North Carolina Lawyers Weekly articles from May 2009

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly archives from May 2009

Commentary: structured settlements: protection during tough times.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Bryan Milner Structured settlements have always been the right choice for safety, stability and reliability in good times and in bad times. Certainly, the financial crisis that the U.S. and global economies are experiencing is...

N.C. Lawyers in the News: May 4, 2009.
May 4, 2009... Byline: N.C. Lawyers Weekly Staff Katten Muchin Rosenman for the fifth consecutive year has been named to MultiCultural Law magazine's listing of the Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity. Within this ranking, Katten was specifically recognized...

Committee revises title insurer audit opinion in N.C.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger A proposed State Bar ethics opinion that would clear the way for title insurers to audit attorneys' real estate trust accounts has been revised for publication, and it might revive a debate started by the original...

N.C. Supreme Court denies motion over justice's conduct.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger The state Supreme Court has denied a motion for a rehearing that raised issues about the conduct of a member of its own bench. The plaintiff in the case of Hall v. Toreros II, Inc., filed the motion April 8,...

Q&A with equine law attorney Curtis S. Potter, Brevard, N.C.(Neumann & Associates Law Firm lawyer)(Interview)
May 4, 2009... Byline: Diana Smith Attorney Curtis S. Potter practices equine law at Neumann & Associates Law Firm in Brevard. A former Marine, Potter attended the equine sciences program at Martin Community College before earning a B.S. in criminal...

Rolling the dice: more young N.C. attorneys starting own firms.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger Luke Baker knew that hanging a shingle would require stepping out on a limb. But after spending his first year out of law school as an associate, he decided it was time to take the big stride. Last March, Baker set...

Commentary: scribner's error: but wait, there's more to attorney advertising.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Gregory Froom Phrases like "actual results may vary" or "results not typical" are almost always tucked into the boilerplate disclaimer on infomercials for the latest breakthrough product known to weight-loss or youth-restoring...

Being towed: was defendant "driving" the vehicle while impaired?(North Carolina)
May 4, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger If the defendant behind the wheel of a car has a blood-alcohol level above 0.08, a prosecutor usually won't have a tough time obtaining a DWI conviction from a jury. But what if the car's engine wasn't running, and...

N.C. Industrial Commission Case Summaries: May 4, 2009.
May 4, 2009... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Causation -- Back Injury -- Knee Problems -- Aggravation Cox v. Sun Healthcare Group. (Lawyers Weekly No. 09-08-0394, 7 pp.) (Bernadine S. Ballance, Commissioner)...

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit Case Summaries: May 4, 2009.
May 4, 2009... Byline: North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Practice Sentencing -- Child Porn Distribution -- File-Sharing Program U.S. v. Layton. (Lawyers Weekly No. 09-01-0393, 10 pp.) (Smith, J.) No. 07-4763, April 27, 2009; USDC at...

Janice McKenzie Cole receives Liberty Bell Award from N.C. Bar Assn.'s Young Lawyers Division.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger As a police officer, judge and attorney, Janice McKenzie Cole has broken through several barriers. To her, those feats are important only because of what they allowed her to do for those who followed her. I'm a firm...

North Carolina Supreme Court reverses exclusion of expert testimony in medmal trial.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger The state Supreme Court has reversed the exclusion of Phoenix doctor's proposed expert testimony in a medmal trial against a Goldsboro obstetrician and his clinic. What happens next when the case returns to Johnston...

North Carolina Supreme Court denies review in litigation funding case.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger The state Supreme Court has denied a petition for discretionary review that was filed by the defendants in a case that could have a major impact on the litigation-funding industry. The petition had asked for review of...

Commentary: captivated by the many faces of the not-yet convicted.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Diana Smith There are nine television sets mounted on the wall in one of the exercise rooms at my gym. Nine TVs, usually tuned to about six different channels. For some reason, ESPN always ends up on more than one set. I...

North Carolina Court of Appeals reverses dismissal of medmal case.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger Because the plaintiff asked prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations period for an extension to find an expert who would certify his medical malpractice complaint, a Hertford County court should not have...

Q&A with North Carolina attorney Mark Bernstein.(Parker, Poe, Adams & Bernstein )(Interview)
May 11, 2009... Byline: Diana Smith Attorney Mark Bernstein of Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein recently received the H. Brent McKnight Renaissance Lawyer Award from the North Carolina Bar Association. A graduate of the Yale University School of Law,...

North Carolina Court of Appeals finds both employers on the hook for employee's injury.
May 18, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger Because there was no way to determine what percentage of an employee's injury resulted from an accident at his first job and another accident at a later job, both employers could be held equally liable for his workers'...

In the wake of tragedies, some North Carolina residents are hoping for changes.(statute of limitations and contributory negligence)
May 18, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger In an instant, their lives changed forever. Elaine Gorski was driving down a country road in Chatham County in August 2003, with her daughter behind the wheel of their 1997 Chevy Blazer. A bee flew in and...

Major tort law changes in North Carolina make crossover deadline.
May 18, 2009... Byline: Guy Loranger Two bills that could reshape personal injury litigation in North Carolina cleared high hurdles last week in the General Assembly, making the crossover deadline despite stiff opposition from the business community. ...

Recession has new graduates nervous about finding work, but N.C. market isn't in dire straits yet.
May 18, 2009... Byline: Diana Smith In a quaking economy where thousands of attorneys have been laid off nationwide, many of North Carolina's law school graduates don't have the luxury of simply wondering whether they'll pass the Bar exam in July. ...

Commentary: maybe more meetings should start with a hug.
May 18, 2009... Byline: Tonya Mathis Last fall, we hosted our first In-House Leaders in the Law event. A few months prior to the event, I was going on sponsorship sales calls with our account executives to help explain the event. One meeting in...