The North Carolina Bar Association Elder and Special Needs Law Section has established a scholarship program for CLE program tuition for NCBA-Basics of Elder and Special Needs Law Program, to be held on Oct. 10 at the Bar Center. The scholarship will pay no more than 100% of the lowest NCBA member registration fee for the program. A limited number of scholarships are available. Any attorney member of the NCBA Elder and Special Needs Law Section is eligible to apply for CLE scholarship. Non-member attorneys interested in the CLE scholarship are required to apply for membership in the Elder and Special Needs Law Section before or concurrently with submission of an application for CLE Scholarships.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00ElderLawhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngElderLaw2019-08-14 09:33:592019-08-15 15:10:19Scholarships Available For 2019 Elder Law Basics Program
As soon as you get your acceptance letter into law school, you will start to receive all kinds of unsolicited advice. You should always take such advice with a grain of salt, because everyone’s experiences in law school are different, and you know (or will quickly learn) what you need to do to succeed and stay happy and healthy while you do it.
With that said, I am about to provide—you guessed it—some unsolicited advice about how to survive law school. I’m not here to tell you how to get good grades or your dream job, because there are plenty of people wiser and more experienced than I am who can help you accomplish those worthy goals. Instead, I’m here to give you my thoughts on how to make your three years in law school a tolerable, and perhaps even enjoyable, experience.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBA YLDhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBA YLD2019-08-14 09:16:382019-08-14 09:16:38How To Survive Law School
Dear Fellow International Practice Section Members,
Welcome to the 2019-2020 Bar Association year, I am honored to serve as your chair and would like to thank Jennifer Parser for her role as chair for the 2018-2019 Bar year.
Did you notice anything different? Last year, we changed our name to “International Practice Section” to better capture the wide range of cross-border work that our members do. We will continue to provide these updates and other interesting articles to our members through our blog. If you come across any articles that would make a good addition to the blog, be sure to send them our way and we’ll do the rest!
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00International Practicehttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngInternational Practice2019-08-12 11:26:112019-09-05 11:40:29A New Year With a New Name
“Seeking justice often involves enduring tedium.” It’s fitting that North Carolina’s first substantive legal decision on eDiscovery begins with this pithy observation. Employment litigators often lament the virtual hellscape of discovering electronically stored information (“ESI”). But the era when paper was king is long dead, and the fight is now firmly in the cyber world of custodians, native formats, and keyword searches.
For those in federal court, at least rules and precedent exist to help guide them through the dark ESI forest (especially those that find themselves before Chief Judge Frank Whitney in the Western District of North Carolina). North Carolina state court practitioners haven’t been so lucky. That is until this week. On Aug. 6, 2019, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued its first substantive decision on ESI in Crosmun v. Trustees of Fayetteville Technical Cmty. Coll. (No. COA18-1054). Judge Lucy Inman, who authored the opinion, put it well: “This appeal presents this Court with our first opportunity to address the contours of eDiscovery within the context of North Carolina common and statutory law regarding the attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine.” The Court ultimately reversed the trial court’s order granting Plaintiffs’ forensic expert direct access to Defendants’ ESI, but the way the Court got there and its recommendations on remand are far more important than the holding itself.
https://www.ncbarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/access-close-up-code_edited.jpg262800Laborhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngLabor2019-08-09 11:14:522019-09-27 05:21:31Enduring Tedium: The Future of Fights Over Electronically Stored Information
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) of 2009 was a natural outgrowth of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA was designed to protect personal information while facilitating the transfer of information between the “covered entities” to improve the continuity of care across the spectrum of providers.
An unfortunate consequence of ratcheting up protections under HIPAA for personal health information was to make it more difficult for patients to access their own records. With unauthorized disclosures so broadly defined, additional consequences of non-compliance included the threat of civil penalties levied by the courts and limits being placed on reimbursements and payments by the Federal government.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Paralegalshttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngParalegals2019-08-09 10:08:522019-08-09 10:10:09Medical Record Retrieval In the Modern Era: A Primer On HITECH
Rulemaking coordinators across state government are no doubt heaving a sigh of relief. They will welcome a new law that makes long desired changes in state government rulemaking. This new law will allow quick fixes to small but important elements in the North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC). See, S.L. 2019-140, An Act to Amend Various Administrative Procedure Laws. The changes were effective with Gov. Cooper’s signature on Friday, July 19. Read more
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00GovernmentandPublicSectorhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngGovernmentandPublicSector2019-08-08 14:45:052019-08-08 14:49:06New Law Affects State Government Rulemaking and Contested Cases
The Young Lawyers Division has two upcoming events in Greensboro on Saturday, Aug. 24.
1. Networking Social
Join the NCBA YLD on Saturday, Aug. 24, at Little Brother Brewing for a casual networking social. Little Brother Brewing is a small, boutique brewery and taproom in downtown Greensboro. Get to know your NCBA YLD Leadership and other YLDers from across the state during this low-key, drop-in event.
Who: All young lawyers are invited!
What: A low-key afternoon networking social. No cost to attend.
Where: Little Brother Brewing (348 S Elm St Greensboro, NC 27401)
2. Fall Quarterly Council Meeting & Leadership Training
The YLD’s Fall Quarterly Council Meeting & Leadership Training will take place at Forrest Firm’s Greensboro Office (125 S. Elm St., Suite 100, Greensboro) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24. We will discuss our YLD committees’ plans for the year and how best to connect with the YLD. As we kick off the 2019-20 bar year, we will also hold our annual Leadership Training, which will discuss NCBA/NCBF functions, YLD structure, communications and connectedness including the YLD Blog, social media and SLACK, the YLD calendar, and committee expectations, among other topics.
All YLD Members are invited to attend.
A light breakfast and lunch will be provided.
Not able to attend in person? Call-in instead!
Register for the Council Meeting & Leadership Training here.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to me ([email protected]) or our NCBA Communities Manager, Lauren Colvard, ([email protected]) with questions regarding either event!
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBA YLDhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBA YLD2019-08-07 16:01:262019-08-08 11:30:53Come One, Come All! Join the YLD In Greensboro On Aug. 24
How do companies balance the efficiencies of instant messaging with potential legal risks? Instant messaging applications are increasingly present in today’s corporate world and a popular form of communications both internally, between company employees, and externally with clients and partner organizations. The days of face-to-face meetings between managers and employees in conference rooms or popping into someone’s office to discuss a project are no longer the norm. Today, many modern employees are using instant messaging (“IM”) as a “virtual water cooler” or “virtual conference room” to collaborate and share information and files with co-workers and customers in real time, using platforms such as Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams, Slack and Google’s Hangouts.
https://www.ncbarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/blur-cellphone-communication-1391404-e1565270967567.jpg21204000NCBA Bloggerhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBA Blogger2019-08-06 20:00:002019-08-08 09:30:08The Dark Side of Instant Messaging for Business
At the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law that allows the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) to reject words and symbols that are considered immoral or scandalous, on grounds that it violates the First Amendment. This is another chapter in a battle against the second part of the same provision that prevents registration of allegedly racist or disparaging terms, like (the band) “Slants” and (the football team) “Redskins.”
In 2011, the PTO denied Erik Brunetti’s attempts to register the mark “FUCT” for his streetwear clothing line, claiming it was a profane and “scandalous” term. According to Brunetti, in addition to a clever play on a vulgar word, FUCT is actually an acronym for Friends U Can’t Trust.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00IntellectualPropertyhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngIntellectualProperty2019-08-06 15:46:502019-08-06 16:19:12First Amendment Is a Friend U Can Trust to Register Offensive Trademarks
Scholarships Available For 2019 Elder Law Basics Program
Elder & Special Needs LawThe North Carolina Bar Association Elder and Special Needs Law Section has established a scholarship program for CLE program tuition for NCBA-Basics of Elder and Special Needs Law Program, to be held on Oct. 10 at the Bar Center. The scholarship will pay no more than 100% of the lowest NCBA member registration fee for the program. A limited number of scholarships are available. Any attorney member of the NCBA Elder and Special Needs Law Section is eligible to apply for CLE scholarship. Non-member attorneys interested in the CLE scholarship are required to apply for membership in the Elder and Special Needs Law Section before or concurrently with submission of an application for CLE Scholarships.
Read more
How To Survive Law School
Law Student Division, Young Lawyers DivisionBy Sarah Cansler
As soon as you get your acceptance letter into law school, you will start to receive all kinds of unsolicited advice. You should always take such advice with a grain of salt, because everyone’s experiences in law school are different, and you know (or will quickly learn) what you need to do to succeed and stay happy and healthy while you do it.
With that said, I am about to provide—you guessed it—some unsolicited advice about how to survive law school. I’m not here to tell you how to get good grades or your dream job, because there are plenty of people wiser and more experienced than I am who can help you accomplish those worthy goals. Instead, I’m here to give you my thoughts on how to make your three years in law school a tolerable, and perhaps even enjoyable, experience.
Read more
A New Year With a New Name
International Law, International Law & Practice, International PracticeDear Fellow International Practice Section Members,
Welcome to the 2019-2020 Bar Association year, I am honored to serve as your chair and would like to thank Jennifer Parser for her role as chair for the 2018-2019 Bar year.
Did you notice anything different? Last year, we changed our name to “International Practice Section” to better capture the wide range of cross-border work that our members do. We will continue to provide these updates and other interesting articles to our members through our blog. If you come across any articles that would make a good addition to the blog, be sure to send them our way and we’ll do the rest!
Read more
Enduring Tedium: The Future of Fights Over Electronically Stored Information
Featured Posts, Labor & Employment Law, Small Firm & Technology SectionBy Sean F. Herrmann
“Seeking justice often involves enduring tedium.” It’s fitting that North Carolina’s first substantive legal decision on eDiscovery begins with this pithy observation. Employment litigators often lament the virtual hellscape of discovering electronically stored information (“ESI”). But the era when paper was king is long dead, and the fight is now firmly in the cyber world of custodians, native formats, and keyword searches.
For those in federal court, at least rules and precedent exist to help guide them through the dark ESI forest (especially those that find themselves before Chief Judge Frank Whitney in the Western District of North Carolina). North Carolina state court practitioners haven’t been so lucky. That is until this week. On Aug. 6, 2019, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued its first substantive decision on ESI in Crosmun v. Trustees of Fayetteville Technical Cmty. Coll. (No. COA18-1054). Judge Lucy Inman, who authored the opinion, put it well: “This appeal presents this Court with our first opportunity to address the contours of eDiscovery within the context of North Carolina common and statutory law regarding the attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine.” The Court ultimately reversed the trial court’s order granting Plaintiffs’ forensic expert direct access to Defendants’ ESI, but the way the Court got there and its recommendations on remand are far more important than the holding itself.
Read more
Medical Record Retrieval In the Modern Era: A Primer On HITECH
Paralegal DivisionBy Martin A. Ginsburg
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) of 2009 was a natural outgrowth of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA was designed to protect personal information while facilitating the transfer of information between the “covered entities” to improve the continuity of care across the spectrum of providers.
An unfortunate consequence of ratcheting up protections under HIPAA for personal health information was to make it more difficult for patients to access their own records. With unauthorized disclosures so broadly defined, additional consequences of non-compliance included the threat of civil penalties levied by the courts and limits being placed on reimbursements and payments by the Federal government.
Read more
FAQs: NCBarBlog for Sections & Divisions
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New Law Affects State Government Rulemaking and Contested Cases
Government & Public SectorBy Ann B. Wall
Rulemaking coordinators across state government are no doubt heaving a sigh of relief. They will welcome a new law that makes long desired changes in state government rulemaking. This new law will allow quick fixes to small but important elements in the North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC). See, S.L. 2019-140, An Act to Amend Various Administrative Procedure Laws. The changes were effective with Gov. Cooper’s signature on Friday, July 19. Read more
Come One, Come All! Join the YLD In Greensboro On Aug. 24
Young Lawyers DivisionBy Cabell Clay
The Young Lawyers Division has two upcoming events in Greensboro on Saturday, Aug. 24.
1. Networking Social
Join the NCBA YLD on Saturday, Aug. 24, at Little Brother Brewing for a casual networking social. Little Brother Brewing is a small, boutique brewery and taproom in downtown Greensboro. Get to know your NCBA YLD Leadership and other YLDers from across the state during this low-key, drop-in event.
Who: All young lawyers are invited!
What: A low-key afternoon networking social. No cost to attend.
Where: Little Brother Brewing (348 S Elm St Greensboro, NC 27401)
When: Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019, from 2 – 4 p.m.
How: Register here.
2. Fall Quarterly Council Meeting & Leadership Training
The YLD’s Fall Quarterly Council Meeting & Leadership Training will take place at Forrest Firm’s Greensboro Office (125 S. Elm St., Suite 100, Greensboro) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24. We will discuss our YLD committees’ plans for the year and how best to connect with the YLD. As we kick off the 2019-20 bar year, we will also hold our annual Leadership Training, which will discuss NCBA/NCBF functions, YLD structure, communications and connectedness including the YLD Blog, social media and SLACK, the YLD calendar, and committee expectations, among other topics.
All YLD Members are invited to attend.
A light breakfast and lunch will be provided.
Not able to attend in person? Call-in instead!
Register for the Council Meeting & Leadership Training here.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to me ([email protected]) or our NCBA Communities Manager, Lauren Colvard, ([email protected]) with questions regarding either event!
Hope to see you on the 24th.
Cabell, YLD Chair
The Dark Side of Instant Messaging for Business
Featured PostsHow do companies balance the efficiencies of instant messaging with potential legal risks? Instant messaging applications are increasingly present in today’s corporate world and a popular form of communications both internally, between company employees, and externally with clients and partner organizations. The days of face-to-face meetings between managers and employees in conference rooms or popping into someone’s office to discuss a project are no longer the norm. Today, many modern employees are using instant messaging (“IM”) as a “virtual water cooler” or “virtual conference room” to collaborate and share information and files with co-workers and customers in real time, using platforms such as Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams, Slack and Google’s Hangouts.
Read more
First Amendment Is a Friend U Can Trust to Register Offensive Trademarks
Intellectual Property Law SectionAt the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law that allows the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) to reject words and symbols that are considered immoral or scandalous, on grounds that it violates the First Amendment. This is another chapter in a battle against the second part of the same provision that prevents registration of allegedly racist or disparaging terms, like (the band) “Slants” and (the football team) “Redskins.”
In 2011, the PTO denied Erik Brunetti’s attempts to register the mark “FUCT” for his streetwear clothing line, claiming it was a profane and “scandalous” term. According to Brunetti, in addition to a clever play on a vulgar word, FUCT is actually an acronym for Friends U Can’t Trust.
Read more