An investigation of wrongdoing by an employee is in the ordinary course of business. The fact that the employee was a partner in a law firm and the fact that the plaintiff-law firm hired an outside law firm to conduct ...
Read More »Attorneys – Civil Practice – Discovery – Attorney-Client Privilege & Work Product Immunity – Employee Investigation – Insurance Coverage
Attorneys – Civil Practice – Personal Jurisdiction – Out-of-State Counsel – Contract – Forum Selection Clause 
A California attorney and law firm assisted in the sale of a North Carolina corporation without ever coming to North Carolina or making any filings here. The fact that their client was a North Carolina resident is insufficient to allow ...
Read More »Attorneys – Conflict of Interest – Corporate – LLC Membership 
In this action, the law firm of Sellers, Ayers, Dortch & Lyons, P.A., purports to represent Sweetwater Construction, LLC, and continues to represent plaintiff Turner; however, in South Carolina litigation Sellers Ayers represents Turner against Sweetwater. Sellers Ayers is thus ...
Read More »Attorneys – Disqualification – Conflict of Interest – Material Witness – Other Clients 
The beneficiary of a trust moves to intervene, remove a judgment against the trust, and remove the trust from receivership. However, the beneficiary’s attorney is a party against whom the receiver has asserted crossclaims on behalf of the trust for ...
Read More »Attorneys Law firm challenges use of ‘filter team’ to review its files 
Where a district court allowed a government “filter team” to review privileged attorney-client documents unrelated to the investigation of lawyer A and client A, it was in error because it assigned judicial functions to the filter team and failed to ...
Read More »Attorneys – Discipline – Statements to Judge – Missing Witness 
When a trial judge asked two prosecutors from the district attorney’s office how long they had known their essential witnesses was unavailable on the day a case was called for trial, respondent may have been ignorant, as he claimed, ...
Read More »Attorneys – Discipline – Contact with Represented Party – Ex Parte Contact with Judge 
After having a troubled mother’s child placed with them during a DSS juvenile case, the “Connor” family hired the defendant-attorney to attempt to get legal custody of the child. Defendant argues that he could communicate directly with the child’s mother ...
Read More »Attorneys – Disability Inactive Status – Court’s Transfer – Civil Practice – Subject Matter Jurisdiction – First Impression – Show Cause 
Although we have found no case addressing a trial court’s authority to place attorneys on disability inactive status, a trial court’s inherent authority to regulate attorneys before it must also include the authority to place an attorney on disability ...
Read More »Attorneys – Attorney-Client Privilege – Civil Practice – Discovery – First Contact 
The date on which plaintiffs first contacted their attorney was not a communication to an attorney, made in confidence, that related to the matter about which the attorney was being professionally consulted, or made in the course of giving or ...
Read More »Attorneys – Creditor entitled to attorneys’ fees incurred after bankruptcy petition was filed 
Where a debtor agreed to pay attorneys’ fees incurred in attempts to recover money owed under a loan in a contract signed prior to his filing for bankruptcy, the creditor was entitled to recover attorneys’ fees that were incurred after ...
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