Nominate Deserving Attorneys For the Criminal Justice Section’s Gilchrist and Smith Awards

NCBA Criminal Justice Section Members:

The NCBA Criminal Justice Section is continuing the tradition of presentations of the Peter S. Gilchrist III and Wade M. Smith Awards for the ninth year.  The 2016-2017 Peter S. Gilchrist, III/Wade M. Smith Awards will be presented Jan. 26, 2017, at the annual Awards Banquet at the Embassy Suites in Cary.  The banquet will precede the NCBA Criminal Justice Section CLE/Annual Meeting, which will be held on Jan. 27, 2017, at the Bar Center in Cary.

The NCBA Criminal Justice Section Council invites you to submit nominations for both awards.  Anyone can submit nominations. Please forward this request for nominations to your local bar and encourage them to submit nominations for both awards.

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Top 10 Things You Don’t Know About Adobe Acrobat

92decfde1d6e83f6737cd5c251d83103By Pegeen Turner

Even though anyone can create a PDF file now with Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat remains one of the most popular programs in the office today. While many attorneys and staff “think” they know about all the uses, think again. There are a number of time-saving tools that most people are not aware. Before we dive into the details, let’s first take a look at what you already know about Adobe Acrobat.

You Know What You Know

  1. You don’t need Adobe Acrobat to create PDF files anymore. The last several versions of Microsoft Office have that ability built in when you choose Save As.
  2. The standard for emailing files outside of the office is a PDF file. With the emphasis on metadata and metadata removal, attorneys and staff should already be converting documents into a PDF format to send them out of the office.
  3. Limiting access to PDF files. Attorneys and staff should already be limiting access to PDF files by removing the ability to print, copy, and change PDF files for those receiving PDF files. By changing the file properties (FILE menu-Properties), attorney should already be limiting access and securing PDF files.

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Now that we have established some things that you know about Adobe Acrobat (you knew all those, right?), let’s talk about some tips that you might not know.

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Who Needs Halloween? Sexual Harassment and Election Season

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rockoffsabrinapresnell-2By Sabrina Presnell Rockoff

I come to you this beautiful October day with three scary topics you should likely avoid at any dinner party.  However, as an employment lawyer and breast cancer survivor, I’m going to tackle all of them:  Politics, sexual harassment and cancer.  I’ll start with the last topic first.  October is breast cancer awareness month.  As a survivor of stage 1 breast cancer, I’m living proof that early detection saves lives.  So if you or your loved one has been putting off a mammogram or checking something that seems worrisome, STOP!  Make an appointment today.  It matters – a lot.

Now, on to the other two … This election is testing many of the fundamental ideas we all believe in as Americans:  democracy, patriotism, equal rights and freedom of speech.  Keeping our opinions to ourselves this election season has become increasingly difficult.  Without offering my own opinion on the candidates, one thing is very clear:  sexual harassment is front and center in this election in a way it has not been since the early 1990s.  And history shows us that when sexual harassment is at the forefront of political discussion, we all had best take note. The EEOC reported that charges filed alleging sexual harassment increased by over 60 percent the year following the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings.  While I would argue, based on my own experience, that companies are now in a much better position to address sexual harassment concerns and claims than they were 10 or 20 years ago, based on the current conversations being had on any cable news show, not all companies, even large, seemingly savvy companies, are doing it well.  You can find the most recent data regarding EEOC charges related to sex harassment here:  https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/sexual_harassment_new.cfm

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