A Letter to My Younger Self

S. Collins Saint is a person with short, golden-brown hair. They wear a pale blue button down shirt, a navy and green striped tie, a navy suit, and brown circular glasses.By S. Collins Saint

Dear Younger Sully,

There’s so much I wish I could share with you, especially about navigating the world as a young attorney. Here are some lessons I’ve learned along the way, including things that have become increasingly important — physical and mental health. Plus, there are some lessons from battles you’ve yet to face.

Firstly, let’s talk about your career. It’s incredible that you’ve chosen this path — it’s challenging, demanding, and rewarding. Remember, mistakes will happen, and they’re not a reflection of your worth. Learn from them, adapt, and grow. Embrace every opportunity to learn, whether from victories or setbacks. Every case, every client, every experience will shape you into the attorney you’re meant to become. Some things you have kept in your quiver through every stage of your life will continue to help you: your passion and compassion, your steadfast work ethic, and your ability to build connections with anyone you meet. You are better equipped than you know.

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Deemed Asset Sales Under Rev. Rul. 99-5

By John G. Hodnette

Revenue Ruling 99-5 discusses the tax treatment of the purchase of some but not all of the membership interests in a wholly-owned LLC. Pursuant to Reg. § 301.7701-3(b)(1)(ii), unless electing otherwise, a domestic LLC with only one owner is treated as an entity disregarded as separate from its owner for income tax purposes. However, that raises the issue of how to treat an acquisition of less than 100% of the membership interests in the LLC. This is not an unusual circumstance, particularly because the Rev. Rul. 99-5 structure is often used in S corporation F reorganization transactions.

Rev. Rul. 99-5 explains two situations involving a wholly-owned LLC that is disregarded for income tax purposes. It is assumed in both situations that the resulting partnership is not treated as an investment company, all of the assets are capital assets or Section 1231 property, and there is no indebtedness.

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Lawyer in Training Finds the “Happy Job” . . . in City Hall

By Cassandra Saxton

Going into law school, I always intended to practice in the public sector. In fact, my mother and I had a dream about it right before I decided to go to law school. However, I had no idea what practicing as a public sector attorney would look like. It wasn’t until I had the privilege of interning with the City of Greensboro’s City Attorney’s Office that my vision for a career in government and public service began to take shape.

The decision to embark on a career in the public sector was deeply rooted in my desire to contribute to the betterment of society on a large scale. I had various ideas of what such a career could be like, yet when I entered law school, the realm of public service law remained an abstract concept, and my precise role within it was far from clear. During my first trimester at Elon, I wrote down what I was looking for in a career. I wanted my legal career to:

  • Allow me to have my hands in various pots at once;
  • Encompass work that has a tangible impact on the surrounding community;
  • Include transactional work, projects, and potentially some litigation;
  • Provide a healthy work-life balance; and
  • Offer secure and consistent benefits (i.e., salary instead of fees, insurance benefits, etc.)

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Tamesa Richmond’s Journey to Becoming a Paralegal

Tamesa, a Black woman with grey hair, wears brown glasses. Her hair is in a bun, and she is smiling.By the Communications Committee with an introduction by Peggy Pardue

Tamesa Richmond has been a North Carolina Certified Paralegal for six years but has been in the legal field for 23 years. She works remotely as a corporate paralegal for Medterra CBD, LLC, which is based out of Irvine, California.

Tamesa graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.S. in administration of criminal justice in 1992, and in 2016, she received her paralegal certification from Guilford College. Tamesa became a North Carolina Certified Paralegal in early 2017.

Tamesa started her career as an analyst in the bankruptcy unit at Bank of America. Before leaving this position, she was one of the first trainers for their bankruptcy unit. As a matter of fact, she wrote their training manual for their bankruptcy policies and procedures. Tamesa left the position to pursue a role with a bankruptcy and trustee attorney in Winston-Salem.

We took the time to connect with Tamesa and to ask her some questions about her journey to the paralegal field. Read our conversation with Tamesa below.

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Catch Up on the Latest Trends and Updates at the 2024 Business Law Section Program

By Ed Chaney

The Business Law Section invites you to join its annual section program on February 8-9 in Winston-Salem and via live webcast. This year’s theme is “The Times They Are A-Changing for Business Lawyers,” and as the title suggests, we will be focusing on a number of important recent developments in the field of business law.

Presentation topics include the Corporate Transparency Act, corporate DE&I programs in the wake of recent judicial cases, artificial intelligence, a North Carolina legislative update, and the always popular case law update. We will also hear the latest trends in business succession, valuation, and employment relationships, among others.

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BarCARES Board Nominations Are Open!

Kayla, a woman with dark brown hair, wears a pale pink blouse, bright pink jacket, and gold fairy pin on the lapel.By Kayla Britt

Do you care about the mental health of lawyers, law students and paralegals? Would you like to serve on a board that works towards making a variety of mental health services readily available for colleagues? BarCARES does that and is seeking nominations for Board members.

For those who don’t know, BarCARES is designed to offer no-cost assistance in dealing with problems that might be causing distress and can be used to help with such matters as personal issues, anxiety, substance use, financial concerns, family matters, work issues, professional stressors, and to provide help with case-related stress as well as student coaching on all matters including time management.

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BarCARES Board Nominations Are Open!

Kayla, a woman with dark brown hair, wears a pale pink blouse, bright pink jacket, and gold fairy pin on the lapel.By Kayla Britt

Do you care about the mental health of lawyers, law students and paralegals? Would you like to serve on a board that works towards making a variety of mental health services readily available for colleagues? BarCARES does that and is seeking nominations for Board members.

For those who don’t know, BarCARES is designed to offer no-cost assistance in dealing with problems that might be causing distress and can be used to help with such matters as personal issues, anxiety, substance use, financial concerns, family matters, work issues, professional stressors, and to provide help with case-related stress as well as student coaching on all matters including time management.

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MIP’s Diverse Perspectives: Sidney Minter

By Sidney Minter

MIP’s Diverse Perspectives is a monthly blog feature to spotlight a member from North Carolina’s community of diverse attorneys and legal professionals. Members have the opportunity to share a personal perspective through a brief set of interview questions.

This month’s perspective is courtesy of Sidney Minter.

What law school did you attend and what was your graduation year?

North Carolina Central University School of Law; 2011.

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Intersection of Military Pension Division and NC Statute

Kris, a white man with brown hair and a beard, wears a white shirt, teal tie, and navy blazer.By Kris Hilscher

A common challenge attorneys face in a military divorce is how the Frozen Benefit Rule (FBR) will affect pension division.[1] To avoid a call to the malpractice carrier, attorneys must understand the FBR, and when it does – and does not – apply to their case.

The Frozen Benefit Rule: Is Your Client In or Out?

Any military pension case either is “in” or “out” for the FBR. What does a lawyer need to know to determine this?  There are two questions to answer:

  1. Was the divorce entered before December 23, 2016?
  2. Was the servicemember receiving retired pay on the date of divorce?

If the answer to both questions is “no,” then the rule applies. If the divorce was entered prior to that 2016 date, the rule does not apply. This is of course more and more unlikely as time marches on, making the second question more relevant for most lawyers. If Mr. Jones was receiving retired pay on the date of divorce, the rule does not apply pursuant to Chapter 29, Vol. 7B of the Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation (DoDFMR).

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