Topics

11.12.15 Suspension [Guilford County]

February 15, 2016

H. Russell Vick and Jimmy A. Pettus, partners in Vick & Associates, were disciplined for not timely depositing their employee’s IRA withholdings into the participating employees’ simple IRA accounts. Rather, they commingled the withholdings with other funds used for the benefits of Vick & Associates. The balance of withholdings due to the IRS currently exceeds $350,000. Vick & Associates failed to respond to notices from the IRS informing them of this tax liability.  The State [...]

11.3.15 Suspension [Buncombe County]

February 15, 2016

Robert Tucker was suspended from the practice of law on November 3, 2015.   During the course of his law practice, Tucker mishandled several trust accounts by failing to properly keep records and disbursing more funds than were deposited.  Tucker also failed to record deeds of trust for several clients and failed to collect funds.  The Disciplinary Hearing Panel concluded that Tucker’s actions violated several subsections of Rule 1.15 of the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct. [...]

11.2.15 Order Dismissing Complaint [Durham County]

February 15, 2016

The complaint filed against Gretchen M. Engel alleging that she had engaged in intentional misconduct, willfulness, or bad faith, was dismissed on November 2, 2015.  Engel was employed as the Director of Post-Conviction Litigation for the Center for Death Penalty Litigation (CDPL) in Durham.  During her employment there, she was responsible for reviewing information for comparative jury analysis, since there had been complaints of race being a factor in seeking or imposing the death penalty. [...]

Clean water is a right, not a privilege

February 15, 2016

The Flint water crisis has devastated the world after investigations have shown a toxic amount of lead and other pathogens in the water supply of Flint, Michigan. [...]

Would Wrongful Termination Claim be Appropriate for Employee Refusing Drug Test Conducted in Unauthorized Laboratory?

February 8, 2016

When employers terminate at-will employees for any reason or no reason, their conduct is often permissive, unless the termination is in violation of public policy, among other exceptions. However, could there be a claim for a wrongful termination action against an employer when an employee fails to submit to a drug test that is to be conducted by an unapproved laboratory? [...]

A lawsuit with a side of guac, please

February 8, 2016

Chipotle’s troubles are far from over; after food safety concerns investors are suing and a federal criminal investigation has been launched against the popular restaurant chain. [...]

Public defenders – where art thou?

February 1, 2016

Budget cuts in funding for public defenders in New Orleans have caused many indigent citizens to be denied their Sixth Amendment constitutional right to appointed counsel. [...]

As the Super Bowl nears, cities face relocation fears

February 1, 2016

With the recent St. Louis Rams football team moving to Los Angeles, and claiming the “State of the Art” Clause to get out of their contract with the city of St. Louis, questions arise regarding the conscionability and legality of such clauses in permitting professional football teams to just up and leave a city. [...]
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