Monday, November 10, 2025
APPOINTMENTS
At its meeting on October31, 2025, the council made the following appointments:
Board of Law Examiners - The council reappointed Stephen C. Baynard, Athena Fox Brooks, Shelley Blake Curran, Sherri Wilson Elliot, and Michael Greene to three-year terms on the board.
Board of Continuing Legal Education – The council reappointed Addie M. Rawls and Syrena N. Williams to serve three-year terms. The council appointed Bryan Scott to a three-year term. The council reappointed Ashleigh Parker to serve a one-year term as chair and Paul Capua to serve a one-year term as vice-chair.
Board of Paralegal Certification– The council reappointed Carrie J. Marshall and Precious Vines-Harris to serve three-year terms on the board. The council appointed Reginia Rudisill to serve a three-year term. The council appointed Precious Vines-Harris to serve a one-year term as chair and Carrie J. Marshall to serve a one-year term as vice-chair.
Client Security Fund Board of Trustees – The council appointed Sonny Haynes to a five-year term on the board. The council appointed James K. Dorsett III to serve a one-year term as chair and Richard Costanza to serve a one-year term as vice-chair.
UPCOMING APPOINTMENTS: SUBMIT YOUR INTEREST FORM
Anyone interested in being appointed to serve on any of the State Bar’s boards or commissions should complete the “Boards and Commissions Interest Form.” The deadline for completion of the interest form is January 5, 2026. Your information will be included in the agenda materials for the quarterly meeting of the council in January 2026.
The council will make the following appointments at its January quarterly business meeting:
Lawyer Assistance Program (two appointments; three-year terms) – There are two appointments to be made by the State Bar Council. Takiya Lewis Blalock (councilor) and William Ingraham (clinician) are eligible for reappointment.
The Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) Board is a nine-member board comprised of three State Bar councilors, three LAP volunteers, and three clinicians who are experienced in working within the substance abuse and/or mental health field. The LAP Board establishes policy related to the execution of the LAP mission and is responsible for oversight of the operation of the Lawyer Assistance Program, subject to the statutes governing the practice of law, the authority of the council, and the rules of the board.
2026 COUNCIL MEETING DATES
Pursuant to the rules of the State Bar, it is the responsibility of the council to establish meeting dates for the coming year at least 30 days prior to the meetings. The council approved the following dates
-
January 20-23, NC State Bar Building, Raleigh, NC
-
April 21-24, NC State Bar Building, Raleigh, NC
-
July 21-24, Beaufort Hotel, Beaufort, NC
-
October 27-30, NC State Bar Building, Raleigh, NC
RANDOM AUDITS
Lawyers selected for random audit are based on a randomized list of all active members of the North Carolina State Bar who practice in the state. Audits for the third quarter of 2025 were conducted in Alamance, Alexander, Buncombe, Catawba, Cherokee, Durham, Forsyth, Guilford, Iredell, Mecklenburg, New Hanover, Orange, Rockingham, Wake, and Wilkes Counties.
ETHICS COMMITTEE ACTION
At its meeting on October 30, 2025, the Ethics Committee considered a total of four inquiries, including the proposed amendment to Rule 1.10 referenced below. Three inquiries were sent or returned to subcommittee for further study, including an inquiry addressing whether the Rules of Professional Conduct permit a real property lawyer to refer a client to a law partner’s title insurance business and an inquiry exploring the inclusion of non-disparagement clauses in initial fee agreements and fee dispute settlement agreements; the committee also returned proposed 2025 FEO 3 (Client Consent to Annual Rate Increase) back to subcommittee for continued study.
GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE ACTION
The Grievance Committee considered 414 files this quarter, 327of which were dismissed (79%).
In the 87 files considered at the October 30 meeting, the committee authorized the following dispositions:
-
Referral of 8 files (involving 9 lawyers) to the DHC
-
Referral of 6 files to the Trust Accounting Compliance Program
-
Referral of 1 lawyer (involving 4 files) to the Lawyers Assistance Program
-
Dismissal of 3 files with Letters of Caution
-
Dismissal of 12 files with Letters of Warning
-
Admonitions in 12 files
-
Reconsidered and admonished in 1 file
-
Reprimand in 8 files
-
Censure in 6 files
-
Reconsidered and censured in 9 files
-
Dismissal in 7 files
-
Reconsidered and abated in 1 file
RULE AMENDMENTS
Amendments Adopted - Pending Supreme Court Approval
At its meeting on October 31, 2025, the council voted to adopt the following proposed rule amendments:
Proposed Amendments to the Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law in the State of North Carolina
The amendments (1) establish a new requirement that general and transfer applicants complete a North Carolina State-Specific Component Examination on Decedents’ Estates and Trusts, effective for applications filed on or after November 15, 2027, and May 1, 2028, respectively; (2) revise fee structures for general and supplemental applications beginning with the July 2028 bar examination; (3) formally recognize the NextGen UBE as part of the Uniform Bar Examination administered in North Carolina with the first administration of the NextGen UBE in North Carolina to occur in July of 2028; (4) create a no-fee admission process for military spouse comity applicants, and clarify application requirements for servicemembers; (5) clarify filing and good standing definitions, including discretion to waive certain certification requirements related to bar dues; and (6) confirm that bar exam answers will not be regraded and provide updated procedures for score disclosure and exam review.
Proposed Rule Amendments for Publication
At its meeting on October 31, 2025, the council voted to publish for comment the following proposed rule amendments:
Proposed Amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct 27 NCAC 02, Rule 1.10, Imputation of Conflicts of Interest
-
The proposed amendments permit the North Carolina Department of Justice and public defender offices to resolve imputed conflicts of interest by timely screening the disqualified lawyer and providing written notice as described in the Rules.
Proposed Amendments to the Rules Governing Discipline and Disability 27 NCAC 01B, Rule .0133, Confidentiality
-
The proposed amendments clarify existing exceptions to grievance confidentiality and specify that the State Bar may reveal the existence of a grievance investigation in connection with a petition for noncompliance suspension pursuant to 27 NCAC 1B, .0135.
Proposed Amendments to the Rules Governing the Board of Law Examiners and the Training of Law Students 27 NCAC 01C, Rule .0105, Approval of Law Schools
-
The proposed amendment to the rules governing admission to the NC State Bar modifies the acceptable education requirements to include other legal degrees if the applicant has also been licensed in another US jurisdiction.
Proposed Amendments to the Rules Governing Reinstatement 27 NCAC 01D, Rule .0902, Reinstatement from Inactive Status
-
The proposed amendments allow time spent as the spouse of a military service member who is required to relocate outside North Carolina due to military orders to offset years of inactive status.
Proposed Amendments to the Rules Governing Suspension 27 NCAC 01D, Rule .0904, Reinstatement from Suspension
-
The proposed amendments allow time spent as the spouse of a military service member who is required to relocate outside North Carolina due to military orders to offset years of suspended status.
A full-text version of the proposed amendments is available in the Winter 2025 Journal and on the State Bar’s website. The council welcomes your comments on these proposed rule amendments. Comments may be submitted by email to comments@ncbar.gov.
Filed Under: General News
