Jul., 2011 - Mecklenburg County Bar

2012 MCB Pictorial Membership Directory
Feature your firm in the
Blue Pages/Areas of
Concentration Listings
Over 5,000 MCB Directories are distributed annually. The 2012 edition will feature the
professional photographs of more than 2,000 MCB members and will certainly be a reference tool
for years to come.
The blue pages or "Areas of Concentration" are an invaluable listing of attorneys, indexed by
specific areas of practice. Attorneys listed in the blue pages under their area(s) of practice are at
the fingertips of anyone needing to make a referral or find an attorney in a specialized area of law.
To list yourself in the blue pages, visit www.MeckBar.org.
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL - PRICES VALID THROUGH AUGUST 12, 2011
Price increases by $25 for your first listing after August 12.
• First Area of Concentration - $100*
• Each additional specialty - $25*
• Listings marked with specific multilingual designation - single fee of $25 for all your
multilingual listings
To be included in the 2011-12 MCB Pictorial Membership Directory, we must receive your
order AND payment by September 19, 2011.
*All fees apply to each participating attorney, not each firm.
Update from the Office of
Indigent Defense Services
Some Mecklenburg County attorneys may soon need refresher courses in criminal law and
evidence.
The Office of Indigent Defense Services has notified North Carolina attorneys, judges and
clerks that hourly rates for court appointed counsel in criminal cases have been reduced, effective
May 2, 2011. The change comes as the N.C. General Assembly has indicated that the budget for
IDS will be severely reduced due to the current state budget problems.
The reduction in hourly rates has raised concern among court officials in Mecklenburg County
that many attorneys will opt to drop off the list from which court appointed attorneys are
appointed, leading to a shortage of attorneys willing to represent indigent defendants in criminal
cases. Planning has begun to address the potential shortage.
The hourly rate for Class A through D felonies in Superior Court will be $70. For all other
cases disposed of in Superior Court, the hourly rate will be $60. For cases disposed of in District
Court, the hourly rate will be $70 if the most serious original charge was a Class A through D
felony. The hourly rate for all other cases in District Court will be $55.
Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Richard D. Boner said recently that, in a worst case
scenario, all licensed attorneys practicing in Mecklenburg County could be subject to
appointment in criminal cases, regardless of the attorney’s practice specialty.
“Everyone from the senior partner of the largest law firm to the newest associate will be on the
list of court appointed attorneys. Real estate lawyers, estate lawyers, trial lawyers, everyone could
be drafted. No one will be exempt,” Judge Boner said.
Judge Boner and other court officials doubt that a mass draft will become necessary, but they
want to be ready to implement such a measure.
Submit Dues
and Contact
Information
by Sept. 30
Membership Dues Late Fee
A $15 late fee will be imposed on all dues
payments not received by September 30,
2011. You may pay your dues at
www.MeckBar.org or mail your invoice and
check to Mecklenburg County Bar, 438
Queens Rd., Charlotte, NC 28207.
Update Your Contact Information
Please update your contact information if it
has changed. You may log-in to your account
on www.MeckBar.org to confirm and/or edit
your current contact information or e-mail Jill
Wiggins at jwiggins@meckbar.org. All
changes must be made by September 30,
2011 to be reflected in the MCB 2011-12
Membership Directory.
Editorial Policy
The Mecklenburg Bar News accepts editorial
and advertising material of general legal
interest to the practicing Bar of the 26th
Judicial District. The implicit purposes of the
newsletter, website, and related methods of
communication are to educate members of
the Mecklenburg County Bar and to create
and maintain shared communication with its
members. The Communications Committee
reserves the right to accept, reject, or edit all
material.
DISCLAIMER Efforts will be made to provide
information of interest that is timely, accurate,
and relevant to the legal community. The
Mecklenburg County Bar is not responsible
for misprints, typographical errors, or
misinformation in The Mecklenburg Bar News.
The views and opinions are not necessarily
those of the 26th Judicial District Bar.
Communications Committee: J.P. Davis, Chair,
Justin Carpenter, Alan Edmonds, Bob
Johnston, Charles Keller, Rhea Kelley,
Hannah Little, Carrie Mansfield, Chara
Moore, Phillip Lewis, Nancy Roberson,
Michael Shor, Rob Wick
www.MeckBar.org July 2011 3