North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from April 2009

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from April 2009

Commentary: finding the right person for the right job.
April 6, 2009... Byline: Cheryl J. Leone and David W. Favor You can't hire the right person unless you are hiring the right person for the right job. We all have those valuable lessons that are wake-up calls. There was a legal secretary who was the...

A Q&A interview with MacLawyer Ben Stevens from Spartanburg, S.C.(South Carolina)(Interview)
April 6, 2009... Byline: Diana Smith A family law attorney, Ben Stevens strongly believes that Apple's Macintosh computers are better equipped than PCs to be useful and productive tools for lawyers. Here, the Spartanburg, S.C., attorney explains why he...

Commentary: clients often need more than solutions to their legal problems.
April 6, 2009... Byline: Gregory Froom, Managing Editor I had a career flashback a few Fridays ago. Although I was perched on a folding chair in a Raleigh TV studio taking calls as a 4ALL volunteer, it felt a lot more like the old legal services office...

Holistic law has trickle-down benefits for all.(North Carolina)
April 6, 2009... Byline: Diana Smith Holistic attorneys view the practice of law through a different lens than their more traditional counterparts. That's because one of the key facets of their professional outlook developing spiritual, transformative...

Direct examination: a Q&A interview with Wilmington e-lawyer Stephanie Kimbro.(Interview)
April 13, 2009... Byline: Diana Smith Stephanie Kimbro recently won the 2009 James I. Keane Memorial Award for Excellence in eLawyering. She operates a virtual law office in Wilmington. NCLW: What prompted you to open a virtual law office? Kimbro:...

Few, if any, in North Carolina opting for medmal arbitration.
April 13, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger Usually on opposite sides in legal disputes and policy debates, the state's doctors and plaintiffs' lawyers enjoyed a rare kumbaya moment in the summer of 2007. They were singing the praises of House Bill 1671. ...

From theory to practice: putting holistic law in action.
April 13, 2009... Byline: Diana Smith With its all-encompassing approach to practice, holistic law may seem like a professional philosophy rather than a solid methodology. Indeed, the client-centered model has its subtleties, but it also has a variety...

Estate of New Hanover County Department of Social Services worker settles compensable suicide claim.
April 13, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger With its case bolstered by an expert's "psychological autopsy," the estate of a New Hanover County Department of Social Services worker who committed suicide 10 days after a workplace attack has settled a workers' comp...

Non-lawyer to lawyer: pardon me - what good is release without a clean record?
April 13, 2009... Byline: Diana Smith There's a man in Asheville named Edward Chapman. I'd never heard of him until April Fools Day. But his story's no joke. Chapman just celebrated the one-year anniversary of his exoneration and release from...

Commentary: high-performance law firms.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Cheryl J. Leone and David W. Favor A high-performance organization has a well-defined purpose, vision and mission. These three elements are understood by the leadership, and the leadership team is passionate about them. The...

N.C. Lawyers in the News: April 20, 2009.
April 20, 2009... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Briefly... Elizabeth Grimes has joined the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo as a litigation attorney. Grimes received her bachelor of arts in economics from the University of North Carolina...

Q&A with former Carolina Hurricanes head Cain.(attorney James Cain)(Interview)
April 20, 2009... Byline: Diana Smith Attorney James Cain has re-joined Kilpatrick Stockton after working in unusual jobs, including president and chief operating officer of the Carolina Hurricanes and U.S. ambassador to Denmark. Here, he discusses his...

After a rocky 2008, conservative growth lies ahead in N.C.(law firm mergers)
April 20, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger Combinations, cost-cutting and conservative growth shaped the scene for the state's biggest law firms during the turbulent economic times of the past year. Although some of those measures directly resulted from the...

4th Circuit rules PMSI extends to negative equity in car loan.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger A creditor's purchase-money security interest could extend to the entire amount of a Wake County couple's car loan debt, including the negative equity portion, the Fourth Circuit has ruled. The issue arose after...

N.C. couple files Chinese drywall suit.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger In the spring of 2007, Daniel and Mary Flannigan said they started to sense that something wasn't quite right with their Holly Springs home. They found corroded coils throughout the house, experienced persistent...

25 Largest N.C. Law Firms Survey.
April 20, 2009... Byline: N.C. Lawyers Weekly Staff 1. Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC Locations and number of attorneys at each: Atlanta 62; Charlotte 72.5; Greensboro 17.5; Raleigh 60; Research Triangle Park 66; Washington, D.C. 52; Greenville,...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 20, 2009.
April 20, 2009... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Practice Accessory After the Fact --Kidnapping & Murder --Felony Murder --Constitutional --Double Jeopardy --Sentencing --Restitution --First Impression State v. Best. (Lawyers...

N.C. Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: April 20, 2009.
April 20, 2009... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Statute of Limitations --Filing Extension --Clerk's Jurisdiction --20 or 30 Days --Tort/Negligence --Personal Injury Norton v. Goods. (Lawyers Weekly No. 09-16-0351, 7 pp.)...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: April 20, 2009.
April 20, 2009... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Car Loan --'Hanging Paragraph' --Ch. 13 Wells Fargo Financial Acceptance v. Price. (Lawyers Weekly No. 09-01-0362, 20 pp.) (Wilkinson, J.) No. 07-2185, April 13, 2009; USDC at...

Verdicts & Settlements April 20, 2009: Judgment, injunction entered in 'Buzz Off' case.
April 20, 2009... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, S.C. Johnson, filed a complaint against the defendant, Buzz Off Insect Shield, alleging trademark infringement and false advertising regarding the defendant's marketing and sale of...

Commentary: law firm coach: when do you hire management?
April 27, 2009... Byline: Cheryl J. Leone and David W. Favor We find that most people in law firm management at small to medium-size firms came up through the ranks. They started out handling simple things and slowly took over more and more of the daily...

Q&A interview with Howard Boney, retiring N.C. D.A. in the 7th Prosecutorial District.(Interview)
April 27, 2009... Byline: Diana Smith Howard Boney Jr. will retire from his job as district attorney in the Seventh Prosecutorial District on April 30. He was appointed to the top position by former Gov. Jim Hunt in 1978. Here, he reflects upon his career...

Drop in passers for February bar exam in N.C.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger Only half of those who took the North Carolina Bar Exam in February passed it, according to results recently released by the N.C. Board of Law Examiners. The passage rate marked an 8 percent drop from the February...

N.C. Court of Appeals rules no 'closely held exception' to partner standing.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger The limited partners in a company that owned and operated a Charlotte apartment complex lacked standing to sue their general partners for injuries that resulted from the company's rapid decline, the Court of Appeals...

N.C. attorney Burley Mitchell retraces steps from rebellious youth to peak of authority.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Diana Smith Ask Burley Mitchell if he ever dreamed of a career in law and a mischievous snicker escapes his lips. That's because adherence to the rules wasn't exactly his strong suit as a young man. Indeed, Mitchell was...

Panel in N.C. hopes to keep politics out of federal picks.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger A panel established by North Carolina U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan to screen candidates for appointment to federal prosecutor or judge positions could help to clear away some of the partisan politics that has clouded the...

Commentary: I tell you what: still searching for payback for '84 Cubs' curse.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger I got a letter in the mail last week that contained a proof of claim against the Tribune Company in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. This is my chance, I thought. Payback time. Of course, I realized that...