8:55 Welcome and Introductions
Gain insight into your day and understand why the PNA program was created and is required for new lawyers and lawyers who are new to North Carolina (or have practiced law for five years or less).
9:00 Why Professionalism Is Important to You*
Kimberly Overton Spahos, North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys, Raleigh
In this dynamic session, hear from experts some ways you can ensure a positive, professional reputation. Review basic professionalism concepts, the professionalism checklist, personal conflicts and much more.
10:00 Break
10:10 Overview of the North Carolina State Bar*
Savannah B. Perry, North Carolina State Bar, Raleigh
Gain a comprehensive understanding of the North Carolina State Bar and what is required of you. Discuss the regulatory framework, obligations of membership and reporting misconduct (Rule 8.3). Learn about NC State Bar programs and committees, including LAP, IOLTA, CLE, Authorized Practice and Administrative Committees, legal specialization, client security fraud, and fee dispute resolution.
10:40 Break
10:50 Inner Workings of the Law Office*
Catherine S. Reach, North Carolina Bar Association, Cary
Learn the basics of law office operations, including budgeting, case and file management, training and supervising employees, and marketing. Obtain resources available through the NC State Bar and other organizations and discuss the importance of mentoring.
11:35 Break
11:45 Technology and Your Responsibility to Your Clients*‡
Catherine S. Reach, North Carolina Bar Association, Cary
Receive an overview of the technology necessary to build a law office support system and hear stories about the best and worst practices. Explore technology’s impact on ethical responsibilities, the ethical considerations of social media, conflict controls and risk of spoliation of evidence.
12:45 Lunch Break
1:15 Welcome Message
Josh McIntyre, Director of Membership and Communities, North Carolina Bar Association, Cary
1:20 Getting Lost in Our Own Lives†
Thomas R. Holt, Bagwell Holt Smith PA, Chapel Hill
Your hard work has paid off and sometimes finding the harmony between work and personal time is difficult. Hear practical tips for successfully finding a balance, the hazards to watch out for and the resources available to help.
2:20 Break
2:30 Dealing with the Courts*
Judge Carl R. Fox, North Carolina Superior Court, Hillsborough
In this highly engaging session, receive pointers that will positively influence your presence in the courts. Examine Rule 3.3 and Rule 11, courtroom decorum and setting realistic goals for your practice.
3:30 Break
3:40 What I Didn't Learn in Law School*
Andrew P. Atkins, Smith Anderson Blount Dorsett Mitchell & Jernigan LLP, Raleigh
Kristen M. Kirby, McGuireWoods LLP, Raleigh (Moderator)
Sheila R. Spence, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Durham
Although it is an essential prerequisite that lays the foundation for practicing law, there are many skills that law school doesn't teach you. Learn from members of our Young Lawyers Division as they share helpful tips acquired from real-world experience and provide other useful information that you can implement in your daily practice.
4:25 Adjourn
*Indicates portion providing Ethics/Professional Responsibility credit
†Indicates portion providing Substance Abuse/Mental Health credit
‡Indicates portion providing Technology Training credit
Thank you for joining us today for day one of Professionalism for New Attorneys (PNA) We'll see you tomorrow.
The North Carolina Bar Association is your home for the best continuing legal education, professional development and networking. As a first-year attorney at PNA, the NCBA welcomes you into the profession.
Andrew P. Atkins is an attorney at Smith Anderson in Raleigh as a member of the firm's Construction and Commercial Litigation practice groups. He is a seasoned construction attorney with significant experience in litigation and contracting. He also co-chairs the Real Estate Litigation practice at the firm. He represents owners, contractors and developers in multi-party disputes involving public and private commercial projects. He regularly counsels clients on risk management issues and claim development during construction.
Andrew has significant experience in mediation, litigation, and arbitration and has been involved in projects across North Carolina, throughout the southeast, in Puerto Rico and in Eastern Europe. He has been involved in numerous cases with millions of documents produced in discovery and is able to assist clients in the development of strategies to efficiently process and produce large volumes of documents while minimizing discovery costs. Based on his experience, he serves as the firm's eDiscovery Partner-In-Charge. He also regularly represents clients before the various North Carolina construction-related licensing boards and counsels them on applicable laws and rules.
Andrew is committed to public service. Most recently, he was appointed by Speaker Tim Moore to the North Carolina Rules Review Commission where he serves as 1st Vice Chair. He was previously appointed by Chief Justice Mark Martin as a Reporter on the North Carolina Commission on the Administration of Law Justice. He has also served in several roles within the North Carolina Bar Association and the American Bar Association's Construction Forum.
Prior to joining Smith Anderson, Andrew served as a Judicial Law Clerk to Justice Mark Martin, Supreme Court of North Carolina. He also practiced at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, United States Department of the Treasury (OCC), where he often worked with national banks on regulatory matters affecting their business operations and pursued enforcement actions on behalf of the OCC.
Andrew earned his B.A. in Political Science, with honors, and Economics, with highest distinction, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his J.D., with high honors, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law.
Click here for more information about Andrew.
Judge Carl R. Fox received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After law school, he served as an Assistant District Attorney in Chatham and Orange counties (Prosecutorial District 15B) for over six years. He then served as the elected District Attorney for over twenty years. In 2005, Judge Fox became a Superior Court Judge for Judicial District 15B and is retiring as Senior Resident Superior Court Judge.
Judge Fox is involved in numerous professional and civic activities. He currently serves on the SECU Family House Steering Committee and formerly with the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism.
Click here for more information about Judge Fox.
Thomas R. Holt graduated from Davis & Elkins College in 1980 and from the University of North Carolina School of Law, Chapel Hill in 1990. He lives in Chapel Hill and is a partner at Bagwell Holt Smith PA. Areas of Practice include Residential and Commercial Real Estate. Mr. Holt is a member of the Orange County Bar Association, North Carolina Bar Association, North Carolina State Bar and the North Carolina State Bar Lawyer Assistance Program. He was recipient of the North Carolina Chief Justice's LAP service award in 2013.
Click here for more information about Mr. Holt.
Kristen M. Kirby is a partner at McGuireWoods LLP in Raleigh. Her practice focuses on public finance transactions. She has served as bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, bank counsel, and borrower’s counsel for a variety of tax-exempt transactions, including multifamily housing revenue bonds, 501(c)(3) bonds for colleges, universities, schools, including charter schools, and other nonprofits, private activity bonds, and industrial development bonds.
Kristen is a 2009 cum laude graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law. She is the current chair of the Young Lawyers Division of the North Carolina Bar Association. She is also an executive committee member of North Carolina Bar Association Board of Governors and member of the North Carolina Bar Foundation, Board of Directors.
Click here for more information about Kristen.
Josh McIntyre serves as Director of Membership & Communities for the North Carolina Bar Association. He joined the NCBA as Director of Membership in 2015, and transitioned into his expanded role in 2019.
McIntyre came the NCBA from Kaplan Test Prep, where he served as Senior Regional Director for the Kaplan Bar Review. He has also served as an attorney with Shipman and Wright in Wilmington and as Director of Youth Ministries for the First Presbyterian Church of Lumberton, his hometown.
McIntyre is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC School of Law.
McIntyre and his wife, Sarah, who is also an attorney, reside in Durham. He is a member of the Durham County Bar and the Durham Expunction & Restoration Program, and serves on their boards, and the National Association of Bar Executives, where he is a member of the Professional Development Committee.
Click here for more information about McIntyre.
Savannah B. Perry works as deputy counsel at the North Carolina State Bar Office of Counsel in Raleigh, where she prosecutes attorney misconduct.
Savannah earned her B.A. in English from Appalachian State University, her Master of Trust and Wealth Management, magna cum laude, from Campbell University and her J.D. from Campbell Law School.
Click here for more information about Savannah.
Catherine Sanders Reach is Director for the Center for Practice Management at the North Carolina Bar Association, providing practice technology and management assistance to lawyers and legal professionals. Formerly she was Director, Law Practice Management and Technology for the Chicago Bar Association and the Director at the American Bar Association's Legal Technology Resource Center.
Prior to her work at the NCBA, CBA and ABA she worked in library and information science environments for a number of years, working at Ross and Hardies as a librarian. She received a master's degree in Library and Information Studies from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa in 1997.
Catherine's professional activities include articles published in Law Practice magazine, Law Technology News and GPSolo Magazine, as well as numerous other publications. She has given presentations on the use of technology in law firms for national bar conferences, state and local bar associations and organizations such as the National Association of Bar Council and the Association of American Law Schools. In 2011 she was selected to be one of the inaugural Fastcase 50, celebrating fifty innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the field of law and in 2013 became a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management. She served on the ABA TECHSHOW Board from 2007-2009, 2014-2016 and is co-vice chair in 2019.
Click here for more information about Catherine. Connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Kimberly Overton Spahos serves as the Chief Resource Prosecutor with the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys in Cary, North Carolina. Her responsibilities include identification of training topics, curriculum development and implementation.
Kimberly has served as faculty for thousands of courses sponsored by numerous criminal justice organizations throughout the world. Lecturing in more than 40 states and 3 countries, she has been instrumental in the creation of an “out of the box” approach to curriculum development and course production.
Click here for more information about Kimberly.
Sheila R. Spence is Senior Legal Counsel at JMP Statistical Discovery LLC in Durham, a wholly owned subsidiary of SAS Institute Inc.
Previously she served as Corporate Counsel at NantHealth, Inc., a healthcare technology company located in Morrisville, NC and as a Staff Attorney and Strategic Policy Consultant at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. She provides transactional support for various business areas concerning privacy, data security, technology, corporate, and commercial transactions. She earned the Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) designation from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
Sheila has been honored as the recipient of the Charles F. Blanchard Young Lawyer of the Year Award, by the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) Young Lawyers Division (YLD) for her distinguished and meritorious community service to the bar. She currently serves as the YLD Secretary and on the NCBA Corporate Counsel Council.
Sheila earned B.A. in English the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law.
Click here for more information about Sheila.
A special thanks to North Carolina Bar Foundation Endowment for a grant which helps support this PNA program.
