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Advice for Law Students

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Advice for Law StudentsWe are in the process of visiting law school campuses with the North Carolina Bar Association. We provide pizza and speak to the incoming class to welcome them to the profession.  I asked our claims attorneys to share some survival tips. I hope you find some of these helpful.

“For me, it was pretty basic. I just studied a lot. You have to go into it with a commitment that you are going to do this thing for three years and then it will all be over. Final exams are everything in law school. I started studying for finals a long, long time before the exam. The other thing I would say is to learn to write like a lawyer. For some people, this is not natural, but it is an absolute necessity if you want to do well in law school and as a practicing lawyer. You can know everything that you need to know for the exam and still not do well if you can’t write like a lawyer.”  Will Graebe, Vice-President of Claims

“You need to realize that you have been a type A personality all your life which included over achieving and being at the top of your class. Well, the higher up the mountain you go, the tougher the competition. Unlike high school and college, their entire class is made up of over achievers.  You need a new mindset. If you can book a class, be in the top 5% or make law review, great. However, the majority of you won’t. Sometimes, success is just about surviving. And making progress may not be about taking a step forward, but putting your head down in a storm, hanging on to where you are and not being pushed backwards. The hard part of your first semester is you have to learn to think in an entirely different way and it’s tough. Don’t quit. You may not think you have it, but even as hard as you’ve worked in college, you’ve got at least 1-2 more gears you don’t even know you have.  Dig deep and find them. Don’t get jealous of those who get higher grades with seemingly less effort. Don’t focus on them as the competition. The competition is against you. Sometimes, even a C and being middle of the class can be a win. This is the REAL “Survival” reality show.” Wayne Stephenson, Claims Counsel

“Take it all in stride. 1L year is designed to leave you addled. Nobody’s first set of grades has anything to do with real competence, passing the bar, or working after the bar. Know your stress outlet. Learning to keep your stress in check can help you make better decisions not only during law school, but when you’re practicing law. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice. We’re all here to help each other, and a more experienced attorney won’t mind sharing advice. Don’t forget your interests. In most schools, 1Ls take no electives. While you’re taking care of basic ABA course requirements – think of it as general college – keep an eye on professors and courses for the years ahead. Talk to the professors and their students to see what the courses are all about. Seek practical experience. Work for free. Work in private practice and work for the public. Work in state law, then try a little federal. Work for a big firm, then for a small one. The best way to find the job for you is to start doing it before you have to.” John Hester, Jr. 2010 law school graduate.

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The Rules, They Are A-Changin’

TimesChangin

The 2011 legislative session saw major changes to how plaintiff’s personal injury lawyers will do business in the future.

One of the changes relates to evidence of medical expenses in a civil action. House Bill 542 added a new rule of evidence: Rule 414. New Rule 414 limits evidence Bob Dylanoffered to prove past medical expenses to evidence of the amounts actually paid to satisfy the bills. With regard to unpaid medical bills, the evidence is limited to amounts actually necessary to satisfy the bills that have been incurred but not yet satisfied. This change in the law will obviously diminish the amount of medical expenses that can be put into evidence in the typical personal injury case and may have the effect of decreasing the potential jury verdict. House Bill 542 made this change in the law apply to actions commenced on or after October 1, 2011. One could certainly envision a mad rush to the courthouse to get personal injury actions filed before October 1.

At the urging of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ), the legislature passed Senate Bill 586 which re-writes Section 4.2 of Senate Bill 542 to make this change in the law apply to actions arising on or after October 1, 2011. So it appears the race to the courthouse has been averted, at least with respect to this change in the law.

Not so with the next change that applies to medical malpractice actions. Section 7 of Senate Bill 33 amends N.C.G.S. § 90-21.19 and limits an award of noneconomic damages to $500,000 unless the jury finds: (1) the plaintiff suffered disfigurement, loss of use of part of the body, permanent injury or death and (2) the defendant’s acts or failures, which are the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries, were committed in reckless disregard of the rights of others, grossly negligent, fraudulent, intentional or with malice. This provision applies to actions commenced on or after October 1, 2011, so presently if one has a medical malpractice case with the potential for significant noneconomic damages; one might want to file the lawsuit before October 1. If that is not likely or not possible, the lawyer should advise the potential client in writing that her case may be affected by the new statute and it is unlikely that the firm will be able to have the case reviewed and filed by the October 1 deadline. As a consequence, the client’s claim may be subject to the cap on noneconomic damages. If the client still wants you to handle her case, get her to signify in writing that she understands and accepts the probability that her case may not be filed before October 1, 2011 and as a result will be subject to the cap on noneconomic damages.

Todd Barlow, the NCAJ Political Affairs Counsel, advises that efforts are underway to ask the legislature to revise this provision so that it applies to causes of actions arising on or after October 1, 2011, which would seem to be a more efficient way to implement this change in the law and would avoid a rush to the courthouse to get medical malpractice lawsuits filed before October 1.

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Successful Claims Repair

Help

“Claims repair” is a big part of what we do at Lawyers Mutual and July brought two successful claims repair efforts that enabled two of our insureds to avoid a malpractice claim.  With the help of one of our defense lawyers in Wilmington, Vaiden Kendrick, we successfully argued that a default judgment that had been entered against our insured’s client should be set aside. Now the case is back on track, and the client is able not only to defend against the plaintiff’s claim, but also to assert his counterclaim for damages.

In the other successful repair effort, our outside defense counsel, Ed Schenk of Teague, Campbell, Dennis & Gorham, was successful in persuading the Full Commission to reverse  a deputy commissioner’s Opinion and Award dismissing our insured’s client’s workers’ compensation claim. 

 Both of these successful claims repair efforts would not have been possible without prompt reporting of a potential claim by our insured, quick action on our part in recognizing the repair potential and lining up the appropriate outside counsel to do the job, and finally the excellent courtroom work that all of our defense counsel are able to do.

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Advice for Taking the Bar Exam

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Your three years of hard work has been building to two days at the end of July. I’ve heard from some of you recent grads over the past few weeks and I know you are nervous. I’ve polled the Lawyers Mutual claims attorneys for advice. I hope it’s helpful.

Get a good night’s sleep prior to the exam.

Don’t try to “show off” to the examiners on the essays.  Answer the question they ask, not the one you want them to ask. Get in. Get out.

Laura Loyek shares a story of rubbing her eye right before the exam started only to have her contact lens disintegrate. She took the morning exam with one eye closed, then raced home at lunch to grab a new pair of contacts. Lesson learned? Bring a spare pair of contacts or your glasses.

Our insured, John Hester, Jr., who has passed both the NC and NY bars offers this advice:

1) After 3 years of law school, you know your own study habits. Study courses offer full days of materials, which eager schools try to supplement. Don’t worry if you can’t get to everything. Keep to your courses, but don’t reinvent how you study.

2) Multiple choice takes practice, practice, practice. Bar exam questions are generally much easier than your study guides.

3) Essays catch everyone off guard. As long as you can spot an issue, you have an idea what rule it’s asking for. If you have no idea what to write, skip it and come back later. If you still have no idea when you come back, make up a rule to apply. A blank answer is worth zero, but it’s possible to get some credit for a beautiful essay on a fictitious law.

4) The most important thing is to pace yourself.  Don’t waste time staring or taking extensive notes on separate paper. If you use your laptop for essays, outline on screen first and fill it in second.

5) Plenty of decent, intelligent people have had their results delayed or sealed because they didn’t read/follow directions. Don’t bring in prohibited items; empty your CD drive Monday night, and go over the admission ticket.

6) Whatever you do, don’t type over time. They’ll find out, and everyone sitting around you will be pulled into an investigation. It’s a real bummer for you and everyone else.

The best advice at this point is to be calm and confident – at least try to be.  By now, the studying has been (mostly) done.  It’s difficult to focus, collect and organize your thoughts (the only way to pass this exam) when you are nervous and rattled. When you are sitting with the exam in front of you, take a deep breath and dive in.

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Legislative Alert – Don’t Let New Civil Court Fees Catch You by Surprise

Costs

As of today, brand new court cost and fee provisions are scheduled to go into effect TOMORROW, July 1, 2011, for all civil cases filed in superior and district courts and in estate proceedings. The changes include not just an increase in existing costs, but new costs that may cause you to miss deadlines if you are not careful.

These fees include:
Fees will be assessed for filing any pleading containing a counterclaim or cross-claim. The total fees for a district court filing with these claims is $150.00, and the total fee for such a filing in superior court is $200.00.

Each filing containing one or more motions in a civil action (with very limited exceptions) will be assessed a $20.00 fee. This includes motions within complaints, answers, or subsequent pleadings, and routine motions such as extensions of time to answer a complaint or respond to discovery. Presumably, any written motions filed during trial would also be subject to the fee.

Any alias and pluries summons or endorsement issued by the clerk on an original summons in a civil action will be subject to a $15.00 fee (with very limited exceptions). The fee appears to apply to each A&P summons issued to each individual defendant in a civil action.

Any filing in an estate proceeding that contains a motion (with very limited exceptions) and requires a notice of hearing will be assessed a $20.00 fee. On June 28, 2011, the AOC issued an instructive memorandum on these and other court cost changes and circulated it to court personnel in advance of the impending effective date.http://www.nccourts.org/Courts/Trial/Documents/court_costs_memo-1July2011.pdf 

At present, Lawyers Mutual is inquiring with the AOC and Clerks of Court of several counties about the implementation of the new costs. As is usually the case with such changes, there will be variations from county to county especially in the months following the effective date. In the meantime, you should assume that clerks in all counties, including yours, will require the necessary fee before accepting motions or issuing A&P summonses. That means that answers with counterclaims or pleadings containing motions may be rejected when filed right before a deadline if not accompanied by the applicable fee. Additionally, A&P summonses may not be issued, even if they would otherwise expire, unless the $15 fee is paid. Until you are sure about the procedures that will be implemented by your local clerks, do not leave last minute filing to unprepared and uninformed office staff. File it yourself and take your wallet!

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