I hope everyone has begun to enjoy the fall and is well into the swing of the school year. While it is sad that the summer has come to an end, for those who have children, a new school year is always exciting (as is the cooler weather). Your Section Council has been busy planning and preparing for the upcoming year. With that in mind, I wanted to remind everyone that the 2025 Workers’ Compensation Fall Program is fast approaching. It is geared toward early-career workers’ compensation attorneys and will be held In-Person live or live via Webcast. It will be held at the North Carolina Bar Center, located at 8000 Weston Parkway in Cary on Thursday November 20, 2025. Jason Toups and Jesse Shapiro have been hard at work planning this event, and topics include:
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00WorkersComphttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngWorkersComp2025-10-17 12:42:312025-10-17 12:42:31Join Us on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, for the 2025 Workers' Compensation Fall CLE
The Industrial Commission has named Ashley Moore as the Chief Deputy Commissioner, replacing Deputy Commissioner Kevin Howell, who had served in this role for the past year and a half, while also serving as a Deputy Commissioner and working as the Dispute Resolution Coordinator. Deputy Commissioner Moore has worked at the Commission since 2015 and currently serves as a Deputy Commissioner and the Claims Administration Director. She will start her role as Chief Deputy Commissioner on November 1, 2025. Congratulations to Deputy Commissioner Moore and many thanks to Deputy Commissioner Howell for all his work.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00WorkersComphttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngWorkersComp2025-09-08 17:09:022025-09-08 17:09:02Congratulations to Deputy Commissioner Ashley Moore
Did you know the NCBA is the largest voluntary legal association in the state? I’m excited and honored to serve as Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section this year. Following in the footsteps of Leann Gerlach, Jennette Byrum, Heather Baker, Barry Jennings, and Eleasa Allen is both intimidating and inspiring. We have an excellent section, and I look forward to helping deliver value to our section members through opportunities to learn, socialize, and support the professionalism and camaraderie that define our community.
I have lived in Raleigh since 2005, the same year I began practicing (yes, I know, I absolutely DO NOT look like I’ve been practicing that long), but I’ve called North Carolina home since 2002. Outside of work, my interests are wide-ranging, from languages and travel, to cooking, knitting, and gardening (I was in my grandma era before it was a thing). I am married to my husband Ian, who is both the luckiest and longest-suffering person on the planet, as well as my two children, who are equal parts hilarious and terrifying.
At the NCBA’s Dispute Resolution Section Council meeting on March 17, 2022, the Council unanimously approved the following motion, made by the Race & Equity Committee:
We move for the NCBA Dispute Resolution Section to adopt an initiative to actively support, promote and encourage the designation and appointment of mediators of color in North Carolina consistent with the NCBA guidelines that seek to develop equity and inclusion and to dismantle systemic racism in our justice system.
Accordingly, the Committee is beginning the “Try Someone New” campaign, in which we plan to circulate a curated list of mediators of color with their backgrounds to legal practitioners in North Carolina who need mediators for their cases and encourage them to consider contacting them when they need mediators.
If you are interested in being included on this curated list, or if you’re interested in supporting this campaign in any other way, please email [email protected] by October 1, 2022. Thank you for your time, and we hope to be a resource for all in this endeavor.
Thank you,
Kerry Burleigh & Peter Singh, Race & Equity Committee Co-chairs
Kate Deiter-Maradei, Project Head
We are looking forward to the upcoming NCBA conference at the Grandover next week, the first to be held in person for the past two years! On behalf of the Pro Bono Committee of the Workers’ Compensation Section, we wanted to make you aware of an exciting Pro Bono opportunity for our section members at the 2022 conference. Our section is partnering once again with the North Carolina Bar Foundation (NCBF) and NC Free Legal Answers Pro Bono Program, which allows Bar Association members to provide answers to civil legal questions from financially eligible citizens through a website – not by phone. Attorneys may choose from 25 available legal categories and anonymously respond to a question that fits their legal interests.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00WorkersComphttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngWorkersComp2022-01-28 13:59:512022-01-28 13:59:51Join us at the Pro Bono Table on February 3!
I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season despite all the challenges we continue to face from this enduring pandemic. The Workers’ Compensation Section of the North Carolina Bar Association held its quarterly meeting on January 26, 2021. Several updates came out of the meeting and I wanted to share them with everyone.
Next week, beginning Thursday afternoon, February 4, 2021, the Section is holding its Spring CLE event. This event would typically be held at the Grandover in Greensboro but will be broadcast virtually this year. If you have not signed up, more information can be foundhere. Jeanette Byrum and Sherman Criner have put together an outstanding program this year with many varied topics. Additionally, if you are a Section member, you will receive a reduced rate!
John Schafer, Deputy Commissioner of the N.C. Industrial Commission, sent the below guidance on the N.C. Court of Appeals’ recently published opinion Mitchell v. Boswell, No. COA19-1077 (N.C. Ct. App. Nov. 3, 2020). The case arose from a dispute over the enforcement of a memorandum of settlement signed by attorneys on behalf of their clients. The court determined that the statute governing superior court mediation, N.C.G.S. § 7A-38.1(l), requires that the settlement agreement contain the signatures of the named parties to the action. Mediators who serve in Industrial Commission (“IC”) cases should note that N.C.G.S. § 7A-38.1(l) is not applicable to IC cases; the statute governing IC mediations is N.C.G.S. § 97-80(c). Additionally, Rules 11 NCAC 23G .0103(g) and .0104(e) of the Rules for Mediated Settlement and Neutral Evaluation Conferences of the North Carolina Industrial Commission govern agreements reached during a mediated settlement conference.
All questions regarding the N.C. Industrial Commission’s Mediation Program should be directed to John Schafer at [email protected].
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As you will recall before the world was overwhelmed with a global pandemic, our Section’s Pro Bono Committee had set up an opportunity at the Annual Meeting to allow members to register for and participate in NC Free Legal Answers. We were happy to see so many of our members enjoyed participating in this event! It is our goal to continue our Section’s Pro Bono efforts even amidst the current state of our practice. We understand that those efforts may look different given the present situation and the uncertainty about when things will begin to change. With that in mind, the Pro Bono Committee would like to hear from you, the members of our Section, about what Pro Bono efforts you are interested in and what you would like to see our Section do from a Pro Bono perspective in the future.
Please click here to take the short survey and let us know your thoughts, ideas, and if you would like to join the Pro Bono Committee. We would love to have you and welcome your input! Thanks for your time, and we look forward to hearing from you.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00WorkersComphttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngWorkersComp2020-10-16 16:13:282020-10-16 16:13:28Getting Your Thoughts on Pro Bono with the Workers’ Compensation Section
On October 22, 2020, the NCBA Workers’ Compensation Section is hosting a free webinar (not approved for CLE credit) featuring Deputy Commissioner Kevin Howell of the North Carolina Industrial Commission. Deputy Commissioner Howell will be presenting “Practical Tips and Considerations for Webex Hearings.” Due to COVID-19, the majority of NCIC hearings are being held via video conference on the Webex platform. All are invited to learn from Deputy Commissioner Howell’s experiences with the platform and be better able to prepare their case and clients for hearings to come. There will be a questions and answer portion at the end of webinar. Please be sure to sign up here. We look forward to your participation and engagement!
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00WorkersComphttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngWorkersComp2020-10-06 14:24:492020-10-06 14:24:49Webinar: Practical Tips and Considerations for Webex Hearings
On August 21, 2020, the North Carolina Industrial Commission posted a quarterly update to their website. The update can be found here. The update addresses the upcoming NCIC Educational Conference, the emergency amendment to Rule 11 NCAC 23G, and ways for interested stakeholders to receive updates via email.
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