The NC Bar exam: Bigger venues, but the same stress 
The most noticeable changes to the North Carolina bar exam in the past 25 years have been environmental – larger venues, the migration to laptops, and explosive growth in the number of law grads. The substance of the exam, however, remains much as it was when a break from bar prep meant cranking up Def Leppard and downing a Jolt cola.
Top Legal News
- Loopholes could neutralize Senate’s building design bill A bill that would prevent cities and counties from regulating things like the color of a new house appears to be close to passage after it sailed through the state House by a 98-18 margin. But land use attorneys say they don’t expect any surge in litigation between developers and local governments because the bill contains a loophole that you could fit a house through.
- State Employees’ Credit Union in crosshairs of class-action One of the largest credit unions in North Carolina is preparing to fend off a class action lawsuit alleging that it mishandled certain types of accounts held by thousands of residents throughout the state.
- All taxes are not created equal Following months of speculation, state Senate Republican leaders have now pitched a tax reform idea that would subject legal fees, and other types of professional services, to a sales tax.
2012 Women of Justice awards
- Women of Justice 2012: A letter from the Publisher Welcome to the inaugural class of the North Carolina Women of Justice Award honorees. This is the first such award program we’ve produced at North Carolina Lawyers Weekly and we are privileged to pay tribute to these 25 exceptional women.
2012 LEADERS IN THE LAW AWARDS
- Leaders in the Law Awards: A letter from the publisher We honor 25 lawyers who exemplify the best qualities of the profession. They embrace the noblest ideals of representation. They are your partners, your adversaries, your mentors, your friends. They are North Carolina Lawyers Weekly’s 2012 Leaders in the Law.
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Most Important Opinions
- Tort/Negligence – STCA – Schools & School Boards – Bus/Van Collision – Right of Way – Bus Driver’s Lookout
Bartlett v. Wayne County Board of Education Plaintiffs contend that the majority of eyewitnesses in this case testified that the responding officer’s diagram depicting the accident scene was accurate, that the diagram demonstrates plaintiffs’ “van had to have been almost directly in front of the bus at the time [the bus driver] started her turn,” and that this evidence conclusively established that the bus driver failed to yield the right-of-way to plaintiffs’ van.
- Taxation – State Income — U.S. Treasury Bonds – Market Discount Income – First Impression — Interest
Fidelity Bank v. North Carolina Department of Revenue Even though the N.C. Revenue Act uses the Internal Revenue Code to determine state net income, and even though the Code treats “market discount income” on U.S. Treasury bonds as interest for purposes of the Code, under the N.C. Revenue Act market discount income on U.S. Treasury bonds is treated as income rather than interest.
- Contract – Forum Selection Clause – Arbitration – Labor & Employment
Apex Tool Group, LLC v. Ingersoll-Rand Co. Neither plaintiff nor the individual defendants are Texas residents; nevertheless, each of the individual defendants’ employment agreements includes an unambiguous and mandatory forum selection clause, which says any lawsuit involving the agreement must be brought in Harris County, Texas. The employment agreements were entered into by plaintiff’s predecessor and the individual defendants, who apparently did not live in Texas when they entered into the contracts and thus apparently anticipated interstate travel in the event of a trial.
