High Rock Partners is a sponsor of the NCBA Business Law Section’s 2019 Business Law Institute and Annual Meeting. A boutique firm of strategic and M&A advisors located in Raleigh, N.C., (in the RTP area), High Rock serves leaders of emerging growth and middle market companies. We assist owners and management in selling their company; making acquisitions; making key strategic decisions; navigating and executing on transitions of ownership; accelerating growth to the next level; and to re-position their company to optimize performance.
Repeatedly we talk with private business owners confronted with an unexpected offer to sell their business… let’s call these “unsolicited offers.” Many times, they haven’t really thought about a succession or exit plan nor have they prepared for a deal if they so desired. Usually the owner of the company or one of their advisors (i.e. attorney or accountant) reaches-out to us for assistance.
Typical questions that we field in these discussions include –
How much is my business really worth?
Is the timing right to sell my company?
If I want to respond, what information should I share?
How do I control the competitive risks of engaging with them?
How do I know that what they are offering is the best deal for me?
What are my real alternatives and options?
Should I negotiate only with this potential buyer or should I try to bring other buyers to the table to create competition?
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As we begin the new year, data security and privacy law are definitively in vogue. Between Russia’s social media campaigns,[1] renewed tensions with China that include their industrial cyber theft operations,[2] breaches at major U.S. companies like Equifax,[3] Facebook,[4] Yahoo,[5] and Marriot,[6] and the unending barrage of privacy policy updates that the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) has spurred,[7] cybersecurity and privacy issues can justifiably jump to the top of the list of issues lawyers need to address as soon as possible. And that urgency comes even before the technology skills gap is taken into account: at the time of this posting, only Florida and North Carolina require lawyers to have technology training as part of their continuing legal education.
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I’ve sat down a few times to write this particular blog. My goal is to encourage fellow Paralegal Division members to submit a nomination to become a council member. However, every time I’ve started to write this blog post, the first two sentences have always sounded like a business pitch and felt very impersonal. To me, being a part of the council is very personal. We represent a diverse group of paralegals across North Carolina from as far west as Franklin to as far east as New Bern and Wilmington. We work in small firms, large firms, government and in-house positions. Serving as a council members provides you with opportunities to grow professionally, meet new friends, and experience the value of networking. I’m very proud to be chair, and I hope sharing my experience will encourage others to apply.
The Paralegal Division is accepting nominations for new division council members through Feb. 28. Click here to find the nomination form.
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Modification Of Custody, COA18-496, Jan. 15, 2019, Walsh v. Jones
The Father’s record from 2004 and 2005 included acts of domestic violence, abuse of illegal drugs, anger management issues, and allegations of inappropriate touching of the minor child.
In 2010, the court found Father was not a fit and proper person to have custody or visitation of any nature.
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Running blind in a multiparty mediation may seem, at first glance, to be dangerous. In reality, negotiating without knowing the amount that co-defendants are offering, i.e. being “blind” is a frequently used tactic in larger construction cases as it expedites the process of negotiations. By purposefully choosing not to be informed about the nature and extent of offers being made by their co-defendants, parties are faced with individually making their own decisions about value and risk. Collectively, this often resolves a case.
Increasing the presence of minorities in the legal profession is an important goal of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Minorities in the Profession Committee (MIP). According to the American Bar Association, law is the least diverse profession in the nation. Nationally, eighty-eight percent of lawyers are white and roughly two-thirds are men. Improving this lack of diversity starts with law schools.
On March 16, 2019, MIP will host the 5th Annual Minority Pre-Law Conference: Putting the Pieces Together, Is Law School the Right Fit? This event will be held at the UNC School of Law and is designed for prospective law students from underrepresented groups. The program helps to empower minority students who may be interested in law school but don’t have the information necessary to get started.
Prospective law students will hear from law school deans and admissions officers about why they should attend law school and how to navigate the admissions process. They will experience life as a law student by attending a mock law school class and interacting with current law students. They will hear from practicing attorneys about the various careers available with a law degree and attend a career fair with representatives from several law schools in North Carolina and surrounding states.
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By now most of you have heard about changes to North Carolina’s estate recovery program and may even have clients facing uncertainty in the wake of these changes. This blog article will bring you up to speed on the developments so far and things to keep in mind while assisting with estate recovery cases.
Background
In 2017, North Carolina adopted an amendment to its State Medicaid Plan that changed waivers of estate recovery in certain cases, most notably when the recipient is survived by a spouse or disabled child, to a deferral. State Plan Amendment 17-0005 was approved by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services on August 1, 2017. Additional, but less substantive, edits were approved by State Plan Amendment 18-0002 approved on August 17, 2018.
The Sports Lawyers Association is hosting a networking happy hour during the NBA All Star weekend in Charlotte and has invited NCBA SEL members to attend if they are interested. All NCBA Sports & Entertainment Law Members are welcome to attend! Please RSVP in advance if you would like to attend. Details of the event are as follows:
North Carolina Bar Association Sports & Entertainment Law Section members will receive complimentary admission to the event. Other organizations that have been invited to attend include the Sports Lawyers Association, Black Sports & Entertainment Lawyers Association, NFL Alumni Association, NBA Players Association & Agents, NFL Players Association & Agents, and the Esports Bar Association.
With the increasingly competitive workforce, employers are searching for ways to efficiently hire quality candidates. One method employers use to lower costs and simultaneously increase efficiency is the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assist with the tedious job of searching through countless resumes. While AI undoubtedly offers significant advantages to employers, there are also many risks. The “pre-existing real-world data” that the AI system relies on for training can be one source of these risks. “[Al]though an AI system itself does not have any biases, the information humans choose to use in the system may be biased.” The full effects of AI in the hiring process have yet to be seen; accordingly, employers need to take steps to ensure they do not expose themselves to liability while implementing this new technology.
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In a published opinion on January 8, 2019, the Fourth Circuit concluded that Section 2000e-16(c), which applies to federal government workers, is not a jurisdictional requirement. The 180-day waiting period is instead a prudential prerequisite to suit. Because of the Court’s holding, employers will need to use Rule 12(b)(6) when claiming that the plaintiff failed to wait the required 180 days.
This case, Stewart v. Iancu, 17-1815, 2019 WL 122868 (4th Cir. Jan. 8, 2019), involved a federal employee alleging, among other things, disability discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment under the Rehabilitation Act and Title VII. The panel, consisting of Chief Judge Gregory and Judges Wynn and Motz, reversed the District Court and remanded for further proceedings.
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