Your private partner is not your friend. They may all be nice people, and they may have a friendly demeanor in your meetings -- but they are not in your community to do you a favor. You need to look out for yourself, and be sure to verify everything they tell you....

In Buckley, LLP v Series 1 of Oxford Ins. Comp., the North Carolina Supreme Court (per curiam) upheld a Business Court decision finding that records of an internal company investigation, even if carried out by an attorney, are not necessarily protected by the...

We have written previously (here and here) about the relationship between public records and a lawyer’s duty to maintain confidentiality for clients. As we’ve written, just because something is a public record, that doesn’t mean it’s not confidential information in...

(Because 1Ls don’t have time for another Top Ten list.) 1 - Law school is something you’re doing, not who you are. Tape that reminder to your bathroom mirror if you have to. Some aspects of law school and the legal profession are designed to hammer your soul if you’ll...

Over the last few months, we have worked as bond counsel with two towns that wanted to assemble land for economic development, and that needed to borrow money to pay for the land. The towns took different approaches that illustrate the flexibility available for this...

Most of us have heard of the “Black Tax,” a shorthand reference to the ways that the structure of our society and economy imposes extra financial burdens on Black folks. It shows up even in our lovely little world of municipal finance. Black Tax: Evidence of Racial...

            We have been working as special counsel to the Town of Fletcher to facilitate a public-private partnership to redevelop the Heart of Fletcher downtown area. Our team, led by Ashley Anderson, has worked with the Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, and...

We wrote previously about North Carolina legislation proposed last year that proposed changes to the rules for authorizing general obligation bond referenda under the guise of “bond referendum transparency.” Those provisions have now been enacted into law, with no...

As of January 1, 2022, elected officials may not participate in making or administering contracts to nonprofit organizations with which they are associated. This prohibition is part of SB 473 which aims to prohibit conflicts of interest among local...

Lawyers often ask their local government clients to waive conflicts of interest. Here are some suggested rules for how a local government should handle conflict waiver requests from its outside lawyers: Rule #1 Keep in mind that it’s in the outside lawyer’s interest...