We Must Embrace Diversity To Meet Today’s Challenges

By Bain Jones

While seeing “The Darkest Hour,” the award-nominated movie about the early months of World War II in Britain, I was impressed that Winston Churchill chose to effectively use his coalition war cabinet, a group of diverse individuals. Reflective of the 1930’s, this group of leaders did not have gender or racial diversity. However, it did have a cross-section of diverse individuals. Members of the nobility, aristocracy, military, merchants, union representatives and other walks of life in Great Britain were present to advise the Prime Minister concerning policy and actions in those dark days. With the challenging issues facing our nation, our state, communities and our Bar and legal practice, I must believe that bringing diversity of life experiences, cultural backgrounds, intelligence and work experiences to the forefront would have to result in reasoned and successful decisions and experiences.

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NC Court of Appeals Determines Mediation In Public Records Dispute Is Jurisdictional

By Fred Moreno

Just before the holidays, the N.C. Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Tillett v. Town of Kill Devil Hills (17-433). The case involved a former judge who brought suit under The North Carolina Public Records Act to compel the Town of Kill Devil Hills to produce requested documents. The appellate court ruled that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction when it required the town to produce two documents in controversy. The appellate court determined that the legislative intent of the word “jurisdiction” in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-9(a), meant that a jurisdictional rule, rather than an ordinary procedural rule, should be applied.

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Chair’s Comments: Be Stubborn About Your Goals and Flexible About Your Methods

By Janet Thoren

Like most lawyers, and most people in general, I often find myself in a position of needing to “upgrade” the way I have done something for years. I recall years ago when I started doing on-line bill pay with my bank. It seemed so strange to not write checks each month. As a lawyer and a business major, getting bills paid accurately and on time and keeping good records was something I was stubborn about, so making that switch was hard for me. Now, if I have to write a check, I often find myself staring at it for a few minutes to recall exactly how I need to write out the dollar amount. I can’t imagine going back to writing and mailing paper checks every month. I’ve also cleared out a lot of space in my home office by keeping electronic records, and they are easy to locate.

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The One CLE You Don’t Want To Miss

If you’re a lawyer who is interested in administrative law, then there is one CLE you cannot afford to miss this year:  the NCBA’s Nov. 16-17 CLE entitled, “The Only Constant is Change: 2017 Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Updates.”

Let me give you two reasons why you need to sign up now, if you aren’t signed up already:

First, the CLE features an all-star cast of speakers from all three branches of government.  These speakers include Supreme Court justices, Court of Appeals judges, and the recently retired Speaker Pro Tempore of the North Carolina House of Representatives.  Simply put, there is no more qualified group of individuals than these current and former public officials to speak about the sweeping changes that our state government and local governments have experienced in the past year, which could impact your practice.

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