the
Gba News Docket
Volume 64, Number 7; March 2015
Message from the President
The word of the month for February has been professionalism. It is one of those concepts
that our legal profession lives by. It is also a big reason why the Greensboro Bar
Association (“GBA”) has stayed relevant.
My philosophy toward professionalism was shaped many years ago by senior members of
the Greensboro Bar – Bill Osteen, Sr. as GBA president, Jim Turner of Turner Enochs,
Larry Sitton of Smith Moore, and attorneys at GBA meetings at the Elks Lodge. My
sense of professionalism was also influenced heavily by senior partners at my old law
firm Adams Kleemeier – Bill Adams, Charlie Hagan, Dan Fouts, Walter Hannah, Bob
Baynes, and Joe Moss. They would introduce me to other lawyers at the courthouse,
in meetings, and at GBA dinners. We would talk in our car rides to court, depositions,
retreats, and lunch. Those moments shaped me and made me a better person and
lawyer. I made mental notes to myself that I wanted to emulate these senior lawyers.
When opposing counsel dropped the F-bomb on me after a deposition recently, I drew
upon those mental notes and held my tongue.
Professionalism to me means being respectful of other lawyers; returning phone calls
and emails the same day; being civil and courteous; getting to know fellow lawyers on
a personal level if the opportunity arises -- your adversary today in one matter may be
your co-counsel tomorrow on another matter; and respecting and promoting the legal
profession.
Jim Bryan, President
of the Greensboro
Bar Association
This is where the GBA comes in. Our GBA
activities promote the legal profession and
make us better lawyers and better people.
My first Habitat House volunteer work
occurred in the early 1990s. I recall several
Supreme Court Justices on the work crew.
I was impressed with their dedication to
the profession and their support of our local
Habitat project, and I also realized the
Justices were real people, not just a name on
a court opinion. I recall our Young Lawyers
luncheon meetings in the early 1990s, where
I would meet fellow new lawyers and start
friendships that still exist today, 25 years
later. I remember Larry Sitton’s talk at a
YLD lunch on work / life balance and the importance of having a personal life and a
professional life at the same time.
“... it is local bar
associations like
the GBA that
help us
stay true to
our profession.”
In This Issue:
Message from the President . . . . . . . . . .
Young Lawyers Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Schell Bray HFS Honorees . . . . . . . . . . .
C&C Hires Cini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
March Calendar Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stell: Trending Now, What 2015 Holds . .
2014 Herb Falk Society Honors . . . . . . . .
Johnson-Parris Named 2015 Elite . . . . . .
Isaacson Receives Centennial Award . . .
GBA March 2015 Free CLE . . . . . . . . . . .
Cordell & Cordell Open GSO Office . . .
Kane Receives Citizen Lawyer Award . . .
You can contribute news or topics
of interest to the GBA by contacting
Editor Travis Martin:
[email protected]
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In recent years, I have gained an even greater appreciation for the importance of GBA
activities toward our profession. It was a Habitat project five years ago that caused me to
renew a friendship with Bill Cooke, the GBA president then, and reminded me of all the
local lawyers and how much I enjoyed working with them side-by-side hammering nails,
even those I had been adverse to in litigation. Then there has been the volunteering for
serving meals to the homeless at the Potters House of the Greensboro Urban Ministry on
Lee Street. So many GBA members have come forward to serve meals and give back to
the community. Whatever the combination of lawyers on the work crew, new friendships
are struck. We simultaneously are humbled by the homeless who graciously thank us
for a hot meal and a cup of iced tea. I had a volunteer list that grew and grew to about
75 lawyers who would fill a last minute vacancy in a work crew with no questions asked.
Their dedication to helping our down-and-out spoke volumes about the generosity and
compassion of our members. The same goes for volunteering for the landscaping /
cleanup crew at Sussman Park, the City park near Hampton Homes that GBA adopted
four years ago. It was the little things that would bring a work crew together. Once,
Justice Bob Edmunds pulled a shopping cart out of a creek and pushed it across a field
and up to the street. What a priceless image that was. While planting a flower bed next
Continued on page 3
Young Laywers Section
On Saturday, January 31, the Young Lawyers Division of the
North Carolina Bar Association held its annual statewide AskA-Lawyer Day at 10 locations across the state. Ask-A-Lawyer
Day is a public service event where volunteer attorneys provide
citizens with free legal advice. The Greensboro event took
place at the downtown branch of the Greensboro Public Library
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Greensboro event was a success, as
roughly 50 members of the local community were able to receive
free legal advice from 10 volunteer young lawyers on a broad
range of topics, which included, but were not limited to: child
custody, immigration, landlord-tenant, employment, divorce/
separation, personal injury and bankruptcy.
Schell Br ay, PLLC
announces Honorees
Jennifer L.J. Koenig
“Like” the GBA Young Lawyers
Section’s Facebook page (https://www.
facebook.com/GreensboroBarYLS) and
stay up to date on all its volunteer and
social events!
Christina Freeman
Pearsall
Schell Bray PLLC is pleased to
announce that Jennifer L.J. Koenig, a
member of the Schell Bray Trusts and
Estates Practice Group, was honored by
the Greensboro Bar Association’s Herb
Falk Society at a recognition dinner
held February 19, 2015. Ms. Koenig was
recognized for having performed over 75
hours of pro bono service in 2014.
Schell Bray PLLC is pleased to
announce that Christina Freeman
Pearsall, a member of the Schell
Bray Real Estate Practice Group,
was honored by the Greensboro Bar
Association’s Herb Falk Society at a
recognition dinner held February 19,
2015. Ms. Pearsall was recognized for
having performed over 75 hours of pro
bono service in 2014.
New Members
Wilfred H. Drath
Endorser: Patricia C. Perkins
The Law Firm of Sparrow Dennis & Medlin PA has
relocated its offices. The firm’s new address and contact
information is:
901 Battleground Avenue, Suite B
P.O. Box 308
Greensboro, NC 27402-0308
Tel. 336-544-5080
www.sparrowdennis.com
The firm will continue to concentrate in commercial finance
and real estate law, business and corporate law, banking
law, commercial litigation, construction law, wills and
estates, and sports law.
Donald G. Sparrow
Jason B. Sparrow
Thomas E. Medlin, Jr.
J. Michael Thomas
Of Counsel:
Paul M. Dennis, Jr.
R. David Joseph
William A. Wood
Guilford County District Attorney’s Office
Endorser: Wayne T. Baucino
Cini Joins Cordell & Cordell
Cordell & Cordell, the nation’s largest domestic litigation firm
focusing on representing men in family law cases, recently
hired Associate Attorney Barbara Cini in its Greensboro office
(717 Green Valley Road, Suite 200, Greensboro, NC 27408).
March Calendar Notes
March 2: Blood Drive 10:30 AM – 3:00 PM Elm Street Center
(Walk-ins welcome)
March 10: Board Meeting 4:00 PM in Self Help Building
March 19: Member Lunch Meeting 12:30 PM at Empire Room
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Trending Now
What does 2015 hold for lawyers?
What do your clients want?
by Camille Stell
Camille Stell is the
Vice President of Client
Services for Lawyers
Mutual. Camille has
more than 20 years
of experience in the
legal field. Contact
Camille at camille@
lawyersmutualnc.com or
800.662.8843.
There is a natural tendency among lawyers to
say more and do more – sometimes more than is
needed. Briefs are never brief. Think about client
communications. When you get to the end of a
long soliloquy or e-mail, have you ever had your
client ask “is the answer yes or no?”
The pressure to reduce legal costs and increase
value to clients is real. Talk with clients up front
about what they want. They may want to burn
down the house. You could get paid plenty of
money to help them do that. But keep asking your
client what they actually want the result to be.
Offer options. Might collaborative divorce be more
appealing than burning down the house? Could an
option such as this be a more cost effective option?
At the end of the day, could you get there in less
time with less heartburn?
to hire marketing staff, consider attending
meetings hosted by the Raleigh / Triad Chapter
of the Legal Marketing Association to learn more
about marketing, industry trends and hot topics.
More lawyers than ever are having conversations
about content management, email marketing,
reputation management and client relationship
management tools. Don’t be left behind.
Run your firm like a startup;
think like an entrepreneur
Legal marketing
Successful entrepreneurs don’t think like other
people. They think far down the road, they see
opportunity where others see challenge, they
make things happen and they keep moving
forward even when they fail. How can you be
more entrepreneurial? There are several traits
ascribed to entrepreneurs – passion, vision, selfbelief, flexibility and rule-breaking – traits that
don’t come naturally to some lawyers. Practice
exhibiting some of these traits. For example, don’t
view your competitors as threats; rather study
what makes them successful. Are they using
technology in a different way? Do they package
their legal services in a more novel way?
Legal marketing isn’t a fad. In North Carolina,
we continue to see growth in the number of
members of the Legal Marketing Association. Our
membership numbers have doubled in twenty-four
months and there seems to be no slowdown in
2015. More firms are hiring their first marketing
professional than ever before. If you aren’t ready
Let go of perfection. Perfection stalls progress.
You may make mistakes but moving forward is
important. Don’t wait until you create the perfect
marketing message before you start taking
referral sources to lunch. Don’t wait until you
have hours of free time to write the perfect article.
Instead, write a very good article and shop it for
Stop thinking you know what your clients want
without asking them. Each case you handle is
unique because each client is unique. Don’t treat
them like the client who walked in yesterday.
Continued on page 4
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Continued from page 1
to fellow lawyers, everybody got to share themselves with each
other on a personal level and professional level. The group
picture at the end of our Saturday morning work had extra
meaning because we had just beautified a city park for a public
housing project.
The GBA is indeed relevant in our professional lives and for our
personal well-being. Any GBA activity is an opportunity for
older lawyers to help younger lawyers and for younger lawyers
to teach older lawyers new ways of thinking and surviving the
new technology age. It is so easy for each of us to crawl into our
own bunker, work hard on our client files, lose touch with our
fellow bar members, and be gruff and ugly to our adversaries.
What better way for us to come out of our insular offices than
to come to the GBA’s holiday party, luncheon meetings at the
Empire Room, dinner meetings at Starmount Club, the Legal
Aid fundraiser at the Greensboro Science Center, or the Red
Cross blood drive on March 2. Each time we participate, we
re-connect with one another and make ourselves feel good about
ourselves and our profession. Every time I participate in a
GBA activity I am proud to be a lawyer and to be a part of the
legal profession. Our Chief Justice Mark Martin of the North
Carolina Supreme Court spoke about professionalism at the
GBA dinner on February 19. He said he has great pride in being
a lawyer and it is local bar associations like the GBA that help us
stay true to our profession. Made sense to me.
In sum, I have great faith that the GBA will continue to
be relevant for all of us local attorneys and be a source for
developing our profession and fostering our professionalism
toward one another.
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Herb Falk Society Honors Pro Bono Service
The Herb Falk Society honors those members of the Greensboro Bar Association who contribute at
least 75 hours of pro bono service annually. The ten individuals inducted for 2014 were recognized
at the February member dinner at Starmount Forest Country Club. They are:
Locke T. Clifford
113.75
Richard W. Gabriel
86.5
A. Holt Gwyn
133.6
Craig P. Hensel
81.3
Jennifer L. J. Koenig
105.8
Phyllis Lile-King88
Christina F. Pearsall
80.2
Eric A. Richardson
140
James H. Slaughter
112
Jenny E. Sweet
84.5
The recipients of the 2014 Herb Falk Society Awards
TRENDING NOW Continued from page 3
publication. The editor can tell you if it’s good enough or needs
work but at least you’re taking action.
Study like an entrepreneur. Get out of your legal box and
read Fast Company or any number of good blogs: Quora, Copy
Blogger (Brian Clark, who describes himself as a recovering
attorney), Church of the Customer, Entrepreneur Daily
Dose or WiseBread. Subscribe to the Startup podcast (http://
gimletmedia.com/show/startup/), described as “a series about
what happens when someone who knows nothing about
business starts one.”
to get on board. The success of your law practice is tied to
technology. Start by reading more about how to use technology.
Subscribe to technology newsletters and blogs. Among the ABA
Top 100 blogs – Electronic Discovery Law, iPhoneJD, The Droid
Lawyer, Law Technology Today, Technologist, and Technology
& Marketing Law Blog.
Mobile
Read theSkimm blog http://blog.theskimm.com/ , a tale of two
twenty-something women, former NBC news producers, who
have started a successful daily e-mail newsletter with the motto
“we read so you can skim.”
In prior articles, I’ve talked about the need for a good law firm
website, that’s old news. The trend is that mobile friendly sites
are important. Your clients are looking for you on their smart
phones and tablets. There are plenty of reports and statistics
to back up this claim, trust me. We all use the computers that
fit into our pockets to solve our problems, finding your law firm
will be no different.
Improve your firm’s oper ations
Cyber threats
There are many excellent law practice management blogs.
Here are some included in the ABA Top 100 blawgs list:
Divorce Discourse, Attorney at Work, 3 Geeks and a Law Blog,
Lawyerist, Adam Smith Esq., The Mad Clientist, and The Legal
Watercooler. I would also include Lawyer’s Mutual’s blog, A
Byte of Prevention.
You read the news so you know no companies are safe. Learn
what risks are associated with law firms and what security
measures you need to be taking. Lawyers Mutual is writing
about this on their blog “A Byte of Prevention” and in their
newsletter “Put into Practice.” We’ll also be holding a cyberconference in November. Stay tuned.
Technology
Are tech-savvy lawyers a trend? No, technology as a
requirement was a trend many years ago, but I’m going to
include technology as a trend because so many lawyers refuse
It feels as though there is a tsunami of information available
today because it’s true. Being more knowledgeable about one or
more of these trends will help you move forward in 2015 with
purpose.
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Johnson-Parris named to
Business North Carolina’s 2015 Legal Elite
Afi Johnson-Parris
Afi Johnson-Parris, an attorney with Ward Black
Law, was elected to Business North Carolina
magazine’s 2015 Legal Elite, a peer-elected list of the
state’s top lawyers. Of thousands practicing law in
the state, less than three percent were named to the
Legal Elite. Johnson-Parris is one of six Greensboro
family law attorneys on the list, which can be viewed
in the January 2015 edition of Business North
Carolina. Johnson-Parris, an Air Force veteran
and graduate of University of Virginia Law School,
focuses on divorce and family law as well as veterans
disability. She was one of 58 family law attorneys in
North Carolina to be named in the Legal Elite.
“It is an honor to be named to the Legal Elite by
Business North Carolina,” Johnson-Parris said. “To
receive this recognition from my peers across the
state is especially humbling.”
Legal Elite is the only award of its kind that allows
every lawyer in North Carolina the opportunity to
participate in voting. This year, ballots were made
available to more than 20,000 attorneys. Criteria
sought to determine not the most influential or
well-known lawyers, but those who perform best in
their respective practice areas. This was the third
consecutive year that Johnson-Parris received
recognition for family law.
“Family law involves serving as an active partner
for people in times of crisis,” said Johnson-Parris,
who serves as president elect of the Greensboro Bar
Association. “I see my position as a teammate for the
client – a teammate who can create clarity and help
them navigate through a complex process.”
Isaacson receives Centennial Award
by Jennifer N. Fountain
In 1999, the NCBA created the Centennial Award to recognize
exemplary community service and to be awarded by the local bar
association. Distinguished recipients in the past have included
Carole Bruce, Judge Patrice Hinnant, Alan Duncan, Henry
Isaacson and Eloise Hassell. One thing that all of these folks
have in common is that they have given selflessly and tirelessly of
themselves to various causes to improve the City of Greensboro and
its citizens. I am pleased to say that this year’s recipient is my law
partner, Marc Isaacson.
I think we all know Marc is a pretty formal guy. I am pretty sure
that he even wears a tie to bed with his Brooks Brothers pajamas.
But the great thing about him is that he is not afraid to roll up his
sleeves and do serious work to make Greensboro a better place. I
have worked with Marc for almost 15 years and if there is one thing
he has taught me it is that the best golf partner is someone who is
just a little bit worse than you are. Just kidding, if he has taught
me one thing it is that you should always make friends with people
who have the best seats at the Dean Dome. Okay, seriously, one
thing that he has always been an example of is giving back to your
community. And that is no joke. Marc Isaacson has continually
worked during his entire legal career with various organizations
volunteering his time and expertise. Actually that was part of
the reason why I chose to come to work with Marc and his dad.
Coming from a family who placed great importance on volunteering
in the community, I was pleased to find a law firm that shared
that passion. Obviously, this drive was instilled in Marc by two
champions of community service, Alice and Henry Isaacson.
Marc attended undergrad at Chapel Hill and has been a diehard
Heels fan ever since. He obtained his law degree from Wake Forest
University.
Centennial Award recipient Marc Isaacson
Marc was an active member of the Greensboro Jaycees and a
dedicated volunteer for the golf tournament.
He was a member of the Greensboro Parks and Recreation
Commission from 1985- 1991.
He was Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1993-2005. Marc’s
friend, David Hammer said that Marc was such an integral part of
the Greensboro Science Center that 1) he has a road there named
Isaacson Way and 2) at one point they “adjusted” the by-laws so he
could remain on the board for a 17th term.” He also served on the
search committee that hired Glenn Dobrogosz.
I also asked Glenn Dobrogosz for a couple of comments about Marc.
He said “What I appreciate more than anything else given his very
calm, rational and methodical ways of doing things was that he
Continued on page 6
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The Greensboro Bar Association & NewBridge Bank Private Banking
invite you to join us for a free lunch and CLE* seminar,
hosted by Brooks Pierce
DIGITAL PRIVACY AND MARKETING RISKS:
PROTECTING YOUR CLIENT IN THE ONLINE AGE
Presented by Charles Marshall and Bryan Starrett, Esquires
When: Wednesday, March 18, 2015, 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Check-in and lunch start at 11:30am
Where: Brooks Pierce – Humphrey Conference Room
2000 Renaissance Plaza
230 North Elm Street
Greensboro, NC 27401
Lunch will be provided by NewBridge Bank Private Banking. We hope you will join us for this free CLE.*
*One hour of CLE credit has been applied for and is anticipated, but is not yet approved.
RSVP to Abigail Peoples at [email protected] or 336-275-6003
SPACE IS LIMITED, SO RSVP TODAY!
Businesses that operate and advertise in the digital space face multiple compliance
challenges. If your clients use websites, mobile platforms, or social media to market
goods or services, potential pitfalls abound. This one-hour CLE will introduce a number
of those pitfalls and liability risk areas, including content and copyright issues, the
FTC’s new dot-com disclosure guidance, the FTC’s guides relating to testimonials and
endorsements, and other legal issues often encountered by any company engaged in
website and mobile marketing.
ISAACSON Continued from page 5
hired someone like me who is NOT calm, a risk-taker and the
opposite of methodical in trying to find ways to launch the GSC
into an all-new orbit. When he finally stepped away from the
chairman role after 12 years, he left me with an amazing team of
staff and board members primed and ready to move forward. He
also handed me the reigns to $5M as the starting point (and cash)
to begin building Animal Discovery. Marc also served on the Guilford County Board of Elections
for 10 years and the Greensboro War Memorial Coliseum
Commission for 7 years. He is also a founding Board Member of
the Greensboro Police Foundation.
He even found a way to work with both passions by serving as
legal counsel for the Carolina Section of the PGA.
Finally, he has held a leadership role in his faith community
by serving as president of Temple Emmanuel from 2004- 2006
and Vice President and now President Elect of the Greensboro
Jewish Federation. And somehow, the man finds time to practice
law and swing a golf club now and then. It gives me great pride
to recognize Marc Isaacson as the recipient of the Greensboro
Bar Association Community Service Award.
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Nation’s Largest Men’s Divorce Law Firm Opens
Greensboro, North Carolina Office
Supporting Dads through the Divorce Process
Cordell & Cordell, the nation’s largest domestic litigation firm focusing on representing men in family law
cases, has announced the opening of its first office in Greensboro, N.C. Cordell & Cordell has more than 170
attorneys working in more than 100 offices across the United States.
Perceptually, men are at a disadvantage in family courts, but Cordell & Cordell is expanding in an effort
to support more men through the divorce process. The firm has established itself as a leader in family law
devoted to equal rights for men facing divorce. The new Greensboro office (717 Green Valley Road, Suite
200, Greensboro, NC 27408) will broaden the opportunities for divorcing dads to gain information and
counsel.
“Our firm protects and promotes men’s family and financial interests before, during, and after divorce,”
said Joseph Cordell, J.D., C.P.A., LL.M., P.F.S., and co-founder of Cordell & Cordell. “Men choose Cordell
& Cordell because they want to feel that their interests and the interests of their children are aggressively
championed.”
Now with an office in the Greensboro area, Cordell & Cordell is able to help even more men protect
their roles in their children’s lives while safeguarding their financial means to do so. Breaking through
stereotypes, Cordell & Cordell is a partner men can count on.
Patrick K ane Receives 2015 North Carolina
Bar Association’s Citizen Laywer Award
Smith Moore Leatherwood attorney Patrick M.
Kane is among the thirteen exemplary lawyers
to receive the North Carolina Bar Association’s
(NCBA) 2015 Citizen Lawyer Award. The award
will be presented on Friday, June 19 at the NCBA
Annual Meeting in Asheville, North Carolina.
Patrick M. Kane
The Citizen Lawyer Award was established in 2007
to recognize lawyers who provide exemplary public
service to their communities. Honorees include
elected and appointed government officials, coaches,
mentors and voluntary leaders of nonprofit, civic
and community organizations.
Kane demonstrates a high level of community
involvement and mentoring young people through
his high school and college rugby coaching. He is
the Atlantic Coast Rugby League Commissioner
and previously served as head coach of Wake Forest
University’s rugby team for nine years. He also
started a boys’ rugby team at Grimsley High School
in Greensboro, and currently serves as head coach.
Additionally, Kane serves in the Fathers Being
Involved program at Brooks Global Elementary,
where his children are students. In this role, he
serves as a tutor and mentor for underprivileged
male students.
Kane is a member of the firm’s Litigation Practice
Group and Appellate Practice Group in the
Greensboro office and routinely handles complex
litigation in both state and federal courts. He
regularly represents municipalities in labor and
employment, constitutional and contract litigation,
and is frequently involved in litigation on behalf of
entities in the sports and entertainment industry.
He is a contributor to the North Carolina Appellate
Practice Blog, www.ncapb.com, which provides
news, information, tips, and resources for practicing
law in North Carolina’s state and federal appellate
courts.
Kane received his bachelor’s degree from College of
Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts in 2000 and
his juris doctor from Wake Forest University School
of Law in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 2007.
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Financial Investigation Professionals
The Davis Forensic Group provides financial
investigation support to attorneys and their clients.
SPECIALTIES:
Civil & Criminal Actions
Special Master in the North Carolina Business Court
Shareholder Disputes
Complex Divorces
Bankruptcy Trustee Support
Corporate Internal Investigations
Bert Davis Jr., CPA, CFE, CFF
e: [email protected]
p: (336) 543-3099
GREENSBORO // NEW YORK
WWW.DAVISFORENSIC.COM
The Greensboro Bar Association, Inc.
Post Office Box 1825
Greensboro, North Carolina 27402