ELECTION OF OFFICERS – Steven D. Michael, from the law firm of Sharp, Michael, Outten & Graham in Kitty Hawk, was elected vice-president; Calvin E. Murphy, from the law firm of Murphy & Chapman in Charlotte, was elected president-elect; Robert F. (Bud) Siler, from the law firm of Coward, Hicks & Siler in Franklin, was installed as president; and L. Thomas Lunsford, II was elected secretary-treasurer/executive director.

RETIRING COUNCILORS AND MEMBERS OF BOARDS AND AGENCIES – Certificates of recognition were presented to retiring councilors and members of boards and agencies at the Annual Meeting of the North Carolina State Bar as follows:

Councilors: George B. Daniel of Yanceyville, Kenneth D. Knight of Madison, Steven D. Michael of Kitty Hawk, John Breckenridge Regan, III of Supply, Cary Whitaker of Roanoke Rapids, and N. Hunter Wyche, Jr. of Raleigh.

ABA Delegates: W. Erwin Spainhour of Concord, William O. King of Durham, and Robert C. Sink of Charlotte

Client Security Fund Board: Theodore C. Edwards of Raleigh

Board of Continuing Legal Education: Sarah A. Crowder of Charlotte and R. Donavon Munford of Raleigh

Board of Legal Specialization: Christy E. Reid of Charlotte and Christopher Scott of Raleigh

Disciplinary Hearing Commission: T. Paul Messick, Jr. of Burlington

IOLTA Board of Trustees: Nancy E. Hannah of Raleigh, James P. Hutcherson of Winston-Salem, and James Y. Preston of Charlotte

NC Dispute Resolution Commission: J. Merritt White, III of Concord

NC General Statutes Commission: Susan K. Ellis of Wilson

NC Legal Education Assistance Foundation: N. Joanne Foil of Durham

NC Conference of Bar Presidents (Chairperson, Executive Committee): W. Edward Bunch of Asheboro

APPOINTMENTS – The Council made the following appointments:

Client Security Fund Board of Trustees – Janice M. Cole of Hertford was appointed to a five-year term.

Board of Law Examiners – Catherine E. Thompson of Charlotte, Gail Arneke of Winston-Salem, Susan F. Olive of Durham, Edward J. Harper, II of Greenville, and Emil F. Kratt of Charlotte were reappointed to three-year terms.

Board of Continuing Legal Education – Susan Milner Parrott of Raleigh and Cynthia L. Turco of New Bern were appointed to three-year terms. Keith O. Gregory of Raleigh and Gary W. Thomas of Statesville were reappointed to three-year terms.

NC Legal Education Assistance Foundation – Victor J. Boone of Raleigh was appointed to a one-year term.

Board of Legal Specialization – Dr. Robert E. Gaddy, Jr. of Raleigh was appointed to a three-year term.

Board of Paralegal Certification – J. Michael Booe of Charlotte, Marisa S. Campbell of Raleigh, and Sharon L. Wall of Raleigh were appointed to three-year terms. Renny W. Deese of Fayetteville, John M. Harris of Morehead City, and Tammy Moldovan of Durham were appointed to two-year terms. Barry D. Mann of Raleigh, Grace Carter of Raleigh, and Sharon G. Robertson of Linville Falls were appointed to one-year terms.

RECOMMENDATION FOR APPOINTMENTS SOUGHT – The Council will make the following appointments at its meeting in January 2005. Anyone wishing to be considered or to nominate someone should contact Tom Lunsford at the State Bar office: 919/828-4620, tlunsford@ncbar.com, PO Box 25908, Raleigh, NC 2611.

Lawyer Assistance Program Board (3-year term) – There are three appointments to be made. Sara H. Davis, Dr. Karl Stanley (public member), and Rachel Pickard are all eligible for reappointment.

COUNCIL MEETINGS – The Council will hold its regular quarterly business meetings on the following dates in 2005: January 18-21 in Raleigh, April 12-15 in Raleigh, July 12-15 in Asheville, and October 18-21 in Raleigh. The October meeting will also be the State Bar’s annual meeting.

RANDOM AUDITS – Judicial districts randomly selected for audit during the fourth quarter of 2004 are District 9 consisting of Franklin, Granville, Vance, and Warren Counties; and District 21 consisting of Forsyth County.

ETHICS COMMITTEE – Upon the recommendation of the Ethics Committee, the Council adopted four new ethics opinions: 2003 FEO 12, which rules that an insurance defense lawyer may give the insured and the insurance carrier an evaluation of a pending case, including settlement prospects, but may not give an opinion to the carrier on whether to decline to settle within policy limits and go to trial if the opinion is contrary to the wishes of the insured; 2003 FEO 14, which rules that if a current representation requires cross-examination of a former client using confidential information gained in the prior representation, then a lawyer has a disqualifying conflict of interest; 2004 FEO 8, which rules that unless a lawyer invariably makes the repayment of costs advanced contingent upon the outcome of each matter, an advertisement for legal services that states that there is no fee unless there is a recovery must also state that costs advanced must be repaid at the conclusion of the matter; and 2004 FEO 9, which rules that a trade name for a law firm that implies an affiliation with a financial planning company is misleading and prohibited.

The Ethics Committee decided to publish for comment four new proposed opinions and one revised proposed opinion: proposed 2004 FEO 10, which rules that the lawyer for the buyer of residential real estate may prepare the deed without creating a client-lawyer relationship with the seller provided the lawyer makes specific disclosures to the seller and clarifies her role for the seller; proposed 2004 FEO 11, which explores the role of a lawyer who is appointed guardian-ad-litem for respondent parent with diminished capacity; proposed 2004 FEO 12, which rules that a lawyer who is closing a real estate transaction may not use the services of a company that employs paralegals to perform the public records search on the title to the property; proposed 2004 FEO 13, which rules that a lawyer may form a professional corporation for the practice of law and the professional corporation may enter into a law partnership with another such professional corporation; and proposed revised 2004 FEO 5, which rules that a solicitation letter to prospective members of a class action must contain the words “This is an advertisement for legal services” pursuant to Rule 7.3(c).

GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE – Because of an extraordinary incidence of reimbursable claims during the past year, and a relatively large number of substantial pending claims, the Client Security Fund’s Board of Trustees voted to recommend to the Supreme Court that the membership be assessed, for the purposes of 2005 only, at the rate of $50 per active member. For the past several years, the assessment had been at the $20 level. According to the board, such an assessment should provide enough money to pay expected claims and administrative expenses, while maintaining the required $1,000,000 in reserve. The State Bar Council endorsed this recommendation and transmitted it to the Supreme Court. On November 8, 2004, the Supreme Court adopted an order imposing the $50 charge for the purposes of 2005.

CLIENT SECURITY FUND ASSESSMENT – During the quarter, the Grievance Committee considered 472 cases. Of those cases, 7 resulted in letters of caution, 20 resulted in letters of warning, 12 resulted in admonitions (4 lawyers had 2 cases each), 6 resulted in reprimands (1 lawyer had 2 cases), 3 resulted in censures (1 lawyer had 2 cases), 4 were referred to the Lawyer’s Assistance Program, 1 was referred to a law practice management program, and 51 were referred to the Disciplinary Hearing Commission (5 lawyers had 2 cases, 1 lawyer had 28 cases, 2 lawyer had 3 cases each).

SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER ISSUES RELATING TO STATE BAR v. HOKE AND GRAVES – President Siler has been instructed to appoint a special committee of the Council involving lawyers from the Council and from the Bar at large, as well as members of the public, to consider issues relating to the State Bar’s disciplinary prosecution of Debra Graves and David Hoke. The special committee, which will be chaired by president-elect Calvin E. Murphy, is expected to begin its work during the fourth quarter and to make at least an interim report to the Council in January.

COMMITTEE TO STUDY CLE FOR PRO BONO – During its last session, the General Assembly included a commission for the State Bar in its study bill. The State Bar, in conjunction with the North Carolina Bar Association, was asked to study the advisability of making continuing legal education credit available as a reward for pro bono service, particularly in regard to victims of domestic violence. That committee, which is chaired by former councilor Gary Thomas of Statesville, is expected to make its final report to the General Assembly by the end of the year.

RULE AMENDMENTS

AMENDMENTS FOR WHICH SUPREME COURT APPROVAL IS PENDING – At its meeting on October 22, 2004, the Council adopted, subject to the Supreme Court’s approval, the rules described below.
Rules of the Standing Committee of the North Carolina State Bar
27 N.C.A.C. 1D, Section .0900, Procedures for Administrative Committee

The amendments clarify that the Administrative Committee has the authority to recommend that the Council enter a consent order of reinstatement from inactive status or from an administrative suspension (for failure to pay dues or fulfill the CLE requirements) that includes conditions to insure the petitioner is fit to practice law despite a mental health or substance abuse problem.

Rules and Regulations Governing the Continuing Legal Education Program
27 N.C.A.C. 1D, Sections .1500 and .1600, Rules and Regulations Governing the Administration of the Continuing Legal Education Program

This significant reorganization of the rules and regulations for the CLE program will make the rules easier to use by putting related provisions together, adding captions, and breaking provisions into multiple paragraphs when appropriate.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT FOR PUBLICATION - At its meeting on October 22, 2004, the Council voted to publish the following proposed rule amendment for comment from members of the bar.

Rules of the Board of Legal Specialization
27 N.C.A.C. 1D, Rule .1720, Minimum Standards for Certification of Specialists

The proposed amendment will require all applicants for certification to demonstrate that they have practiced in North Carolina for at least three years prior to applying for certification. This will ensure that specialists certified by the North Carolina State Bar are experienced and knowledgeable in North Carolina law and practice.