Post-Project Review: How Lawyers Can Leverage Mistakes

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By Alicia Mitchell-Mercer

Mistakes happen. They happen to brand new attorneys. They happen to attorneys who have been practicing for 30 years. Fear of reprisal can cause competent lawyers to correct and brush those mistakes under the rug so quickly that they do not take time to learn from them. They are a fact of law practice because, despite public opinion, lawyers are human. Instead of dismissing those opportunities for improvement, what if you could find a way to leverage those mistakes and make them work for you instead of against you?

 

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10 Email Dos and Don’ts for Lawyers

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CATHERINE’S CALL

By Catherine Sanders Reach

Lawyers use email every day and are very familiar with the mechanics of sending and receiving email. However, because of its ubiquity, lawyers often get complacent about best practices for using email effectively and proficiently. Email can be a great communication tool, but it can also be dangerous. Here are some reminders about email dos and don’ts.

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Checking In: Jan. 7, 2019

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Novant Health has selected Frank E. Emory Jr., to serve as executive vice president and chief legal officer. Emory was previously a partner with Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, where he served as co-head of the litigation and labor group and managing partner of the Charlotte office. He is chairman of the board of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, and a recipient of the North Carolina Bar Association’s 2010 Citizen Lawyer of the Year award.

 

 

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2018: ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)

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CATHERINE’S CALL

By Catherine Sanders Reach

The last week of the year is typically a time of reflection, and 2018 was no exception. Several popular blogs published their year-end wrap-ups, looking at the most popular posts and content from last year. While the exponential change wrought by technology means that the past is not a good predictor of the future, these compilations can help you at least get a focused glance at some useful news, trends and tips to apply to your new year.

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Google Advanced Search Tips for Lawyers

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CATHERINE’S CALL

By Catherine Sanders Reach

Most people use the Google search engine every day to look up information on everything from restaurant reviews to driving directions to the airspeed velocity of a laden swallow. In fact, the word google (lower case G) officially appeared as a verb in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2006.  The free web is especially useful for “ready reference” materials like census results, information about businesses and individuals, sample documents, government information and more. It can also be a great way to get up to speed on (or keep up with) an area of law by accessing the wealth of legal blogs, scholarly resources and substantive bar association publications available for free online. Lawyers will find that a familiarity with advanced search features of the Google search engine can help unearth useful information in a very short amount of time.

The Google search engine is designed to be easy and intuitive. They are constantly refining the search algorithm to help users find the most relevant information based on the keywords. While a basic search will yield great results, it will often yield too many results to adequately review. There are number of ways to filter and refine a search in Google to narrow them more specifically to meet the needs of the inquiry – without having to read thousands of results. Here are a few to memorize:

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Biltmore Offers a Fresh Take On Annual Meeting

By James W. Kilbourne Jr.

Last week, a white blanket fell upon the grounds of the Biltmore Estate.  The silence of new fallen snow covered the land and buildings as far as you could see.

It will not stay quiet forever, because in a few short months those same grounds and buildings will be filled with lawyers!  For the first time ever, the North Carolina Bar Association will hold its annual meeting in Asheville at Biltmore.  The largest private residence in the United States will host the largest gathering of attorneys and legal professionals in North Carolina.

To-do List For
Annual Meeting at Biltmore

  • Mark the dates on your calendar:
    June 20 – June 23, 2019
  • Book your hotel today. (Hotels are filling up fast; don’t miss your opportunity.)
  • Become a sponsor.
  • Check out biltmore.com to make a list of the things you want to experience.
  • Watch for more information in the coming months.

The Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Bar Association has been the single occasion where attorneys of North Carolina from all practice areas and all locations can gather together.  As this year’s theme will revolve around the wellness of legal professionals, the setting at Biltmore makes the event a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  As the brochure explains, “When George Vanderbilt created Biltmore, he envisioned a country retreat where family and friends could escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life to spend quality time together.”

We will still enjoy the opportunity to visit Asheville and the mountains, but with a new twist.  Centered at the new Amherst at Deerpark facility, the guests at the Annual Meeting will spread out across the grounds of Biltmore to the Inn on Biltmore Estate™, the Village Hotel, the Mansion, the Gardens, the Winery, the Farm, Antler Hill Village, and even the Land Rover Experience to experience unique opportunities and fellowship.

We hope to see our fellow NCBA members in June.

One-Member Wonders: NCBA Attorneys In Far-Flung Counties Are Never Alone

By Russell Rawlings

Our monthly reports at the N.C. Bar Center provide a wealth of information about the members of the North Carolina Bar Association. We can see how many lawyers, law students, paralegals and paralegal students comprise our membership, as well as how many members are participating in each of our sections and divisions.

The reports also reveal how many members hail from each of North Carolina’s 100 counties. There are thousands in Durham, Forsyth, Guilford, Mecklenburg and Wake counties, and more than a hundred members in each of 13 additional counties.

Another important number also stood out in a recent membership report for Gates, Graham and Tyrrell counties: one. That’s right – in each of those counties, we had one member, each of whom has a story to tell about their lives, their careers, and their reasons for being members of the North Carolina Bar Association.

Please allow me to introduce them.

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ABA TECHSHOW 2019 NCBA Member Discount and Some Marketing Tips

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Sponsored Post

North Carolina Bar Association Members Get $150 Off Standard Registration

ABA TECHSHOW has over 31 years of experience bringing lawyers and technology together. Legal work today is dependent on technology to manage day to day activities, to practice more competently, and to service clients more effectively. ABA TECHSHOW teaches you how technology can work for you. Through the expansive EXPO Hall, CLEs, presentations, and workshops, you will be able to get your questions answered and learn from the top legal professionals and tech innovators, all under one roof. Regardless of your expertise level, there’s something for you at ABA TECHSHOW.

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Join the NCBA Privacy & Data Security Section To Stay Up On This Evolving Field

We are pleased to announce the formation of the NCBA Privacy and Data Security Section.  Privacy and data security issues are constantly evolving, which makes this field uniquely suited to collaboration and information sharing. Further demonstrating its importance, in November 2018, the N.C. State Bar recognized its first class of privacy law specialists.  Even if your practice does not focus specifically on privacy and data security, join us to stay informed as to the latest trends and developments that may affect your clients. The new Section, which we anticipate will be formally recognized by the NCBA starting in July 2019, is open for registration here.

For more on the Section’s mission, read Chair Alex Pearce’s inaugural blog post.

How To *Really* Lock Down a PDF Document

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CATHERINE’S CALL

By Catherine Sanders Reach

Did you know that it is very easy to edit a PDF document unless you take steps to secure it? You can convert a PDF to Word in MS Word 2016 or in Adobe Acrobat and other PDF conversion applications. You can also easily edit a PDF in Acrobat. If you want to secure a PDF there are many ways to do so, but the strongest security is to apply a watermark, disable copying and printing, and apply a digital signature. This three-step process will create a document that is very difficult to alter or reproduce.

To create a PDF document that would be difficult to tamper with, including reproducing from a screenshot, you can take a three-step approach:

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