Admission to the North Carolina State Bar is the responsibility of the North Carolina Board of Law Examiners. An application and information about admission may be obtained by calling the board at (919) 828-4886 or writing to the board at P.O. Box 2946, Raleigh, NC 27601 or 1 Exchange Plaza, Suite 700, Raleigh NC 27601.

The Client Security Fund was established by the North Carolina Supreme Court by order dated August 29, 1984. The fund is administered by a standing board of the North Carolina State Bar Council. Its purpose is to reimburse, in whole or in part in appropriate cases and subject to the provisions and limitations of the Supreme Court's orders and these rules, clients who have suffered financial loss as the result of dishonest conduct of lawyers engaged in the private practice of law in North Carolina. Financial loss as a result of dishonest conduct of a lawyer prior to January 1, 1985 is not reimbursed.

See 27 NCAC 1D, Section .1400.

Yes.

Reimbursable losses are losses of money or property that satisfy the following conditions:

Certain losses are specifically declared by the rules to be non-reimbursable. See 27 NCAC 1D, Rule .1401(b)(8). They are:

The fund only reimburses the actual amount embezzled or misappropriated by the attorney. It does not reimburse any related additional losses or damages, such as interest, fees paid to another attorney to represent the applicant against the attorney or before the Client Security Fund Board, penalties for late payment of taxes, and the like.

No. Any reimbursement by the fund is within the sole discretion of the board and not a matter of right. For any amount to be paid, the claim must first be shown to be one that is a reimbursable loss. Further, in deciding whether to pay any or all of a claim, the board may consider such things as the financial condition of the fund, any negligence of the applicant that contributed to the loss, the comparative hardship the applicant suffered because of the loss, the total amount of reimbursable losses in previous years for which complete reimbursement has not yet been made, the total assets of the fund, and the amount of insurance or other sources of funds available to compensate an applicant for a reimbursable loss.

Yes. The fund does not reimburse otherwise reimbursable losses sustained by any one applicant as a result of dishonest conduct of one attorney in an amount exceeding $100,000.00.

When a written application is filed, it is investigated by an investigator employed by the fund. When the investigation is complete, the application is placed on the agenda of a quarterly meeting of the Client Security Fund Board. A copy of the application is sent to the attorney who is alleged to have committed dishonest conduct. When the board meets, it may request testimony from the applicant or others having knowledge of the facts, and the attorney will be given an opportunity to be heard if requested. The application, investigation, reports, and hearing are confidential unless and until the board authorizes reimbursement or the attorney requests that the matter be made public. However, relevant information may be provided by the board to disciplinary committees of the North Carolina State Bar or anyone else to whom the council of the North Carolina State Bar authorizes release of information.

See 27 NCAC 1D, Sections .1500 and .1600.

An active member of the North Carolina State Bar who does not qualify for an exemption must take twelve (12) hours of approved CLE during each calendar year. Of the twelve (12) CLE hours, at least 2 must be devoted to the area of professional responsibility (ethics) or professionalism. At least once every three calendar years, you must attend a specially designed three-hour block course of instruction devoted exclusively to the area of professional responsibility or professionalism (or some combination thereof). See 27 NCAC 1D, Rule .1518.

Yes, members may carry over into the next calendar year up to twelve (12) credit hours. Newly admitted members may carry over into the next year any approved CLE hours earned after the member's graduation from law school. See 27 NCAC 1D, Rule .1518.

If the deficit is cured in January or February of the subsequent year, there is no penalty monetary or otherwise. If the deficit is not cured within this time frame, you may be subject to monetary penalties or suspension. See 27 NCAC 1D, Rules .1523.

Yes. You are entitled to three hours of CLE credit for every one-half hour of actual instruction. To report this time to the CLE department, complete CLE Form 7, "Request for CLE Credit by Teacher of an Approved Continuing Legal Education Activity." See the State Bar forms elsewhere in the Handbook.

For every CLE hour for which you seek credit on your CLE record with the State Bar, you will be assessed a fee of $2.25. Accredited sponsors typically collect this fee with the tuition for a program and forward the money to the CLE department of the State Bar. When the fee is not paid by the sponsor, the lawyer is responsible for the fee and the fee will be assessed with the annual report form mailed to you in January of each year. Of the $2.25 per credit hour assessed, $1.25 is used to support the CLE program of the State Bar and $1.00 is sent to the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism to support its program to enhance the professionalism of North Carolina lawyers.

Yes, an active member of the bar may qualify for one of the specified exemptions listed at 27 NCAC 1D, Rule .1517, or apply to the Board of Continuing Legal Education for an exemption based upon disability, hardship, or extenuating circumstances pursuant to 27 NCAC 1D, Rule .1607.

No. To be exempt from the mandatory dues, a lawyer must change his or her membership status in the North Carolina State Bar to inactive. To learn more about inactive status, return to the FAQ menu and click on "Membership."

Call the CLE department at (919) 733-0123 or write to the CLE department at P.O. 26148, Raleigh, NC 27611. See the following questions for information about the interim and annual report forms that are mailed to you by the CLE department.

Most sponsors of CLE seminars report the credit hours to the CLE department for you. Out- of-state sponsors and non-accredited sponsors may not report the hours to the CLE department. See the following questions for information on how to correct your CLE record.

Yes. In January of every calendar year, you will receive an annual report form showing all of the information that the CLE department has on your CLE credit hours for the entire preceding calendar year. This form must be signed and returned to the CLE department by the last day of February to avoid a $75.00 late penalty. If the form is incorrect, you may note corrections on the form prior to returning it to the CLE department. See 27 NCAC 1D, Rule .1522. If you have not fulfilled the CLE requirements, you are still required to return the form within the specified time period to avoid the late penalty.

You may correct the information on the annual report form (see preceding question). Also, in September of each year, you will receive an interim report form showing the information the CLE department has on your CLE credits through June 30 of the same year. If the form is incorrect or fails to include a course, you may correct the information on the form and return it to the CLE department.

Complete CLE form 3, "Request by Member of the North Carolina State Bar for Approval of a Continuing Legal Education Activity." See the State Bar forms elsewhere in the Handbook.

If the question relates to your own prospective conduct, you may telephone the State Bar at (919) 828-4620. There are three lawyers on the staff who answer ethics questions. If the question relates to the conduct of another lawyer, you must write to the State Bar for a response and send a copy of the letter to the lawyer whose conduct is at issue. This will give the other lawyer an opportunity to comment upon the inquiry. If the question relates to past conduct (your own or that of another lawyer), the staff may decline to answer. Also, inquiries that involve novel or controversial questions of legal ethics will not be answered over the telephone. You will be asked to put the question in writing and mail it to the Ethics Committee for its consideration at its next quarterly meeting.

Opinions given over the phone are informal. Oral ethics opinions provide feedback and guidance to lawyers who are trying to deal with difficult ethical dilemmas. Although an oral opinion is not a formal ethics ruling because it cannot be reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee, you may rely upon the advice you receive. If a grievance is subsequently filed against you, the fact that you sought the informal opinion of the State Bar and acted accordingly will be evidence of a good faith effort to comply with the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct.

Only written inquiries are sent to the Ethics Committee. If your inquiry involves the conduct of another lawyer, you will be asked to reduce the inquiry to writing for submission to the full committee. Questions involving matters of first impression or controversy are always sent to the full committee.

See 27 NCAC 1D, Section .0100.

Send a letter to the Ethics Committee at P.O. Box 25908, Raleigh, NC 27611. All letters of comment received prior to the next meeting of the Ethics Committee are provided to the members of the committee for consideration. Letters of comment should be sent as soon as possible after the publication of the proposed opinion to facilitate their inclusion in the materials mailed to the members of the Ethics Committee prior to the meeting.

All meetings of the Ethics Committee are public. The committee meets on a quarterly basis in conjunction with the State Bar Council's quarterly meetings in January, April, July, and October. Call the State Bar for the date and location of each meeting. At the meeting of the committee, if you are recognized by the chairperson, you will be given the floor to comment briefly on a proposed opinion or new inquiry.

No. Your inquiry will become part of the records of the State Bar. As a state agency, the records of the State Bar are public. You may want to state your inquiry in a hypothetical format to avoid improper disclosure of confidential client information.

Yes. An opinion will not be provided if the material facts of the inquiry are in dispute or the inquiry requires an interpretation of law rather than legal ethics. A written inquiry that discloses a possible violation of the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct may be referred to the Grievance Committee of the State Bar for investigation. If an oral inquiry discloses a possible violation of the Revised Rules, the caller may be encouraged to report the matter to the State Bar. Inquiries relative to a conflict of interest that is the subject of a motion to disqualify pending before a tribunal will not be answered unless the tribunal requests the opinion of the State Bar.

While ethics opinions do not themselves have the force of law, they are regarded as definitive interpretations of the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct by the council of the North Carolina State Bar. As such, ethics opinions are often the basis upon which decisions are made by the Grievance Committee in regard to matters of alleged professional misconduct and by the Disciplinary Hearing Commission in regard to formal charges of professional misconduct. As final decisions of the North Carolina State Bar Council, ethics opinions are appealable under the terms of the Administrative Procedures Act to the Superior Court of Wake County.

North Carolina lawyers should regard the State Bar's ethics opinions as binding as a matter of professionalism. Although there is often disagreement as to conclusions reached by the Ethics Committee and the council, a lawyer who values his or her reputation as a true professional would never intentionally disregard an ethics opinion. Rather, such a lawyer should avail himself or herself of existing procedures to seek reconsideration of an opinion with which he or she disagrees.

An ethics opinion is not final until it is approved by the council of the State Bar. This usually occurs upon motion of the Ethics Committee at the quarterly meeting immediately following the publication of the proposed opinion. Proposed ethics opinions are published in the State Bar Journal after every quarterly meeting of the State Bar Council. If written comments or requests to be heard are received about a proposed opinion, it is reconsidered by the Ethics Committee at its next quarterly meeting. The committee may decide to revise the proposed opinion and republish it in the Journal for further comment or it may decide that the proposed opinion is the proper response to the inquiry and request that the council approve the opinion as published. A proposed opinion may go through the reconsideration process several times.

Rule 1.5(f) of the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct requires a lawyer with a dispute with a client over a legal fee to notify the client of the North Carolina State Bar's program of nonbinding fee arbitration at least 30 days prior to initiating a legal proceeding to collect the disputed fee.

A fee is in dispute if the client questions or objects to the amount billed. Also, if a client fails to pay the bill, it is assumed that the fee is disputed unless the client affirms the obligation in writing or verbally. If a client pays by a check that is subsequently returned for insufficient funds, it is assumed that the client has affirmed the obligation and the lawyer is not required to notify the client of the fee arbitration program.

The client must be notified of the right to participate in the fee arbitration program at least 30 days before filing suit against the client to collect the fee. See Rule 1.5(f) of the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct. A sample notice letter may be found in the forms section elsewhere in this Handbook.

Yes. Although a lawyer does not ultimately intend to sue a client to collect a fee if the client fails to pay, a lawyer may nevertheless seek the client's participation in the fee arbitration program in an effort to collect the fee or some portion thereof.

See 27 NCAC 1B, Section .0100.

See 27 NCAC 1B, Section .0200.

Yes, you can usually get more time to respond. To request additional time, call the North Carolina State Bar at (919) 828-4620 and ask to speak to the staff lawyer assigned to your grievance. The lawyer has authority to give you additional time to respond if the circumstances so warrant.

If you have a question about a complaint that has been filed against you, call the State Bar at (919) 828-4620 and ask to speak to the staff attorney assigned to the complaint. If you don't know the staff attorney's name, the receptionist will assist you.

No. A letter of notice is a communication to a respondent setting forth the substance of the complaint that has been filed with the State Bar. A letter of notice is not a pleading or an accusation by the State Bar against you. However, you must respond to the letter of notice in a timely fashion. Failure to respond may be an independent basis for discipline. See 27 NCAC 1B, Rule .0112(c).

No, generally you do not need a lawyer to prepare your response. However, there are several lawyers who regularly handle matters before the Grievance Committee of the State Bar and the Disciplinary Hearing Commission. You may contact the State Bar to obtain the names of these lawyers.

No. The proceedings of the Grievance Committee are closed to the public. The committee decides all matters on the written submissions and does not take testimony.

As a member of the North Carolina State Bar, you must comply with the rules of the State Bar. Rule .0112(c) of the Discipline and Disability Rules (27 NCAC 1B, Section .0100) states that a lawyer must respond to a letter of notice within 15 days and the response must be "a full and fair disclosure of all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the alleged misconduct."

The time it takes for the Grievance Committee to rule on a grievance depends upon the complexity of the case. The Grievance Committee meets once a quarter in January, April, July, and October. At each meeting, the committee considers all files on which the investigation by the State Bar staff was completed during the preceding quarter.

Not all judicial districts have local grievance committees. Also, whether a file is sent to a local grievance committee depends upon the nature of the complaint and the caseload of the local committee. Grievances involving allegations of criminal misconduct or financial wrongdoing are never sent to the local grievance committees.

You may request that your identity be held in confidence and, generally, the State Bar is able to comply with this request. However, the State Bar may reveal the identity of a reporting lawyer to the accused lawyer if such disclosure is required by law, by considerations of due process, or where identification of the reporting lawyer is essential to the preparation of the lawyer's defense to the grievance or formal disciplinary complaint. See 27 NCAC 1B, Rule .0111(d).

Because of the State Bar's confidentiality rules, a lawyer who reports alleged misconduct of another member of the bar but who is not identified as the complaining party is not advised of the progress of the investigation or outcome of the complaint, unless the State Bar actually takes some public action in the matter.

In disciplinary matters, lawyers are not charged with violations of ethics opinions. Rather, they are charged with violations of the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct. Ethics opinions do not themselves have the force of law. However, they are regarded as definitive interpretations of the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct by the council of the North Carolina State Bar. As such, ethics opinions are often the basis upon which decisions are made by the Grievance Committee in regard to matters of alleged professional misconduct and by the Disciplinary Hearing Commission in regard to formal charges of professional misconduct.