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.
A $180 million legal malpractice lawsuit against international law firm DLA Piper ended in late May when a federal judge dismissed the case with prejudice. The lawsuit, which stemmed from a 2018 shareholder action in which the plaintiff company was placed in receivership, was tossed by U.S. District Judge Vict… Read More
Greetings, campers! Today’s tale begins with a shootout over the last Hot Pocket and ends with a pair of unethical anglers stuffing lead weights in their walleye. Along the way you will find Red Flags for Spotting Bad-News Clients, timely tips for your summer vacation – and perhaps even a helpful lesson or two for Your Law Life. All in less than 750 words, what a bargain! Let’s roll: Read More
Is Siri a key component of your Search Engine Optimization strategy? If not, your website traffic will likely suffer. Digital voice assistants like Alexa, Siri and Google Home are increasingly popular, with nearly one in three U.S. households using one. Experts say that by 2024 there will be 8.4 billion digit… Read More
It was a banner year in 2022 for false advertising lawsuits, including one of the largest jury verdicts in modern history. In September 2022, Monster Energy Company was awarded nearly $293 million by a California federal jury, with the possibility of punitive and enhanced damages being added as well. At issue … Read More
Success in the law requires learning new things practically every day. But sometimes what you unlearn is even more important. For example, you were taught in law school to “think like lawyer.” But while doing so might serve you well in some respects, it probably won’t do much for your … Read More
First we had robot lawyers and AI-generated documents; now we have hologram witnesses. A brave new world, indeed. This year’s mock trial competition at William & Mary Law School featured full-size hologram witnesses whose “live” courtroom testimony was presented by way of an Epic hologra… Read More
Sixty days after the launch of the North Carolina eCourts system, some lawyers worry about the challenges and potential ethical risks of learning the new procedures. Earlier this year, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) introduced eCourts in four pilot counties. Lawyers in those counties have … Read More
Interested in serving as a Guardian Ad Litem or pro bono counsel for a child in need? If so, the NC Guardian Ad Litem program wants you. The program, a division of the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts, was established in 1983 to provide trained GALs for children in abuse or neglect proceedings. Unfortu… Read More
Amid distressing news of bank failures, inflation and economic uncertainty, lawyers have growing questions about the scope of their ethical duty to safeguard client funds. The North Carolina State Bar is providing some answers. The State Bar has a new FAQ page on its website. It went up after the bar re… Read More
Now that most lawyers have returned to the office in some form or another, they are having to grapple with thorny questions from pre-pandemic times. Such as: whose turn is it to clean the break room? Who left the coffee on? What is that thing growing in the fridge? “Even when people aren’t flagran… Read More
If you’re retiring and want to sell your law practice, how to determine if a potential purchaser is the right one? What sort of due diligence is required? How to avoid common legal, financial and ethical pitfalls? NC State Bar 2023 Formal Ethics Opinions 1, adopted April 21, 2023, sheds light on these a… Read More
You probably know that the Rules of Professional Conduct impose an ethical duty of competence in technology. What you might not know are the specifics of that duty – or how to meet those obligations and stay compliant with the rule. Do you simply have to know how to upgrade your version of Office 365? O… Read More
Paralegals have a vital – and growing – role to play in providing pro bono legal services to more than two million eligible North Carolinians. Unfortunately, because of resource shortages, Legal Aid organizations are able to serve only 3 percent of clients in need. That’s where groups … Read More
Close to half of baby boomers are reaching their golden years with little to no money in the bank. That could mean a most unpleasant retirement. “Fewer than half of working-age Americans have any retirement savings, according to Census data for 2020,” according to The Hill. “And that is… Read More
Next time someone tells you “No good deed goes unpunished,” don’t believe them. The truth is, no good deed goes unrewarded, although the payoff might not occur until later – maybe years or decades later – and in a way you never imagined. 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.