North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Doris Bray, a founding member in the Greensboro firm Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston, was awarded the Greensboro Bar Association’s Distinguished Service Award at its Oct. 21 meeting. The award, which is the association’s highest recognition, is given to members who in their professional and private lives have demonstrated their deep devotion and constant commitment to the practice of law, to the administration of justice, to the unselfish service to the community and to the highest ethical standards of professionalism.
The Conference of Superior Court Judges of North Carolina met in Chapel Hill last month and gave a special award to Judge Catherine Eagles for her service as education committee chair. Judge David Lee of Union County will now assume that role.
At the annual business meeting, Judge Orlando F. Hudson Jr. of Durham County became the president. Judge William Z. Wood Jr. of Forsyth County was chosen to be president elect. Judge Ed Gregory of Wilkes County will serve as secretary and Judge Alma L. Hinton of Halifax County will serve as treasurer.
Elected to the board of directors were Judges Cy A. Grant Jr., Douglas Sasser, David Lee, Beverly Beal, Phillip Ginn and Ralph C. Walker.
Attorney Ashley Matlock Perkinson has established the Perkinson Law Firm in Raleigh. The firm will provide services in the areas of lobbying and government relations, nonprofit consulting, media law and education law. The Perkinson Law Firm will provide counsel for nonprofits on a broad array of issues such as formation, resource development and grant writing, tax exemption, charitable solicitation, IRS compliance, bylaws and policies, board governance, employment and staffing, contract development and review, project consulting, lobbying and advocacy.
David D. Daggett of Daggett, Shuler, Koontz, Nauman & Bell has been selected as one of the 2010 Business Leader Movers & Shakers by Business Leader magazine. The honor recognizes a recipient’s high-level professional performance, leadership, positive impact on others and contributions to the Triad community.
Daggett is the senior and managing partner of Daggett Shuler and is a triathlete who has completed more than 150 triathlons, including 19 Ironman competitions. He has practiced law for over 25 years, focusing on all types of serious injuries, wrongful death, Social Security/ Disability and workers’ compensation cases.
Daggett is also a founder of Safe Sober Prom Night, Inc., a program that promotes safety and awareness among teenagers in North Carolina. This program earned Daggett the N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Award for Public Service. He also has received the American Bar Association Award for Dignity in Lawyer Advertising.
Ragsdale Liggett partner Robert J. Ramseur Jr. has been appointed as the Nations Chief of the Y-Guides and Y-Princesses Programs of the YMCA of the Triangle. The program is the largest father-child program in the United States, serving more than 13,000 dads and children throughout Wake, Durham, Johnston and Lee counties.
As the Nations Chief, Ramseur will chair the Y-Guides and Y-Princesses Nation’s officer board, who advise and lead the staff. His primary responsibility will be to design and implement the annual Challenge for the Nation as well as leading the “WeBuildPeople” service project, a campaign which raises funds for families who cannot otherwise afford YMCA services and summer camps.
Ramseur is chair of the residential real estate department at Ragsdale Liggett.
United States Attorney George E.B. Holding and senior members of his criminal division went to Kosovo last month as part of the Eastern District’s ongoing training and development program for judges, prosecutors, police officers and victim services advocates. Holding and others from his office have been participating in training and events raising public awareness of the needs and rights of victims of crime.
The training and events follow two weeks of intensive training conducted in Raleigh and in Washington, D.C. Emphasis has been placed on the role of police officers, prosecutors and the court and their joint obligation to ensure that victims of crime are not neglected by the criminal justice system.
Members of Holding’s office, along with federal investigators, will continue to conduct training in Kosovo periodically in the coming months in an effort to continue the development of task forces that address drug trafficking, human trafficking and public corruption and will continue its assessment of victim needs and services and work with government officials to address those issues.
Raleigh architect and attorney Theresa Joan Rosenberg recently became a LEED-accredited professional by the Green Building Certification Institute. Professionals achieve this recognition by demonstrating knowledge and understanding of green building principles and practice.
As a LEED AP, Rosenberg will be able to assist clients through the LEED certification process from startup to final verification of a project’s green measures, as well as helping clients navigate the evolving green building regulatory requirements.
Lauren V. Reeves recently joined Smith Debnam as an associate, where she will concentrate her practice in the areas of foreclosures, bankruptcy, and creditor’s rights. Reeves began her career representing lenders throughout central and eastern North Carolina in debt collection cases and foreclosure actions.
A Raleigh native, Reeves graduated with honors from N.C. State University. She received her J.D. at the Elon University School of Law. As a member of the charter class at Elon, Reeves co-founded, was president of and served as philanthropic chair for the Women’s Law Association.
The law firm of Pulley, Watson, King & Lischer hosted a celebration honoring the new members of the Durham Bar last week. The firm welcomed all new admittees of the 14th Judicial District Bar with a wine and cheese reception at its office at Brightleaf Square in Durham. The gathering gave new admittees an opportunity to meet, mingle and celebrate along with local judges, court personnel and county and city officials.
Andrew A. Freeman has joined the law firm of Bell, Davis & Pitt as an associate attorney in the firm’s Winston-Salem office. Freeman’s practice concentrates on litigation, including corporate, Uniform Commercial Code, unfair trade practices and fiduciary disputes. He regularly represents financial institutions, corporations, limited liability companies and individuals in both state and federal courts of North Carolina.
Freeman is a 2010 magna cum laude graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Law, where he received his J.D. and was a member of the law review. He also became a member of the Order of the Coif upon graduation. Freeman received his undergraduate degree in Economics and American Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005.
Mason G. Alexander, managing partner of the Charlotte office of Fisher & Phillips, was the featured speaker at The Employers Association’s current issues breakfast, where he presented “Employing Temporaries: Don’t Make Mistakes.”
Alexander debunked popular myths regarding temporary employment, discussed benefits, workers’ compensation, taxes and other co-employment issues and how to develop a proactive plan to manage non-employee status.
A graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law, Alexander has practiced labor and employment law exclusively for 25 years including the areas of union campaigns, sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful discharge, union avoidance and policy reviews.
Upcoming Event
The Wake Forest University School of Law will host a Legal Writing Institute workshop from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 3. Taught by legal writing professors, librarians and writing specialists, the workshops are designed for new legal research and writing professors and adjuncts.
The workshops will also benefit seasoned educators looking for practical ideas and insights on handling some of the more challenging aspects of this academic field. Presenters will offer tips and best practices for creating appropriate assignments, grading papers and holding student conferences.
The cost of the workshops is $100. Registration fees will be donated to LWI, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving legal writing by providing a forum for discussion and scholarship about legal writing, analysis and research.
