The flashing blue light. That’s what I remember about Mrs. Lake’s third grade class. Show-and-tell was the best part of my week; especially when that sheriff’s deputy gave a bunch of us a sightseeing tour of his patrol car. It made a lasting impression.
Conducting a job shadowing event at your office will provide a lasting impression of our chosen profession in the minds of the millennials and the Justin Bieber crowd.
We have plenty to share with them:
Think about it. We create an indelible footprint everyday: handling administrative tasks, sifting through personnel matters, building and maintaining relationships, plus mining through the cloud.
Think about it. We acquire blocks of knowledge on a consistent basis: CLEs from the North Carolina Bar Association, specialized certifications, certificates and on-the-job training.
Think about it. We are adept at adapting: collaborating with courthouse personnel, figuring it out with the IT support service guy, discussing the next action with a partner and smoothing out the rough spots with a client.
Think about it. We use our skills in “pressure cooker” situations: When a paralegal abruptly quits and leaves no instructions or when a computer glitch wipes out a document that you did not save on the F drive and did not have a back-up copy located on a portable thumb drive.
Job shadowing is a picture-perfect way to explain your routine and how it relates to other positions within your firm or company. Consider these tips when you start planning: get buy-in from department leaders, encourage your co-workers to participate and provide a take-home packet or business cards.
We can be the flashing blue light for the next generation.
Art MacCord is a patent attorney with 38 years of experience. He keeps an eye on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Copyright Office for new rules and practice tips of interest to intellectual property attorneys. Please find his most recent link below.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2017-01-24 14:28:262017-01-24 14:28:26MacCord’s List: IP Notices & News From Art MacCord
Wellness was not a familiar term when I did something about mine in 1978. That was the year I lost 140 pounds and changed my life forever.
Whether that qualifies me to write on the subject of wellness remains to be seen. There’s certainly more to wellness than losing weight. On the other hand, wellness would be difficult to achieve without some semblance of weight control.
If there is any advantage to having been the fat kid in school all the way into my senior year of college, it would be my experience with weight. From gaining it to losing it, from living with it to keeping it off, I know weight, and it knows me.
https://www.ncbarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/WalkingHeader.jpg480901NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2017-01-24 14:06:252017-01-24 14:06:25Wellness: When Feeling Good Feels Even Better Than Losing Weight
Happy New Year! As 2017 gets into full swing, change is all around us — a new president has taken office in Washington, a new governor has taken office in Raleigh, and with both come new elected officials, new appointments, new agendas, and new policy directions. In the midst of these changes, there is certainty that the next few months will bring new developments in the area of education law at the state and federal levels.
Our blog is an effort to keep our section members abreast of education law developments in a timely manner. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Stephen Moore and Erin Edgar, co-chairs of the Newsletter and Homepage Committee, for working to transition the section from the newsletter to the blog format. If you would like to contribute a post to the blog, please do not hesitate to contact Stephen, Erin, or me. Blog posts can be short legal updates or “thought pieces” that section members desire to share with their colleagues and fellow education law practitioners. Our goal is to have a new blog post every three weeks.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2017-01-24 10:24:482017-01-24 10:24:48New Year, New Blog
The new year brings Foster Care 18-21 to North Carolina. This is a new program that offers extended foster care to children who have aged out from foster care. Foster Care 18-21 was created by S.L. 2015-241, Section 12C.9 and became effective on Jan. 1. The North Carolina Division of Social Services provides additional information about this new program in its Child Welfare Services Policy Manual, Section 1201, XII (“NC DSS §1201, XII”).
Eligibility Based on Age
A juvenile who is in foster care when he or she turns 18 may enter into a voluntary foster care agreement with a county department and continue to receive foster care services and benefits until turning 21. GS 131D-10.2B(a). The young adult who has aged out of foster care may enter into a voluntary foster care agreement at any time prior to his or her 21st birthday. Id.
There is nothing in the statute or state policy that limits enrollment to those children who age out of foster care on or after Jan. 1, 2017. As a result, it appears that children who aged out of foster care before Jan. 1, 2017 and who are not yet 21 years old may enroll in the Foster Care 18-21 program. Those young adults may contact either the county department where they were in foster care (county of origin) or where they currently reside. NC DSS §1201, XII.J.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2017-01-23 16:48:572017-01-23 16:48:57Foster Care Extended to Age 21
As attorneys, we are all well aware of how diverse the practice of law is and how each area of the law intersects with other areas. However, not many non-attorneys are aware of the intersection between intellectual property law and sports and entertainment law.
Like many other children of the nineties, I grew up idolizing basketball megastar Michael Jordan. As a kid growing up on Tobacco Road, I was in awe of Michael Jordan’s seemingly unlimited skill set. So you can imagine many children’s collective disappointment when our hero was not in several video games growing up. The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players’ Association Shared Licensing Agreement is one reason for that.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2017-01-17 09:57:242017-01-17 09:57:24Air Jordan's Absence In the '90s
This is the first of two installments of this article. The second installment will appear soon on the Tax Section’s blog.
I. Audit Statistics; What Are Your Chances of Being Audited?
In early 2016, the IRS published its 2015 Internal Revenue Service Data Book (IR-2016-52), which contains audit statistics for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015. Here are the audit statistics for returns filed in calendar year 2014 (“CY 2014”):
Art MacCord is a patent attorney with 38 years of experience. He keeps an eye on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Copyright Office for new rules and practice tips of interest to intellectual property attorneys. Please find his most recent links here.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2017-01-16 16:39:502017-01-16 16:39:50MacCord's List: IP Notices & News From Art MacCord For Jan. 17, 2017
Many lawyers who represent private sector employers are familiar with the (some might say “harsh”) position on social media policies taken by the National Labor Relations Board during the Obama Administration. The NLRB’s position is that overly vague social media policies have a “chilling effect” on employees seeking to exercise their rights to engage in concerted activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.
Under the NLRB’s analysis, social media policies that require “courtesy,” or that prohibit employees from “disparaging” the company or its management, or posting in a way that “adversely reflects on the company” violate Section 7. This applies to both union and non-union employers.
But the NLRA doesn’t cover federal, state, or local government employees, which is great if you represent a government employer . . .
. . . right?
Apparently not. Although public employers do not have to worry about the NLRA, they do have to worry about this little thing called “the First Amendment.”
A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Liverman v. City of Petersburg (Virginia), indicates that there may not be much practical difference between a First Amendment analysis of public employer social media policies and a Section 7 analysis of private employer policies.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2017-01-13 15:46:032017-01-13 15:46:03Are Vague Social Media Policies a Problem For Public Employers? Indeed, They Are.
Yesterday, lawmakers returned to Raleigh for the 2017 long session. Among the many important issues the legislature is expected to consider this year, “raise the age” will likely once again be included. Since 1919, N.C. law has required that minors be prosecuted as adults for all crimes beginning at age 16. There has been a long-standing campaign to raise the juvenile age but legislative proposals attempting to do so have repeatedly failed. New York is the only other state in the nation that automatically prosecutes 16-year-olds as adults, although that state allows “reverse waiver” which permits transfer from criminal to juvenile court.
One of the reasons often cited for the legislature’s reluctance to raise the age is the strong opposition of law enforcement officers and prosecutors to such reform. That assertion is no longer valid, at least in part. The N.C. Sheriffs’ Association and several other law enforcement groups have publicly endorsed a new raise the age proposal by the Criminal Investigation and Adjudication Committee of the North Carolina Commission on the Administration of Law and Justice (NCCALJ). The proposal recommends that North Carolina raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to include 16- and 17-year-olds for all offenses, except high-level felonies and traffic offenses. Youthful offenders (16- and 17-year-olds) who commit Class A-E felonies would be automatically transferred to adult court upon a finding of probable cause or an indictment, alleviating public safety concerns held by law enforcement officers and prosecutors about violent juvenile offenders.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2017-01-12 11:40:292017-01-12 11:40:29'Raise the Age' Receives Historic Law Enforcement Support
Make a Lasting Impression
Paralegal DivisionThe flashing blue light. That’s what I remember about Mrs. Lake’s third grade class. Show-and-tell was the best part of my week; especially when that sheriff’s deputy gave a bunch of us a sightseeing tour of his patrol car. It made a lasting impression.
Conducting a job shadowing event at your office will provide a lasting impression of our chosen profession in the minds of the millennials and the Justin Bieber crowd.
We have plenty to share with them:
Job shadowing is a picture-perfect way to explain your routine and how it relates to other positions within your firm or company. Consider these tips when you start planning: get buy-in from department leaders, encourage your co-workers to participate and provide a take-home packet or business cards.
We can be the flashing blue light for the next generation.
MacCord’s List: IP Notices & News From Art MacCord
Intellectual Property Law SectionArt MacCord is a patent attorney with 38 years of experience. He keeps an eye on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Copyright Office for new rules and practice tips of interest to intellectual property attorneys. Please find his most recent link below.
Trademark Fee Changes
https://www.uspto.gov/trademark/fees-payment-information/trademark-fee-changes
Wellness: When Feeling Good Feels Even Better Than Losing Weight
Featured PostsWellness was not a familiar term when I did something about mine in 1978. That was the year I lost 140 pounds and changed my life forever.
Whether that qualifies me to write on the subject of wellness remains to be seen. There’s certainly more to wellness than losing weight. On the other hand, wellness would be difficult to achieve without some semblance of weight control.
If there is any advantage to having been the fat kid in school all the way into my senior year of college, it would be my experience with weight. From gaining it to losing it, from living with it to keeping it off, I know weight, and it knows me.
Read more
New Year, New Blog
Education Law SectionHappy New Year! As 2017 gets into full swing, change is all around us — a new president has taken office in Washington, a new governor has taken office in Raleigh, and with both come new elected officials, new appointments, new agendas, and new policy directions. In the midst of these changes, there is certainty that the next few months will bring new developments in the area of education law at the state and federal levels.
Our blog is an effort to keep our section members abreast of education law developments in a timely manner. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Stephen Moore and Erin Edgar, co-chairs of the Newsletter and Homepage Committee, for working to transition the section from the newsletter to the blog format. If you would like to contribute a post to the blog, please do not hesitate to contact Stephen, Erin, or me. Blog posts can be short legal updates or “thought pieces” that section members desire to share with their colleagues and fellow education law practitioners. Our goal is to have a new blog post every three weeks.
Read more
Foster Care Extended to Age 21
Juvenile Justice & Children's Rights, UncategorizedThe new year brings Foster Care 18-21 to North Carolina. This is a new program that offers extended foster care to children who have aged out from foster care. Foster Care 18-21 was created by S.L. 2015-241, Section 12C.9 and became effective on Jan. 1. The North Carolina Division of Social Services provides additional information about this new program in its Child Welfare Services Policy Manual, Section 1201, XII (“NC DSS §1201, XII”).
Eligibility Based on Age
A juvenile who is in foster care when he or she turns 18 may enter into a voluntary foster care agreement with a county department and continue to receive foster care services and benefits until turning 21. GS 131D-10.2B(a). The young adult who has aged out of foster care may enter into a voluntary foster care agreement at any time prior to his or her 21st birthday. Id.
There is nothing in the statute or state policy that limits enrollment to those children who age out of foster care on or after Jan. 1, 2017. As a result, it appears that children who aged out of foster care before Jan. 1, 2017 and who are not yet 21 years old may enroll in the Foster Care 18-21 program. Those young adults may contact either the county department where they were in foster care (county of origin) or where they currently reside. NC DSS §1201, XII.J.
Read more
Air Jordan’s Absence In the ’90s
Intellectual Property Law SectionAs attorneys, we are all well aware of how diverse the practice of law is and how each area of the law intersects with other areas. However, not many non-attorneys are aware of the intersection between intellectual property law and sports and entertainment law.
Like many other children of the nineties, I grew up idolizing basketball megastar Michael Jordan. As a kid growing up on Tobacco Road, I was in awe of Michael Jordan’s seemingly unlimited skill set. So you can imagine many children’s collective disappointment when our hero was not in several video games growing up. The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players’ Association Shared Licensing Agreement is one reason for that.
Read more
Federal Income Tax Update
Tax SectionThis is the first of two installments of this article. The second installment will appear soon on the Tax Section’s blog.
I. Audit Statistics; What Are Your Chances of Being Audited?
In early 2016, the IRS published its 2015 Internal Revenue Service Data Book (IR-2016-52), which contains audit statistics for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015. Here are the audit statistics for returns filed in calendar year 2014 (“CY 2014”):
Read more
MacCord’s List: IP Notices & News From Art MacCord For Jan. 17, 2017
Intellectual Property Law SectionArt MacCord is a patent attorney with 38 years of experience. He keeps an eye on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Copyright Office for new rules and practice tips of interest to intellectual property attorneys. Please find his most recent links here.
Extension Of the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program
https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/og/2017/week03/TOC.htm#ref11
Summary of changes in TTAB final rule became effective on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017
chart
New Trademark Fee schedule
Trademark fee changes page
New TM rules texts
Trademark Laws and Regulations page.
Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) Reformatted Declarations
TEAS Reformatted Declarations Effective January 14, 2017
Retirement of Trademarks legacy ID Manual
https://www.uspto.gov/trademark/trademark-updates-and-announcements/retirement-trademarks-legacy-id-manual
Continuation of the IP5 Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program with the IP5 Offices
https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/og/2016/week52/TOC.htm#ref16
Consolidated Listing Of Official Gazette Notices Re Patent and Trademark Office Practices and Procedures
https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/og/2016/week52/TOC2016CN.htm
Copyright Office Releases Report On Software-Enabled Consumer Products
http://copyright.gov/policy/software/
Are Vague Social Media Policies a Problem For Public Employers? Indeed, They Are.
Labor & Employment LawMany lawyers who represent private sector employers are familiar with the (some might say “harsh”) position on social media policies taken by the National Labor Relations Board during the Obama Administration. The NLRB’s position is that overly vague social media policies have a “chilling effect” on employees seeking to exercise their rights to engage in concerted activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.
Under the NLRB’s analysis, social media policies that require “courtesy,” or that prohibit employees from “disparaging” the company or its management, or posting in a way that “adversely reflects on the company” violate Section 7. This applies to both union and non-union employers.
But the NLRA doesn’t cover federal, state, or local government employees, which is great if you represent a government employer . . .
. . . right?
Apparently not. Although public employers do not have to worry about the NLRA, they do have to worry about this little thing called “the First Amendment.”
A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Liverman v. City of Petersburg (Virginia), indicates that there may not be much practical difference between a First Amendment analysis of public employer social media policies and a Section 7 analysis of private employer policies.
Read more
‘Raise the Age’ Receives Historic Law Enforcement Support
Juvenile Justice & Children's RightsYesterday, lawmakers returned to Raleigh for the 2017 long session. Among the many important issues the legislature is expected to consider this year, “raise the age” will likely once again be included. Since 1919, N.C. law has required that minors be prosecuted as adults for all crimes beginning at age 16. There has been a long-standing campaign to raise the juvenile age but legislative proposals attempting to do so have repeatedly failed. New York is the only other state in the nation that automatically prosecutes 16-year-olds as adults, although that state allows “reverse waiver” which permits transfer from criminal to juvenile court.
One of the reasons often cited for the legislature’s reluctance to raise the age is the strong opposition of law enforcement officers and prosecutors to such reform. That assertion is no longer valid, at least in part. The N.C. Sheriffs’ Association and several other law enforcement groups have publicly endorsed a new raise the age proposal by the Criminal Investigation and Adjudication Committee of the North Carolina Commission on the Administration of Law and Justice (NCCALJ). The proposal recommends that North Carolina raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to include 16- and 17-year-olds for all offenses, except high-level felonies and traffic offenses. Youthful offenders (16- and 17-year-olds) who commit Class A-E felonies would be automatically transferred to adult court upon a finding of probable cause or an indictment, alleviating public safety concerns held by law enforcement officers and prosecutors about violent juvenile offenders.
Read more