Dear July Bar Examinee

Sarah, a white woman with dark brown hair, wears a white shirt and black jacket.By Sarah Spangenburg 

Dear July Bar Examinee,

You’re in the sweet spot . . . kind of. Law school graduation is quickly approaching, and the bar exam is still eight months away. Before you get too comfy though, we suggest you get started on the North Carolina Bar Application.

This application, which opened November 2, is unlike any you’ve completed before, and once you complete it, you may feel that the person reviewing your application will know you better than your own mother.

Fear not: the Bar Exam Committee of the North Carolina Bar Association Young Lawyers Division is here to help you with this process! Read more

Pro Bono Is Worth My Time

By Janelle ClineJanelle, a white woman with red hair, wears a white shirt and dark green jacket.

As lawyers, our time has value. I don’t mean just the indefinite notion that our time is valuable but a specific dollar amount attached to every six minute increment of our day.

When I started billing by the hour, normal tasks took on a new significance. That traffic jam – $65; my kid’s trip to the dentist – $225; laundry . . . I have a family of five, so I don’t even want to think about that cost. The paradigm shift forced me to answer, “Is it worth my time?” before adding anything to my schedule, and more often than ever before, the answer was “No.” Read more

NC College Admission and Congressional Maps Take Center Stage at SCOTUS This Fall

By Dan Gibson Dan, a white man with brown hair, wears a white shirt, orange tie, and navy jacket.

October and December will be big months for North Carolina at the U.S. Supreme Court. The Justices will hear two cases involving North Carolina in upcoming months.

On Halloween, the Court will face the specter of race-conscious university admissions. Some justices may be spooked by the ghosts of Bakker, Grutter and Fisher, the Court’s earlier decisions on considering race when deciding which undergrads to admit. The challengers in Students for Fair Admissions v. Chapel Hill directly ask the Court to exorcise Grutter because it has had “significant negative consequences” and is “a jurisdictional outlier.” “[E]xplicit racial preferences” always violate the equal protection clause, it argues, regardless of their results. UNC responds that it “needs race-conscious admissions to achieve diversity,” which is “critical to its mission.” Read more

Pro Bono Month Spotlight: Be a Hero to a Hero

By Samantha Gordon

As attorneys, we have a unique superpower. We have the power to practice the law. Through Wills for Heroes, you can use that superpower for the greater good and be a hero to the heroes in your community.

When you were in law school, Wills for Heroes may have been a pro bono project that interested you, and you may have even participated in a clinic. Now, as a young lawyer, you can participate in these clinics as an attorney volunteer and provide a service to those who risk their lives for your community every day. Wills for Heroes is a unique program that provides free estate planning documents to the individuals who we call when we are hurt or in need of help: first responders. Through NCBF Wills for Heroes, you can provide a first responder with the help they need, an estate plan. Read more

The Cup of Coffee That Helped My Career

Lauren, a white woman with long brown hair, wears a black turtleneck.By Lauren Jones

I didn’t know anyone when I moved from Illinois to North Carolina for law school. As if being a 1L isn’t terrifying enough, the old adage I kept hearing, that “It’s not what you know, but who you know,” made the prospect of networking feel intimidating and mysterious. However, through NCBA’s Grab-A-Coffee Program, I found that an informal meeting turned into a summer internship, three wonderful mentors, and a free pizza (or three).

I first signed up for the Grab-A-Coffee program after receiving an email from my school’s Office of Career and Student Development because the program connected students directly to a lawyer in their field of interest. When Sarah Roane and I first connected, I knew we would get along. Even via email, she came across as warm, brilliant, and excited to help. During our first meeting, she asked me what practice area I was interested in. I told her that I was keeping an open mind and was excited to intern with any practice area. Sarah mentioned that she had a connection to a worker’s comp/personal injury firm in Greensboro and asked if I would be interested in potentially interning there. She told me to bring my resume to that week’s social event, and I did. Within five minutes of meeting James, he told me that they’d try to make something work out. Read more

Preparing for Disaster: How Young Lawyers Can Ready Themselves and Their Clients

Taylor, a woman with black hair, wears a pink blouse and black jacket.

Taylor Dewberry

Shameka, a Black woman with black hair, wears a white shirt and black jacket.

Shameka Rolla

By Taylor Dewberry and Shameka Rolla

A natural disaster doesn’t end when the wind dies down or the flooding subsides. For the individuals, families, and communities affected, the disaster can drag on for months, even years.

Issues of inequity and unequal access to information/resources are further exacerbated by such disasters and often result in unequal access to disaster relief for several communities, including individuals with disabilities and racially and ethnically diverse communities. Read more

How YLD Represented You at the American Bar Association Annual Meeting

Lisa, a white woman with brown hair and blue eyes, wears a white blouse with a black jacket.By Lisa M. Williford

1. Resolution 22-8YL: Urges the Biden Administration to cancel student loan debt and Congress to adopt legislation that reduces all student loan debt and cancellation for public service borrowers.

2. Resolution 22-9YL: Urges all national, state, and local bar associations to establish a professional advancement program for new and young lawyers to provide meaningful education surrounding wage negotiations and financial planning.

3. HOD Resolution 606: Urges federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal courts, as well as attorneys, judges, legislators, governmental agencies, and other policymakers to take actions to address issues of racism in America’s civil and criminal justice systems. Read more

Grab-a-Coffee, and Give Back This Fall

Matt Meinel is a white man with light brown hair. He is wearing a blue shirt and black jacket, and he is smiling and standing in front of a tree.Alex Gwynn is a Black woman with black hair and brown eyes. She is wearing a red and white shirt, black glasses, and dark jacket.By Matt Meinel and Alex Gwynn

Do you have time to grab a cup of coffee?

Instead of taking this one to go, how about spending thirty meaningful minutes with a future lawyer? A half hour of your time is all we need to make this program a success! We are seeking attorney volunteers to connect with a law student and pass on the valuable insights you have about succeeding in law school and entering the practice of law.

If you would like to volunteer, please fill out this attorney sign-up form (law students can sign up with this student sign-up form). If you have signed up during a previous GaC session, you will need to sign up again.

Read more

Rebuilding Our Community: A Fresh Focus for the Young Lawyers Division 2022-23 Bar Year

Lisa Williford is a white woman with straight, dark-brown hair, blue eyes and and golden highlights. She is wearing a white blouse with a black jacket and a silver necklace with a circle pendant, and she is pictured smiling.By Lisa M. Williford

Welcome to the NCBA YLD 2022-23 bar year!

As I noted in my speech during the NCBA Annual Meeting, our focus this year is on “Rebuilding Our Community.” Let me share with you how we plan to achieve that goal: Foundation. Strategy. Engagement.

Great communities are built on strong foundations, and our incredible leadership team provides a strong support for ours. Read more

Searching for Volunteers for the Grab-a-Coffee Program – Summer 2022 Launch

Kayla Britt is pictured in a white shirt and dark blazer in front of a dark background.Matt Meinel is pictured smiling and wearing a suit with a tree in the background.By Kayla Britt and Matt Meinel

The YLD’s Law Student Outreach Committee is continuing its flagship Grab-a-Coffee Program (“GaC”) over the summer!

GaC is a statewide program that pairs law students with practicing attorneys based on their practice area(s) of interest. Discussion topics may include the attorney’s path to their current employment, what the practice is like in the attorney’s current areas of law, and any general advice the attorney may have for the student. The program is meant to be an informal, one-time, thirty-minute meeting. Attorneys and students have the option of meeting virtually or in person.

To make this program a success, we need you! We are seeking attorney volunteers to connect with a law student and pass on the valuable insights you have about succeeding in law school and entering the practice of law. If you would like to volunteer, please fill out this attorney sign-up form (law students can sign up with this student sign-up form). If you have signed up during a previous GaC session, you will need to sign up again. Volunteers will be notified by email with more information once they are paired with a law student.

We look forward to a successful summer of networking!