A Pronouns Primer for Practitioners

Collins, a person with short brown hair and glasses, wears a pale blue shirt and navy blue jacket.Brooks, a white woman with light brown hair, wears a black blouse and tan suit.By Collins Saint and Elizabeth “Brooks” Savage

Lawyers are increasingly exposed to gender identity, sexual orientation, and other LGBTQ+ related topics as awareness, acceptance, and open expression of such identities continues to increase in modern society. To honor International Pronouns Day, which was October 19, 2022, we have created a five-step primer to help guide legal practitioners through understanding gender identity, using proper personal pronouns, and acting with best etiquette practices for interacting with LGBTQ+ clients and colleagues.

Read more

/by

Insurance Law Section Annual Meeting and CLE – January 26-27, 2023

By Nikki Feliciano

The North Carolina Bar Association’s Insurance Law Section is pleased to announce its upcoming CLE program, “The Continued Exploration of Insurance Law, Coverage, and Litigation Issues,” which is scheduled for Friday, January 27, 2023. Attendees will be able to attend the CLE in person at the Bar Center in Cary or via live Webcast. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend.

During the CLE, speakers will explore a number of topics in the area of insurance law. The program will unpack coverage and litigation issues, including resolution of property insurance claims, stacking in uninsured and underinsured motorist claims, and key considerations in cybersecurity. The always popular “Top 10 Insurance Law Decisions” will return, along with a discussion of continuing issues arising from COVID-related losses. Finally, the program reviews Radiator Specialty Company v. Arrowood Indemnity Company and its impact on coverage triggers, coverage allocation across multiple policies and policy exhaustion.

Before the CLE, on Thursday, January 26, 2023, the Insurance Law Section will have its annual meeting for members of the Insurance Law Section and will host a social networking event. The networking event will be open to all, including speakers and attendees.

The Insurance Law Section looks forward to seeing everyone on January 26 and 27. Mark your calendars!

/by

Federal Income Tax Update

Keith, a white man with brown hair, wears wire-rimmed glasses, a white shirt and black jacket.By Keith A. Wood

This is the first of three installments of this article. 

I. Audit Statistics: What Are Your Chances of Being Audited?

The 2021 Internal Revenue Service Data Book contains audit statistics for 2011 through 2019. Below are audit statistics for 2019 returns:

A. Audit Rates for Individual Income Tax Returns. During FY 2021, only 0.2% of individual income tax returns filed in 2019 were audited (about the same as for 2018 returns).

Total individual returns audited:    0.2%

(1) With no positive income             8%
(2) $100,000 to $500,000                 1%
(3) $500,000 to $1 Million                3%
(4) $1 Million to $5 Million               6%
(5) $5 Million to $10 Million            1%
(6) $10 Million or More                    2%

Read more

/by

So You’ve Been Appointed to a Juvenile Charged with First-Degree Murder

Eric, a white man with brown hair and a beard, wears a white sihrt, blue tie, and grey jacket. By Eric Zogry

So you’ve been appointed a juvenile charged with first-degree murder, but you didn’t handle the transfer from juvenile court – now what?

Locate and Visit/Contact Your Client

Remember, if your client is under 18, they will be housed in a juvenile detention center. There are twelve juvenile detention centers spread out across the state. Make sure to have regular contact with your client – it’s confusing when the first set of hearings is so fast, yet the rest of the case can take months if not years. Contact with your youth client builds trust and credibility.

Read more

/by

November Family Law Section Update

Ketan, a man with black hair, wears a white shirt and black jacket. The photo is in black and white.By Ketan Soni

I’m thankful that I’m still your chair. You are probably thankful that Jill Jackson will be your next chair. Please don’t impeach me. We just had a Council meeting on November 17.

Here’s an update on my goals.

1. Succession Plan: It’s going to get done by December 31, 2022. So far, zero progress. I only get to fail on December 31, 2022, if I still haven’t done it.

2. Financial Affidavits: We can’t stop winning. We have broken down how to update the financial affidavits by delving into 6 buckets:

  • “Form” of the Financial Affidavit
  • “Income” section of the Financial Affidavit
  • “Fixed” or “Shared Family” section
  • “Individual Monthly” expenses
  • Depicting Standard of Living v. Current Standard
  • User Experience. “User” means our clients, the judges, and ourselves.

We have over 20 people working on this across the state: large counties, small counties, paralegals, attorneys, and more!

3. To streamline Council meetings. It’s an 80/20 on this one now. We’ve made progress. Our last meeting was only 1.5 hours. Read more

/by

Checking In: November 22, 2022

Compiled by Jessica Junqueira

Carruthers & Roth, P.A. Adds New Associates

Sydney, a white woman with long blond hair, wears a white blouse and black jacket. Sydney ter Avest is now an associate attorney in the firm’s Business, Tax and Estates practice. She will focus on corporate and business law, estate planning, and wealth transfer and preservation. Ter Avest received a J.D. from Campbell Law School, where she was a teaching scholar and research assistant. While in law school, she received numerous awards and served as a peer mentor and president of the Health Law Association. She earned a B.A. in public policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

James, a white man with brown hair, wears a white shirt, red tie and dark grey jacket.

James R. Paul is now an associate attorney, and he will work in the firm’s Commercial Real Estate practice. Paul will assist clients in real estate matters and disputes. He was a legal extern in St. Joseph County, Ind., where he represented indigent juvenile justice clients. He also interned in the Forsyth County Public Defender’s Office. Paul earned a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame, where he was the 2020 recipient of the Faculty Award for Excellence in Health Care and Canon Law. He received a B.S., magna cum laude, from East Carolina University.

McGuireWoods Selects New Partner

Jocelyn Mallette is a Black woman with brown eyes and curly, shoulder-length hair. She is wearing a teal blouse, gold necklace, and black suit jacket, and she is standing against a warm camel-colored wall.Jocelyn Mitnaul Mallette was elected to partner. Mallette represents companies in product liability claims, complex civil litigation, and environmental litigation in state and federal courts. She also represents veterans pro bono through the National Veterans Legal Services Program. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, she served for ten years in the military, where she was an Intelligence Officer, a Wing Executive Officer and an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate with the JAG Corps. In 2017-2018, Mallette was a clerk to Associate Justice Barbara A. Jackson in the North Carolina Supreme Court. Mallette previously served as the NCBA Military & Veterans Law Section Communications Chair. In 2022, she was selected as an NCBA Citizen Lawyer Award recipient. Mallette holds a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and a B.S. in legal studies from the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Read more

/by

Paralegal Ethics: Are You Really Being Ethical?

Sarah, a white woman with short auburn hair, wears a black shirt with white flowers.By Sarah L. White

Every paralegal knows the four main ethical guidelines that govern our profession. They have been drilled into us with every paralegal class and continuing education seminar over the course of our careers. Most of us probably could recite them verbatim in our sleep, but just so we are clear, paralegals must not do any of the following:

1. Establish attorney-client relationships;

2. Represent a client in court;

3. Negotiate settlements; or

4. Give legal advice.

Read more

/by

Mark Your Calendars for This Year’s Giving Tuesday

Sarah, a white woman with long golden brown hair, wears a peach blouse and navy suit.By Sarah Clark

The Young Lawyers Division (YLD) and the North Carolina Bar Foundation (NCBF) are teaming up for the second year in a row to make November 29 a #GivingTuesday to remember!

For this year, the YLD is raising money to fund the NCBF’s civic education and pro bono programs. By donating on November 29, you will be entered into a raffle for a chance to win one of our many exciting prizes! Prize drawings will be held throughout the day among donors who have made their contribution to the #GivingTuesday campaign, and your opportunity to win increases as your gift amount increases.

Read more

/by

Important Rule Changes for the Rules Review Commission And Update on Rules Checklist

Bain, a white man with white hair, wears a white shirt and black suit.By W. Bain Jones Jr.

At the November 17, 2022, meeting of the Rules Review Commission, it was announced that at the December 15, 2022, meeting, the Commission will review proposed changes to its rules concerning extension of time and other rules concerning the filling and review of rules. Though not presented at this meeting, the proposed changes have now been published on the Rules Review Commission website. The proposed changes will be reviewed and voted on at the December 15, 2022, meeting. Section members are encouraged to review the changes, file any comments with the Commission and be at the December 15, 2022, meeting. Read more

/by

NCBA Bankruptcy Section 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award Presented to Richard Sparkman

By the NCBA Bankruptcy Section

On November 11, 2022, during the 45th Annual Bankruptcy Institute in Greensboro, North Carolina, the NCBA Bankruptcy Section presented Richard Sparkman with the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Andrew W.J. Tarr, the Bankruptcy Section Awards Committee Chair, delivered the below remarks during the awards presentation:

It is an honor to be with you today to share the good news with you of the selection of the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Committee’s Award recipient. I want to thank our committee members for their thoughtful consideration of all the nominees. Read more

/by