Jay Reeves practiced law in North Carolina and South Carolina. He was Legal Editor at Lawyers Weekly and Risk Manager at Lawyers Mutual. He is the author of The Most Powerful Attorney in the World, a collection of short stories from a law life well-lived, which as the seasons pass becomes less about law and liability and more about loss, love, longing, laughter and life's lasting luminescence.
If your eyes are growing itchy and tired during the workday, you might be experiencing screen exhaustion. If you’re also having headaches, neck pain and difficulty sleeping, it’s likely that you’re suffering from this malady. And if the mere sight of your laptop causes stress, y… Read More
LegalZoom is about to get much zoomier. Fresh off an IPO in June that resulted in a multi-billion dollar valuation, LegalZoom is now pursuing an alternative business structure license in Arizona. If successful, the move could signal a seismic shift in the legal landscape. “Obtaining an alternative bus… Read More
For recent law graduates, there’s good news and bad news. The good news: the national median salary for the class of 2020 reached an all-time high of $75,000, up more than three percent from the prior year. The median salary for 2020 grads who took jobs in law firms was $130,000. The bad news: the emplo… Read More
How to spot a counterfeit check, and what should you do if you think you’ve been scammed? That question is at the heart of a recent NC State Bar ethics ruling, which suggests you start by using the smell test, followed by due diligence. 2021 Formal Ethics Opinion 2 discusses a lawyer’s pro… Read More
Is it okay for a lawyer to text or email a judge and request a continuance because of a family emergency? What if the lawyer also notifies all the other judges in his district, not just the one presiding over the case? Is the ex parte problem cured if the lawyer also copies opposing counsel on the message? Th… Read More
The NC State Bar Grievance Committee has warned lawyers to expect “serious professional discipline” if they fail to take adequate protection against wire fraud scams. The warning appears in the Fall 2021 issue of the State Bar Journal and on the bar’s website. The full text of the “He… Read More
The North Carolina Justice for All Project (NCJ4AP) is spearheading a proposal to allow unlicensed law school graduates and qualified paralegals to provide limited legal services to low- and moderate-income North Carolinians. In January 2021, the project team submitted a proposal to the NC State Bar an… Read More
“Never let a good crisis go to waste.” For a mighty boost to your Law Life, add the above words to your firm’s mission statement. The precise origin of the quote is unclear. It has been attributed to Winston Churchill, Homer Simpson, and Chicago Cubs president Jed Hoyer. One undeniable … Read More
If you have to run down the hall – or make a call – to your new associate to find out how to create a pdf document, you probably need to up your tech game. If you’re using the same billing system you’ve used for a decade or so, you definitely need to up your tech game. And if you… Read More
Five new Legal Legends of Color have been honored by the NC Bar Association for their contributions to North Carolina law and society. The honorees were announced at the NCBA’s annual meeting in June. They are: Judge Elreta Melton Alexander (posthumously) Attorney Karen Bethea-Shields Judge … Read More
If you think a “naming convention” is a gathering of expecting parents, think again. Ditto if you think “version history” refers to a recap of The Walking Dead episodes. And if your idea of “document management software” is a heaping pile of manila folders … w… Read More
Being a brand-new law firm associate in the Age of COVID is different in some ways than it was just a few years ago. For example, working remotely might be a necessity, and water cooler conversations may occur virtually rather than face-to-face. But in most respects, the same principles apply, s… Read More
Artificial intelligence and robots in the law office might be hot topics at tech shows, but for the vast majority of lawyers, the reality is quite different. Only a miniscule number of firms are actually using AI-based tools in their practices – and that number is going down, not up. And almost one-qua… Read More
COVID caused one in three senior attorneys to rethink their retirement plans, with just over half deciding they needed to work longer than previously planned. The reason: they made less income during the pandemic, forcing them to re-calibrate their short- and long-term financial plans. Those are two finding… Read More
In the midst of the pandemic, it’s more important than ever to build strong, enduring relationships with your clients. It’s the backbone of your practice. Satisfied clients refer friends and colleagues. They also return for repeat business because they trust the lawyer to handle it properly… Read More
For lawyers handling real estate closings, it’s important to know that seller fraud continues to rise, especially with the upcoming holiday season when distractions are high, and fraudsters are active.
Lawyers Mutual has published previous alerts regarding the new filing requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) that went into effect January 1, 2024. After reviewing additional resources, we want to emphasize concerns that we have about the risks and increased potential liability for lawyers undertaking the reporting requirements. This is especially true for the continuing reporting requirements after entity formation and initial reporting.