Thoughts on Being an Effective Government Attorney: Part III

Don O'Toole is a white man with light brown hair. He is smiling, wearing a dark grey button-down shirt, and standing outside of a grey building.By Don O’Toole

This is the final piece in a series of three posts titled “Thoughts on Being an Effective Local Government Attorney and How to Best Work With Your Local Government Attorney.” Part I was posted on October 10, 2024; part II was posted on January 2, 2025.

5. All applicants are entitled to equivalent due process.

Professor Hornstein at UNC Law School did an awesome job teaching Administrative Law. Of course, we learned the distinctions between substantive and procedural due process. Regarding procedural due process, if you are a governmental body, you must have procedural rules, and you must follow them! No exceptions. On occasion, city staff would ask me if we could grant one applicant or another flexibility. Invariably, my response was: what do our rules say, and would we grant similar flexibility to others? Cities must administer the approved rules in an even-handed manner. If a city does not, it will eventually get called out for it.

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Your Voice Matters: Help Shape North Carolina’s Bankruptcy Exemptions

George, a white man with grey hair, wears a white shirt, purple tie and black jacket. By George Sanderson

Dear NCBA Bankruptcy Section Member,

I hope this email finds you well. As Chair of the NCBA Bankruptcy Section, I am reaching out to gather your valuable input regarding updates and increases to North Carolina’s exemptions. As many of you know, the exemptions have not been adjusted since 2005, with the only exception being the Homestead Exemption increase in 2009. Since then, median home prices and the cost of living have risen dramatically.

Previous increases were enacted with widespread support from the members of the Bankruptcy Section, and we may consider advocating for further updates to the state’s exemptions. To ensure that the stance of the Bankruptcy Section reflects the views of all our members, we are conducting a brief survey to gather your opinions on this important issue. Your responses will help guide our approach and strategy moving forward.

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Last Week to Submit an NCBA Health Law Committee Interest Form!

Michael, a white man with brown hair, wears a blue and white checkered shirt and a grey suit.Iain, a white man with brown hair, wears a pale blue shirt and grey suit.Toni, a Black woman with black hair, wears a teal blouse and black blazer.

By Michael Berwanger, Iain Stauffer and Toni Peck

Interested in Serving on the NCBA Health Law Committee?

The North Carolina Bar Association Health Law Committee depends on members like you to serve to help shape our health law community, inspire the profession, and serve the public.

Section Chair Iain Stauffer will consider submitted forms when making committee appointments for 2025-26. For existing committee members, please complete a new form to express your interest in continuing to serve. When appointed to a committee, members are asked to serve a one-year term (July 1 to June 30).

The deadline to submit a form is March 31.

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The Appellate Practice Section Goes to Washington

By Rebecca Watts 

In the 1939 film “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” a young James Stewart plays Mr. Smith, a newly appointed senator who goes to D.C. with high hopes of making a difference and ends up launching a 25-hour filibuster, during which he talks about American ideals. While the Appellate Practice Section’s trip to Washington, D.C. in May 2024 was not for the purpose of appearing before Congress for a filibuster, the trip was a momentous one for our section members. We traveled to D.C. to be sworn into practice in front of the Supreme Court of the United States.

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Checking In: March 18, 2025

Compiled by Jessica Junqueira

Campbell Law School Appoints Inaugural Assistant Dean of Experiential Education

Richard, a white man with brown hair, wears a white button-down shirt, blue tie and black blazer. Richard A. Waugaman has been named the first Assistant Dean of Experiential Education. Waugaman began the role on March 1 and will manage the clinical programs at Campbell. He will work with faculty and staff to expand the opportunities for experiential learning. He will seek to offer students hands-on education, which will prepare them for future roles. Prior to his position at Campbell, he practiced as a managing partner with a focus on family law. He represented clients who had experienced domestic violence and clients in matters of child support, spousal support, child custody and more. Waugaman holds a J.D. from Campbell Law School and a B.A., summa cum laude, from Campbell University.

Graber Law Firm Announces New Attorney

Kat, a white woman with long blond hair, wears a black dress.Kathleen (Kat) McDonald has joined the firm. McDonald is a 2023 graduate of Campbell Law School, where she served on the Women In Law Executive Board. While in law school, she was a peer mentor and received a Book Award for Family Law Planning in spring 2023. McDonald also served with the Restorative Justice Clinic and Gailor Family Law Litigation Clinic. McDonald is licensed as a Notary Public in Wake County. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from North Carolina State University.

The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin Welcomes New Attorneys

Jennifer, a Black woman with black hair, wears a black blouse. Jennifer Louis-Jeune has joined the firm, where she will practice with the litigation team. Louis-Jeune has prior experience practicing law as a criminal defense attorney in New York City. After serving as a magistrate for the State of North Carolina, she moved to plaintiff mass tort litigation. She founded a nonprofit, 704 Cares, which provides help for individuals who are incarcerated. Louis-Jeune holds a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. While in law school, she was a Stein Scholar and received the Robert Aram Renzulli Prize in Criminal Law. She graduated from Emory University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in Spanish.

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The Role of Paralegals in the Community Justice Movement

Alicia, a woman with black hair, wears a pale pink sweater. A plant is visible in the background. By Alicia Mitchell-Mercer

The New Frontline of Legal Helpers

As you sit in your car outside the courthouse, your hands tighten around the steering wheel. You know you need to file for temporary guardianship of your aging father — his memory is slipping, and he’s no longer able to manage his medical appointments or pay his bills. But as you glance down at the list of requirements you hastily scribbled from an online search, the process feels impossible.

Do you need a lawyer? You know you don’t have the funds for that. So, what now? Where do you even get the right forms? How long does it take? Questions swirl in your mind as the urgency of the situation presses down on you. The bank won’t let you access his accounts, the doctors won’t share his medical information, and without legal authority, you can’t make decisions on his behalf. You take a deep breath, feeling the weight of responsibility settle over you. You need help, but you don’t know where to turn.

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Latest Meeting of the House Regulatory Reform Committee

Jeff, a white man with grey hair, wears a white shirt, blue and white striped tie and black blazer. By Jeffrey P. Gray 

The House Regulatory Reform Committee met on Tuesday, March 11, this time with a specific topic on the agenda: occupational and professional licensing. Two outside speakers, both with similar perspectives, made presentations.

Jon Sanders, Director of the Center for Food, Power and Life, a research arm of the John Locke Foundation, provided statistics on the number of occupations requiring licensure in North Carolina (19%) and North Carolina’s ranking among all the states as to the number of occupations requiring some type of license, registration, or certifications to engage in a particular occupation (11th). Based on the Center’s many years of study, and the 2022 study by the General Assembly’s then Program Evaluation Division, Mr. Sanders suggested a layered policy of alternatives for licensure:

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Potential Gain Due to Assumption of Liabilities by Corporation

John, a white man with dark brown hair, wears a pale blue shirt, lime green and blue tie, and black suit. By John G. Hodnette

A taxpayer’s relief from indebtedness is generally a taxable event. However, where Section 351 applies to a contribution of assets to a corporation for stock, the corporation’s assumption of liabilities may or may not be taxable under Section 357.

Section 357(a) states assumptions of indebtedness pursuant to a Section 351 transaction generally do not trigger gain. However, subsections (b) and (c) have important exceptions. Subsection 357(b)(1) provides where transfers are made either to avoid Federal income tax on the exchange or with no bona fide business purpose, the taxpayer is treated as if it received cash equal to the assumed debt. Section 357(b)(2) provides the burden is on the taxpayer to prove by the clear preponderance of the evidence that Section 357(b)(1) should not apply.

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Developments in Labor and Employment Law from the President’s First Month

Haseeb, a man with black hair and a beard, wears a white shirt, purple tie and black jacket. By Haseeb Fatmi 

As of February 23, 2025, President Donald Trump has signed 70 executive orders [1] and issued several other decisions and memoranda introducing significant changes to existing employment law and policy. As an example, President Trump’s second Executive Order, signed on his first day in office, revoked 78 prior actions and orders covering a range of topics including foreign policy, the economy, voting rights, and criminal justice.

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MIP’s Diverse Perspectives: Deja Kemp

By Deja Kemp Deja, a Black woman with black hair, wears brown glasses, a black blouse and a dark grey blazer.

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 Deja Kemp. 

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