Enterprising Lawyer Snaps Photos of Alleged Air-Vent Cockroaches for Suit Against Airline

A North Carolina lawyer and his fiancée claim in a lawsuit against Air Tran Airways that they spotted cockroaches coming out of air vents and storage areas on their September flight to Houston. The $100,000 suit was filed by Charlotte lawyer Harry Marsh and his fiancée, Kaitlin Rush, WCNC.com reports.…

Nov 15, 2011 4:44 PM CST

LegalZoom Sues North Carolina State Bar, Seeks to Register Legal Services Plan

The online legal document company LegalZoom has sued the North Carolina State Bar in an effort to gain registration for its legal services plan. The suit also seeks a ruling that its business model doesn’t constitute the unauthorized practice of law, according to a press release and the Raleigh News…

Oct 5, 2011 11:31 AM CDT

Heightened Alert on Sept. 11 Anniversary Led to Courthouse Evacuations in 3 States Today

As many yesterday and today commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, a reported credible threat of a plan to set off a bomb in New York or Washington, D.C., led to increased watchfulness nationwide. However, despite concerns about a possible bomb that resulted in evacuations…

Sep 13, 2011 1:48 AM CDT

Dykema Hires Ex-Womble Carlyle Partner to Head New Charlotte Office and Financial Practice Group

Dykema has hired a former partner of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice to head both a new office in Charlotte, N.C., and the firm’s financial services regulatory and compliance practice. Donald Lampe, 54, is presently practicing in Washington, D.C., with another former Womble lawyer, Elizabeth Collins. However, they will move…

Aug 8, 2011 9:59 AM CDT

As Nonlawyer Vendors, Would-Be Clients Take on More Legal Tasks, How Can Practitioners Get Ahead?

Increased competition from nonlawyer entities and blurred distinctions between legal and nonlegal work are just two of the major impactors redefining modern law firms, regardless of their size. As a result, lawyers need to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit more than ever. Indeed, they should distinguish themselves by providing value, beyond…

Aug 5, 2011 6:54 PM CDT

Truffle Kerfuffle in the Tar Heel State Turns Litigious

Jul 1, 2011 8:40 AM CDT

Prosecutor Put on Leave After Being Charged with Drunken Bicycling Will Be Replaced in Murder Case

A senior prosecutor was arrested and charged with drunken bicycling this week on the grounds of a resort where a conference for North Carolina district attorneys is being held. Eric Bellas, 45, was placed on administrative leave following the incident, requiring another prosecutor to replace him in the high-profile Zahra…

Jun 24, 2011 3:59 PM CDT

Recent Law Grad’s Lack of a Job Inspires Him to Create His Own by Going Solo

When Damon Chetson graduated from the University of North Carolina’s law school in May 2009 with $90,000 in educational debt and without a job, it didn’t take him long to find one. By September of that year, he was operating his own solo criminal practice. Last year, he says, he…

Jun 20, 2011 5:00 PM CDT

NC Appeals Court Stays Order Taking Primary Custody of Children Away from Mom with Breast Cancer

In the latest development in a controversial case in which a North Carolina mom with advanced breast cancer lost primary custody of her two children, the state Court of Appeals today issued a temporary stay of that ruling. It must now decide whether to extend the stay for the entire…

Jun 15, 2011 9:36 PM CDT

Death of Woman, 79, Charged in 4th Spouse’s Slaying Leaves Questions re 4 More Spouses, 1 Child

Charged three years ago in the 1986 death of her fourth husband, Betty Neumar was supposed to go to trial in February in the North Carolina solicitation-of-murder case. But the trial was postponed, and now it will never occur, following the 79-year-old Neumar’s death over the weekend in a Louisiana…

Jun 14, 2011 8:08 PM CDT

Real Estate Closing Attorney Wins Reversal of ‘Honest Services’ Mortgage Fraud Conviction

A former North Carolina real estate closing attorney who had faced up to 25 years in prison after being convicted in a $15 million mortgage fraud case two years ago has won a reprieve. A federal judge on Friday reversed the guilty verdict against Victoria Sprouse, 40, holding that the…

Jun 13, 2011 5:01 PM CDT

Feds, John Edwards Reportedly at Impasse in Talks re Possible Plea

Did longtime friends of trial attorney John Edwards give him money to help cover up an extramarital affair so he could keep it secret from his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth? Or to help the former senator from North Carolina with his campaign for election as the nation’s president? The answer to…

May 31, 2011 11:32 PM CDT

NC Judge Faces Legal Ethics Case, Accused of Fixing Tickets for Friends, Church Members

A judge in North Carolina is facing a legal ethics case for allegedly fixing tickets for her friends and fellow members of her church. Forsyth County District Court Judge Denise Hartsfield is to appear before the state Judicial Standards Commission for a September hearing, reports the Winston-Salem Journal. In a…

May 31, 2011 6:22 PM CDT

DOJ Reportedly OKs Possible Prosecution of John Edwards re Affair Cover-Up Payments

Updated: Relying on unidentified sources, major news organizations are reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice has approved the pursuit of a possible criminal indictment against former presidential candidate John Edwards related to money spent to cover up an extramarital affair. The affair cover-up expenditures could have violated campaign-finance law…

May 25, 2011 8:46 PM CDT

Law Grad Admits Copying Part of His Commencement Speech from YouTube

A law graduate at North Carolina Central University delivered a commencement speech on Friday that touted the virtues of living an average life over the quest for fame and fortune. But the speech by Preston Mitchum, 25, was below average in one respect: He admits that he copied the speech,…

May 17, 2011 3:46 PM CDT