This blog post summarizes some of the recent activities of the newly formed North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice (“TREC”) chaired by N.C. Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls and N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein. The TREC consists of 24 individuals representing policy makers, civil rights advocates, judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors and law enforcement officers. The full membership can be found at the TREC’s website at www.ncdoj.gov/TREC.
The TREC has had two meetings and one public comment session. The first meeting on July 10, 2020, included an introduction by Gov. Roy Cooper. Justice Earls and Attorney General Stein explained how the TREC would accomplish its work. The members then each shared what they hoped they could contribute to the TREC and what perspective they hoped they could gain from the TREC to share with their organizations and to encourage and enact further meaningful change to the criminal justice system.
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This article has been republished with permission from Waldrep LLP.
It is July of 2020, and domestic and international news cycles are full of stories of global pandemic, record unemployment, and an uncertain path towards international economic recovery. In light of the extraordinary circumstances being reported, it is important to remember that, in more mundane (or even strong) economic conditions, businesses and individuals have always found it necessary to avail themselves of bankruptcy protections.
Externalities, such as poor market conditions and pandemics, often serve to exacerbate existing financial issues. In fact, this May, clothing retailers J.Crew, Neiman Marcus, and J.C. Penney all filed petitions for Chapter 11 Reorganization, after years of struggling sales coupled with recent store closures, the result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several other notable retailers have followed suit. However, internal issues, absent such externalities, are typically the primary drivers of business bankruptcies. A business may suffer from inflexible management or adhere to strategies that prove unsuccessful—the familiar names of department stores and other brick-and-mortar retail giants have graced the news with bankruptcies throughout the past decade. A business may struggle with cash flow, have its access to financing cut off, or may be overburdened with uneconomical contracts. Assets that could be liquidated to increase cash flow may be encumbered by liens, making those assets unattractive to buyers.
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As most of you are painfully aware, it doesn’t appear that the coronavirus or the statewide coronavirus restrictions we have been living with since March are going away anytime soon.
Just this week, Gov. Cooper announced a new Executive Order to limit alcohol sales at restaurants after 11 p.m. Although it received much less media attention, this week also included a new Order from Chief JusticeBeasley extending Emergency Directives 2-8 until August 28.
The new order simply extends current restrictions, but as a refresher, practitioners may expect the following modifications to court operations:
The Young Lawyers Division of the North Carolina Bar Association is routinely recognized by their peers—the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association—as an exemplary organization for young lawyers.
Historically, the most common form of recognition has been through the ABA YLD Awards of Achievement. Despite the challenges and restrictions of COVID-19, the NCBA YLD has once again received commendation from ABA YLD for outstanding efforts in 2019-20.
NCBA YLD will receive Awards of Achievement in two categories:
Hello, fellow members of the Business Law Section, and welcome to the 2020-2021 bar year. Please permit me to begin the way I find myself beginning pretty much all written correspondence these days—with an expression of hope that you all are healthy and are navigating things safely and as cheerfully as possible!
It is again my honor to serve as Chair of the Section and to work with such an outstanding group of council members, committee co-chairs, and NCBA staff.
As always, it is our goal to make sure your Section membership comes with first-rate programming, activities, content, and other benefits—all with the overarching objective of enhancing your law practices and professional development. But as never before, this goal (like the goals and objectives of our firms and the clients we serve) is beset with steep challenges—those, of course, posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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On July 7, 2020, several states and boards of education around the country filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s (“Department”) new Interim Final Rule (34 C.F.R. § 76.665) governing distribution of funds provided by Congress under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES” Act).[1]
The CARES Act was enacted in March of 2020 to, among other things, provide emergency relief to states and local government entities, including Local Education Agencies (“LEAs”) impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act requires that LEAs receiving funds under the CARES Act provide equitable services “in the same manner” as provided under section 1117 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (“ESEA”).[2]
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The North Carolina Industrial Commission has recently revised its guidelines for In-Person Deputy Commissioner Hearings. Those guidelines can be found here. The revisions came after Chief Justice Beasley’s July 16, 2020, Order and Emergency Directive 21 related to face coverings in courthouses. The Emergency Directive requires all persons in a court facility to wear a face covering except in special circumstances. Please review these guidelines in detail if you have an upcoming In-Person Deputy Commissioner Hearing.
In a new landscape that is changing every minute, we are being forced to keep up, stay hypervigilant and quickly adapt. This is all a perfect recipe for burnout if we don’t become aware of the signs and symptoms before it’s too late. It can be tempting just to focus on what we can control, which for many of us is our work, and to pour ourselves into it without processing our mental and emotional stress. This can work in the short term, but in the long term, it is a recipe for burnout. If we do not heed the warning signs that our mind, body and emotions are sending us, we risk another pandemic, mass burnout.
I know the journey to burnout out well, but I am thankful that I also know the journey back. And I am here to tell you there is hope and another way not just to survive but to thrive. In 2013, I had just gone through a divorce and had a 2-year-old and a 7-year-old at home. I had just left my job as a prosecutor and opened my own law practice. I have epilepsy, and my seizures became more and more frequent, but I chalked that up to giving birth and hormones. And then, I started having panic attacks. I had no idea what they were. I truly thought I was going to die. Up until that point, I had nerves of steel. I could walk into a courtroom, look a murderer in the eye, and dismantle him on cross-examination. I could walk into a prison armed only with my skirt, high heels and a notepad without even flinching. Nothing had ever fazed me, but now, I was debilitated by panic attacks. I felt weak and stupid.
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Art MacCord is a patent attorney with 40 years of experience. He keeps an eye on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Copyright Office for new rules and practice tips of interest to intellectual property attorneys. Find his latest updates here:
NCBA IPL Section Blog News Blasts For July 21, 2020
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Single-member LLCs and grantor trusts are both entities that exist for state law purposes but are disregarded for federal income tax purposes. These entities are commonly known as disregarded entities or DREs. The ownership of partnership interests by a disregarded entity creates the question of who the partner really is.
A limited liability company has great flexibility in federal and state tax treatment under Treas. Reg. § 1.7701-3. The default treatment of an LLC that has a single owner is for the LLC to be disregarded as an entity separate from its owner. So, who is the partner if a disregarded LLC owns a partnership interest? The IRS answered that in Rev. Rul. 2004-77, which confirms an entity disregarded under federal tax law is ignored under federal partnership law. Thus, the disregarded entity’s owner is treated as the partner.
By Shana Fulton
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By Art MacCord
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