Jay Reeves practiced law in North Carolina and South Carolina and is author of The Most Powerful Attorney in the World. He runs Your Law Life LLC, which helps lawyers and firms improve their well-being and create saner, more successful law lives. He is available for talks, presentations and confidential consultations.
The North Carolina House and Senate have approved House Bill 776, and Governor Cooper signed the Remote Online Notarization (RON) into law on July 8, 2022. This legislation allows notaries to identify individuals and notarize their signatures using internet technologies. Homebuyers, for example, will b… Read More
Does your attorney compensation plan mirror your law firm’s values and mission? If not, you might be missing a chance to move your firm from good to great. “Many of our compensation models such as ‘eat what you kill’ are outdated,” writes Camille Stell, CEO of Lawye… Read More
The NC State Bar has amended the rules for attorneys applying for reinstatement from inactive or suspended status. The amendments to the bar’s Rules for the Administrative Committee were approved by the NC Supreme Court in December 2021 and published on the State Bar website in 2022. The amendme… Read More
A law firm that lost almost $200,000 in a Nigerian wire fraud scam can’t recover the money from its depository bank. The firm – not the bank – is responsible for the loss, a federal court in Pennsylvania has ruled. This is so even though the firm did not know the check was a forgery b… Read More
Seventy percent of law students say they needed help for mental or emotional problems in the past year, and 11 percent report having suicidal thoughts. Those disturbing statistics are from the 2021 Survey of Law Student Well-being. “The study also found that 33 percent of the students had a diagnosis … Read More
Want to make your vacation time more productive? While relaxing on the beach or hiking in the mountains, consider taking a free, online course to improve your law office HR and management skills. Self-study courses from colleges, nonprofits and private companies offer a range of classes on communication, so… Read More
It appears distance learning in law school is here to stay. A new study finds that almost 70 percent of third-year law students want more remote course choices than their schools even offer. The survey was conducted by the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. More than 60 l… Read More
Way back in Trial Advocacy, you learned that a picture is worth a thousand words when it comes to persuading a jury. In this era of TikTok, Netflix and Zoom, pictures have become even more important. “The heavy use of social media platforms has wired some modern viewers to become visual learners… Read More
A lawyer who is privately retained may provide limited representation to a criminal defendant who has appointed counsel under certain circumstances, the NC State Bar says in a proposed ethics opinion. In Proposed 2022 Formal Ethics Opinion 2, issued in April, the State Bar ethics committee said there are exc… Read More
This story begins with a $10 million dollar Mickey Mantle baseball card and ends with the statute of limitations. In between is a lesson for your Law Life on letting go of the past. Read More
One in three entrepreneurs is willing to put aside personal pride for the sake of company growth - but they aren’t willing to risk their reputation in the process. That’s according to the Embroker Startup Risk Index 2022. The index is based on a survey of U.S. startup founders. It analyzes how foun… Read More
Errors in estates and trust matters are causing a rise in malpractice claims against North Carolina attorneys. The increase has been so dramatic that Lawyers Mutual issued a Risk Management Alert to its insured lawyers. Over the last few years, Lawyers Mutual has seen an increase in Estates and Trusts (E&T… Read More
A Minnesota lawyer who made false statements on her resume and forged a law school transcript has been suspended from practice for six months. The state Supreme Court issued the suspension for untrue statements the lawyer made in her search for a job. The attorney did not contest the disciplinary matter. Here… Read More
Here’s some free advice: if you’re in jail awaiting sentencing for a nightclub shooting, you should probably take a break from practicing law. Otherwise, you might find yourself disbarred. It happened in Oklahoma, where the state Supreme Court disbarred a lawyer who tried to continue his law pra… Read More
There are reasons pro and con for using Facebook to market your law practice. But if you choose to do it, and especially if you purchase Facebook ads, you need to know the basics of Facebook analytics. Otherwise, you’ll have no way of gauging the success of your efforts. “You have a Facebook pag… Read More
As part of North Carolina’s eCourts initiative, the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC) will be introducing a new eFiling system, known as File & Serve, that will allow attorneys statewide for the first time ever to submit documents and case filings online. This new capability will launch later this year in four pilot counties: Harnett, Johnston, Lee, and Wake.
The House and Senate both approved House Bill 776, and Governor Cooper signed the Remote Online Notarization (RON) into law on July 8, 2022. This legislation allows notaries to identify individuals and notarize their signatures using internet technologies. Homebuyers, for example, will be able to close loans and buy houses remotely.