The Wake County Bar is a collegial bar.  It is an association of lawyers in which friendship and social engagement among colleagues is encouraged.  Another noteworthy characteristic of the Wake County Bar is politeness.  It is one of the first things I noticed about the members of this bar when I moved here from the Midwest.  At first, I thought this was indicative of all bars in North Carolina.  However, after traveling across the state throughout my years of practice, I have come to appreciate that it is one of the things that can make practicing here pretty special.  If you have ever practiced law outside of Wake County, particularly in other areas of the country, you know that politeness in zealous advocacy is not widely cultivated and is not practiced everywhere.  Especially in the litigation context, pulling off strong advocacy while maintaining politeness is a skill.  It is not a skill that is taught in law school, but rather, a training that most typically occurs through mentorship – something else that is a hallmark of practice in Wake County.  At its best, politeness is the outward display of respect and consideration for others.  But what about when it isn’t?  What about when it is used as cloak to cover the need to address critical issues that require discussion to move toward a solution? 

Politeness can make difficult situations more bearable and feel better.  However, it can also be the facade behind which we hide to avoid difficult discussions about important and necessary topics. To be polite is not always synonymous with, or the exclusive province of, best.  Sometimes it is the audacious group that moves the needle forward.  The ones who dare to speak when no response could be presented and accepted as the polite thing to do are, at times, the persons who advance us closer to our aims.  I believe people can be audacious, daring, and polite.  We all certainly can think of someone, whom we regard as polite and kind, that made a bold move and was key to the group reaching a very lofty goal.  Politeness has value and contributes to good, but we would be wise to remember its dark side.

The dark side of politeness is revealed when, in the name of politeness, we avoid tough conversations about vital subjects.  In the legal profession, we must guard against the dark side of politeness because discourse is essential to our problem solving.  Different professions solve problems in different ways.  For example, engineers solve problems by: (1) reasonably defining the problem, (2) observing and investigating to ascertain what is known, (3) determining what tools are available and appropriate, and (4) then applying such tools to generate a solution.  As lawyers, we are trained to solve problems differently.  We are presented with a claim, then through questioning, and sometimes interrogation, we dialogue to determine the validity of that claim and settle on an answer.  We all have at least one memory of a first-year law school class in which we were first introduced to the Socratic Method.  From the very beginning of our careers, we were conditioned to obtain resolution through questioning and discourse.

As a society and a profession, we have some important societal ills that continue to plague us that we often use the dark side of politeness to ignore.  As our Wake County Bar continues to do its part to foster and further diversity, equity, and inclusion, conversations about the vestiges of racism and gender bias will be essential, and at times, uncomfortable.  It may be tempting during the difficult moments to seek shelter on the dark side of politeness.  If you find yourself trending toward the dark side of politeness as an escape during such moments, remember that as lawyers, an important part of our contribution to the ability to solve a problem is to discuss it.  For us, if we are too polite to discuss the challenging issues, we are not likely to make strides toward a solution.  My hope is that we will use politeness to help us HAVE difficult conversations, not as a cover to hide the fact that such discussions need to occur. 

As attorneys, most of us know how rewarding it can be to mentor law students. Whether we are supervising their internships, coaching their mock trial or moot court teams, or participating in a formal mentorship program, few aspects of our profession are as personally satisfying as observing the development of a person from student to professional colleague and knowing you played a part in their success.

Anyone who regularly serves as a mentor or supervisor for student interns, however, knows there is one part of the experience that can be daunting: writing a letter of recommendation. After investing your time in a student over the course of an internship, you feel personally invested in their success. You really care about them and their career, and you want to do everything you can to help them achieve their goals. You want hiring managers and other attorneys to see all the great things about your mentee that you see. But recommendation letters weren’t taught in your legal writing course, and most of us don’t deal with them every day. It can be hard to know how to approach the task.

For nearly two years, I served as Administrative Counsel to Chief Justice Cheri Beasley. In that capacity, I hired and supervised dozens of interns—which means I’ve written lots of recommendation letters and I’ve read many, many more. Along the way, I’ve developed a few ideas about writing a strong recommendation letter—some philosophy of approach, rather than a go-by, because every letter should be unique to the person you’re recommending. I hope some of these ideas will be useful to you!

Start how you mean to finish

A good recommendation letter is specific. It contains details about the student’s work product that will be relevant to the position for which they are applying. Rather than simply noting that the student performed legal research for you, it might indicate that they drafted a dozen memos for you, including a particularly useful one on an issue of first impression related to the intersection of state and federal law in the Indian Child Welfare Act.

The problem is this: you might be writing the letter a year or more after the student has completed their internship with you, and you’ve probably had several other interns in the interim. There’s no way you will remember sufficient details to write an effective recommendation letter.

I recommend keeping a thorough record of each intern’s work so that you can refer back to it. Start this on the intern’s first day in your office. Keep a file with a list of everything they’ve worked on, a copy of their work product, and some notes about your impressions of their work and work habits. Was the work responsive to the assignment? Did the student discover and research an extra issue you hadn’t considered? Did they volunteer to take on an extra project that proved useful to you? Did you have a moment while working with them that you felt particularly impressed or proud of their work? Write it down immediately!

When you sit down to write the recommendation letter a year later, you’ll be able to write with a specificity that stands out among a sea of generic letters.

Share the burden

The recordkeeping I recommend might sound like a burdensome extra task, but it doesn’t have to be. I recommend having the intern do most of it. Explain to them on their first day that they are responsible for maintaining a log and portfolio of their work and the purpose for the file. Encourage them to add notes to the file when you have praised them for their work, always remembering that this information will be the basis for their future recommendation letters.

Next, when it’s time to draft the letter, ask your student to write the first draft. If they’ve done their homework about the position for which they’re applying, they probably have a better idea than you do about which of their skills should be emphasized. They know what they’ve put in their cover letter and resume that they want you to corroborate. And they have the motivation to do a great job on the task—it is, after all, their career that will be impacted.

In addition to making your life easier, these two practices have an added bonus: they encourage your student to begin the practice of self-advocacy. It gives them an opportunity to recognize, reflect on, and internalize their successes over the course of their internship. The portfolio not only enables you to look back and articulate why your intern is great, but they will be able to do the same for themselves! And writing about themselves in the third person, from the perspective of a person who is impressed by them and supportive of them, rather than from the first-person, self-critical perspective most of us normally inhabit, will empower them and instill confidence. These are skills your intern will need throughout their career as they negotiate for themselves regarding salaries, benefits, promotions, etc. and it’s not one that always comes naturally.

Keep it professional

A recommendation letter is a high stakes document. It can mean the difference between your intern receiving an interview or not. I advise treating the letter like you would any other work product—like a letter to opposing counsel or a submission to the court.

Remember that humor, sarcasm, and irony don’t translate easily on the printed page. At best, you might make a hiring manager chuckle, but it won’t result in an advantage to the candidate. At worst, the joke lands badly and you’ve only amused yourself at the expense of your mentee. Most of us wouldn’t gamble with those odds when representing a client, and we shouldn’t do so when our mentees’ careers are on the line either.

Follow up

When a student asks you to write a recommendation letter for them, they are telling you that you have played a meaningful role in their professional development. They are inviting you to take a heightened interest in their career. Do so!

After some time has passed since you’ve submitted your recommendation, follow up with your intern. Ask them if they’ve heard anything from the potential employer. Offer to call someone on their behalf if appropriate, and ask if there’s more you can do to help them in their job search. And once your intern has landed in a position they love, let them know how proud of them you are.

And congratulate yourself just a little bit, also, for the small part you’ve played in the development of the profession!  There are few things more critical to promoting professionalism among attorneys than helping to properly mentor and train the next generation of lawyers.  

Andrew Whiteman
Whiteman Law Firm

On Friday, January 8, I woke up as I usually do, excited for another day of interesting and challenging legal work at Whiteman Law Firm. I thought I might even knock off a little early, go for a run, and get a jump on the weekend.

My day ended up being vastly different than what I expected. When I logged into my system, I was greeted with a message that stated all my files had been encrypted and the only way to restore the files was to pay a ransom of $60,000, in bitcoin, within 72 hours. The cyber attackers threatened that if I didn’t pay they would post all of my files on a public website.

Luckily, I survived this event, got my files back, and now have a more robust and secure system that hopefully will better protect me from future attacks. But it was a close call and resulted in significant downtime and stress.

Ransomware attacks can happen to anyone. Big firms such as DLA Piper and Seyfarth Shaw have been hit. And, as I found out, being small doesn’t mean that attackers will leave you alone. According to an article published last year on Corporate Counsel’s website, over 50% of ransomware attacks are on firms that have less than 20 lawyers.

“Security through obscurity” is a thing of the past.

I quickly learned that paying the ransom is not a good option. The FBI advises that businesses that pay the ransom have their files restored only 50% of the time.

The key to surviving a ransomware attack is to have solid back-up protection. I feel lucky that my back-up plan worked. My server backed up daily to a local storage device and a cloud storage service. The first thing the attackers did was to hack into my cloud storage service and close my account. Then they encrypted all files maintained on my server and the local back-up device. The only thing that saved me was that the cloud storage service had redundancy, but it took three days before the company was able to locate a back-up of the deleted files. Needless to say, I spent a long weekend worrying about whether I would ever see my client files again.

I am better protected now. I ditched my local server and now have my entire system maintained on a remote server managed by my IT consultants. Key components of my firm’s case management system - e-mail, calendar, and contacts – are now available online so that even if my consultant’s server goes down I can continue to function while the system is being restored.

My advice: Contact your IT consultant right away and ask for an assessment of your vulnerabilities. You may need to upgrade to more secure equipment. In my case, an outdated router was the point of vulnerability. Maintaining your system on a shared server that is professionally-managed will likely provide better security than you can achieve with a local server. If you prefer to use a server that you can see, make sure you have its contents backed-up daily to a cloud storage company. Choose a cloud storage provider that will not permit your stored files to be deleted without authentication of the request through a text message or other secure means. Consider a cyber insurance policy. Make sure you have remote access to your e-mail, calendar, and contacts.

Take steps now to secure the valuable information with which you have been entrusted. You owe it to your clients and yourself.

Sylvia Novinsky
Director, NC Pro Bono Resource Center

Throughout much of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic presented many challenges to pro bono programs across the state, as we had to pivot from in-person clinics and outreach events to assisting clients via virtual and telephone meetings. At the same time, the need for pro bono legal services grew sharply as the pandemic’s economic and health impacts were widely felt.

For those who rose to the challenges of 2020 and provided pro bono legal services to those in need, the North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center invites you to report your volunteer hours during the January 1 to March 31 reporting period.

We know that among you there are thousands of North Carolina attorneys who have honored their professional responsibility under Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1, and we want to ensure that your volunteerism is recognized and celebrated so that it will further serve to inspire others.

Information about Rule 6.1 activities provided in 2020 will be collected through March 31, at ncprobono.org/report. North Carolina licensed attorneys (or attorneys who provide services under North Carolina Pro Bono Practice Status) who report at least 50 hours of pro bono legal service will be inducted into the 2020 North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society and receive a certificate from the Supreme Court of North Carolina recognizing their achievement.

Thank you for your pro bono service. Representing clients pro bono also serves to promote professionalism, in part by promoting the positive perception of lawyers among the public. You are answering the highest call of the legal profession – that of ensuring equal justice.

Judge Ashleigh P. Dunston

“I hope this message finds you well and healthy” or “stay safe and healthy.” These two phrases have now become a staple in my email messages. In the past two months, our lives have literally been turned upside down in the blink of an eye.  I would’ve never thought that Friday, March 13, 2020 would be the last time that court would be held at full capacity, my kids’ last day of school/daycare, or I could freely go to the grocery store or mall without a mask. Things rapidly changed and we had to learn to adapt to sheltering in place, homeschooling, Zoom meetings, Web-Ex court hearings, loss of income, and fear of illness or death for ourselves and loved ones.  This has raised our already stressful profession to new levels leading to even stronger feelings of loneliness, depression, moodiness, loss of control, anxiety and depression, just to name a few.

Our profession is one of service where we are constantly giving ourselves to help solve other people’s problems, but the fact of the matter is that we can’t help anyone, including our clients, if we’re not protecting our own mental health. If we’re overwhelmed, burned out or stressed then we’re more likely to lash out in ways that we typically wouldn’t. This is why self care is so important, and here are few ways that we can maintain it:

• Create a new schedule/routine.

  • Write it down, place it somewhere that you can see it throughout the day, incorporate breaks, and stick to it as much as possible.  Try to schedule a special and fun activity on the weekend that gives you something to look forward to and that will help break up the monotony.  

  • Strive for 7-8 hours of sleep nightly.
    
    

• Limit your work hours.

  • Try to work for 8 hours maximum.  Give yourself grace if your work hours are not consecutive and you are having to take frequent breaks.

  • Don’t feel bad if there are some days that you’re not as productive as you would have liked.
    
    

• Unplug from the news, internet, phone, social media, etc. daily.

  • This will give you a much needed mental break and there are times when you need to be inaccessible.  Not every email or text message warrants an immediate response.
    
    

• Exercise and get fresh air daily.

  • Exercise is not only necessary for your health, but is also a great stress reliever.  If you feel like you don’t have time during the day, try waking up a little earlier and incorporating 30 minutes of exercise into your daily routine.
    
    

• Focus on the good.  

  • Focus on the things that you can control and the things that you are grateful for. This can be as simple as the fact that you woke up to see another day.  A gratitude journal is a great way to document what you’re grateful for each day and is something that you can look back at whenever you’re feeling down.
    
    

• Reach out to friends/family.

  • If you’re feeling lonely or a need to socialize, schedule a call, virtual happy hour, or game night.  If you need some face-to-face contact and if everyone feels comfortable, grab lunch and meet at a park so that you can social distance and socialize while outside.

Most importantly, if you find yourself feeling hopeless, depressed, anxious, or are turning to addictive behaviors to cope, please don’t be afraid to ask for help. BarCARES is a confidential short-term counseling, coaching and crisis intervention program created as a cost-free way of helping attorneys locate assistance to deal with the problems that might be causing stress. To speak to someone immediately, please call 919-929-1227 or visit https://www.wakecountybar.org/page/BarCARES. Another great resource is the Lawyer’s Assistance Program that helps legal professionals figure out what is not working in their lives and then provides guidance and on-going support for getting back on track. For more information, visit https://www.nclap.org/.

Nobody knows when or how this pandemic will end, but please remember that your feelings are valid, you’re not alone, and you don’t have to struggle in silence!  We’re here for you!

Stay safe and healthy!