North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from December 2008

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from December 2008

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: December 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Reports Hunton & Williams partner David R. Fricke has been elected to the Law Alumni Council of the Wake Forest University School of Law. The council, which is the consultative alumni board,...

Direct examination: Charles Becton, N.C. Bar Association president.(Interview)
December 1, 2008... Byline: DIANA SMITH, Staff Writer North Carolina Lawyers Weekly begins December with a Q&A with Charles Becton, current president of the N.C. Bar Association and an attorney with Becton, Slifkin & Bell in Raleigh. A 1969 graduate of...

Conviction deleted: trial court gave faulty jury instructions, North Carolina Court of Appeals holds.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger The Court of Appeals issued a split decision Nov. 18 on whether a trial court's botched jury instructions merited a new trial for a defendant convicted of a cybercrime. In December 2006, a Wake County jury found...

Q&A with Charles Becton, N.C. Bar Association president.(Interview)
December 1, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith North Carolina Lawyers Weekly begins December with a Q&A with Charles Becton, current president of the N.C. Bar Association and an attorney with Becton, Slifkin & Bell in Raleigh. A 1969 graduate of the Duke...

Judge Ralph Walker gave N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts 'consistent, steady direction'.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith Imagine trying to inspire confidence in more than 400 people on your first day on the job. That's exactly what former Court of Appeals Judge Ralph Walker had to do when he became director of the N.C. Administrative...

N.C. State Bar looks at lawyer's duty in litigation funding deals.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger In light of a recent Court of Appeals ruling, what should lawyers do if their clients have received a cash advance from a litigation funding company whose contracts may be usurious and illegal? They should advise...

NC Court of Appeals Unpublished Case Summaries: December 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Appeals - Improprieties - Domestic Relations - Equitable Distribution - Valuation Snow v. Snow. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-16-1291, 10 pp.) (Linda Stephens, J.) Appealed from...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: December 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Letter of Credit - Civil Practice - Preliminary Injunction - Bankruptcy Eastwood Construction Co. v. Old Towne, LLC. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-05-1297, 6 pp.) (J. Rich Leonard, J.)...

Commentary: there's no 'free choice' in Employee Free Choice Act.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Jeffrey D. Patton Labor unions certainly have their place in a contemporary American economy, but not at the expense of employee free choice and economic security. The proposed Employee Free Choice Act would severely erode the...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: December 15, 2008.
December 15, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Attorney Sean Bartlett Sandison has joined Hancock, Nance & Overbey as an associate. A graduate of Mercer University School of Law, Sandison served as the editor-in-chief of the Law Review...

N.C. Court of Appeals: Dare County lawyer estopped from challenging faulty service.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger The Court of Appeals has rejected a lawyer's attempt to have a malpractice suit against her tossed out of court because of a deputy sheriff's botched attempt to serve papers at her Outer Banks office. The...

Durham firm remembers troops with holiday treats.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith Playing Christmas elves for a day, attorneys and staff at Pulley Watson King & Lischer in Durham recently partnered with members of the U.S. Army and Marine Special Forces to stuff stockings for troops in Iraq and...

Durham lawyer gets clemency order for client.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger Billion-dollar bailouts are easier to come by than grants of clemency these days in the nation's capital. Throw in the fact that your client was a corrupt police officer who had gotten caught up in a drugs-and-guns...

Healthy rewards: Raleigh firm puts up cash to bring down workers' weight.(North Carolina)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith 'Tis the season for reviewing depositions with a doughnut, filing motions with macaroons and interviewing witnesses over wassail. But 'tis not what the attorneys and staff at Leone Noble & Seate are doing this year....

Mergers in the works for large law firms with N.C. ties.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger One merger involving a large law firm with North Carolina ties could be finalized by the start of 2009, while another merger involving a mega-firm with in-state offices could wrap up by early next year. On Dec. 4,...

Q & A interview with North Carolina entertainment lawyer Jim O'Brien.(Interview)
December 15, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith It's the season for Christmas music and holiday movies, and North Carolina Lawyers Weekly is getting into the spirit by chatting with Jim O'Brien, who heads the entertainment law practice group in Poyner Spruill's...

ADA changes could lead to spike in discrimination claims, say N.C. employment attorneys.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger Litigation of disability discrimination claims could increase after changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act take effect Jan. 1, North Carolina employment attorneys say. The ADA Amendments Act, signed into...

ADA claim survives summary judgment in U.S. District Court for Western District of N.C.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger A federal magistrate judge has ruled that a quadriplegic computer analyst can go to trial on his claim that a Charlotte bank used cost-cutting measures as an excuse to fire him because of his disability. The...

Verdicts & Settlements December 15, 2008: Federal court awards $18.79M in railroad case.
December 15, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff PCS Phosphate Company is a Chicago-based division of global agrochemical company PotashCorp. It operates the world's largest integrated mine and processing plant just outside of Aurora, N.C. ...

Verdicts & Settlements December 15, 2008: Negligence claim settles before lawsuit filed.
December 15, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Type of action: Negligence and malfunctioning equipment Injuries alleged: Severe and permanent injuries to young child, including disfiguring burns Case name: Confidential Court:...

N.C. Court of Appeals Case Summaries: December 22, 2008.
December 22, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Statute of Limitations - Tort/Negligence - Attorneys - Legal Malpractice Ventriglia v. Deese. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-07-1379, 10 pp.) (John Arrowood, J.) Appealed from New...

N.C. Supreme Court Case Summaries: December 22, 2008.
December 22, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Medicaid Reimbursement - Tort/Negligence - Medical Malpractice - Settlement Fund Andrews v. Haywood. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-06-1350, 23 pp.) (Paul M. Newby, J.) (Robin E....

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: December 22, 2008.
December 22, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Immigration - Aggravated Felon - Reckless Endangerment Conviction Massis v. Mukasey. (Lawyers Weekly No. 08-01-1405, 18 pp.) (Duncan, J.) No. 05-1329, Dec. 9, 2008; On...

North Carolina Lawyers in the News: December 22, 2008.
December 22, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Report Kinston attorney David J. Fillippeli Jr. has been elected chairperson of the Lenoir County Board of Education. Fillippeli, a Wilmington native, practices law with White & Allen. His...

Q & A interview with Macon County attorney Lesley Moxley.(North Carolina )(Interview)
December 22, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith Macon County attorney Lesley Moxley was recently elected president of the North Carolina Association of County Attorneys. Moxley has served as the attorney for Macon County attorney since 2006. Before that, she...

Even workaholic lawyers can, and should, get out of the office for the holidays.(South Carolina)
December 22, 2008... Byline: FRED HORLBECK, Senior Staff Writer Just days away from the holidays, the pastimes that will wrap up 2008 and usher in 2009 may seem lost on the far side of an eternity of work to lawyers desperate to carve out some time away from...

North Carolina Supreme Court upholds N.C. Medicaid scheme.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger Federal law requires states to seek reimbursement of Medicaid assistance that they have provided to recipients who recover from third parties. But should that law allow state Medicaid providers to tap into funds...

University of North Carolina law group wins pro bono award for annual Katrina relief work.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith It still isn't easy to get help in The Big Easy. More than three years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, many devastated residents continue to struggle with a litany of legal disputes, most involving...

Spectator hit by soccer ball can sue, rules N.C. Court of Appeals.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger In what the plaintiff's attorney called a warning shot to stadium operators, the Court of Appeals has ruled that a woman hit in the head by a ball at a women's pro soccer match can go forward with her negligence suit....

Wake County memorial celebrates personalities and professionalism.(North Carolina)
December 22, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger Every year, the Wake County Bar Association sponsors a memorial ceremony to honor deceased attorneys from the 10th Judicial District. The ceremony serves as a tribute to those honored and the personality and...

Verdicts & Settlements December 22, 2008: Jury awards $1.25M to seniors claiming they were scammed.
December 22, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff After a weeklong trial, a Wilson County jury returned a verdict for $1.25 million to two elderly investors who claimed a Johnston County man had defrauded them as part of a widespread investment...

Verdicts & Settlements December 22, 2008: Pediatrician hit by truck settles for $1.1 million.
December 22, 2008... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, a 35-year-old pediatrician, was injured in a motor vehicle collision with a municipal recycling truck. The recycling truck turned directly in front of her vehicle as she was...

Q&A with North Carolina State Bar President John McMillan.(Interview)
December 29, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith In recognition of the State Bar's 75th anniversary this year, North Carolina Lawyers Weekly recently caught up with its current president, John McMillan. A graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Law,...

North Carolina Court of Appeals panel agrees on rules but differs on merits.
December 29, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger In a case that was swept into the state's appellate rules controversy, the Court of Appeals has held that a Pamlico County woman who bought a home salvaged from a flood plain should receive treble damages from the...

The North Carolina State Bar's fireman: Edmonson known for defusing tense cases.
December 29, 2008... Byline: Diana Smith Apparently it can be tiresome to attend a football game with State Bar deputy counsel Root Edmonson. So says executive director Tom Lunsford, who has known Edmonson the longest serving member of the Bar's staff for...

Up against a wall: enforcing a $57M judgment against overseas defendants could prove difficult.
December 29, 2008... Byline: Guy Loranger Raleigh attorney Jonathan D. Sasser needed to move fast to collect the computer-based evidence that would help his client obtained a $57 million judgment in an industrial espionage case in Wake County Superior Court....