Federal Income Tax Update

By Keith A. Wood

This is the first of two installments of this article.

I. Audit Statistics; What Are Your Chances of Being Audited?

The 2016 Internal Revenue Service Data Book (IR-2017-69) contains audit statistics for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016.  Here are the audit statistics for returns filed for calendar year 2015 (“CY 2015”):

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Free CFIUS Webinar, Wednesday, Feb. 28, Noon to 1 p.m.

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West Legal Ed’s Federal Publications Seminars will host a free one-hour briefing on legislative and policy developments relating to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).  CFIUS reviews proposed foreign investment in U.S. companies for potential national security concerns. U.S. companies that serve the federal government must stay abreast of how the Trump administration is implementing the CFIUS review process and how this process could change as Congress debates the first major CFIUS reform legislation in over a decade.

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Welcome To the Young Lawyers Division Blog!

By Jason Walters

Welcome to the new YLD Blog! We hope that this Blog will provide insight and information into all the great work that is being accomplished by our volunteer attorneys. We plan to use the YLD Blog to provide substantive practice pointers, tips on well-being, information on YLD events and projects and updates on YLD committee activity.

We want you to join us and are always looking for bloggers. If you have an interest in writing for the YLD Blog, for the rest of the 2017-2018 bar year, please contact Robb Broughton at [email protected].

In order to catch you up to speed on some of the many activities and accomplishments of this bar year, I wanted to share highlights of our recent work.

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NC Court of Appeals Determines Mediation In Public Records Dispute Is Jurisdictional

By Fred Moreno

Just before the holidays, the N.C. Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Tillett v. Town of Kill Devil Hills (17-433). The case involved a former judge who brought suit under The North Carolina Public Records Act to compel the Town of Kill Devil Hills to produce requested documents. The appellate court ruled that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction when it required the town to produce two documents in controversy. The appellate court determined that the legislative intent of the word “jurisdiction” in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-9(a), meant that a jurisdictional rule, rather than an ordinary procedural rule, should be applied.

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Reminder: CLE Opportunities Thursday and Friday in Pinehurst

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Join top business lawyers and international law practitioners in Pinehurst for two days of North Carolina Bar Association CLE and networking.

Thursday kicks off at 8 a.m. with a three-hour ethics medley video replay, followed by the 2018 Business Law Institute, planned by the NCBA Business Law Section, in the afternoon.

On Friday, the 2018 North Carolina Bar Association Business Law and International Law & Practice Sections Joint Annual Meeting begins at 8 a.m.

With a total of 13 sessions, there is something for everyone. A February favorite, the agenda includes practice-oriented program, panels with experienced practitioners on crowdfunding and international transactions, the annual business law update and programs on ethics in transactional matters and attorney wellness.

Click on any of the links above to register.

Paralegal Potpourri

Hello! Take a minute to catch up on the latest news around the Paralegal Division.

Career Toolbox 101: Do I Need A Briefcase? Business Communications In The Law Office

Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018 from 6:30–8:30 p.m.

North Carolina Bar Center, 8000 Weston Parkway, Cary, NC 27513

Free event for students, job seekers and all interested paralegals.  Learn how to navigate the law office with confidence and develop the practical skills to become an outstanding paralegal when you enter the workforce. RSVP by Wednesday, Feb. 14 to [email protected].

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Racial Equity Report Cards Expose Disproportionate Discipline Rates in NC Schools

From the Youth Justice Project

The Youth Justice Project of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice has released Racial Equity Report Cards for each of the state’s 115 school districts and one for the state as a whole. The Report Cards, released in January, use public data on academic achievement, school discipline and juvenile court involvement to provide a snapshot of a community’s school-to-prison pipeline, including any racial disproportionalities that exist in the pipeline.

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How To Manage the Confluence Of Construction Law and Intellectual Property

By Jeff Reichard

Construction lawyers may face myriad issues related to intellectual property, including patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets.  Intellectual property disputes can create substantial economic risks and even completely shut down an otherwise successful construction project.  While these issues often are misunderstood, the intellectual property issues that arise most often in construction can be easily recognized and managed via contract negotiation or otherwise after educating yourself on the various types of intellectual property and how they may apply to construction projects as identified below.

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Getting Liquidated Damages in Your Default Judgment

By Luke Farley

Owners, if you want liquidated damages to be included in your default judgment against a contractor, then be sure to plead the LDs in your complaint.

In Aoun & Cole, Inc. v. Fitzpatrick, a new, unpublished opinion from the N.C. Court of Appeals, the court affirmed an order under Rule 60(b)(6) setting aside liquidated damages that were awarded to an owner against a contractor as part of a default judgment.

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Apostrophe Misuse: The ‘Greatest Solecism’ In the Punctuation World?

By Laura Graham

As I expected, my last column on the Oxford comma generated some lively feedback — and a topic for this month’s column. It turns out that there is another punctuation mark that causes almost as much angst among the readership as the Oxford comma: the apostrophe.

The readership is apparently in good company; in 2014, Grammarly.com crowned “misused apostrophes” the undisputed champion of its “Most Maddening Writing Error” challenge. One voter said, “[I]t seems like there is a whole new wave of people who believe that you NEED an apostrophe and an ‘s’ to make a word plural.”

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