Fourth Quarter 2017 - Wake Bar Flyer

50 YEARS OF THE COURT OF APPEALS.........................14

____________________________________ VOL. XLIII

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ISSUE 4 | FOURTH QUARTER 2017

BAR FLYER CELEBRATING LEADERSHIP

UPCOMING EVENTS WCBA HOLIDAY PARTY • Dec. 1 | 7-11 p.m. at the Crabtree Valley Marriott, for WCBA Members and their guests only.

BY ASHLEY H. CAMPBELL, PRESIDENT TENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT BAR / WAKE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION

TENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT BAR ANNUAL MEETING & LUNCHEON • Dec. 5 | 12:15 p.m. at North Raleigh Hilton.

THIS BAR FLYER, our last of 2017, is devoted to celebrating leadership. The leaders who advocated in 1965 for the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals and its current Chief Judge Linda McGee. The leaders of our Bar and community who are willing to serve on our Board of Directors and as Councilors to the North Carolina State Bar. And our friend, Maria Lynch, the recipient of the 2017 Joseph Branch Professionalism Award.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE 3 4

I am embarrassed to say that I did not really know Maria before she became President-elect of the Tenth Judicial District Bar. I did know of her many accomplishments – Bar Councilor, chair of numerous North Carolina Bar Association estate planning committees, professor at UNC Chapel Hill School of Law, lecturer at Duke Law School and beloved and respected friend to many in our Bar. Getting to know Maria personally has been one of the greatest joys of my year as President. In addition to being brilliant and accomplished, she is hysterically funny and warm. She is not afraid to poke fun at herself, or at you when the situation calls for it. She is an exceptional and wise leader. She will be a wonderful President of the Tenth Judicial District Bar. As we move into 2018, I encourage you to participate more fully in our mandatory and volunteer bar associations either through a committee or in a leadership role. Serving as a leader of our Bar associations has been one of the greatest joys of my professional and personal life. I am grateful to all of you who have made this year so special for me. WBF

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2017 JOSEPH BRANCH PROFESSIONALISM HONOREE MARIA M. LYNCH CANDIDATES FOR TENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT BAR AND WCBA ELECTIONS CALENDAR OF EVENTS LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP YLD NEWS / NOTICE OF ELECTION CREED OF PROFESSIONALISM THE NORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS: A HISTORY DIRECT EXAMINATION: JUDGE LINDA McGEE MEMBER NEWS LEADERSHIP: LOCAL LEADERS SHARE THEIR INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHTS TENTH JUDICIAL BAR: REPORTING RULES CHANGE 23rd LUNCH WITH A LAWYER UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATIONS USING SOCIAL MEDIA TENNIS TOURNAMENT WELCOME, NEW MEMBERS CHARLES BRANDON HUNT LAWYER’S BASKETBALL LEAGUE 2018

NOTICE OF ELECTION TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE TENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT BAR THE OFFICERS of the Tenth Judicial District Bar and Wake County Bar Association hereby give notice pursuant to Article XII of the By-Laws of the North Carolina State Bar: 1. That the annual election of Officers and Directors will be held on Tuesday, December 5, 2017, at the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown, 3415 Wake Forest Road in Raleigh at 12:15 p.m. Lunch will be served and the cost of lunch will be borne by the Tenth Judicial District Bar at no additional cost to

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Visit our website: www.wakecountybar.org 919.677.9903 phone • 919.657.1564 fax

WAKE BAR FLYER

VOL. XLIIII No. 4 | FOURTH QUARTER 2017 President ASHLEY H. CAMPBELL Presidents-elect JUDGE NED MANGUM, WCBA MARIA LYNCH, TENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT Secretary MEGHAN N. KNIGHT Treasurer ADAM M. GOTTSEGEN Immediate Past President BRIAN O. BEVERLY Board of Directors LISA M. ANGEL BILLY BREWER ULMER “ZEKE” BRIDGES BILL BYSTRYNSKI ANNA BAIRD CHOI MARGARET CURRIN STEPHANIE D’ATRI ASHLEIGH P. DUNSTON DREW ERTESCHIK KATHERINE A. FRYE JUDGE KEITH O. GREGORY JUDGE JEFFERSON GRIFFIN JAMES HASH AIDA DOSS HAVEL JILL S. JACKSON SHANNON R. JOSEPH DEAN RICH LEONARD JEFF R. MONROE LAUREN V. REEVES EDD K. ROBERTS III DAVID L. SHERLIN MEGAN WEST SHERRON JUSTIN G. TRUESDALE Young Lawyers Division President SAMUEL D. FLEDER Young Lawyers Division President-elect LAUREN A. GOLDEN ABA Delegate JOHN I. MABE Executive Director WHITNEY von HAAM Wake Bar Flyer Editor ALEXANDRA DAVIS Tenth Judicial District Bar Councilors HEIDI C. BLOOM WALTER E. BROCK NICHOLAS J. (NICK) DOMBALIS THEODORE C. EDWARDS II KATHERINE FRYE DONNA R. RASCOE WARREN SAVAGE C. COLON WILLOUGHBY © 2017 Wake County Bar Association & Tenth Judicial District Bar.

NOTICE OF ELECTION: CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 members. For those unable to attend the luncheon, an early voting option will be made available at the Wake County Justice Center courtroom 102 and the WCBA offices at the North Carolina Bar Center Friday, December 1 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., and Monday Dec. 4 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

2. The election is for the purpose of choosing Officers and Directors for both the Tenth Judicial District Bar and the Wake County Bar Association, an open Bar Councilor position, due to Colon Willouhby’s election to North Carolina State Bar Vice President and Badger-Iredell Foundation Board Members.

3. The following Officers will be elected: President-elect, Treasurer, Secretary PRESIDENT-ELECT (ELECT ONE) Nancy L. Grace David L. Sherlin TREASURER (ELECT ONE) Adam M. Gottsegen SECRETARY (ELECT ONE) Meghan N. Knight 4. The following Directors will be elected: 7 Directors (three-year term) BOARD OF DIRECTORS (ELECT SEVEN) Yvonne Armendariz David P. Ferrell Daniel T. Barker Evonne S. Hopkins Julie L. Bell Christina Medlin McCoy Gregory S. Connor Atiya Mosley Rebecca A. Edwards J. Alex Pully

John Szymankiewicz Elizabeth Zwickert Timmermans John B. (“Bo”) Walker

5. The following State Bar Councilor position will be elected by the Tenth Judicial District Bar: One Councilor (finishing the final year of Colon Willoughby’s seat vacated due to his nomination as Vice-President of the North Carolina State Bar)) STATE BAR COUNCILOR | WILLOUGHBY SEAT (ELECT ONE) Robert B. Rader 6. The following Badger-Iredell Foundation members will be elected by the Wake County Bar Association: 2 Foundation Members BADGER-IREDELL FOUNDATION | WCBA MEMBERS VOTING (ELECT TWO) Dewey P. Brinkley Holmes P. Harden Please see biographical information on each of the candidates beginning with the facing page and continuing through page 8. We look forward to seeing you at the annual meeting on December 5 at the North Raleigh Hilton. WBF

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WAKE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION

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MARIA M. LYNCH

2017 RECIPIENT OF THE JOSEPH BRANCH PROFESSIONALISM AWARD

BY JEAN GORDON CARTER | MCGUIREWOODS, LLP

FOR MANY YEARS, once a week Maria M. Lynch has left her very busy practice as a Trusts and Estates attorney in Raleigh to take the Read and Feed Mobile Classroom (often driven by her husband and law partner Jerry Eatman) across town to read to elementary school children as part of their programs.

She has shared her passion for helping others with the other lawyers in her firm, Lynch & Eatman L.L.P., and each Friday morning she and her other firm lawyers participate in Partners Read. Her direct service to the community is exceeded only by her service to the profession.

Maria has held numerous positions serving the legal profession in Wake County and in North Carolina.

She is the current President-Elect of the Tenth Judicial District, having served also on the Wake County Bar Association Board of Directors, and has served as a North Carolina State Bar Councilor for nine years. She is also a past member and Chair of the Tenth Judicial District Grievance Committee and the Wake County Bar Association’s Professionalism Committee as well as having served on its Memorials and Nominations Committees. She has held numerous positions with the North Carolina State Bar, including being Past Chair of its Estate Planning and Probate Law Committee for Legal Specialization, and many positions with the North Carolina Bar Association, including recent participation in its Task Force to Study Internet Practice of Law and on its Estates Council. In 2012, she was the recipient of the John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award from the North Carolina State Bar and in 2006 the Sara H. Davis Excellence Award.

Maria M. Lynch

After graduating with High Honors from the University of Tennessee with a degree in psychology, Maria attended UNC School of Law, graduating with Honors, and went on to clerk for the Honorable J. Dickson Phillips, Jr., U.S. Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She then went into private practice doing trusts and estates, tax and charitable organizations work. In 1994 she and her husband Jerry Eatman formed their current firm.

Along the way, Maria has taught Trusts and Estates at both UNC and Duke University Schools of Law. She also became a Fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estate Counsel, and a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law. She is a member of the Legal Elite Hall of Fame and a SuperLawyer and recognized by Best Lawyers in America.

But all the awards and accomplishments do not describe Maria. She is obviously a brilliant lawyer, working tirelessly for the profession. But she also is the friend and lawyer that other lawyers in Raleigh and around North Carolina call when they have questions and need help. She can quickly answer the technical questions or give practical answers to the thorny ethics questions that often arise in the trusts and estates area. Many of us have benefited from her willingness to listen and help.

For all the accomplishments and accolades, Maria is best known for her sense of humor. Her well placed and deadly accurate comments bring reality to a lot of crazy situations – not a bad talent for a trusts and estates lawyer who sees people in their most vulnerable and sometimes worst times. As an example, she, like all trusts and estates lawyers, works with doctors who know more about estate planning than any lawyer – she lets them proceed noting that they will have “the predictable results” (and they will).

When asked to comment on her outside interests, she noted she is in a book club where the members don’t read books and a dinner group with members who can’t cook – both are true. But she is an avid reader and a great cook. She also sews and kayaks, and importantly is dedicated to her dogs. Don’t get her started describing the dogs – you will laugh for hours.

Few lawyers have the “resume” like Maria’s, but she is modest about mentioning any of it. Instead she gets a twinkle in her eye and talks about something else she is passionate about or makes everyone laugh at her insights into people. And, quietly, she has helped others, has helped her clients and has helped the profession.

For those reasons, and many others, she is highly deserving of the Joseph Branch Professionalism Award. WBF

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

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PRESIDENT-ELECT

ELECT 1 OF 2 CANDIDATES

NANCY L. GRACE

DAVID L. SHERLIN

Wake Family Law Group UNC School of Law, 1996

Holt Sherlin LLP NCCU School of Law, 2004

WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: WCBA/Tenth JD Board of Directors (2012-2013), Tenth JD Grievance Committee (2009-2011), WCBA CLE Committee (2012-2013), Presenter, WCBA CLE Programs (2012, 2015)

WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: WCBA/10th Board of Directors (2016 through present; 2010 -2012); Tenth Judicial District Grievance Committee (Chair 2016 through present; vice chair 2015; member 2013-2014); Professionalism Committee (2013 through present); Gambrell Award Subcommittee of Professionalism Subcommittee (Co-Chair, 2014-2016); Roundtable CLE Subcommittee of Professionalism Committee (2014); Bar Interview Candidate Committee (2008-2010)

Other Bar-related Activities: American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers: NC Chapter President (2014), Chapter Membership Committee Chair (2012) and Academy Webinar Committee Chair (2016). North Carolina Bar Association: Family Law Section, Chair (2007-2008), Vice Chair (2006-2007), Section Council (2004-2007), CLE Committee Chair (2009-2013), CLE Committee (2003 to present), Children’s Issues Committee Chair (2013-2014), Editor, Family Forum (2001-2002), Section Secretary (1999-2003). North Carolina Bar Association: CLE Committee (2013 to present) and Communications Committee (2002 to present). North Carolina Advocates for Justice: Board of Governors (2003-2006), Family Law Section, Chair (2002-2003), Vice Chair (2001-2002) and Family Law Section CLE Chair (2000). Wake Women Attorneys, President (1999-2000) and Vice President (1998-1999). North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys, Board of Governors (1997-1999).

TREASURER ELECT 1 OF 1 CANDIDATE ADAM M. GOTTSEGEN Nicholls & Crampton, P.A. Wake Forest University School of Law, 2002 WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: Wake County Bar Association Treasurer 2015-16; Wake County Bar and Tenth Judicial District Board of Directors 201315; Professionalism Committee; Wake County Bar Awards/Legal Aid Fundraiser Committee (2014-16); Wake County Bar Awards Sponsorship Chair (2015-16); Tenth Judicial District Fee Dispute Committee Mediator (2015-16) Other Bar-related Activities: NCBA Bankruptcy Section Council Member 201316; Speaker/Presenter Bankruptcy and Real Property Law (January 2014 and October 2015)

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

Other Bar-related Activities: Member, NCBA (2013 – present); Member, Local Bar Outreach Committee through the NCBA (2015 - present); Pro Bono Representation through Legal Aid of North Carolina (2012 – present); Member, NCAJ (2012 – present); Mentor for Campbell Law School/WCBA Connections Program (2013 and 2015)

SECRETARY ELECT 1 OF 1 CANDIDATE MEGHAN N. KNIGHT Senior Legal Counsel, SAS Institute UNC School of Law, 2006 WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: Secretary of WCBA/ Tenth Judicial District (2016; 2017); Lawyers Support Committee (Chair 2013-2015; Co-Chair 2012, Member 2010-2015); Lunch with a Lawyer (2007-present); YLD Education Subcommittee (2007).

Other Bar-related Activities: North Carolina Bar Association, Minorities in the Profession Committee (2010-2016); Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Success in Law School Mentoring Program (2013-14); Defense Research Institute (Member 2007-2014); NC Association of Defense Attorneys (Member 20072014); Association of Corporate Counsel (Member 2014-present); Lawyer on the Line Volunteer; Call4All Volunteer.

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ELECTIONS CANDIDATES FOR TENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT BAR & WCBA ELECTIONS BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECT 7

OF 14 CANDIDATES

YVONNE ARMENDÁRIZ

JULIE L. BELL

Armendáriz Law Office, PLLC Indiana University School of Law, 2006

Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith, LLP UNC School of Law, 1992

WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: Tenth Judicial District Grievance Committee (2015-Present); Leadership Development Committee (2015- Present); Bench/Bar Committee (2014- Present); Strategic Planning Committee (2014- 2016); Social Committee (2008-2010)

WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: Grievance Committee (2015-Present), Fee Dispute Resolution Committee (2000-2004), Bench-Bar Committee (1998).

Other Bar-related Activities: Pro Bono Attorney, Consulate General of Mexico, Raleigh, North Carolina; Founder, Triangle Latino Attorney Network (TLAN); Board of Directors, Triangle Literacy Council (TLC); Domestic Violence Child Custody Court Volunteer (2014- Present); NCBA Latino Affairs Committee (2007 – 2009); NCBA Women in the Profession Committee (2009- 2010); NCBA 4All Volunteer (2008- Present).

DANIEL T. BARKER

Other Bar-related Activities: Member Capital City Lawyers Association. CLM - Member. Author and CLE presenter for NBI. Author and CLE presenter North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys. Prior participant in Bar Interview Candidate Committee.

GREGORY S. CONNOR The Connor Law Firm, PLLC Duke Law School, 1995

Barker Richardson, PLLC Cumberland School of Law of Samford University, 1992

WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: Member, Wake County Bar Association (2012-present); Swearing-In Ceremony Committee (2012-2017); Bench-Bar Liaison Committee (2012-2017).

WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: Member of the Tenth JD Bar and WCBA since 1993; Technology Committee (2009-2012); Communications/Technology Committee (2012-Present)

Other Bar-related Activities: NCBA Business Law Section - Business Corporations Committee (2017); NCBA Technology Advisory Committee; President, YLD – Durham County Bar Association (1997); Durham County Bar Association (1995-2011); Winner of Legal Elite Award, Business North Carolina Magazine – Business Law (2017).

Other Bar-related Activities: North Carolina Bar Association Member (1993-Present); District of Columbia Bar (1995-Present); The Child’s Advocate (Board Member 2008-Present); NCBA 4ALL Statewide Service Day volunteer; Wake County Academy of Criminal Trial Lawyers; Wake County Expunction Clinic volunteer (2016); LegalAID of NC POA Clinic volunteer (2017)

REBECCA A. EDWARDS Wake Family Law Group Campbell School of Law, 2012 WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: WCBA CLE Committee (2015-2017), Presented at WCBA CLE Program (2017).

Other Bar-related Activities: North Carolina Bar Association, Family Law Section, Children’s Issues Committee Co-Chair (20132014) and Chair (2014-present).

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

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ELECTIONS CANDIDATES FOR TENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT BAR & WCBA ELECTIONS BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECT 7 OF 14 CANDIDATES DAVID P. FERRELL

JOHN McKNIGHT

Nexsen Pruet PLLC Campbell University School of Law, 1996

mcknightlaw Wake Forest University School of Law, 2004

WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: Member, Professionalism Committee (2003 – present); Co-Chair, Professionalism Subcommittee on Celebrating the Creed, 2017; Member, Bench/Bar Committee (2002-present); Mediator and Member, Tenth Judicial District Fee Dispute Resolution Committee (2015-present).

WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: Committee on Indigent Appointments 2016-2017

Other Bar-related Activities: Member, NCBA Bench/Bar Liaison Committee (2017); Council Member, NCBA Administrative Law Section (2014-present); CoChair, Legislative Committee, NCBA Litigation Section (2017); Participant, NCBA 4All Service Day (2007-2009); NCBA YLD Executive Council (1999-2007); Chair, NCBA YLD Legislative Committee (2001-2005); Member, NCBA Communications Committee (1997-2005).

EVONNE S. HOPKINS Raleigh Law Center University of San Francisco, 2003 WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: Grievance Committee (2017), CLE Committee (2016-present) Other Bar-related Activities: North Carolina Advocates for Justice Family Law Section Chair; CLE speaker, NCBA Women in the Profession Committee

CHRISTINA MEDLIN McCOY Law Office of Christina Medlin McCoy, PLLC UNC School of Law, 2005 WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: Social Committee (2015-Present), Bench-Bar Committee (2011 Present, co-chair 2014, chair 2015, 2017), Leadership Development Committee (2015-Present), CLE Committee (2011-Present) Other Bar-related Activities: Capital City Lawyers Association, NC Advocates for Justice, NC Bar Association

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

Other Bar-related Activities: Wake County Expunction Clinic 2016-present; Project Together (Domestic Violence Victim Representation) 2008-2016; Pro Bono Representation for Healing Transitions of Wake County (formerly The Healing Place) 2014-present; Mock Trial Program Director, Southeast Raleigh High School 2013

ATIYA M. MOSLEY Legal Aid of NC – The Child’s Advocate George Washington, 1998 WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: Served on the WCBA Dues Task Force; Lunch with a Lawyer volunteer; participant in many WCBA public service projects; active voter in Tenth Judicial District elections since joining in 2006 (upon licensure in NC) Other Bar-related Activities: Speaker and faculty for numerous CLEs on family law, domestic violence, and attorney well-being through the Lawyers Assistance Program, the Wake County Family Law Bar and the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence; conduct bar candidate interviews; NC Association of Women Attorneys member; served on the NC Bar Association Bench/Bar Liaison Committee; volunteer through Capital City Lawyers Association; member on NCAJ and NCBA; LAP mentor and volunteer; recipient of Wake Women Attorneys’ first Wake Woman of the Year award for dedication and commitment to preventing domestic violence

J. ALEX PULLY Assistant District Attorney – 10th Prosecutorial District Campbell Law School, 2014 WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: Volunteer Bar Character and Fitness Interviewer for July Bar Exam (2017).

Other Bar-related Activities: Speaker at Restorative Justice Clinic Lunch and Learn at Campbell Law School; Member of the North Carolina Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division; North Carolina State Bar.

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ELECTIONS CANDIDATES FOR TENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT BAR & WCBA ELECTIONS BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECT 7 OF 14 CANDIDATES

CANDIDATES FOR STATE BAR COUNCILOR WILLOUGHBY SEAT

UNCONTESTED

JOHN SZYMANKIEWICZ

ROBERT B. RADER

Matheson Law Office, PLLC NCCU School of Law, 2010

Chief District Court Judge Campbell University School of Law, 1985

WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: Board of Directors (appointed to fill a vacancy) (2014-15), Communications and Technology Committee Member (2013-present) and Chair (2013-2015), WCBA/Tenth Strategic Plan Implementation Committee Chair (2017)

WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: WCBA President (2015); Wake County Bar and Tenth Judicial District Board of Directors (1996-1997 & 2014-2016); WCBA & Tenth District Justice Center Preview Luncheon (Co-Chair 2013); WCBA & Tenth District Bench Bar Committee (2009-present); WCBA CLE Committee (2000-2006); WCBA Luncheon Speaker (2011 & 2013); YLD Bridge the Gap Program (Chair 1990 & 1991); WCBA CLE Seminar Speaker; BadgerIredell Foundation Board of Directors (President 2006 & 2011).

illiam & Mary Law School, 2006

Other Bar-related Activities: NCBA Solo and Small Firm Council (2012-Present) Instructor for NCAJ Professionalism for New Admittees and numerous CLEs

ELIZABETH ZWICKERT TIMMERMANS McGuireWoods LLP Notre Dame Law School, 2009 WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: WCBA YLD Board, Public Service Co-Chair (2012-present), including leading annual clothing drive and annual food drive.

& Mary Law School, 2006

Other Bar-related Activities: North Carolina Bar Association (Vice President 2017-2018); North Carolina Bar Association Criminal Justice Section (Chair 1992-1993); North Carolina State Bar Board of Continuing Legal Education (Chair 2007-2009); Wake County Academy of Criminal Trial Lawyers (President 1993); N.C. Association of District Court Judges (President 2012-2013); District Court 50th Anniversary Committee (Chair 2016); N.C. Family Court Advisory Committee (2012-present); N.C. Criminal Justice Information Network Governing Board (Chief Justice’s Appointee 1997-2005); N.C. State Advisory Council on Juvenile Justice (Chief Justice’s Appointee 2003-2008); Wake County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (1999-2009); N.C. Supreme Court Historical Society, Board of Advisors (2012-present).

Other Bar-Related Activities: North Carolina Bar Association YLD (2013-present), Bar Exam Committee Chair (2013-2016), YLD Board of Directors Division Director for the Bar Outreach Division (2016-2017).

JOHN B. (“Bo”) WALKER Ragsdale Liggett PLLC Campbell School of Law, 2006 WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: YLD member; Lunch with a Lawyer (2016) Other Bar-Related Activities: Campbell Law Alumni Association (Board of Directors, 2016-2018); North Carolina Bar Association, Law School Liaison Committee (Member 2013-present); Defense Research Institute (Member 2006-present); Claims & Litigation Management Alliance (Member 2013-present); NC Association of Defense Attorneys (Member 2006-present)

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

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ELECTIONS CANDIDATES FOR BADGER-IREDELL FOUNDATION WCBA MEMBERS VOTING

ELECT 2 OF 2 CANDIDATES

DEWEY P. BRINKLEY

HOLMES P. HARDEN

Law Office of Dewey P. Brinkley Tulane Law School, 2002

Williams Mullen UNC School of Law, 1981

WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: History Committee (2011- present); Bench Bar Committee (2011-present).

WCBA/Tenth JD Bar Activities: Badger-Iredell Foundation

Other Bar-related Activities: NCBA criminal law section member (2002- present); member, N.C. Advocates for Justice criminal and juvenile law sections (2008- present); member, Wake County Academy of Criminal Trial Lawyers (2008- present).

2018 CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2018 WCBA LUNCHEON SCHEDULE Luncheons will be held on the following dates at The Glenwood, located at 3300 Woman’s Club Drive in Raleigh unless otherwise noted. Lunch starts at 12:15 p.m. and programs will begin at approximately 12:45 p.m. Visit wakecountybar.org/events for more information!

2018 BREAKFAST DISCUSSION SERIES Breakfasts will be held on the following dates at Campbell School of Law, located at 225 Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. Program begins at 7:30 a.m. Everyone is invited to attend, and CLE credit is free for WCBA members if offered. Parking is available on the street and at the municipal lot across the street.

January 9

June 5

January 17

July 18

February 6

July 10

February 21

August 15

March 6

October 2 | Location TBD

March 21

Sept 19

April 3

November 6

April 18

Oct 17

May 1 | Mordecai Park 1 Mimosa Street, Raleigh

December 4 | Location TBD

May 16

Nov 14

LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP BY CAMILLE STELL | LAWYERS MUTUAL ASHEVILLE LAWYER TOM GRELLA is the author of the ABA publication, Lessons in Leadership: Essential Skills for Lawyers.

In Tom’s book, he states, “not only are lawyers difficult to manage, they are even more difficult to lead.” Tom served for 12 years as the managing partner for his firm, McGuire Wood & Bissette in Asheville, as well as serving as the Chair of the ABA Law Practice Management Section. I expect that Tom knows quite a bit about the difficulties of leading lawyers. Yet Tom finds leadership to be deeply fulfilling, though something that is always a work in progress.

Tom opens his book with a John Maxwell quote: “Leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.” For people who have followed “leaders” who lead by force, rule or intimidation, this is a welcome definition. How can you be a leader by influence?

Respect. Do not rely on your title as “leader” to earn you the ability to lead. Being an effective leader does not happen when the new leadership term begins. Rather, respect is a journey we take together. I see you in action, I hear that your words match your actions and over time, I trust you. You have earned my respect.

Trust. A leader creates an atmosphere where mutual trust resides. It takes time to develop trust yet trust can be squandered in an instant. Trust grows when our actions speak louder than our words. An effective leader does much more than make an impassioned inaugural address when stepping up to lead the committee or the organization.

CAMILLE STELL is the Vice President of Client Services for Lawyers Mutual.

Continue this conversation with Camille at camille@ lawyersmutualnc.com or 800.662.8843.

Be positive. Being positive is not the default attitude for everyone. Those with a negative outlook on life or a negative view of their organization are going to have to work hard to overcome negativity. Negativity will weaken company morale, it will defeat your managers, and it will beat down your employees. We each have the ability to improve our attitude and to increase our positivity quotient. But first you must realize that negativity is going to hurt your leadership ability and you have to make efforts to work around it.

Be authentic. Tom says: “Allow followers to be honest with you, and be honest with them. Such honesty is difficult in a law firm, largely because of the very flat organizational structure, with licensed lawyers on the top level and everyone else beneath. Empowerment is about giving someone else the power not only to take action but also to speak up honestly without the fear of negative consequence. Authenticity needs to be understood as a two-way street.”

Vision. A leader’s job is to motivate the members to create organizational purpose. Or vision. Your law firm should have a vision. Your bar organization should have a vision. An effective leader guides all members towards that vision rather than having members off on disparate journeys. Tom quotes Andy Stanley in saying: “Vision is a preferred future.

A destination. Vision demands change. A vision requires an individual who has the courage to act out an idea.”

Courage. A leader will make difficult decisions. A leader will look for the path less traveled. A leader will look to the future rather than reviewing the past. Tom uses the example of dealing with difficult situations head-on as courageous, rather than implementing policies as an easy way out. Every law firm leader I know has chosen the option of expanding the dress code, rather than having difficult conversations with individuals about using good judgment in choosing professional dress. Be courageous and your members will follow you.

“We need better leaders” is a common refrain for every ill facing us from politics to religion to business. How can you improve your leadership skills this year?

1. Find a mentor. Look for a firm leader or a bar leader and ask for guidance.

2. Be a student. Listen to podcasts, one of my favorite ways of learning.

Search for leadership topics on your app or Google.

3. Read. Lawyers Mutual’s Lending Library, a free service available to our insureds, includes Tom’s book on leadership, as well as “Learning to Lead: What Really Works for Women in Law.” Visit our website, www.lawyersmutualnc.com, to view books and checkout procedures.

4. Visit the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro or online at www.ccl.org, for articles and classes.

Good luck in becoming the leader that others desire to follow. WBF

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

PAGE 9

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Call 919.929.1227 or 1.800.640.9735

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

PAGE 10

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YLD NEWS

UPCOMING YLD EVENTS

PRESIDENT: SAM FLEDER SECRETARY/PRESIDENT ELECT: LAUREN GOLDEN TREASURER: JULIE CRONIN

November 14 | Service Project at Healing Transitions / Women’s Facility

2017 YLD OFFICERS

December 7 | YLD Social, Isaac Hunter’s Tavern 414 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh

NOTICE OF YLD OFFICER ELECTIONS FOR 2018 THE YOUNG LAWYERS DIVISION will conduct its annual meeting for the election of the offices of Secretary and Treasurer for 2018 in conjunction with its year-end social on Thursday, December 7 at Isaac Huner’s Tavern, 414 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh. Ballots will be available between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. All YLD members in good standing have a right to attend the meeting and to be heard on the issue of the election of the Secretary and Treasurer, subject to such reasonable time limitations as may be established by the YLD Board of Directors. Voting shall be conducted by secret written ballot. No proxy voting shall be allowed.

Nominations for Secretary (which also functions as the YLD’s president-elect) and Treasurer are being accepted now through December 1 and should be submitted to the immediate past president, Brodie Erwin, at brodie.erwin@ogletreedeakins.com, or to the current president, Sam Fleder, at atsfleder@smithdebnamlaw.com.

Please contact either Sam Fleder or Brodie Erwin with any questions regarding the election.

WCBA & TENTH DISTRICT BAR CELEBRATE CREED OF PROFESSIONALISM’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY The WCBA and Tenth District Bar are providing a hard copy of the Creed of Professionalism on the facing page to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its adoption. We encourage all members to place this copy of the Creed in a prominent place to remind you regularly of the fundamental principles codified in the Creed that help our Bars continue to embody professionalism with our clients, courts, fellow lawyers, and the public, despite the tremendous growth in our Bar organizations in the 20 years since its adoption in 1997.

Portions of this Creed were adopted from “A Lawyer’s Creed” by the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism for the Supreme Court of Georgia, “The Professional Creed” of the American Inns of Court, an essay by Edward Abbey published by Henry Holt & Company, and the writings of Robert L. McMillan.

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

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Creed of Professionalism of the North Carolina Wake County and Tenth Judicial District Bar The American legal system embodies our nation's shared values of individual freedom and dignity and the right to due process and equal protection under the law. As lawyers, we are guardians for our legal system, and we have an important professional responsibility to recognize, honor, and enhance the rule of law. We are in a privileged position, and therefore we work under special obligations. To forget or to set aside these obligations is to dishonor our profession.

Professionalism encompasses a dedication to excellence in serving clients, a respect for the rule of law, the court and other lawyers, and commitment to seek a just result in all matters undertaken for clients. The practice of law is a profession and not a business. A lawyer need not sacrifice the opportunity to prosper, but the practice of law must be motivated by service rather than inspired by profit. As a lawyer, I subscribe to the following Creed of Professionalism: Individual Commitment to Professionalism.

My word is my bond. Integrity is an absolute. Fairness and civility are essential. Financial considerations will never override my professional responsibility. To my clients, I offer loyalty, competence, diligence, and good judgment. I will represent you as I would want to be represented. I will provide timely information on all matters pertaining to your case. I will be worthy of your trust by providing vigorous advocacy, independent guidance, reasoned counseling, and fair value in services performed for fees paid. I will work to achieve and maintain proficiency in my practice and continue to expand my knowledge of the law. To the public and our profession, I offer service. I will strive to improve the law and our legal system, and to make our legal system more accessible, responsive, and effective for all. I recognize the importance of contributing my time and resources to the Bar, public service, community and civic activities. I will honor the requirements, the spirit, and the intent of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

To my colleagues in the practice of law, I offer concern for your welfare. As we work together, I will respect your personal and family commitments. I will share my learning and experience so that we may all improve our skills and abilities.

To the courts and to those who assist them, I offer respect, candor, and courtesy. I will respect and strive to improve the judicial process. I will serve as an officer of the court, encouraging respect for the law and avoiding the abuse or misuse of the law, its procedures, its participants, and its processes.

To opposing parties and their counsel, I offer honesty, fairness, and courtesy. I will seek truth and strive to resolve our clients’ disputes in a dignified manner. I will pursue the most efficient and least costly solutions to problems and avoid unnecessary delay.

W

WAKE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION

THE NORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS: A HISTORY

BY JOHN MABE | NEXSEN PRUET, LLC

DURING THE LATE 1950S AND EARLY 1960S, the Supreme Court of North Carolina was one of the busiest in the country. Faced with an increasing number of cases dealing with its customary judicial business and a number of post-conviction appeals based on constitutional issues resulting from recent United States Supreme Court decisions, the court was becoming overburdened. This situation led the 1965 General Assembly to submit a proposed amendment to Article IV of the North Carolina Constitution. The new amendment authorized the creation of an intermediate court of appeals to relieve pressure on the N.C. Supreme Court by sharing the appellate caseload. Voters overwhelmingly approved this recommendation in the November 1965 election. The 1967 General Assembly enacted the necessary legislation establishing the North Carolina Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals became operational on October 1, 1967. The constitutional changes and legislation of the 1960s created the state’s current multi-level court system. The judicial branch now contains two trial divisions, the District Court Division and, above it, the Superior Court Division. The Appellate Division consists of two levels — the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.

The 1965 constitutional amendment and legislation that established the Court of Appeals provided for a total of nine judges to be elected for eight-year terms. The General Assembly created three additional seats on the court in 1977, bringing the total number of judges to twelve. The bulk of the Court of Appeals’ caseload consists of cases appealed from the trial courts. The court also hears direct appeals of certain administrative agency decisions. The Court of Appeals sits in panels of three judges. This arrangement allows the court to hear arguments in separate cases at the same time. The chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court designates one of the judges of the Court of Appeals as chief judge. The chief judge assigns appellate judges to the four panels so that each will sit, as nearly as possible, an equal number of times with every other judge. The Court of Appeals sits primarily in Raleigh, although it may sit in other locations throughout the state as authorized by the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeals appoints a clerk to serve at its pleasure. Opinions of the Court of Appeals are prepared by the Appellate Division reporter.

The Court of Appeals is the state’s intermediate appellate court. The court has 15 judges who serve eight-year terms and hear cases in panels of three.

The court is led by a Chief Judge who is appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeals decides only questions of law in cases appealed from superior and district courts and from some administrative agencies of the executive branch. Appeals range from infractions to non-capital murder cases.

If there has been a dissent in an opinion of the Court of Appeals, the parties to the case have the right to have the Supreme Court review the decision. If there is no dissent, then the Supreme Court may still review the case upon a party’s petition. WBF

For a pictorial directory featuring North Carolina Court of Appeals Judges through the last 50 years, see the facing page through page 21.

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

PAGE 14

Judge Raymond B. Mallard 1967 - 1973

Judge Hugh B. Campbell, Jr. 1967 - 1974

Judge James C. Farthing 1967 - 1967

Judge Walter E. Brock 1967 - 1979

Judge David M. Britt 1967 - 1978

Judge Naomi E. Morris 1967 - 1982

Judge Frank M. Parker 1968 - 1980

Judge R.A. Hedrick 1969 - 1992

Judge Earl W. Vaughn 1969 - 1985

Judge William E. Graham, Jr. 1969 - 1973

Judge James M. Baley, Jr. 1973 - 1974

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

Judge James H. Carson, Jr. 1973 - 1974

Judge Robert M. Martin 1974 - 1982

Judge Gerald Arnold 1974 - 1998

Judge Edward B. Clark 1974 - 1982

Judge Burley B. Mitchell, Jr. 1977 - 1979

Judge John Webb 1977 - 1986

Judge Richard C. Erwin 1977 - 1980

Judge Harry C. Martin 1978 - 1982

Judge J. Phil Carlton 1979

Judge Hugh A. Wells 1979 - 1984

Judge Cecil J. Hill 1979 - 1984

Judge Willis P. Whichard 1980 - 1986

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

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Judge Charles L. Becton 1981 - 1990

Judge Clifton E. Johnson 1982 - 1996

Judge E. Maurice Braswell 1982 - 1984

Judge Eugene Phillips 1983 - 1991

Judge Sidney S. Eagles, Jr. 1983 - 2004

Judge John C. Martin 1985 - 1988, 1993 - 2014

Judge Sarah Parker 1985 - 1992

Judge Jack L. Cozort 1985 - 1997

Judge Robert F. Orr 1986 - 1995

Judge K. Edward Greene 1986 - 2002

Judge Donald L. Smith 1988 - 1989

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

Judge John B. Lewis, Jr. 1989 - 2000

Judge Allyson K. Duncan 1990

Judge James A. Wynn 1990 - 1998, 1999 - 2010

Judge Ralph A. Walker 1991 - 1992, 1995 - 2002

Judge Joseph R. John, Sr. 1993 - 2000

Judge Elizabeth Gordon McCrodden 1993 - 1994

Judge Sydnor Thompson 1994

Judge Mark D. Martin 1994 - 1999

Judge Linda M. McGee 1995 - Present

Judge Patricia Timmons Goodson 1997 - 2005

Judge Clarence E. Horton, Jr. 1998 - 2000

Judge Robert C. Hunter 1998 - 2014

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

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Judge Robert H. Edmunds, Jr. 1999 - 2000

Judge James C. Fuller, Jr. 2000

Judge J. Douglas McCullough 2001 - 2008, 2011 - 2017

Judge Robin E. Hudson 2001 - 2006

Judge John M. Tyson 2001 - 2009, 2015 - Present

Judge Hugh B. Campbell, Jr. 2001 - 2002

Judge Albert S. Thomas, Jr. 2001 - 2002

Judge Loretta Copeland Riggs 2001 - 2002

Judge Wanda G. Bryant 2001 - Present

Judge Richard A. Elmore 2003 - Present

Judge Sanford L. Steelman, Jr. 2003 - 2015

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

Judge Martha Geer 2003 - 2016

Judge Eric L. Levinson 2003 - 2007

Judge Alan Z. Thornburg 2004

Judge Barbara A. Jackson 2005 - 2010

Judge Linda Stephens 2006 - 2016

Judge Donna S. Stroud 2007 - Present

Judge John S. Arrowood 2007 - 2008, 2017 - Present

Judge Cheri Beasley 2009 - 2014

Judge Robert N. Hunter, Jr. 2009 - 2014, 2015 - Present

Judge Samuel J. Ervin, IV 2009 - 2014

Judge Cressie H. Thigpen, Jr. 2010 - 2012

Judge Chris Dillon 2013 - Present

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

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Judge Mark A. Davis 2013 - Present

Judge Lisa C. Bell 2014

Judge Richard D. Dietz 2014 - Present

Judge Lucy N. Inman 2015 - Present

Judge Valerie J. Zachary 2015 - Present

Judge Wendy M. Enochs 2015

Judge Philip E. Berger, Jr. 2017 - Present

Judge Hunter Murphy 2017 - Present

Former and current Court of Appeals judges gather at the WCBA October luncheon honoring the 50th anniversary of the Court of Appeals. Photo credit: Robert Friedman, Attorney-at-Law Magazine.

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

DIRECT EXAMINATION: CHIEF JUDGE LINDA MCGEE OF THE NC COURT OF APPEALS DIRECT EXAMINATION IS THE FIRST opportunity for the jury to meet a witness. An effective lawyer will use the opportunity to personalize the witness, making the witness appear both likeable and credible. At the end of the day, the direct examination is a party’s best chance to tell his or her story.

Below is our direct examination of Superior Court Judge Linda McGee. 1. When you were in elementary school, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was about 10 years old, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. Even though it was not common in the early 1960’s for a girl to have the goal of being a lawyer, I have since talked with several women lawyers about my age who shared that same dream.

2. What was the most important lesson your parents taught you?

My parents taught me to believe in myself – to believe that I could do anything in life and they would be there to support me. With that kind of encouragement, a child can attain even the exceptional goal of becoming a lawyer.

3. Who was your favorite teacher and why?

My favorite teacher, Miss Little, and my parents, must have collaborated somewhat, because Miss Little also expected that if I studied hard, I could make a great future for myself.

4. Did you love or hate law school?

At times I would like to be able to give my daughter-in-law’s immediate response to that question, since she clearly loved law school. But my enthusiasm is reserved for certain professors and class subject matter.

Those professors who showed respect to, and some interest in, their students helped make law school a positive experience – and those who did not, made it just the opposite.

5. What was your most embarrassing courtroom experience?

Like most people, I expect I have tried to forget my most embarrassing moments in the courtroom – but one lingers. I had just completed my closing argument in a criminal trial, when the assistant district attorney started his closing statement with a good-natured statement that he vowed never to try a case again when the defendant’s counsel was clearly about to deliver her baby at any moment, hinting that I might have been seeking empathy from the jurors. As the courtroom filled with laughter, I began wondering if in fact that had been part of my motivation.

6. What was your best courtroom experience?

The Court of Appeals has held special sessions of court in county courthouses across the state over the years. I had the opportunity to serve as head of the panel for a session of court in my home county in the courtroom where I was sworn in as a lawyer. My mother was sitting on the

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

front row in the courtroom and I had the honor of publicly thanking her for her lifetime of love and support for me. That was the best for me.

7. Why did you become a lawyer?

I have a short answer for that – to help people. The first lawyer I ever met epitomized the image of what I believed a good lawyer to be. He was intelligent, respectful, dignified and interested in the person standing before him. He helped me obtain a scholarship to be able to attend college. Many years later, when I was invited to serve on the NC Board of Law Examiners, I was honored to serve in that role, in part, because he had done so many years before. Mr. E.P. Dameron was an outstanding lawyer who gave his time and talents to the positive causes in our community. He inspired me to use knowledge of the law to help others and to “give back” whenever I could assist to improve someone’s life.

8. What has been the most surprising or unexpected development in your career?

I did not expect to have three careers. Having a law degree has allowed me to head a statewide bar association early in my career, to practice law with excellent lawyers in a small town where our firm made a difference, and to have the exceptional opportunity to serve as a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals for more than 22 years. What a great series of unexpected developments.

9. What is your favorite book?

As you might expect, it is Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird.”

10. What is your most marked characteristic?

I believe it is fairness – a character trait I strive for daily. I appreciate a quote from Richard Bower that “our worth comes not from the amount of our involvements, achievements, or possessions, but from the depth and care which we bring to each moment, place, and person in our lives.” Being fair to all is an ultimate goal for me.

11. What is your hidden talent?

I have had some musical ability, including playing the piano and organ in church in high school, and also flute and piccolo. Currently, that talent truly stays hidden most of the time.

12. Who are your real life heroes?

My parents have always been high on that list. Their absolute acceptance and love of everyone in my family created examples that I now try to share with my children and grandchild.

13. When and where were you happiest?

I was very happy traveling with my husband and sons, learning together about colleges our sons might attend. WBF

PAGE 22

WCBA MEMBER NEWS 17 Tharrington Smith Attorneys Included in Best Lawyers in America© 2018 The Raleigh law firm of Tharrington Smith LLP announced that 17 of its lawyers have been included in the 2018 edition of Best Lawyers in America©.

Representing the criminal law section of the firm are attorneys Wade Smith and Roger Smith, Sr., both of whom have been included in Best Lawyers in America© since its inception in 1983. They are each selected to both the Criminal Defense: White Collar Section and Criminal Defense: General Practice Section. Doug Kingsbery (2005), Melissa Hill (2010) and Hill Allen (2012) are each also listed in the Criminal Defense: White Collar Criminal Defense Section. Roger Smith, Jr., (2016) is included in the Non-White Collar Criminal Defense section, and in the Criminal Defense: DUI/DWI Section (2018). Russell Babb (2018) is included in Criminal Defense: General Practice section.

Leonard T. Jernigan, Jr. Honored with Charles Becton Teaching Award Leonard T. Jernigan, Jr. was awarded the Charles Becton Teaching Award in June from the North Carolina Advocates for Justice at their annual convention, presented for outstanding teaching in trial advocacy.

Andy Penry Serves The American Law Institute J. Anthony (Andy) Penry of Penry Riemann PLLC in Raleigh, served on the member’s consultative group in The American Law Institute’s drafting of the Restatement of the Law, Liability Insurance.

‘ TIS THE SEASON...

FOR THE WCBA HOLIDAY PARTY Featuring the Punch Band Friday, December 1 • 7 - 11 p.m.

Marriott Crabtree Valley, 4500 Marriott Drive Heavy hors d’oeuvres and complimentary beer, wine and soft drinks.

Please plan on joining us – all WCBA members are invited and are welcome to bring a guest.

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

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LEADERSHIP: LOCAL LEADERS SHARE THEIR INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHTS Dean J. Rich Leonard

“Leadership is about two things: the vision you bring and how you treat people in achieving it. The mantra of my childhood was ‘If you can’t say something nice, better to keep quiet.’ My style has always been to find and recruit the best people, give them the leeway to perform, and have their backs in success or failure. Vision is about taking known facts and putting them together in new combinations that advance your organization or cause. It is about not just making the trains run on time, but finding new places to lay the tracks.”

Donnie Harrison

"True leaders become leaders not because of their titles, but because of their work. True, effective leaders do not demand or intimidate. Instead, they encourage, inspire, and lead by example."

Catharine Arrowood

“Real leadership requires integrity, bravery and honesty.

The Wake County Bar has had many outstanding leaders among its ranks. Let me mention one: J. Allen Adams.

2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the vote to integrate the Wake County Bar Association.

It was the first organized bar in North Carolina to accept lawyers of color. Al was one of a group of young lawyers who fought for this change which was accomplished only after years of debate and controversy.

These lawyers did not stop there. Al and others were on the front line to tear down the race barrier in the Wake County schools and public accommodations. In May 1963, nearly 1,000 Raleigh citizens signed their names to a petition that was presented to the City Council and published in the Raleigh Times. The petitioners pledged to patronize businesses that abolished the practice of segregation. ‘We are convinced that there is only one solution to the present racial problem in Raleigh – the immediate removal of the color bar in all places and institutions to which the public has access,’ the petition read. Al was one of the signatories.

The integrity, bravery and honesty shown by Al and others made all the difference to the direction of Wake County.”

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

Brian Beverly

“My leadership style is hands-on. If the task is to dig a hole, I’ll be one of the first to grab a shovel. I think having leaders in the trenches is imperative – not to micromanage, but to signify to the team that we’re all in this together.”

Chancellor Carol L. Folt

(from an interview with Fortune magazine, March 2017) Fortune: What is the best leadership advice that you ever received and why did it guide you in your leadership style?

Folt: I was talking to Brian Quinn, a legendary professor at the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College, and I asked him, “I’ve got a problem. We have some big budget cuts and I don’t even know how to start the meeting.”

He said: “When you’re driving down a road at night, do you look at the front of the headlights or do you look out in the vision?” He then said: “Go back and start with the vision.” The leadership lesson was you have to build from the dream. You build to where you want to go and you don’t worry about the immediate. You think about where your consequence is, where your impact is going to be.

Judge Keith Gregory

“A leader needs to have a healthy confidence – not arrogance – but healthy confidence that says ‘I trust in where I am trying to go with this.’”

Robert McMillan

“Lead by example, do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God.”

Yvonne Armendáriz

"For me, leadership is being a voice for those who feel they do not have one. I have a responsibility as an attorney who works closely with the Latino community to help my clients have their viewpoints properly conveyed and understood. In order to be an effective attorney and community advocate, I have a duty to involve myself within the various committees of our local bar and actively shape their direction and trajectory."

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Katherine Frye

“Leaders are rarely the loudest voices or the strongest personalities in the room. Leadership styles vary, but my style is one of listening first and acting second. My grandmother use to always say, ‘God gave you two ears and one mouth, use them in proportion.’ Leaders should have the trust of people, and it is hard to have trust if you are not listening.”

Victor Boone

On what defines a leader: “1. One who possesses charisma, vision and intellectual acumen to comprehend important issues in life and ascertain a morally-appropriate approach to addressing them in a manner that is most beneficial for the common good.

2. One who demonstrates respect for the opinion of others and a willingness to change his/her own when presented with compelling and/or sensible reasons to do so.

3. One who shows concern and regard for the well-being of the whole rather than a select few.

4. One who has the ability to influence others to pursue a morally appropriate course of action or adopt his/her solidly reasoned and sensible views as their own.”

Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown

“I'm reminded that to whom much is given much is required and leadership requires a level of humility that allows the leader to approach and hear those they lead; to motivate and to be motivated by those they lead while not only carrying out the mission of the organization but by effecting change that impacts their greatest asset: their people.”

Judge Paul Ridgeway

“In the legal profession, leadership is best exemplified by service – service to justice, service to the public, service to our community and colleagues, and service to the greater good. If we, as lawyers and judges, keep an eye on these priorities and do our best to humble ourselves to be servants, the decisions we make when called upon to lead will fall into place.”

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

Martin Brinkley

“Like many of our fellow lawyers, I have had various leadership positions in a range of settings over the years. All were different and situation dependent.

As dean of the UNC Law School, I find that leadership means trying to discern the best interests of the institution I am serving, fixing those interests as my polar star, and then making decisions that put those interests ahead of everything else. Our law school has responsibilities to many constituencies: students, faculty, alumni, the University at Chapel Hill, the greater UNC system, the Board of Governors, the General Assembly, other law schools and legal education writ large, the profession and the organized bar, and the people of North Carolina. Put together, this complicated picture means that I often have to make decisions that disappoint, to a greater or lesser degree, one or more of my stakeholders. I have to have the emotional and spiritual strength to hear with compassion the inevitable expressions of frustration, sometimes amounting to attacks, that a decision running counter to the wishes of a given stakeholder may elicit, and learn from my own mistakes even when I have put my all into the decision making process. In my experience, none of the stakeholders (with the rarest of exceptions) is able to take the interests of the others fully into account; most are convinced that their own version of the what the law school is supposed to do is the one that should be somehow preferred or counted as of overarching importance. I am the only person charged with seeing the whole picture in its entirety all the time. That can be a lonely place, but loneliness is just a cost of leadership – and I am blessed to have a wonderful family and many, many friends, including many in our Wake County Bar, whose support means more to me than I can express. When I make a hard decision that I know is going to frustrate one stakeholder or another, I try to think about whether that decision will withstand the scrutiny of those who inherit the institution from me in the years to come. I find that not pushing myself to take a decisive step, that consulting with other wise people, and that keeping my mind open for the possibility of an outcome that was not my first instinct, is often the best way to ground myself and ensure that I am doing the best I can.”

Judge Robert B. Rader

“Leadership is not about the leader. It’s about setting an example that others will follow.”

Heidi Bloom

“The highest honor and purest privilege is the opportunity to serve others and to lead.

To me, leadership is doing the right thing in your heart. It is acting with integrity. It is having a positive attitude – particularly in the face of adversity or opposition.

It means having the courage to say “no” and make tough decisions. And perhaps most importantly, being able to listen – with an open mind – to the thoughts, views and feelings of others. If you can do all of that, you can make a difference.”

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LEADERSHIP QUOTES, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25 Ted Edwards

“Leadership requires vision and collaboration. In order to lead others, one must have a specific goal in mind and be able to convey both the importance of that goal and the path forward. Good leaders are willing to communicate with their team and welcome input regarding the road to success.”

and maintaining alignment, so that committed NCBA members are able to pull together and work as one toward our common goals. The other has to do with tending relationships in such a way that everyone involved feels not only that our shared work is important, but that they are uniquely essential to its success.”

M. Keith Kapp

“The best leaders are those who lead by example.

You have to practice what you preach to lead and inspire others. A ‘manager’ is not necessarily a leader.”

Warren Savage

[From “A Father To His Son” by Carl Sandburg] Tell him to be a fool every so often and to have no shame over having been a fool yet learning something out of every folly hoping to repeat none of the cheap follies thus arriving at intimate understanding of a world numbering many fools.

Tell him to be alone often and get at himself and above all tell himself no lies about himself whatever the white lies and protective fronts he may use against other people.

Tiffany Lesnik

"A true leader is a servant first and works for the betterment of others rather than themselves."

Colon Willoughby

“Follow your passion.”

Caryn McNeil

“My current favorite quote about leadership comes from retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral John Ryan, who is President and CEO of the Center for Creative Leadership: ‘Leadership is having the privilege of helping other men and women be their best.’ There are a couple aspects to helping others be their best that that strike me as particularly important in my current role. One is creating

LEAH H. HERMILLER JOINS NICHOLS, CHOI & LEE Nichols, Choi & Lee, PLLC announced that Leah M. Hermiller joined the firm on August 1 as an associate attorney.

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

PAGE 26

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TENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT BAR: REPORTING RULE CHANGE MEMBERS OF THE TENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT BAR were sent the invoices for the 2017-2018 fiscal year as of September 30.

The deadline to pay the member fee invoice without a late fee is December 31.

Notice: Amendment to the Rules & Regulations of the North Carolina State Bar Concerning Judicial District Bars All active members of the Tenth Judicial District Bar (Tenth) are requested to take notice that 27 N.C.A.C 1A, Section .0900 Organization of the Judicial District Bars, .0902 Annual Membership Fee, has been amended to shorten the time the district bar has to report to the State Bar all of its members who have not paid district bar membership dues. Rather than 12 months from the date of the first invoice, the amended rule provides “three to six months after the delinquency date for the annual membership fee, the judicial district bar shall report to the NC State Bar all of its members who have not paid the annual membership fee or any late fee.”

The delinquency date for Tenth members invoiced by October 1 of each year is January 1. As such the Tenth assesses a $15 late fee if the annual membership fee is not paid and, per the amended rule, the Tenth must report delinquencies between April 1 and July 1. The delinquency date and the threeto six-month reporting dates will differ for those who are not invoiced on September 30. If you have any questions, please contact Tenth Judicial District Bar Membership Coordinator Shaula Sharp at shaula@wakecountybar.org or 919-659-1441. WBF

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WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

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LUNCH WITH A LAWYER 150 LOCAL JUDGES AND ATTORNEYS PARTICIPATE IN THE 23RD SUMMER OF PUBLIC SERVICE WHAT IS COMMON BETWEEN A LAWYER specializing in mergers, acquisitions and estate planning and a tenth-grader at Enloe High School?

Tenth-grader Destiny Pitts signed up for the Wake County Bar Association Lunch with a Lawyer program to find out. She was curious about what a corporate lawyer like Deborah Hildebran-Bachofen does for living and she was impressed with the nice office Mrs. Hildebran-Bachofen has off leafy Glenwood Avenue.

Zy Tavious Winborne, a ninth-grader at Athens Drive High School, was matched with Joshua McIntyre, an attorney and the Membership Director of the North Carolina Bar Association. Zy is not small but Joshua is tall, and Zy sometimes has to strain his neck to talk to Josh. Zy wants to be a lawyer. He learned from Josh that the first thing he could do after being sworn in as a lawyer is join the North Carolina Bar Association. Sid Eagles, former Chief Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, met up with Ethan Hartung, and eleventh-grader at Broughton High School. Ethan wants to become a lawyer or doctor, and Judge Eagles is well-suited to tell him how to become a lawyer. During the first year of the Lunch with a Lawyer program, attorney Walter Brock mentored a youth who went on to become an assistant district attorney of Wake County.

Sid Eagles and his Lunch with a Lawyer student Ethan Hartung enjoy the July WCBA luncheon.

These are just a few of the many success stories stemming from the Lunch with a Lawyer program, which was chaired this year by attorneys Paul Suhr and Mark Finkelstein. This past summer, approximately 150 lawyers and judges volunteered their time to the program.

The Lunch with a Lawyer program was born out of the City of Raleigh’s Summer Youth Employment Program, which is the progeny of the Comprehensive Employment Training Act of 1973 signed into law by President Nixon. The program was established to provide work to low income populations, in particular, supplying summer jobs for low-income high school students. The program matched the students with full-time jobs for a period of 12 to 24 months in public agencies or nonprofit organizations. The program’s objective was to equip the students with a marketable skill that would eventually enable them to obtain an unsubsidized job.

Wake County attorney Paul Suhr, who chaired the Wake County Human Relations and Resources Committee in 1995, initially proposed the Wake County Bar Association’s involvement in the program. Suhr saw some alarming statistics about the youths NCBA Membership Director Josh McIntyre was joined at a WCBA luncheon with his in the community, in particular, a high rate of drop outs and truancy Lunch with a Lawyer partner Zy Tavious Winborne cases. He observed so many youths in the courthouse and thought that without meaningful employment, these youths were at risk for falling into mischief. Seeing the Summer Youth Employment program successfully run at the Community Services Department of City of Raleigh, he suggested the Wake County Bar Association establish a volunteer program to coordinate lunches

CONTINUED ON PAGE 30 WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

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LUNCH WITH A LAWYER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

with the youths and volunteer attorneys each summer in collaboration with the City’s program. The primary aim of the program Suhr suggested was to provide the youths with an opportunity to meet with a professional to share a meal and a conversation about the legal profession. Walter Brock, who chaired the Public Service Committee of the WCBA in 1995, thought this was a great idea, and the Lunch with a Lawyer Program was born. Suhr went on to run the program for the next 23 years.

The Lunch with a Lawyer program is an informal mentorship program with the mission that casual encounters often make indelible impression on the minds of young people.

Through the program, local youths were introduced not only to passionate local attorneys but also to influential jurists such as Burley Mitchell, Henry Frye, Mark Martin, James Wynn, John Edwards, G. K. Butterfield, Sid Eagles, Colon Willoughby, Howard Manning, Paul Ridgeway, Cheri Beasley, Patricia Timmons-Goodson, Charles Meeker and this year, Associate Justice Michael Morgan of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

One summer, the WCBA introduced former Chief Justice Mitchell of the North Carolina Supreme Court as an inspirational speaker to the youth participants in the program.

Chief Justice Mitchell told the youths that he himself did not know what else to do but hang around the corner of street with his buddies when he was at their age until he joined the U.S. Marines. He said he met his best friend in the Marines who was an African American and later became a General Motors executive. He said that it was this African American marine who straightened him out for good. The youths marveled at the former marine and enthusiastically asked him questions.

This year, approximately 150 attorneys and judges signed up to mentor a student by taking them to lunch and discussing school, career paths, college majors, and other life goals. For the final event of the summer, all of the student and attorney participants in the program met at the Carolina Pines Park Community Center for a social. Among the attorneys and judges in attendance was Justice Morgan, who provided an engaging Destiny Pitts was partnered with Manning Fulton’s Debbie address to the youths and their parents. Everyone shared a meal, played games, and Hildebran-Bachofen shared memories about the summer.

This year marks the 23rd anniversary of the Lunch with a Lawyer program. It is the longest running public service program in our local bar association.

WCBA lawyers have since found ways to engage the youths in our community in other ways as well. For instance, each summer, the City of Raleigh has a Summer Youth Employment Program for youths living in Raleigh, mostly from the minority community. The Bar has provided volunteer lawyers to have lunch with the youths during the summers. This is an effort by the WCBA to reach out to the minority community, for the participating lawyers to serve as role models for the youths, to provide an opportunity for the youths to meet with a professional, and to create a positive impression of the legal profession by showing the youths and their parents the value of community and depending on one another for support and success. Suhr opined that it is critical that lawyers dedicate their lives to upholding the most elemental values of the profession: defending the defenseless and standing up for important but unpopular causes. “Without such efforts there will be no system of justice” Suhr said. “We must continue our efforts to reach out the community that we serve and especially the minority community. Our sense of decency and fairness demands it.”

In addition to celebrating 23 years of the Lunch with a Lawyer program, this year also marks the 30th year of service to the City of Raleigh for Dwayne Patterson. Patterson has served as Director of Community Service Department (Community Engagement Division) for more than four years and worked for the City for more than twenty eight years. He has supported the Lunch with a Lawyer program as head of the Summer Youth Employment program in the past and instrumental in successful collaboration with the Wake County Bar Association for the program. Suhr said Patterson has personified “excellence” in his service to the community.

Editor’s Note: The WCBA is deeply grateful to Paul Suhr for his 23 years of outstanding service. The program has flourished under his leadership and the WCBA is optimistic about continued success in the coming years under the leadership of WCBA member, attorney, and Wake County Magistrate Jacob Davis.

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

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The WCBA would like to thank the following individuals for their participation in the program for Summer 2017:

Pearla Alston Ronnie Ansley Season Atkinson Shanae Auguste Elwood Becton Brian Beverly Sarah Blair Bo Bobbitt Julian Bobbitt Victor Boone Monica Bousman Jessica Bowers Ryan Boyce Richard Boyette Jeffrey Boykin Denise Branch John Branch Bill Braziel Katherine Bricio Courtney Britt Walter Brock Brittany Brown Jonathan Bumgarner Ashley Campbell Will Cherry Chad Cochran Allegra Collins Sarah Colwell Trip Coyne Zeke Creech JT Crook Craig Croom Meredith Cross Awanti Damle Jacob Davis Amos Dawson Nicolas De Castro Robert Derosset Kimberly Dixon Nick Dombalis Sid Eagles James Eatman Justice Robert Edmunds John Eluwa

Stephen Feldman Kristen Fetter Mark Finklestein William Flynn Andrew Flynt Niya Fonville Reed Fountain Andrea Fowler Matthew Fussa Martha Geer Lisa Glover Evin Grant Jane Gray Jefferson Griffin Mikael Gross Brian Gwyn Robin Hammond Ken Hardison Adren Harris Neubia Harris Brad Harrold James Hash Dick Heidgard Nancy Hemphill Tamika Henderson Deborah Hildebran-Bachofen Andy Hipolito Jay Holland Dale Hollar Scott Hovey Robert Howell Kim Howes Alisa Huffman Warren Hynson Bradley Inman Randy Jenkins Bain Jones David Jonson Keith Kapp Jeff Kelly Danielle Kimesltein Katie King Quan Kirk Meghan Knight

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

Mark La Mantia Tiffany Lesnik Robert Lewis Jeremy Locklear John Mabe Marc Macenko Christina McAlpin Steven MaGilvray Gregory Malhoit Antoine Marshall Eric Martinson Reggie Mathis Christine Mayhew Priscilla McCoy Shawndria McCoy Joshua McIntyre Dan McLawhorn William Mckinney Meghan Melo Jordan Mendez Jason Miller Katie Mills Jocelyn Mitnaul Jeffrey Monroe Clayton Morgan Atiya Mosley Tara Muller Brandon Neuman Dougles Noreen Helen O’Shaughnessy Will Owens Zack Padget Jane Paksoy Ashley Parker Dunston Makaya Parham Shawn Parker Ernie Pearson Andy Petesch Amy Petty J. Heydt Philbeck Lareena Phillips Stacey Phipps Toni Pinkston Ebony man

Brad Polk Jon Powell Will Quick Stacey Race Ripley Rand Anita Richardson Paul Ridgeway Edward Roberts Ayana Robinson Deborah Ross Dekhasta Rozier Diane Rupprecht Erin Scott Scott Scurfield David Senter Bryan Sherrick Dana Simpson Adam Snyder David Spencer Phil Strach Paul Suhr Gray Styers Melissa Swaby Elizabeth Sydnor Christina Taylor Deonte Thomas Bo Thompson Kristina Thompson Jason Tuttle Lindsay Underwood James Vanderberry Jr. David Venable Hannah Vigoda Melissa Walker Patrick Wallace Terry Warren Kandace Watkins Richard Waugaman Tonya Williams Katherine Woomer-Deters Amy Wooten Mckinley Wooten Steve Wyrick Boz Zellinger PAGE 31

UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATIONS USING SOCIAL MEDIA

BY DAVID SMYTH | BROOKS PIERCE

SOON ENOUGH, SOMEBODY WILL produce virtual reality contact lenses, and you will be able to watch silly cat videos on Facebook without moving a muscle.1 It will be glorious. In the meantime, with 2.1 billion monthly active users on Facebook,2 and 700 million on Instagram,3 social media is merely pervasive, and hasn’t literally infected our eyeballs and brains. But people live, or post, much of their lives there. A lot of potential evidence for civil and criminal litigation is there, too. But what are you allowed to do to get it? Can you go undercover to gain access to material a litigation opponent or witness would not happily turn over? Well, you have to be careful, and it depends on what you mean by “go undercover.”

North Carolina Ethics Opinions North Carolina ethics opinions haven’t yet spoken directly to the issue. The Ethics Committee currently is considering an inquiry on many of the issues discussed herein about digital or social media investigation and could vote to publish a proposed formal ethics opinion as early as its October 2017 meeting. In prior adopted opinions, the Bar has, in some limited circumstances, allowed lawyers to conduct non-digital investigations in ways that provide for less than full disclosure of the investigators’ methods. But these opinions might be less helpful to lawyers who want to use all available means to scour an opposing litigant’s Facebook page.

97 FEO 10 For example, 97 FEO 10, Undercover Officer Planted by Prosecutor in Cell of Represented Defendant, explicitly allowed criminal prosecutors to plant an undercover law enforcement officer in a prison cell to allow that officer to listen to conversations of other inmates. As long as the officer did not participate in those conversations, ask questions of the other inmates, or give legal advice, the prosecutor would not run afoul of Rule 4.2(a), which prohibits a lawyer from “communicat[ing] about the subject of the representation with a person the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in the matter unless the lawyer...is authorized by law to do so.”

Leaving aside how weird it would be for a planted undercover officer to listen to such conversations without participating in them or asking any questions, this opinion was limited to prosecutors, and has no effect on civil litigators.

99 FEO 10 Two years later, 99 FEO 10, Communicating with Employee of Adverse Organization in a Criminal Investigation, took a similar position. There, the N.C. Department of Justice’s Medicaid Investigations Unit was investigating an allegation that “Corporation” had submitted claims to Medicaid for health care services that were never rendered. The Corporation was represented by counsel. DOJ’s fraud investigator wanted to interview current Corporation employees without notice to Corporation’s counsel to ask them whether they falsified records, whether they saw others falsify records, and whether they or others were ordered by supervisors to falsify records. The investigator

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

would: (1) identify himself, (2) state that he is investigating possible criminal violations, (3) not interview any employee who participated substantially in the legal representation of Corporation, and (4) not elicit privileged communications. Could the investigator do that?

The short answer was yes. Rule 4.2’s prohibition on communications with represented persons certainly applied to Corporation, and under Rule 5.3, extended to persons acting under the direction and control of a lawyer. But the rule does “not mean that informal communication is prohibited with any employee who may make a damaging statement about the corporation that would be admissible in evidence. Rather, the prohibition is limited to informal communications with employees who have the authority to speak for and bind the corporation.” Id. (citing RPC 67). So asking lower-level employees about falsification of records by others was okay. While the factual context here was another criminal prosecution, the opinion is not explicitly limited to prosecutors, as is 97 FEO 10.

2014 FEO 9 More recently, in 2014 FEO 9, Use of Tester in an Investigation That Serves a Public Interest, Attorney A was retained by Client C to investigate and, if appropriate, file a lawsuit against Client C’s former employer, E. E employed C as a janitor and required him to work 60 hours each week for $400.

Before filing suit, A wanted to retain a private investigator to investigate E’s wage payment practices. The private investigator suggested using lawful, but misleading or deceptive tactics, to obtain the information A sought. For example, the private investigator would pose as a person interested in being hired by E as a janitor to see if E violated the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act when compensating the investigator.

Again, the answer was yes. 2014 FEO 9 found that Rule 8.4(a), which prohibits using third parties from engaging in conduct using misrepresentation, was a rule of reason designed not to punish, but to protect the public. In pursuing a legitimate public interest such as in investigations of discrimination in housing, employment and accommodations, patent and intellectual property infringement, and the production and sale of contaminated and harmful products, the opinion held that a lawyer may supervise the use of misrepresentation: (1) in lawful efforts to obtain information on actionable violations of criminal law, civil law, or constitutional rights; (2) if the lawyer’s conduct is otherwise in compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct;

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(3) the lawyer has a good faith belief that there is a reasonable possibility that a violation of criminal law, civil law, or constitutional rights has taken place, is taking place, or will take place in the foreseeable future; (4) misrepresentations are limited to identity or purpose; and (5) the evidence sought is not reasonably available through other means.

The opinion went on to say that the use of misrepresentation to pursue the purely personal interests of the lawyer’s client, without a public policy purpose, such as the interests of the principal in a family law matter, is not permitted.

Opinions Addressing Undercover Investigations on Social Media Social media content that that is generally available to the public is fair game for litigators. But what if gaining access requires acceptance of a “friend” request? Can a lawyer misrepresent her true identity to make that happen?

Given the allowances made in the North Carolina opinions, one might expect some permissiveness with respect to undercover investigations on social media. But the general pattern is restrictive.

Philadelphia LEO 2009-02 In 2009, a lawyer “propose[d] to ask a third person, someone whose name the witness [would] not recognize, to go to the Facebook and Myspace websites, contact [an unrepresented] witness and seek to ‘friend’ her, to obtain access to the information on the pages. The third person would only state truthful information, for example, his or her true name, but would not reveal that he or she is affiliated with the lawyer . . . .” Then the third person would turn the information over to the lawyer to evaluate for use in litigation.

The Philadelphia Bar did not love the plan, and found that it would violate Rule 8.4(c) because the planned communication was deceptive in that it purposefully omitted the reason for the friend request.4 San Diego LEO 2011-2 The San Diego County Bar took a similar approach in its treatment of a lawyer who wanted to make friend requests to senior executives of a corporate litigation opponent. The legal ethics opinion said, “A friend request nominally generated by Facebook and not the attorney is at least an indirect ex parte communication with a represented party for purposes of Rule 2-100(A). The harder question is whether the statement Facebook uses to alert the represented party to the attorney’s friend request is a communication ‘about the subject of the representation.’ We believe the context in which that statement is made and the attorney’s motive in making it matter. . . . If the communication to the represented party is motivated by the quest for information about the subject of the representation, the communication with the represented party is about the subject matter of that representation.” The San Diego County Bar joined its Philadelphia peers in holding that public material was open for use, but attorneys could not make a friend request to seek access to other content without disclosing why the request was being made.5

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New York City Formal Opinion 2010-2 In 2010, the New York City Bar, perhaps surprisingly, went the other way. It addressed “the narrow question of whether a lawyer, acting either alone or through an agent such as a private investigator, may resort to trickery via the internet to gain access to an otherwise secure social networking page and the potentially helpful information it holds.” Its opinion “conclude[d] that an attorney or her agent may use her real name and profile to send a ‘friend request’ to obtain information from an unrepresented person’s social networking website without also disclosing the reasons for making the request. While there are ethical boundaries to such ‘friending,’ in our view they are not crossed when an attorney or investigator uses only truthful information to obtain access to a website, subject to compliance with all other ethical requirements.”6 New York LEO 843 At about the same time, the New York Bar split from the New York City Bar on this issue and sided with the conclusions reached in Philadelphia and San Diego. There, only public social media pages were at issue. The opinion held that New York’s Rule 8.4 would not be implicated because the lawyer was not engaged in deception by accessing a public website available to anyone in the network. Accordingly, the lawyer could “ethically view and access the Facebook and MySpace profiles of a party other than the lawyer’s client in litigation as long as the party’s profile was available to all members in the network and the lawyer neither ‘friend[ed]’ the other party nor direct[ed] someone else to do so.”7 Leaving aside New York City Formal Opinion 2010, which may turn out to be an outlier, the weight of authority cuts against a lawyer’s making a social media friend request without fully disclosing the identity of the requester and the reason for the request. While content that is generally available to the public should be available for use in litigation, material limited to a set of contacts that requires invitation should be invited with all relevant facts clear. WBF

End Notes 1. Graham Templeton, What’s Up with Augmented Reality Contact Lenses?, Inverse (May 22, 2017).

2. The Top 20 Valuable Facebook Statistics – Updated August 2017, Zephoria Digital Marketing (Aug. 1, 2017).

3. Daniel Sparks, How Many Users Does Instagram Have?, The Motley Fool (May 16, 2017).

4. Philadelphia Bar Association Professional Guidance Committee, Opinion 200902 (Mar. 2009).

5. San Diego County Bar Legal Ethics Committee, Legal Ethics Opinion 2011-2 (May 24, 2011).

6. New York City Bar Committee on Professional Ethics, Formal Opinion 2010-2, Obtaining Evidence from Social Networking Websites (Sept. 2010).

7. New York State Bar Ass’n Committee on Professional Ethics, Opinion #843 (Sept. 10, 2010).

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LOVETT AND MANN DETHRONE WHITMEYER AND HARRISON IN WCBA TENNIS TOURNAMENT Rik Lovett and Barry Mann won the Wake County Bar Association Championship Division doubles crown on October 6 at the Carolina Country Club, beating Randy Whitmeyer and Webster Harrison 6-4 in the final. Whitmeyer had won the tournament for the last five years in a row (the last two years with Harrison as his partner). Lovett and Mann beat Keith Satisky and Bryan Brice 6-4 in one semifinal, and Whitmeyer and Harrison beat Jason Tuttle and William Plyler 7-6 (5) in the other semifinal.

David Beatty won the Open Division, and Nick Dowgul was the runner-up. The weather and refreshments were great, and a good time was had by all. Hope to see more WCBA members on the court in October 2018!

Nick Dowgul

Randy Whitmeyer and Webster Harrison

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

David Beatty

Rik Lovett and Barry Mann

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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS THE NEWEST MEMBERS APPROVED AT THE OCTOBER 2017 MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dauna Bartley | DL Bartley Law Wyatt Booth | Williams Mullen Jared Burtner Quintin Byrd | Forrest Firm, P.C. Nestor Capote Sheena Dasani | Williams Mullen Matthew Farr | Tharrington Smith LLP Danielle Feller | Roberts Law Group PLLC Casey Fidler | Tharrington Smith LLP Susan Fountain | Young Moore & Henderson PA Michael Fury | Solo Practitioner Selene Haedi | Olive Law Group PLLC Kathryn Helin | Williams Mullen Warren Hicks | Bailey & Dixon LLP Alexandra “Alex” Hilditch | Goldberg Segalla, LLP Volha Ivanushko Jonathan “Jay” Jerkins | Jerkins Family Law Pauline “Polly” Laubinger | Solo Practitioner John Mace | Hervey and Hervey PA Stuart Matthews | Matthews Immigration Group Kimberly Moore | The Law Office of Jessie A Jeffers, PA Hannah Murphy

Martha Peed Adams Howell Sizemore & Lenfestey, PA James Pully | Wake County District Attorney’s Office Stephen Pytlik | Brown Law LLP Virginia Runion Holly Savino John Schaeffer Jennifer “Jen” Shapiro | NC Bar Association Jennifer Shine | Vitale Family Law Arista Sibrey | Frye Law Offices PA Linda Teal | Knott & Boyle, PLLC Samuel “Sam” Thorp | NC School Boards Association Amy Vukovich | Legal Aid of NC Tara Warwick | Carnes Warwick, PLLC Kandace Watkins Peter Webb Brooks Pierce McLendon Humphrey & Leonard LLP Anne Whitney Robert Whitney | Young Moore & Henderson PA

FOLLOW, CONNECT AND LIKE: WCBA SOCIAL MEDIA @WAKECOUNTYBAR FACEBOOK.COM/ WAKECOUNTYBAR

WAKE BAR FLYER • FOURTH QUARTER 2017

LINKEDIN.COM/COMPANY/ WAKECOUNTYBAR

@WAKECOUNTYBAR

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W

WAKE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION PO Box 3686, Cary, NC 27519-3686

WCBA BASKETBALL SIGN-UP

CHARLES BRANDON HUNT LAWYER’S BASKETBALL LEAGUE 2018

The 2018 League will start on January 13, 2018, and will again be located at the J.D. Lewis Multipurpose Center, located at 2245 Garner Road, Raleigh.

How Do You Sign Up? Go to the Wake County Bar Association website and click on the item on Dec. 31 that lists “WCBA Basketball League.” Online sign-ups must be completed by December 31.

Questions can be directed to Commissioner Ryan Oxendine at 919-848-4333 or ryan@oxendinebarnes.com. WBF