The Supreme Court of North Carolina recently approved amendments to Rules of Professional Conduct 1.6 (Confidentiality of Information) and 1.9 (Duties to Former Clients). The amendments permit a lawyer to disclose information acquired during the representation of a former client if the information is contained in the public record and disclosure is not detrimental to the client. Prior to these amendments, an attorney was not allowed to disclose such information unless she had informed consent from the client.
In addition, the North Carolina Bar Council adopted and approved for transmission to the Supreme Court proposed amendments to Rule 1.15 and Rule 4.1. The proposed amendment to Rule 4.1 makes a technical correction to the language in the comment. The proposed amendments to Rule 1.15 contain new definitions of common ledgers used in monitoring a lawyer’s trust account and rearrange some parts of the rule for improved understanding and application. The Supreme Court has not yet acted on these amendments.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Litigationhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngLitigation2022-12-09 11:08:232022-12-09 11:38:41Changes to the Rules of Professional Conduct Regarding Client Confidentiality
In April 2021, the Paralegal Division and the Family Law Section partnered for the first time to hold a Pro Se Custody and Family Law Advice Clinic for residents of Wake County. This pilot was held at the Blanchard Community Law Clinic and successfully served eleven clients by answering their family law questions and drafting pro se custody packets for several of them.
Since the first clinic was so successful, Guilford County family law attorney, Manisha Patel, approached the Paralegal Division with the backing of the Greensboro Bar Association and its Family Law Section and Pro Bono Committee about partnering for a clinic in Guilford County. The clinic is set for February 11, 2023, from 9 a.m. to noon at Elon Law School.
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.pngParalegals2022-12-08 16:00:382022-12-08 16:59:25The Paralegal Division and Family Law Section Partner Again to Serve Guilford County Residents with Family Law Issues
This is the second of three installments of this article.
I. Contemporaneous Written Acknowledgment Rules for Charitable Contributions of Aircraft and Vehicles; Izen vs. Commissioner (5th Cir. 2022).
Mr. Izen donated a 50% interest in an aircraft to a charitable organization. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the earlier decision of the Tax Court denying any charitable contribution deduction because the purported contemporaneous written acknowledgment (“CWA”) letter failed the strict requirements of Section 170(f)(8)(B). There are specific substantiation requirements when the subject of the gift is a vehicle or an airplane with a value in excess of $500. Under Section 170(f)(12)(B), the CWA from the donee organization must include the name and taxpayer identification number of the donor.
In 2016, when the Greensboro Legal Aid office lost the funding necessary to provide representation for members of the community navigating Domestic Violence, or “DV,” court, Tom Robins, an attorney at Bunch & Robins and member of the Family Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association, stepped up.
In discussing his decision to begin this project, Tom is practical, and it is easy to see why he’s been a successful family law attorney for decades.
“Legal Aid wasn’t in a position to accept these cases, and it’s what I do so, naturally, it’s what I can do to help. I then asked some other lawyers if they would be willing to take it on.”
On October 12, 2022, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.(AWF) vs. Lynn Goldsmith, et al.[1] The main issue revolves around “transformative” use under the Copyright Act[2] and how transformative the work must be to be protected by the doctrine of Fair Use and not infringe another’s copyright.[3] In 1994, the Supreme Court considered a case regarding transformative use, Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., in which the Court held that 2 Live Crew’s parody on Roy Orbison’s song, “Oh, Pretty Woman,” was protected under fair use and that the lower court erred in finding otherwise because they solely looked at the commercial nature without weighing the other fair use factors.[4] The Court also defined “transformative” as “add[ing] something new, with a further purpose or different character, altering the first with [a] new expression, meaning, or message.”[5] The more a work transforms the original, the less the other fair use factors will weigh in the analysis because transforming a work emphasizes “the heart of the fair use doctrine’s guarantee of breathing space within the confines of copyright.”[6] Transformative use also came up in 2020 with Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., where the Court found Google’s use of a portion of code from the Sun Java API, a computer program using Java programming language, to be “new” and “transformative” enough to constitute fair use.[7]
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.pngIntellectualProperty2022-12-06 10:49:122022-12-06 10:49:40Transforming Transformative Use: A Synopsis of Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith
Salim Uqdah, a Dispute Resolution Council Member and Co-Chair of the Dispute Resolution Pro Bono Committee, discusses his journey to certification for North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission’s Superior Court, Family Financial, and Clerk Mediation programs.
What got you interested in the Dispute Resolution field?
There are two answers to that question. A quick summary is that sometimes, you have to be lost to find your true purpose.
In 2016-2017, I felt lost and conflicted. I no longer wanted to pursue law school, and my crisis of faith and identity felt overwhelming and nerve-racking. After six to seven months of research, I realized that mediation was a viable option for me; it also helped to have the ADR coordinator sitting one cubicle behind me. I took the MSC training in March and opened my company, Uroboros Mediations, in June 2018. I gained expertise in other areas, like divorce coaching, collaborative law neutral facilitation, arbitration in FINRA cases, and dispute system design.
This month’s Paralegal Spotlight is on Johana Sanchez, a Paralegal at Armendariz Law Office, PLLC.
Johana began her legal career in her native country of Venezuela, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the Universidad de Carabobo and a Master’s degree in International Criminal Law from the Universidad Latino Americana y del Caribe. However, due to political and social issues, she made the decision to live abroad in Panama. This move led Johana to personal and professional growth, allowing her the opportunity to work as an assistant in a local family law firm, in addition to coursing (but not completing) an MBA at the Universidad Interamericana de Panama. Yet, she desired to continue her professional growth so she decided to move again, this time to the United States. She attended Campus Education Midtown in New York City and Taylor Business Institute in Chicago, places where she would learn English as a second language. Read more
Lawyers are increasingly exposed to gender identity, sexual orientation, and other LGBTQ+ related topics as awareness, acceptance, and open expression of such identities continues to increase in modern society. To honor International Pronouns Day, which was October 19, 2022, we have created a five-step primer to help guide legal practitioners through understanding gender identity, using proper personal pronouns, and acting with best etiquette practices for interacting with LGBTQ+ clients and colleagues.
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 YLD2022-11-30 11:25:412024-05-07 10:29:56A Pronouns Primer for Practitioners
During the CLE, speakers will explore a number of topics in the area of insurance law. The program will unpack coverage and litigation issues, including resolution of property insurance claims, stacking in uninsured and underinsured motorist claims, and key considerations in cybersecurity. The always popular “Top 10 Insurance Law Decisions” will return, along with a discussion of continuing issues arising from COVID-related losses. Finally, the program reviews Radiator Specialty Company v. Arrowood Indemnity Company and its impact on coverage triggers, coverage allocation across multiple policies and policy exhaustion.
Before the CLE, on Thursday, January 26, 2023, the Insurance Law Section will have its annual meeting for members of the Insurance Law Section and will host a social networking event. The networking event will be open to all, including speakers and attendees.
The Insurance Law Section looks forward to seeing everyone on January 26 and 27. Mark your calendars!
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00InsuranceLawhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngInsuranceLaw2022-11-29 10:41:382022-12-16 14:33:54Insurance Law Section Annual Meeting and CLE – January 26-27, 2023
This is the first of three installments of this article.
I. Audit Statistics: What Are Your Chances of Being Audited?
The 2021 Internal Revenue Service Data Book contains audit statistics for 2011 through 2019. Below are audit statistics for 2019 returns:
A. Audit Rates for Individual Income Tax Returns. During FY 2021, only 0.2% of individual income tax returns filed in 2019 were audited (about the same as for 2018 returns).
Total individual returns audited: 0.2%
(1) With no positive income 8%
(2) $100,000 to $500,000 1%
(3) $500,000 to $1 Million 3%
(4) $1 Million to $5 Million 6%
(5) $5 Million to $10 Million 1%
(6) $10 Million or More 2%
Changes to the Rules of Professional Conduct Regarding Client Confidentiality
Litigation SectionThe Supreme Court of North Carolina recently approved amendments to Rules of Professional Conduct 1.6 (Confidentiality of Information) and 1.9 (Duties to Former Clients). The amendments permit a lawyer to disclose information acquired during the representation of a former client if the information is contained in the public record and disclosure is not detrimental to the client. Prior to these amendments, an attorney was not allowed to disclose such information unless she had informed consent from the client.
In addition, the North Carolina Bar Council adopted and approved for transmission to the Supreme Court proposed amendments to Rule 1.15 and Rule 4.1. The proposed amendment to Rule 4.1 makes a technical correction to the language in the comment. The proposed amendments to Rule 1.15 contain new definitions of common ledgers used in monitoring a lawyer’s trust account and rearrange some parts of the rule for improved understanding and application. The Supreme Court has not yet acted on these amendments.
Read more
The Paralegal Division and Family Law Section Partner Again to Serve Guilford County Residents with Family Law Issues
Paralegal DivisionBy the Paralegal Division Pro Bono Committee
In April 2021, the Paralegal Division and the Family Law Section partnered for the first time to hold a Pro Se Custody and Family Law Advice Clinic for residents of Wake County. This pilot was held at the Blanchard Community Law Clinic and successfully served eleven clients by answering their family law questions and drafting pro se custody packets for several of them.
Since the first clinic was so successful, Guilford County family law attorney, Manisha Patel, approached the Paralegal Division with the backing of the Greensboro Bar Association and its Family Law Section and Pro Bono Committee about partnering for a clinic in Guilford County. The clinic is set for February 11, 2023, from 9 a.m. to noon at Elon Law School.
Read more
Federal Income Tax Update
Tax SectionThis is the second of three installments of this article.
I. Contemporaneous Written Acknowledgment Rules for Charitable Contributions of Aircraft and Vehicles; Izen vs. Commissioner (5th Cir. 2022).
Mr. Izen donated a 50% interest in an aircraft to a charitable organization. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the earlier decision of the Tax Court denying any charitable contribution deduction because the purported contemporaneous written acknowledgment (“CWA”) letter failed the strict requirements of Section 170(f)(8)(B). There are specific substantiation requirements when the subject of the gift is a vehicle or an airplane with a value in excess of $500. Under Section 170(f)(12)(B), the CWA from the donee organization must include the name and taxpayer identification number of the donor.
Read more
Pro Bono Spotlight: Randolph County Domestic Violence Volunteers
Pro Bono CommitteeBy Ashley Skaff
In 2016, when the Greensboro Legal Aid office lost the funding necessary to provide representation for members of the community navigating Domestic Violence, or “DV,” court, Tom Robins, an attorney at Bunch & Robins and member of the Family Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association, stepped up.
In discussing his decision to begin this project, Tom is practical, and it is easy to see why he’s been a successful family law attorney for decades.
“Legal Aid wasn’t in a position to accept these cases, and it’s what I do so, naturally, it’s what I can do to help. I then asked some other lawyers if they would be willing to take it on.”
Read more
Transforming Transformative Use: A Synopsis of Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith
Featured PostsOn October 12, 2022, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.(AWF) vs. Lynn Goldsmith, et al.[1] The main issue revolves around “transformative” use under the Copyright Act[2] and how transformative the work must be to be protected by the doctrine of Fair Use and not infringe another’s copyright.[3] In 1994, the Supreme Court considered a case regarding transformative use, Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., in which the Court held that 2 Live Crew’s parody on Roy Orbison’s song, “Oh, Pretty Woman,” was protected under fair use and that the lower court erred in finding otherwise because they solely looked at the commercial nature without weighing the other fair use factors.[4] The Court also defined “transformative” as “add[ing] something new, with a further purpose or different character, altering the first with [a] new expression, meaning, or message.”[5] The more a work transforms the original, the less the other fair use factors will weigh in the analysis because transforming a work emphasizes “the heart of the fair use doctrine’s guarantee of breathing space within the confines of copyright.”[6] Transformative use also came up in 2020 with Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., where the Court found Google’s use of a portion of code from the Sun Java API, a computer program using Java programming language, to be “new” and “transformative” enough to constitute fair use.[7]
Read more
Professional Mediator Guide to Certification
Dispute Resolution SectionSalim Uqdah, a Dispute Resolution Council Member and Co-Chair of the Dispute Resolution Pro Bono Committee, discusses his journey to certification for North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission’s Superior Court, Family Financial, and Clerk Mediation programs.
What got you interested in the Dispute Resolution field?
There are two answers to that question. A quick summary is that sometimes, you have to be lost to find your true purpose.
In 2016-2017, I felt lost and conflicted. I no longer wanted to pursue law school, and my crisis of faith and identity felt overwhelming and nerve-racking. After six to seven months of research, I realized that mediation was a viable option for me; it also helped to have the ADR coordinator sitting one cubicle behind me. I took the MSC training in March and opened my company, Uroboros Mediations, in June 2018. I gained expertise in other areas, like divorce coaching, collaborative law neutral facilitation, arbitration in FINRA cases, and dispute system design.
Read more
Paralegal Spotlight: Johana Sanchez
Paralegal DivisionBy the Communications Committee
This month’s Paralegal Spotlight is on Johana Sanchez, a Paralegal at Armendariz Law Office, PLLC.
Johana began her legal career in her native country of Venezuela, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the Universidad de Carabobo and a Master’s degree in International Criminal Law from the Universidad Latino Americana y del Caribe. However, due to political and social issues, she made the decision to live abroad in Panama. This move led Johana to personal and professional growth, allowing her the opportunity to work as an assistant in a local family law firm, in addition to coursing (but not completing) an MBA at the Universidad Interamericana de Panama. Yet, she desired to continue her professional growth so she decided to move again, this time to the United States. She attended Campus Education Midtown in New York City and Taylor Business Institute in Chicago, places where she would learn English as a second language. Read more
A Pronouns Primer for Practitioners
DEI, Young Lawyers DivisionLawyers are increasingly exposed to gender identity, sexual orientation, and other LGBTQ+ related topics as awareness, acceptance, and open expression of such identities continues to increase in modern society. To honor International Pronouns Day, which was October 19, 2022, we have created a five-step primer to help guide legal practitioners through understanding gender identity, using proper personal pronouns, and acting with best etiquette practices for interacting with LGBTQ+ clients and colleagues.
Read more
Insurance Law Section Annual Meeting and CLE – January 26-27, 2023
Insurance Law SectionThe North Carolina Bar Association’s Insurance Law Section is pleased to announce its upcoming CLE program, “The Continued Exploration of Insurance Law, Coverage, and Litigation Issues,” which is scheduled for Friday, January 27, 2023. Attendees will be able to attend the CLE in person at the Bar Center in Cary or via live Webcast. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend.
During the CLE, speakers will explore a number of topics in the area of insurance law. The program will unpack coverage and litigation issues, including resolution of property insurance claims, stacking in uninsured and underinsured motorist claims, and key considerations in cybersecurity. The always popular “Top 10 Insurance Law Decisions” will return, along with a discussion of continuing issues arising from COVID-related losses. Finally, the program reviews Radiator Specialty Company v. Arrowood Indemnity Company and its impact on coverage triggers, coverage allocation across multiple policies and policy exhaustion.
Before the CLE, on Thursday, January 26, 2023, the Insurance Law Section will have its annual meeting for members of the Insurance Law Section and will host a social networking event. The networking event will be open to all, including speakers and attendees.
The Insurance Law Section looks forward to seeing everyone on January 26 and 27. Mark your calendars!
Federal Income Tax Update
Tax SectionThis is the first of three installments of this article.
I. Audit Statistics: What Are Your Chances of Being Audited?
The 2021 Internal Revenue Service Data Book contains audit statistics for 2011 through 2019. Below are audit statistics for 2019 returns:
A. Audit Rates for Individual Income Tax Returns. During FY 2021, only 0.2% of individual income tax returns filed in 2019 were audited (about the same as for 2018 returns).
Total individual returns audited: 0.2%
(1) With no positive income 8%
(2) $100,000 to $500,000 1%
(3) $500,000 to $1 Million 3%
(4) $1 Million to $5 Million 6%
(5) $5 Million to $10 Million 1%
(6) $10 Million or More 2%
Read more