Lawyers In The News 01-09-12

Kathleen M. Mullin has been named executive director of the Durham-based Fair Trial Initiative. She replaces Mark Kleinschmidt, who is going into private practice. Mullin previously practiced criminal defense in New York.

Shannon Frankel and Kelly Street were recently named shareholders of Young Moore and Henderson in Raleigh. Frankel joined Young Moore in 2005, and focuses on complex civil litigation. Street, who joined the firm in 2008, focuses on medical malpractice defense.

Wishart Norris Henninger & Pittman attorney James Wade Harrison has been elected North Carolina’s chapter delegate to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers for a three-year term. Harrison is the managing member of the firm’s Burlington office.

Ted Edwards, an attorney in the Raleigh office of Smith Moore Leatherwood, began his term as president of the Wake County Bar Association on Jan. 1. The theme for Edwards’ presidency is “A Call to Serve.” Edwards focuses his practice on providing counsel to owners, engineers and contractors regarding construction project administration and construction litigation.

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough said Bill Starr, an attorney in the Charlotte office, has been named partner. In the Raleigh office, Pam Wachter McAfee, Leslie Lane Mize and Joseph S. Dowdy have likewise been named partner.

Outside the Law

Jeremy A. Stephenson of McNair Law Firm was elected president of the Charlotte Area Society of Human Resource Management for a one year term beginning January 1.

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In re Whittacre Petitioner unsuccessfully protested G.K. Butterfield’s U.S. House candidacy for failure to file the affidavit required to run under a nickname pursuant to G.S. § 163-106(a). Since U.S. Const. art. I, § 5 says, “Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members …”

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State v. Howard At trial, defendant objected to evidence of prior bad acts only on the basis of prejudice under N.C. R. Evid. 403. On appeal, he only argues against the evidence’s admissibility under N.C. R. Evid. 404(b). Defendant has abandoned his Rule 403 objection, and he is not permitted to argue on appeal an objection he did not make at trial.