Navigating the Holidays with COVID-19: Create a Roadmap for Success

By Kim R. Bonuomo

From the leaders of groups that deal with families in crisis:

Susan Myres, President of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML)
Larry Fong, President, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC)
Mindy Mitnick, AFCC President-Elect
Matt Sullivan, AFCC Past President
Laura Belleau, AAML Second Vice President
Kim Bonuomo, AAML committee co-chair for AAML/AFCC program Nancy Kellman AAML committee co-chair for AAML/AFCC program
Jill Peña, AAML Executive Director Peter Salem, AFCC Executive Director

The following are useful tools to help divorced/separated parents sharing custody to get through the upcoming holidays in the midst of a continuing pandemic with a minimum of conflict and stress.
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Mingling with Membership is Back! 

By Jake Epstein

The NCBA Membership Committee is bringing you four new Mingling with Membership virtual events — back by popular demand! Please join us for any or all of them if you can. They are free to attend. You just need to register for the event by using the link below.

For those of you who missed them in June and July, Mingling with Membership events are a virtual substitute for the discussions we would often have with each other at live events prior to COVID-19.  They are an opportunity to get together (via Zoom) with other lawyers, judges, paralegals, and law students and to have informal, interesting and informative conversation. They are a happy hour from the comfort of your own home/office. The events last an hour and will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. We will start each event by discussing or presenting a specific topic and then open the discussion to all attendees for the remainder of the event.

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YLD e-Blast: November 2020

Christina Cress

Claire O’Brien

By Christina Cress and Claire O’Brien

Dates to Know

Dec. 10, 2020 | 43rd Annual Bankruptcy Institute | 8 a.m.
Dec. 10, 2020 | Mingling with Membership: Best Practices for Remote Hearings | 4 to 5 p.m.

Committee and Section Updates

Law Week and Liberty Bell Committee: The YLD’s Law Week and Liberty Bell Committee is gearing up to start preparing for Law Day in May 2021! The Committee is currently looking for additional volunteers to help with these efforts. If you enjoy working with kids ranging from elementary to high school age, this is the committee for you! The Committee welcomes new ideas and is excited about the meaningful opportunity to help the next generation understand the importance of their voice. There are several subcommittees, including: (1) Poster Competition; (2) Essay Competition; (3) Moot Court Competition; (4) Liberty Bell; and (5) McIntyre Award. In addition to seeking additional volunteers, the Committee would like to alert all YLD members that in the upcoming weeks, it will be posting announcements for each competition. All YLD members are encouraged to share these announcements with colleagues, family, and friends, and on social media. These could be great activities to do over the winter break! Finally, the Committee also will need volunteer judges and timekeepers for the upcoming Moot Court Regional Competition in March. Check back soon for dates and more information. If you have any questions or want additional information on how to get involved, please reach out to Sidney Thomas or William Walton.

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Recent Amendments to the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure

By Erik Zimmerman

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of North Carolina amended the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure, changing the rules for obtaining and filing transcripts on appeal. The amendments are available here. Under the new rules, the transcriptionist must deliver the transcript to all parties to the appeal, eliminating any need for appellees to pay for their own copies of the transcript. The rule changes also shift the burden of filing the transcript in the appellate courts from the transcriptionist to the appellant. Additionally, the amendments make timing changes, extending the time for completing the transcript from 60 to 90 days and the time for serving the proposed record on appeal from 35 to 45 days after completion of the transcript.
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You’re Invited to a Conversation with the FBI!

We hope that our members will join us for a fascinating Fireside Chat on December 2, 2020, at 3 p.m. via Zoom. Supervisory Special Agent Jessica Nye will review current cyber threat trends observed by the FBI and ways you can protect yourself against these threats, along with a discussion on when and how to engage law enforcement for assistance. SSA Nye will discuss investigations into ransomware, business email compromises, cyber national security cases and other threats worked by the FBI.

Speaker

Supervisory Special Agent Jessica Nye is the current Supervisor of the FBI Cyber Squad in Raleigh, N.C. Prior to her arrival in North Carolina in 2015, Ms. Nye spent eight years working in the Baltimore Field Office on their Cyber Squad and two years at FBI Cyber Division Headquarters in Washington, D.C. She has significant experience working cyber-related matters including computer intrusion investigations, intellectual property (IP) rights violations, theft of trade secrets, economic espionage and other investigations.

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The Second Biennial Diversity and Inclusion Symposium

,

Tawanda Artis

Niya Fonville

By Tawanda Artis and Niya Fonville

We are thrilled to announce the Minorities in the Profession (MIP) Committee’s second biennial Diversity and Inclusion Symposium. This free, virtual program will be held December 11, 2020, from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. This Symposium is open to any attorney or legal professional interested in diversity and inclusion issues.

Reverend Jesse Jackson once said, “[i]nclusion is not a matter of political correctness. It’s the key to growth.” Regardless of one’s political leanings, or feelings toward Rev. Jackson for that matter, we cannot deny the truth of this statement. While MIP is dedicated to promoting an increase in the number of minority attorneys in the N.C. State Bar, it is also focused on creating an inclusive legal profession — an environment where all members feel heard and their experiences are valued and genuinely incorporated within a structure that may not have traditionally been so welcoming. Inclusivity impacts relationships between colleagues, attorney morale, and how effectively we serve our clients. We all have a part to play in creating and maintaining inclusive spaces. As a profession, as a nation, and as members of this global community, we have an obligation to educate ourselves and hold each other accountable when we fall short. The events of the past several months make this program timelier than ever and demonstrate why change is necessary and why the time is now. We are excited to build on the momentum in many firms and organizations across the nation who are auditing current programs and exploring new initiatives in this sphere.

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2020 – End of Calendar Year Gift Ideas

By Tom Hull

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) and Your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Accounts

Thanks to changes in the 2018 tax law, many of us are able to reap the benefits of an opportunity to receive a charitable deduction and take the full standard deduction at the same time. As you have heard, the SECURE Act enacted in late December 2019 raised the minimum age from 70.5 (technically April 1 of the year following the year a person attains the age of 70.5) to 72 years effective January 1, 2020, for required minimum distributions from IRAs and other applicable accounts. You can now wait until the age of 72 for the first RMD unless you were already required to take RMDs in 2019. Although the CARES Act waives required minimum distributions (RMD’s) for calendar year 2020, would you please consider the QCD option?

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IC Enforcement of a Memorandum of Settlement

By Barry Jennings

All,

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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Giving Thanks This Thanksgiving

By Yazmeen Gadalla

On November 26, the United States will come together to celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a time to look back at the year prior and to give thanks. It is also a time to look forward and be thankful for what is to come. Thanksgiving is the pinnacle of the fall season, transitioning the American people into numerous holidays and ultimately, the New Year. In these times, the prospect of a new beginning is one that many of us eagerly await. In 2020, this Thanksgiving holiday will look and feel different from many other Thanksgivings in the past. There might not be a large, lavish meal with family. There might not be a trip across states to see old friends. But in a year where so much has happened, it is important to remember what we are thankful for.
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Changes to N.C. Civil Procedure Rule 5 and N.C. Business Court Rule 3

By John P. Marshall

Effective Oct. 1, 2020, House Bill 679 became law, amending Rule 5 of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure.

The changes are outlined below:

1. Service is now proper on a party’s attorney of record via electronic mail to an email address of record with the court in the case. Such email must be sent by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on a regular business day. If the email is sent after 5:00 p.m., it will be deemed to have been sent on the next business day.

2. Service may also be made on a party by email, but only if the party has consented to receive email service in the case at a particular email address, and a copy of the consent is filed with the court by any party. The same rules apply as set forth in paragraph 1 as to timing of service by 5:00 p.m.

3. Where electronic filing is available (for example, the Business Court), an automated certificate of service generated by that system satisfies the requirements of Rule 5.

4. The certificate of service must show the date and the method of service, and if by email or fax, the email address or fax number of each person served in that manner.

5. If you serve via email, just like service via fax, there is no “three-day rule” that exists for regular mail.

6. Service in other manners heretofore allowed under Rule 5 are still allowed.

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