Put Into Practice June 2023

ARTICLES

The Lawyer Who Loved Hot Pockets

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.

Meditation: What It Is and What Are The Benefits

Let’s face it, lawyers have a lot of stress in their lives. We deal with deadlines, angry and impatient clients, malpractice exposure, difficult opposing counsel, and expectations of perfection. Now, add to that list the COVID 19 pandemic, inflation and political turmoil and you’ve got a big heaping serving of stress stew.

Help! The North Carolina State Bar Opened a Grievance Against Me. What Do I Do?

First, you need to understand how grievances are started at the North Carolina State Bar. Almost anything can trigger the opening of a grievance at the North Carolina State Bar, but typically someone submits a complaint. And while a complaint usually comes from a client or former client, it can really come from anyone: an opposing party, a client’s spouse or relative, an opposing counsel, a judge, or even just someone with an unhealthy obsession with you. There is no “standing” requirement.

LM Welcomes Summer Intern, Shereena Kamal

Lawyers Mutual is pleased to welcome summer intern, Shereena Kamal, a 1L at Elon University School of Law. Joanna earned her undergraduate degree from the North Carolina State University in 2022, graduating cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science and a Minor in Business Administration.

LAW PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

The Myth of the Annual Review and 3 Tips for Improving Your Firm Management This Week

The annual performance review is the dental visit of firm management. It must be done. It is sometimes painful. And basically nobody likes doing it. (Apologies to the lawyers out there who are married to dentists.) There are better tools available for firm management.

Connect with Erik Mazzone

LML insureds can work one-on-one with Erik by phone, video or email. As an added benefit of Lawyers Mutual coverage, insureds may have three consultations with Erik annually at no cost, which provides a substantial value to our insureds. Schedule an appointment with Erik today!

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NORTH CAROLINA NEWS

New Filing Code for Criminal Filings in File & Serve Effective June 1, 2023

Attorneys can now file under Criminal Motions and Order for DA Review in File and Serve if documents need to be reviewed by the DA's office.

Synopsis of the State Bar April 2023 Council Meeting

Get notes from the April 21 State Bar Meeting.

Search Enhancements Incorporated Into eCourts Pilot Phase

The North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), in conjunction with Tyler Technologies, recently implemented changes in the eCourts pilot phase to enhance the Smart Search and Judgment Search applications. The general public and registered users in the pilot counties that have implemented Odyssey can now electronically view court case information and documents, search court dates and hearings, and pay fines and fees in criminal and infraction cases.

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LM SPOTLIGHT

On-Demand CLE and the LM Portal and App: New Insured Benefits!

On-Demand CLE

Lawyers Mutual's new On-Demand platform offers CLE at your convenience. Choose from various topics including Real Estate, Cyber Security, Estates and Trust, Ethics, Law Practice Management, Technology, and more! As a benefit to insureds, CLE fees are reasonably priced for attorneys and FREE for paralegals. Learn more on our website.

LM Portal and App

Lawyers Mutual is pleased to offer a new and improved way to manage your policy and easily and quickly get the documents you need 24/7. You can pay your bill online, download a declaration page, get confirmation of insurance, make policy changes, and add and remove attorneys.

LM On the Road

LML looks forward to connecting with our insureds this summer! Be sure to stop by and say hello!

• June 15-18: NCAJ Annual Meeting – Charlotte

• June 16: NCAJ Paralegal Division CLE – Charlotte

• June 22-23: NCBA Annual Meeting – Wilmington

• July 12: Gaston County Bar Association CLE – Salisbury

• July 20-22: NCBA Estate Planning Annual Mtg – Kiawah

• August 2: NC RE Comm. Wire Fraud Summit – Asheville

• August 18: Rowan County Bar Assn Criminal Law – Salisbury

• August 24: NCAJ CLE & Side Bar Social – Winston-Salem

LM Title Upcoming CLE

Parapalooza 2023 - Raleigh

October 10, 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

5 CPE/CLE credits.

Buying or Selling a Law Practice

A law office is the product of your life’s work. A law office can also be difficult to establish in today’s economy. Like all ventures, there is value attached to an existing law office – it is just a matter of bringing buyers and sellers together to work out what is that value.

Download here

Newly Released! Respect - An Insight to Attorney Compensation Plans, by Brenda Barnes and Camille Stell

This guide to attorney compensation includes:

Compensation formulas
Managing Partner compensation
Compensation carve-outs such as paying non-equity partners
Compensation system biases
Trends in compensation

LEARN MORE and BUY NOW!

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