A. We had a Council meeting on March 23, 2023. It was gloriously held over Zoom. The next (and final) meeting for this bar year is on May 18, 2023, in Cary.
Did you know that you can attend Council meetings remotely, thus eliminating travel? Well, now you know how easy it really can be to get involved.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00FamilyLawhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngFamilyLaw2023-03-30 15:12:562023-03-30 15:14:12March 2023 Family Law Section Update
It’s been an excellent year for the Dispute Resolution Section. We awarded our inaugural Harmony Award to Deb Dilman of Southpark Family Law in Charlotte and the Peace Award to J. Randolph Ward. Section Chair Jim Cooley implemented meaningful task forces to foster innovation in the field. Finally, the Race & Equity Committee has launched a new “Try Someone New” campaign to promote the use of talented, diverse mediators across the state.
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Over the past couple of years, I’ve had the opportunity to present a number of talks on mental health topics. When those talks were at law schools, it has been clear that mental health issues are top of mind for many law students these days. As it turns out, this informal observation is consistent with data showing that more and more students are entering law school with significant mental health issues compared to even a short time ago.
In 2014, 15 law schools around the country participated in an ABA-sponsored Survey of Law Student Well-Being (“the 2014 survey”) to examine substance abuse and mental health issues among law students. Given the increased emphasis since that time on law student and lawyer well-being among law schools and legal professionals, the researchers updated their study in 2021 (“the 2021 survey”) to see what, if anything, has changed since 2014. What they found was that, for the most part, things have gotten worse.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00IntellectualPropertyhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngIntellectualProperty2023-03-29 10:29:202023-03-29 10:38:14The State of Law Students’ Mental Health
Why are lawyers often mocked and despised in the media, and what can we do about it? As professionals, we have spent years studying the law, and we have dedicated our lives and careers to this profession. So while we may take ourselves seriously, sometimes, it is a shock to walk into a courtroom or to face a group of people from the public who view us no differently from the proverbial “snake oil salesman” or as someone out only for ourselves and prepared to pull a fast one.
Admittedly, some members of our profession have broken the law, stretched the rules of ethics, or generally made themselves a nuisance. But we cannot allow these individual examples to define, or to continue to define, us or our profession. Is there anything we can do to raise the public perception of lawyers, defend our profession, and represent our clients effectively at the same time? Let’s consider three goals we can set this year to push back on these common negative impressions.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Professional Vitality Committeehttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngProfessional Vitality Committee2023-03-28 15:13:162023-03-28 15:13:16How to Promote a Positive View of Lawyers and the Legal Profession
Currently, paralegals have many more employment and growth opportunities than ever before. Paralegals were once thought to be simply responsible for secretarial or administrative duties within their firm. However, this has now vastly changed in more ways than one. Today, paralegals handle more substantive work and often fill their task lists with detailed planning, drafting, and research assignments to assist their attorneys and clients. Taking on such duties has made paralegals irreplaceable in the workforce and has opened new doors for opportunities across the legal field.
One considerable new opportunity for paralegals is the shift in traditional work settings that has become more common over the past few years. While we have moved towards more of a remote/virtual setting for many legal professionals, we have also seen a change in the type of employers seeking to hire paralegals. It is now very common to see paralegals working in places other than law firms. Today, you may see paralegals acting in a freelance capacity – in which they own their own business and their clients are attorneys that give them tasks and provide them with the required level of supervision for paralegal work. Additionally, you may see paralegals working in areas and settings involving public interests, the government, non-profits, and even in-house positions.
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The last few years have seen dramatic changes in the field of health care. The NCBA Health Law Section’s Annual CLE Program on April 21 will include a session addressing the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic abortion decision. The session is titled “The Impact of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on Health Care Providers” by Joan Anderson of McGuire Woods. This timely session will explore liability and policy considerations for individual health care providers, hospital and health systems; and explore trends and legal developments in state legislative actions as a result of Dobbs. Additionally, this session will discuss considerations for providers and health care organizations in developing and implementing clinical policies and procedures to ensure appropriate medical care is given to patients — including local patients and those who have traveled from other states to seek care.
Another timely, North Carolina-focused session will be “Alternative Payment Models: The View From North Carolina” by Barry Herrin (Herrin Health Law), Erin Roberts (Roberts Law Office) and Steve Pine (K&L Gates). This session will delve into different types of alternative payment models (APMs) available to North Carolina providers, case studies of differing opportunities in value-based care, as well as state law issues confronting the design and operation of APMs in North Carolina. The panel will also discuss trends in the value-based and APM environment, and the evolution of payor-provider relationships.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00HealthLawhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngHealthLaw2023-03-23 13:46:012023-03-23 14:39:09Dobbs and Alternative Payment Models on the Agenda at the 2023 Health Law Section Annual CLE Program
Kari Fabrizio began her legal career in Baldwinsville, New York, where she owned her own freelance transcriptionist company. Since resettling to Forsyth County, North Carolina nearly 30 years ago, she has supported some of North Carolina’s most sought-after family law attorneys. Today, Kari is a North Carolina State Bar Certified Paralegal at Dana Wilson Law in Winston-Salem. In her role as a family law paralegal, Kari works closely with people facing some of the most difficult times of their lives. After all, nobody hires a family lawyer because things are great at home. Kari’s ability to make every client feel heard is one of her many paralegal superpowers. From an attorney support perspective, Kari digests and organizes large volumes of information with ease, prepares motions, discovery, and financial affidavits with a keen eye for detail, and assembles mediation and trial preparation materials like it is in her DNA. Kari’s diligent nature goes a long way toward attorneys and clients presenting their best possible case.
Those who practice in Wake, Johnston, Harnett and Lee counties have already begun to experience what it is like to perform a search in the Odyssey Portal system. It is sad to report that the AOC legacy system VCAP has more robust searching logic than the new Odyssey system.
AOC is aware of the problems with the search functionality. See attached Notes from the February 27, 2023 AOC Meeting. The notes lay out many of the reported examples regarding problems with the searching features. The four counties are called “Pilot” counties because the kinks in the system are being worked out before the system rolls out. AOC is actively working with Tyler Technologies to strengthen and change the search logic based on reported issues.
There is no clear timetable as to when the better-performing features will be developed and implemented. Changes and updates are happening in response to known issues without announcement as this system is a work in progress. For those using the current iteration of the Pilot Odyssey system, some of the known pitfalls and tricks are laid out herein and in the attached notes from the AOC meeting. As new features become available, the Real Property Section will continue to send out the pertinent information.
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Candace Friel finds her passion for pro bono work in projects where she gets to work with clients one-on-one, especially at home in the Triad. Friel is a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, working as a healthcare and commercial litigator, and she is a member of the NCBA’s Health Law Section.
Since beginning her legal career at Nelson Mullins in 2007, Friel has built a robust pro bono practice, volunteering with driver’s license restoration clinics, Rebuild North Carolina, A Gift to Your Family advanced directive clinics, and more. Friel appreciates the opportunity to work with pro bono clients in person like she did with Rebuild North Carolina, where her client was seeking funds to help rebuild after Hurricanes Florence and Matthew.
Now that the 2023 legislative session is underway, numerous House and Senate committees are meeting to discuss current legislation along with studies and issues of concern by members of the public, state agencies, and trade groups. One such committee, the House Committee on Regulatory Reform (“HCRR”), is of particular interest to this section. The HCRR met on Wednesday, March 15, and invited the John Locke Foundation along with the Rules Review Commission to give presentations to its committee members.
Jon Sanders, on behalf of the John Locke Foundation, gave a presentation entitled “Occupational Licensing.” Sanders started his presentation off by noting that the North Carolina Constitution states that “enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor” is among a North Carolina citizen’s inalienable rights. He went on to say that occupational licensing is an “entry barrier to someone seeking work in a desired field” and that licensing is North Carolina’s most restrictive occupational regulation, which should be used only when risk to the public welfare is highest. Sanders noted that the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s database shows 931 licenses, which include privilege licenses and special events permitting. He went on to discuss the benefits of licensure (i.e., to protect health, safety and welfare) along with the costs (i.e, fees and background checks). Sanders explained that these regulations result in higher prices for licensed work, fewer options, and poor or dangerous alternatives. He went on to state that these regulations also result in limited growth in licensed occupations, less competition, fewer economic opportunities and less wealth creation. Sanders did not cite any resources or data for these conclusions. Sanders suggested to reserve occupational licensing only for a significant public harm and to instead explore certification, registration, bonding/insurance, inspections, and stronger laws for consumer protections to combat other public harm. Finally, Sanders suggested that the legislative members consider other reforms such as Universal License Recognition, which has been passed in 19 states, along with an Occupational Licensing Consumer Choice Act. The latter would allow unlicensed persons to provide a non-license disclosure form to consumers, which would show their lack of licensure, but would list their other training, experience, or certifications. Sanders stated that consumers would be able to sue the “bad actors” for redress in court and could leave bad reviews for them, which would warn other consumers. He also welcomed people in that industry to call out the bad actors in their profession through advertising.
By Ketan Soni
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