NCBA Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Section: 2021-2022 Year In Review

By Amy P. Wang, Outgoing Section ChairAmy Wang is a woman with shoulder-length blond hair. She is wearing a blue shirt with a dark grey jacket, and she is standing outside with green foliage behind her.

I am honored to have served as the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources (EENR) Section Chair for 2021-2022. As we are set to begin anew next month, it’s important that we reflect on the past year and the challenges we faced as a Section.

An uptick in COVID-19 cases forced us to reinstitute various protective protocols among our members’ institutions and the North Carolina Bar Association. As a result, our meetings in August, November, January, and May were held virtually. I am proud of the way our Section adapted and continued to provide valuable content and programming to our members. Our meetings included many excellent substantive committee reports. We also benefitted from presentations by Dionne Delli-Gatti, Clean Energy Director for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), with an overview and update on various energy and climate issues at the global, federal, and state levels; Peter Ledford and Christina Cress spoke about the clean energy stakeholder process surrounding the passage of House Bill 951; and Dru Carlisle and Steven DeGeorge provided a primer on environmental insurance. Thank you to the Programs Committee, Hayes Finely, Robin Smith, and Joe Starr, for their efforts.

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Learning to Say No (Professionally)

BKatie Riddle is a young woman with blond hair and grey eyes. She is pictured smiling and wearing a blue shirt, and she is standing against a light background.y Katie Riddle

Why does the word “no,” a two-letter, concise word, carry such a heavy weight when used in a professional setting?

I think of the use of the word “no” in my personal life. My husband may ask if we should have dinner at one restaurant, and I am not anxious or worried when I respond “no, I would prefer eating at this particular restaurant.” Or I think of the times when I have to say no to my sweet dogs that are just begging for their fifth treat for the day. So why is it so hard to use the word “no” professionally?

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Checking In: June 28, 2022

Compiled by Jessica Junqueira

Anderton Joins The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin

Bradley Anderton is a young man with dark brown hair and a beard. He is wearing black glasses and a white shirt with a black blazer and a grey tie. He is pictured smiling and stands against a grey background. Bradley Anderton has joined the firm. He has prior experience serving as the Assistant District Attorney of the 15th Prosecutorial District of North Carolina. He holds a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law. There, he was a recipient of the Gressman-Pollitt Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy. In his role as a Juvenile Justice Clinic student attorney, he volunteered over 100 hours. Anderton also holds a Bachelor of Science in economics, summa cum laude, from North Carolina State University, where he was a part of the Honors Program.

 

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Annual Meeting Report from the Real Property Section Chair

Christina Pearsall is a woman with wavy light brown, shoulder-length hair. She is wearing a bright blue shirt and a black blazer. She is standing outside and in front of green trees and a blue sky.By Christina Freeman Pearsall

Dear Real Property Section:

We had a wonderful time in Asheville at our Real Property Section Annual Meeting and CLE! It was our first in-person meeting in two years! If you weren’t able to join us – we missed you! Please plan to attend next year.

As we always do, we had our last Real Property Section Council meeting on May 19, 2022, while we were in Asheville. Below is a summary of the Council’s activities since our February meeting.

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It’s Not Goodbye, Just See You Later – 2021-22 NCBA Small Firm & Technology Section Wrap-Up

Alicia Lewis is a young woman with blond hair. She is pictured in a sleeveless grey cowl turtleneck. She stands in front of a grey bookshelf with a blurred background.

By Alicia W. Lewis

Attorneys and legal professionals in solo and small firms are some of the hardest working individuals in the industry. No matter your practice area, you juggle your caseload and clients, run a business behind the scenes, volunteer for professional and pro bono causes, hopefully throw in some exercise or time for mindfulness, and then there is the thing we call “life” you try to insert into the “work-life” equation. It can be overwhelming and not an easy thing to accomplish, but the members of this section rise to the challenge day in and day out to provide top-notch legal services to our communities. Read more

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Court of Appeals Upholds Summary Judgment for Design Professional Based on Established Law Regarding Duty and Bad Faith

By Nancy Litwak

On April 19, 2022, the Court of Appeals rendered its opinion in Southeast Caissons, LLC v. Choate Construction Company, Choate Construction Group, LLC, and Falcon Engineering, Inc., No. COA21-223, 2022 WL 1146261 (N.C. Ct. App. April 19, 2022).

Plaintiff Southeast Caissons, LLC (“Plaintiff”) appealed from an Order granting Falcon Engineering, Inc.’s (“Falcon”) Motion for Summary Judgment, as well as the Judgment dismissing Plaintiff’s claims against Choate Construction Company and Choate Construction Group, LLC (collectively, “Choate”) following a jury trial and verdict in favor of Choate.

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Checking In: May 31, 2022

Compiled by Jessica Junqueira

Fox Rothschild Selects New Partner

Troy Shelton is a young man who has grey eyes and a dark hair and a beard and mustache. He is wearing a dark grey suit with a white shirt and pale grey tie. he is standing against a light grey background.Troy D. Shelton has been named a partner with the firm. He practices in the Litigation Department in the firm’s Raleigh office. Shelton has both trial and appellate experience. He has litigated cases in the areas of class actions, antitrust, employment disputes, land use and family law. He is a class action consultant to attorneys within the firm as well as outside it. After earning his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of North Carolina School of Law, Shelton served as a Guardian ad Litem, and following that role, as an appellate attorney. He also holds a B.A., magna cum laude, from Duke University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Two Attorneys Join Hall Booth Smith

Megan McGee Stacy is a young woman who has blond shoulder-length hair, and she is pictured in a black shirt. She is smiling in the sunshine and is standing in front of a pale grey building.Megan McGee Stacy has joined the firm’s Charlotte office of counsel. Her practice is focused on commercial contracts and business torts, construction, general liability, medical malpractice, premises liability, products liability, professional liability, and transportation matters. She has prior experience in commercial litigation law. She earned a J.D., summa cum laude, from the Charlotte School of Law. She also holds a B.A. in history, with honors, from High Point University.

Laura Gregory is a young woman who has shoulder-length blond hair and is wearing a cream-colored jacket and black shirt. She is pictured standing outside in the sunshine with a pale grey building behind her.Laura Gregory has also joined the Charlotte office. She focuses on general liability, medical malpractice, labor and employment, and workers’ compensation law. Gregory serves with the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys and the Junior League of Charlotte, and she is a mentor with the Carolina Youth Coalition. Before joining the firm, she practiced workers’ compensation law. She holds a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

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MIP’s Diverse Perspectives: Giovonni Wade

Giovanni Wade is a young woman with black hair and brown eyes. She is pictured smiling against a white background, and she is wearing a white shirt and a yellow blazer.By Giovonni Wade

MIP’s Diverse Perspectives is a monthly blog feature to spotlight a member from North Carolina’s community of diverse attorneys and legal professionals. Members have the opportunity to share a personal perspective through a brief set of interview questions.

This month’s perspective is courtesy of Giovonni Wade, Director of Diversity Initiatives, University of North Carolina School of Law. 

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Making Attorney Self-Care an Atomic Habit

Ashley Banks is a young woman with golden brown hair and brown eyes. She is pictured smiling against a black background, and she is wearing a red shirt and a black blazer. By Ashley Banks

As legal professionals, we dedicate significant time and energy to improving our practice, our knowledge, our business. But how much time do we devote to improving the way we care for ourselves? When is the last time you reviewed your self-care routine, implemented new self-care strategies, or set time aside for self-care planning? If you’re like me, your self-care routine may benefit from a well-designed system — James Clear’s Atomic Habits system.

Self-Care is Key for Legal Professionals, But it is Not Our Forte

As advocates serving others in a myriad of ways, our profession is notorious for disregarding the well-established principle of “fitting our own oxygen mask first.” But, it’s because we are advocates serving others in a myriad of ways that fitting our own oxygen mask first is so critical.

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Recent National Articles about North Carolina Tax Matters

 

By Herman Spence III

There have been several recent national articles about North Carolina tax matters.

1. The May 11, 2022 issue of Taxes – The Tax Magazine has an article entitled “100 Years of State and Local Taxation in North Carolina.” The article is by Roby B. Sawyers, who is a professor in the College of Management at North Carolina State University. In addition to providing interesting history, the article contains statistics, such as over the past thirty years, the percentage of state general fund tax revenues by source has (a) increased from about 48.5% to about 52% for individual income taxes, (b) increased from about 25% to 32.7% for sales and use taxes, and (c) decreased from about 8% to 2.7% for corporate income taxes.

2. On May 23, 2022, Tax Notes posted an interview with Charles Collins. Mr. Collins worked for the North Carolina Department of Revenue for more than thirty years before retiring from the Department at age 55. He has continued to be active in tax matters, including with ADP’s payroll operations.

3. On May 23, 2022, Tax Notes posted an article by Roxanne Bland about transactional nexus. It discusses Quad Graphics, Inc. v. NC Dept. of Rev., No. 407A21-1 (NC, filed Nov. 22, 2021). The article criticizes the formalistic distinctions between sales and use taxes that would prohibit the state from collecting a sales tax but permit it to collect a use tax.

Herman Spence III is an attorney with Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P. A. in Charlotte.

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