Invitation to Attend “What About the Children?” – 2025 Family Law Fall Program

Susan, a woman with auburn hair, wears a blue dress. By Susan Simos

It’s that time of year again, time for foliage, football, tailgating, and of course, the Family Law Fall Program. This year’s program will take place in Winston-Salem, home of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Reynolds America, Krispy Kreme, and Texas Pete. Winston-Salem is also a great place to find fantastic restaurants, unique bars, historic sites and local art, all within walking distance of our host hotel. As a resident of Winston-Salem for 17 years (when did that happen), I write to personally invite you to join us on September 12, 2025, to explore the city, to engage in interesting and insightful CLE topics, and to network and catch up with new and old friends.

We all know the practice of family law can be daunting. I often find myself describing days in court, mediations, or depositions as a slog: fraught with disgruntled parties, contentious opposing counsel, and too much information to be addressed in too little time. And while a positive outcome or a satisfied client certainly goes a long way toward making it all worthwhile, I find the things that keep me engaged are the friendships and camaraderie I have built along the way. I am grateful for the groups of colleagues both close by and across the state who can relate, who can share war stories, who provide insight and suggestions, and who understand the unique challenges of this work. Those relationships, for me, have been forged at annual meetings, fall programs, and intensive seminars. And those relationships – fashioned from that time spent outside of cases and courtrooms with colleagues – make the difficult and adversarial work we do that much more palatable. For those reasons, I encourage you and your colleagues to attend the Family Law Fall Program, in person, in Winston-Salem.

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Searching for Volunteers for the Grab-a-Coffee Program – Fall 2025

Matt, a white man with brown hair, wears a pale blue shirt, grey suit, and mint green tie.Tae, a Black woman with Black hair wears a white blouse and a black blazer.By Matt Meinel and Tae Storr

Do you have time to grab a cup of coffee? Instead of taking this one to-go, how about spending thirty meaningful minutes with a future lawyer?

A half hour of your time is all we need to make this program a success! We are seeking attorney volunteers to connect with a law student and pass on the valuable insights you have about succeeding in law school and entering the practice of law. If you would like to volunteer, please fill out this attorney sign-up form (law students can sign up with this student sign-up form). If you have signed up during a previous GaC session, you will need to sign up again.

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Checking In: August 26, 2025

Brooks Pierce Opens New Charlotte Office

Brooks Pierce has opened a new office in Charlotte. The firm also has offices in Greensboro, Raleigh and Wilmington. Three new partners, David Allen, Ben Chesson and Anna Majestro have joined the firm.

David, a white man with grey hair, wears a white shirt, red tie and black jacket.

David Allen has practiced law for more than thirty years. He has empaneled nearly 100 juries since the beginning of his career. He previously served as president of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys. He is a councilor of the North Carolina State Bar and a former chair of its Ethics Committee. Allen has also served the legal community through lecturing on the topic of trial practice. He is the 2020 recipient of the NCADA Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy. In July 2025, Allen was selected by the N.C. State Bar’s Nominating Committee to stand for election as N.C. State Bar vice president. He holds a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ben, a white man with brown hair, wears a white shirt, yellow and grey tie and grey suit.

Ben Chesson has tried nearly 20 cases to verdict. Chesson has a range of experience in his practice, including shareholder disputes, product warranty claims and more. He has tried both corporate and individual clients in state and federal courts across North Carolina. He has represented clients in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, all appellate courts in North Carolina, and the South Carolina Supreme Court. He holds a J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law, where he served as editor of the Wake Forest Law Review. He received a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Anna, a white woman with light brown hair, wears a white blouse and black blazer.

Anna Majestro is licensed to practice law in West Virginia and South Carolina. She focuses her practice on commercial litigation. After graduating from law school, she clerked for a federal court in West Virginia. Majestro served as chair of the Mecklenburg Bar Association Civil Litigation Section and as a volunteer guardian ad litem with Mecklenburg County. She holds a J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a senior editor for the annual survey on White Collar Crime for the American Criminal Law Review at Georgetown. She received a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University. Read more

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Updated Construction Law Section Bylaws

Christian, a white man with brown hair, wears a white shirt, dark blue tie, and black suit.By Christian Lunghi 

The Construction Law Section is pleased to share that our bylaws have been updated. The current version is attached here for member reference. This document sets out the framework for how our Section operates, including governance, meetings, officers, council, committees, and amendment procedures.

Members are encouraged to review the attached bylaws for the official language, which now supersedes all prior versions.

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A Welcome Message From the Chair

Kym, a white woman with blond hair wears a black dress and black blazer.By Kym Meyer

I am excited to welcome you all to a new year of the Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Law Section! My name is Kym Meyer, and I am honored to serve as your chair this year, along with a wonderful leadership team. For those who don’t know me, I am the Litigation Director of the Southern Environmental Law Center, where I have practiced for the past fifteen years.

There couldn’t be a more important time for our section to be engaged and learning from each other as changes in environmental law are coming at us fast and furious at the federal and state levels. One of my favorite moments from last year came during our annual CLE in Asheville during a presentation about recent case law: in addition to our excellent presenter on stage, members of the audience (and our section) started chiming in with their own insights and updates, and it turned into a robust group learning exercise. It was a great reminder of the wealth of knowledge and experience in our section, and I look forward to continuing to learn from all of you over the coming year.

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Sale of Social Club Assets Upon Liquidation

Steve, a white man with grey hair, wears a white shirt and black suit.David, a white man with brown hair, wears a white shirt and navy suit.By Steven B. Long and David P. Heeren

Since 1916, Congress has exempted from income tax clubs formed to facilitate social interaction among their members. As a result, country clubs, hunting and fishing clubs, college sororities and fraternities, and tennis, swimming, and other sport clubs, among others, are generally exempt from taxation on income derived from their members. IRC § 501(c)(7). The exemption applies to clubs “organized for pleasure, recreation, and other nonprofitable purposes, substantially all of the activities of which are for such purposes and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder.”

Prohibited inurement under IRC § 501(c)(7) pertains to use of club assets or facilities to generate income from the public rather than club members. For example, use of a tennis club to generate income from the general public attending a national tennis tournament is private inurement by the social club. West Side Tennis Club v. Commissioner, 39 BTA 149 (BTA 1939). In 1976, Congress loosened the rules to allow social clubs to generate up to 35% of their annual revenue from non-member income, such as rents charged to the public and income from investments. S. Rep. No. 94-1318, 94th Cong., 2nd Sess. 4 (1976), 1976-2 C.B. 597, 599; see also H.R. Rep. No. 94-1353, 94th Cong., 2d Sess. 4 (1976). Thus, clubs may rent their facilities to non-members or generate investment income to a limited degree.

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A Welcome Message From Erica Rogers, Chair of the NCBA Intellectual Property Law Section

Erica, a white woman with blond hair, wears a white blouse and navy blazer.

By Erica Rogers

Dear Colleagues,

It’s an honor to welcome you to another term with the NCBA Intellectual Property Section. As Chair, I am excited to build on the great momentum of our IP Section and to help shape a thriving, inclusive, and connected community of IP professionals across North Carolina. Intellectual property law lives at the crossroads of creativity and structure—and that’s where I thrive. I’m energized by the work we do and the impact it has on innovation in our state and beyond.

This year, I am thinking about three key pillars: community, wellness, and future-facing inclusion. We’re committed to growing our membership and deepening engagement—particularly around our annual meeting and CLE. But we’re also thinking beyond the traditional, working to create events and spaces that foster genuine connection—where people can be themselves, not just their titles.

We know how intense and demanding IP work can be, so wellness is a priority. That means supporting each other through informal gatherings, peer support, and events designed with balance in mind. Whether it’s a casual meetup, a panel without pressure, or a trail walk where ideas flow freely, we want to make sure our members feel seen, supported, and connected.

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A Welcome Message From the Chair

Frank, a white man with brown hair and a beard, wears a blue shirt, grey tie and black suit.By Frank Trainor

I am honored and excited to serve as Chair of the Administrative Law Council for the 2025-2026 year. I am Frank Trainor, and I have been an administrative lawyer in the Raleigh area for 25 years. I am (almost) a lifelong North Carolina resident, having attended Hayesville High School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I currently work for the NC State Board of CPA Examiners.

Our officers this year are Vice Chair Charla Burrill, Treasurer Wes Tripp, and Secretary Catherine Lee. We are looking forward to serving the needs of our section, its members and the public.

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North Carolina Helped Us Start a Movement, and Now We’re Aiming for 1 Million Safer

Alexandria, a white woman with long brown hair, wears a white blouse. By Alexandria (Lexi) Lutz 

Earlier this year, the NCBarBlog spotlighted Opt-Inspire, and North Carolina became the first state to grant pro bono credit to attorney volunteers delivering our digital safety sessions. Since then, our presentations have been approved by the IAPP (formerly known as International Association of Privacy Professionals) for Continuing Privacy Education (CPE) credit (3.0 CPEs for a volunteer’s first presentation; 1.0 thereafter for CIPP/A, CIPP/C, CIPP/CN, CIPP/E, CIPP/US, CIPM, CIPT).

On October 1, 2025, in honor of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we’re launching #1MSecureTogether along with a student-run nonprofit focused on enhancing digital literacy for older adults, Tech Me Kid. #1MSecureTogether is a nationwide push to equip one million people in one year with practical digital safety skills (by October 1, 2026).

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A Contractor’s Guide to Lost Profit Claims in North Carolina

Christian, a white man with brown hair, wears a white shirt, dark blue tie, and black suit.By Christian Lunghi 

You’re a contractor. You landed the job, and it’s a solid one. Clear scope, decent margins, and your workers are ready to roll. You’ve blocked your schedule, lined up materials, and mobilized. Then the owner pulls the plug. Maybe they stopped paying, refused to proceed, or walked away. You have a signed contract in your hand promising payment, and you turned down other work expecting this project to move forward. What can you do? Can you recover the profit you were counting on?

I. Breach of Contract and Recovering Lost Profits

If an owner backs out or materially breaches a construction contract, North Carolina law generally allows the contractor to recover the profit they expected to earn on that contract. This is part of the standard “benefit of the bargain” damages for breach of contract. The goal is to put the contractor in the same position they would have occupied had the deal gone forward. In practice, the contractor’s lost profit is usually calculated as the contract price minus the costs the contractor would have incurred to complete the work. In other words, a contractor is entitled to the net profit (not gross revenue) they would have made, after accounting for expenses saved by not having to perform the job. For example, if a contractor had a $200,000 contract and it would have cost them $180,000 in labor, materials, and overhead to build the project, the lost profits (gross revenue) would be about $20,000. This assumes, of course, that the owner’s cancellation constitutes a breach (more on this below).

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