommunication only increases. Using a language interpreter can greatly enhance the prospect of a successful mediation. This post contains some tips about how to use a language interpreter to your best advantage in mediation. Read more

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Pro Bono Month Spotlight: Be a Hero to a Hero

By Samantha Gordon

As attorneys, we have a unique superpower. We have the power to practice the law. Through Wills for Heroes, you can use that superpower for the greater good and be a hero to the heroes in your community.

When you were in law school, Wills for Heroes may have been a pro bono project that interested you, and you may have even participated in a clinic. Now, as a young lawyer, you can participate in these clinics as an attorney volunteer and provide a service to those who risk their lives for your community every day. Wills for Heroes is a unique program that provides free estate planning documents to the individuals who we call when we are hurt or in need of help: first responders. Through NCBF Wills for Heroes, you can provide a first responder with the help they need, an estate plan. Read more

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October Family Law Section Update

By Ketan Soni

Did you read my last post? Here it is.

I’m still your chair. Jill Jackson is still your more pleasant vice-chair.

Before reading the rest of this post, ask yourself:

“Am I seriously going to be out-volunteered by Ketan Soni?”

If the answer is:

“Not while I still have breath in me!”, then just contact Ketan or Cheyenne Merrigan to sign up for anything. Read more

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October 23 to 29 is National Pro Bono Week 2022!

By Katherine AsaroKatherine, a white woman with brown hair, wears a black tank.

The North Carolina Bar Association Pro Bono Committee invites you to join us in celebrating National Pro Bono Week and all things pro bono.

Pro bono legal service is vital in addressing unmet legal needs in North Carolina and across the country. We hope that pro bono is a part of your life and practice throughout the entire year, but also know that there are obstacles to committing time to pro bono. But heed our call: National Pro Bono Week is a great time to start and/or continue the important volunteer legal work that only we, as members of the legal profession, can do. When you provide pro bono legal service, you provide a benefit and skill set to the community that is not being met without your commitment of time and unique professional talents. You have skills and knowledge that are in short supply and desperately needed.

We encourage you to celebrate the important contributions of pro bono across the state and to document your commitment on social media using #CelebrateProBono. Volunteer with your local legal service provider, nonprofit, or other programs (like the North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center) in need of legal services during pro bono week. We hope that you’ll catch “the bug” and keep or continue pro bono throughout the year!

Read more about the national celebration of Pro Bono Week.

Learn about North Carolina Bar Foundation volunteer opportunities.

Katherine Asaro is the Executive Director or North Carolina LEAF and the NCBA Pro Bono Committee Co-Chair.

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Looking Beyond Lawyers to Close the Access to Justice Gap

Alicia, a woman with black hair and brown eyes, wears a black tank top and is smiling.S.M. Kernodle-Hodges, a Black woman with brown hair and brown eyes, wears a blue button-down shirt.By Alicia Mitchell-Mercer and S.M. Kernodle-Hodges

“If one wishes to know how justice is administered, one does not question the policemen, the judges, or the protected members of the middle class. One goes to the unprotected— those, precisely, who need the law’s protection most! — and listens to their testimony. ~James Baldwin, “No Name on the Street”

The Justice Gap

Civil access to justice is high stakes. It is a prerequisite for meeting fundamental human needs. Without access to justice, individuals are incapable of contesting injustice or holding decision-makers accountable. Access routinely determines whether basic human needs for food, clothing, and shelter will be met, and it can mean everything for a person in crisis. Sadly, when individuals realize they need legal help, they also realize they cannot afford a lawyer. More often than not, they are also ineligible for assistance from legal aid. The difference between the civil legal needs of lower-income Americans and the resources available to meet those needs is what we refer to as the “Access to Justice Gap.” Read more

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Taxation of Noncompete Agreements

John, a white man with brown hair and blue eyes, wears a blue jacket, white shirt, and blue tie. By John G. Hodnette

Purchasers of a successful business have the reasonable concern that the prior owners will use their expertise to open a new business across the street that immediately competes with the one they just purchased. Noncompete agreements are key to ensuring that does not happen. How is the consideration paid for the noncompetition agreement treated under the tax law for both the seller and the purchaser?

A seller may expect, particularly in a stock sale, the cash allocated to a noncompetition covenant will be taxed as long-term capital gain, like the proceeds from the sale of stock. However, payments received for a noncompetition agreement are actually taxed as ordinary income. Therefore, the seller will want to allocate as little as possible to the noncompete and instead maximize the allocation to the stock (in the case of a stock sale) or to goodwill (in the case of an asset sale). In both cases, that allocation will generally result in long-term capital gain, which is taxed at lower rates than ordinary income. Read more

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