Attorney-Rapper Lex-Jordan Ibegbu Relies On Both Rhyme and Reason

By Amber Nimocks

When summoning the confidence to impress a judge or woo a jury, young attorney Lex-Jordan Ibegbu relies on his years as a rapper growing up in Southeast Raleigh, where he spent much of his time writing rhymes and speaking his truth to crowds big and small.

“Rapping has given me a certain level of comfort when speaking to people,” he says. “MC means ‘Move the Crowd.’ When you are in court, it is similar to a stage, your crowd is the judge or the jury.”

A lifelong North Carolinian, Ibegbu, 27, attended Cary Academy and UNC-Chapel Hill before he headed south for a few years to earn his law degree at the University Of Miami School of Law. He returned home to Southeast Raleigh to begin his practice a year and a half ago, focusing on myriad areas including criminal defense, traffic court, business law, family law, entertainment, sports and government. Growing up in Southeast Raleigh shaped him, Ibegbu says.

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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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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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Vince Lombardi, ‘Groundhog Day’ and the Pursuit of Perfection

By Russell Rawlings

What, pray tell, does legendary football coach Vince Lombardi have in common with the comedic actor Bill Murray?

The pursuit of perfection.

“Perfection,” Lombardi famously stated, “is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”

As for Murray, it wasn’t what he said about perfection, it was what his character did about it in the movie “Groundhog Day.”

The movie is set in Punxsutawney, Pa., the epicenter of this nation’s annual observance of Groundhog Day — where this morning Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, forecasting six more weeks of winter. In the fictional “Groundhog Day,” the main character, played by Murray, starts out as a thoroughly disgusting weatherman who ultimately wins the hand of his beautiful colleague, played by Andie McDowell.

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The CLE You Need On NC’s New Power of Attorney Act

If you deal with matters related to power of attorney in North Carolina, you’ve probably heard the rules changed on Jan. 1.

Your next best chance to get up to speed on these changes comes on Wednesday, Jan. 10, with a video replay of the North Carolina Uniform Power of Attorney Act CLE at the N.C. Bar Center in Cary.

Prepared by the NCBA Elder & Special Needs Law and the NCBA Estate Planning & Fiduciary Law Sections, the CLE offers:

  • Sample POA documents;
  • Instruction from the law’s primary drafters, who teach the course; and
  • Drafting tips from the authorities on the law

Start your New Year right with 6 hours of CLE credit. Click here to find out more about this program.

 

 

 

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Five N.C. Business Court Pro Tips, From the Law Clerk Perspective

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By Tim Lendino

Recently I asked a few Business Court law clerks the following question:  What are some practice pointers that you would give to attorneys appearing before the Court?  Although I clerked at the Business Court and should presumably have some insight into my own question, it’s been a while since I clerked so I thought it would be beneficial to get a fresh perspective.  Below is my summary of five tips I received.  Disclaimer:  These are the views of certain anonymous individuals and should not be attributed to the Business Court.

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Giving Heart To the Tin Man: The Intersection Of the IT/OT in Modern Manufacturing

By David Furr

Protection of key manufacturing and critical infrastructure systems must be provided the same priority as other sectors of our economy if we are to protect basic operations and competitive superiority to which we have become accustomed.[1] Basic industrial and manufacturing operations that have long relied on commercial off-the-shelf products are sitting targets to the same maladies that enterprise networks face.  Modern industrial central systems (ICS or SCADA) must employ a security protocol that reduces operational risks, prevents system breaches and becomes compliant with all best practices while leveraging existing infrastructure and maximizing return of investment on existing equipment.

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Our Firm Let Insurance Providers Compete and Wound Up Saving 13% On Our 2018 Healthcare Costs

By Michael R. Epperson

Remember the good old days when healthcare benefits were provided at a premium level for a small additional cost to the employer?  Many of us have not been around long enough to enjoy that recollection!

Today, healthcare costs are a major line item in most law firms’ budgets and these costs are growing at an alarming rate, motivating firms to work hard to find ways to reduce rates.  Healthcare costs are also an important consideration for recruiting and hiring.  New employees are scrutinizing a firm’s offered healthcare benefits during their job decision-making process.  Let’s face it, most mid-size law firms pay attorneys and staff within a similar range.  So, many firms are trying to attract the same top talent, and those candidates take a careful look at not only salary, but also at other financial benefits of their employment such as the existence of a 401K, bonus potential, and, importantly, the cost to them of healthcare coverage.

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Thank You, NCBA Members For All You Do; This Turkey Day Poem Is Just For You

By Josh McIntyre, NCBA Membership Director

The leaves are turning colorful shades

Of orange and red and more.

And it’s always around this time of year

I think of what I am thankful for.

 

As always I’m glad my family and friends

Put up with my antics and quirks,

But I am also extremely grateful

For quite a few things at work:

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Holiday Eating Advice From Man’s Best Friend: Treat Thanksgiving Like Any Other Day

By Russell Rawlings

Brownie doesn’t distinguish between Thanksgiving Day and any other day of the year. Nor does he grasp the concept of Saturday and Sunday, which most of us refer to as the weekend.

Brownie doesn’t know when it’s Thanksgiving. He’s always grateful for his morning walk.

All our beloved four-legged friend knows is that when my feet hit the floor every morning, we’re going for a long and rewarding walk. That’s all he cares about.

There’s a lot to be gained from this strategy, or better yet not gained, if you’re approaching Thanksgiving Day and the subsequent holiday season with fear and trepidation over what you will eat and what you will weigh once it’s all said and done.

For starters, control the damage. Even if you can’t approach Thanksgiving Day with the indifference that Brownie will undoubtedly display, try to limit your feeding frenzy to one day. A day off from self-control and discipline is not a license to eat uncontrollably throughout the extended weekend or, worse still, all the way through New Year’s Day.

The holiday season can be tough on those of us who are attempting to lose weight or striving to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Even for a nation that routinely enjoys an overabundance of food and drink, this can be a treacherous time, what with all the parties and the seemingly endless supply of baked goods that mysteriously appear in the home and workplace.

Lord knows I don’t have all the answers, but I have been waging this war long enough to learn a few things about navigating these calorie-infested waters. Here are three of them.

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