Chapter 27 NCAC 01D

27 NCAC 01D .1708 STAGGERED TERMS It is intended that members of the board shall be elected to staggered terms such that three members are appointed in each year. Of the initial board, three members (two lawyers and one nonlawyer) shall be elected to terms of one year; three memb…

27 NCAC 01D .1709 Succession Each member of the board shall be entitled to serve for one full three-year term and to succeed himself or herself for one additional three-year term. Thereafter, no person may be reappointed without having been off of the board for at least three yea…

27 NCAC 01D .1710 APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRPERSON The chairperson of the board shall be appointed from time to time as necessary by the council from among the lawyer members of the board. The term of such individual as chairperson shall be one year. The chairperson may be reappointed …

27 NCAC 01D .1711 APPOINTMENT OF VICE-CHAIRPERSON The vice-chairperson of the board shall be appointed from time to time as necessary by the council from among the lawyer members of the board. The term of such individual as vice-chairperson shall be one year. The vice-chairperson…

27 NCAC 01D .1712 SOURCE OF FUNDS Funding for the program carried out by the board shall come from such application fees, examination fees, course accreditation fees, annual fees or recertification fees as the board, with the approval of the council, may establish. History Note: …

27 NCAC 01D .1713 FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY All funds of the board shall be considered funds of the North Carolina State Bar and shall be administered and disbursed accordingly. (1) Maintenance of Accounts: Audit - The North Carolina State Bar shall maintain a separate account for fu…

27 NCAC 01D .1714 MEETINGS The board by resolution may set regular meeting dates and places. Special meetings of the board may be called at any time upon notice given by the chairperson, the vice-chairperson or any two members of the board. Notice of meeting shall be given at lea…

27 NCAC 01D .1715 ANNUAL REPORT The board shall prepare at least annually a report of its activities and shall present same to the council one month prior to its annual meeting. History Note: Authority G.S. 84-23; Readopted Eff. December 8, 1994.

27 NCAC 01D .1716 Powers and Duties of the Board Subject to the general jurisdiction of the council and the North Carolina Supreme Court, the board shall have jurisdiction of all matters pertaining to regulation of certification of specialists in the practice of law and shall hav…

27 NCAC 01D .1717 RETAINED JURISDICTION OF THE COUNCIL The council retains jurisdiction with respect to the following matters: (1) upon recommendation of the board, establishing areas in which certificates of specialty may be granted; (2) amending this plan; (3) hearing appeals t…

27 NCAC 01D .1718 PRIVILEGES CONFERRED AND LIMITATIONS IMPOSED The board in the implementation of this plan shall not alter the following privileges and responsibilities of certified specialists and other lawyers. (1) No standard shall be approved which shall in any way limit the…

27 NCAC 01D .1719 Specialty Committees (a) The board shall establish a separate specialty committee for each specialty in which specialists are to be certified. Each specialty committee shall be composed of seven members appointed by the board, one of whom shall be designated ann…

27 NCAC 01D .1720 Minimum Standards for Certification of Specialists (a) To qualify for certification as a specialist, a lawyer applicant must pay any required fee, comply with the following minimum standards, and meet any other standards established by the board for the particul…

27 NCAC 01D .1721 MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR CONTINUED CERTIFICATION OF SPECIALISTS (a) The period of certification as a specialist shall be five years. During such period the board or appropriate specialty committee may require evidence from the specialist of his or her continued qua…

27 NCAC 01D .1722 ESTABLISHMENT OF ADDITIONAL STANDARDS The board may establish, on its own initiative or upon the specialty committee's recommendation, additional or more stringent standards for certification than those provided in Rules .1720 and .1721 of this Section. Addition…

27 NCAC 01D .1723 Revocation or Suspension of Certification as a Specialist (a) Automatic Revocation or Suspension of Specialty Certification Following Professional Discipline. The board shall revoke its certification of a lawyer as a specialist if the lawyer is disbarred or rece…

27 NCAC 01D .1724 RIGHT TO HEARING AND APPEAL TO COUNCIL A lawyer who is denied certification or continued certification as a specialist or whose certification is suspended or revoked shall have the right to a hearing before the board and, thereafter, the right to appeal the ruli…

27 NCAC 01D .1725 AREAS OF SPECIALTY There are hereby recognized the following specialties: (1) bankruptcy law (a) consumer bankruptcy law (b) business bankruptcy law (2) estate planning and probate law (3) real property law (a) real property - residential (b) real property - bus…

27 NCAC 01D .1726 CERTIFICATION STANDARDS OF THE SPECIALTIES OF BANKRUPTCY LAW, ESTATE PLANNING AND PROBATE LAW, REAL PROPERTY LAW, FAMILY LAW, AND CRIMINAL LAW Previous decisions approving the certification standards for the areas of specialty listed above are hereby reaffirmed.…

27 NCAC 01D .1727 INACTIVE STATUS (a) Petition for Inactive Status. The board may transfer a certified specialist to inactive status upon receipt of a petition, on a form approved by the board, demonstrating that the petitioner satisfies the following conditions: (1) Certified fo…

Section .1800 - Hearing and Appeal Rules of the Board of Legal Specialization 27 NCAC 01D .1801 Incomplete Applications; Reconsideration of Applications Rejected by Specialty Committee; and Reconsideration Procedure (a) Incomplete Applications. The executive director of the North…

27 NCAC 01D .1802 Denial, Revocation, or Suspension of Continued Certification as a Specialist (a) Denial of Continued Certification. The board, upon its initiative or upon recommendation of the appropriate specialty committee, may deny continued certification of a specialist, if…

27 NCAC 01D .1803 Reconsideration of Failed Examination (a) Review of Examination. Within 45 days of the date of the notice from the board's executive director that the applicant has failed the written examination, the applicant may review his or her examination at the office of …

27 NCAC 01D .1804 Appeal to the Council (a) Appealable Decisions. An appeal may be taken to the council from a decision of the board which denies an applicant certification (i.e., when an applicant's application has been rejected because it is not in compliance with the standards…

27 NCAC 01D .1805 JUDICIAL REVIEW (a) Appeals - The appellant or the board may appeal from an adverse ruling by the council. (b) Wake County Superior Court - All appeals from the council shall lie to the Wake County Superior Court. [See N.C. State Bar v. Du Mont, 304 N.C. 627, 28…

27 NCAC 01D .1806 Additional Rules Pertaining to Hearing and Appeals (a) Notices. Every notice required by these rules shall be deemed sufficient if sent to the applicant at the address listed on the applicant's last application to the board or the address in the official members…

SECTION .1900 - RULES CONCERNING THE ACCREDITATION OF CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE BOARD OF LEGAL SPECIALIZATION 27 NCAC 01D .1901 GENERAL PROVISIONS (a) An applicant for certification in a specialty field must make a satisfactory showing of the requisite nu…

27 NCAC 01D .1902 DEFINITIONS (a) Applicant - The person applying for certification or continued certification of specialization. (b) Board - The North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. (c) Committee - The specialty committee appointed by the board in the applican…

27 NCAC 01D .1903 Accreditation Standards for Lecture-Type CLE Activities (a) The CLE activity shall have significant intellectual or practical content and the primary objective shall be to increase the participant's professional competence in the applicant's specialty field. (b)…

27 NCAC 01D .1904 COMPUTATION OF HOURS OF INSTRUCTION (a) Hours of CLE will be computed by adding the number of minutes of actual instruction, dividing by 60 and rounding the results to the nearest one-tenth of an hour. (b) Only actual instruction will be included in computing th…

27 NCAC 01D .1905 Alternatives to Lecture-Type CLE Course Instruction (a) Teaching - Preparation and presentation of written materials at an accredited CLE course will qualify for CLE credit at the rate of six hours of credit for each hour of presentation as computed under Rule .…

27 NCAC 01D .1906 ACCREDITATION OF COURSES (a) All courses offered by an accredited sponsor which relate to the specialty field as defined by the board shall be accredited and credit for attendance shall be given for the hours of instruction related to the specialty field of the …

27 NCAC 01D .1907 ACCREDITATION OF SPONSOR (a) The following is the list of accredited sponsors: (1) North Carolina Bar Foundation; (2) North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers; (3) Wake Forest University Continuing Legal Education; (4) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill …

27 NCAC 01D .1908 SHOWING BY APPLICANTS Every applicant will list each type of CLE activity under each of the following categories: (1) attendance at CLE instruction offered by an accredited sponsor. The course name, sponsor, and number of hours of CLE shall be listed by the appl…

SECTION .2000 - RULES OF THE BOARD OF LEGAL SPECIALIZATION FOR APPROVAL OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFYING ORGANIZATIONS 27 NCAC 01D .2001 POLICY STATEMENT These guidelines for reviewing independent organizations which certify lawyers as specialists are designed to thoroughly evaluate the…

27 NCAC 01D .2002 GENERAL PROCEDURE As contemplated in Rule 2.5 of the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct, the North Carolina State Bar, through its Board of Legal Specialization (the board), shall, upon the filing of a completed application and the payment of any requi…

27 NCAC 01D .2003 FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN REVIEWING CERTIFYING ORGANIZATIONS (a) Purpose of the Organization - The stated purposes for the original formation of the organization and any subsequent changes in those purposes shall be examined to determine whether the organizati…

27 NCAC 01D .2004 STANDARDS FOR APPROVAL OF CERTIFYING ORGANIZATIONS The following standards are to be considered by the board in evaluating an application for approval of a certifying organization. (1) Uniform Applicability of Certification Standards - In general, the standards …

27 NCAC 01D .2005 APPLICATION PROCEDURE (a) The organization may file an application seeking approval of the organization by the board. Applications shall be on forms available from and approved by the board. The application fee shall be one thousand dollars ($l,000.00). (b) The …

27 NCAC 01D .2006 EFFECT OF APPROVAL OF A CERTIFYING ORGANIZATION BY THE BOARD OF LEGAL SPECIALIZATION When an organization is approved as a certifying organization by the board, any North Carolina lawyer certified as a specialist by that organization may publicize that certifica…

SECTION .2100 - CERTIFICATION STANDARDS FOR THE REAL PROPERTY LAW SPECIALTY 27 NCAC 01D .2101 ESTABLISHMENT OF SPECIALTY FIELD The North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization (the board) hereby designates real property law, including the subspecialties of real property…

27 NCAC 01D .2102 DEFINITION OF SPECIALTY The specialty of real property law is the practice of law dealing with real property transactions, including title examination, property transfers, financing, leases, and determination of property rights. Subspecialties in the field are i…

27 NCAC 01D .2103 RECOGNITION AS A SPECIALIST IN REAL PROPERTY LAW A lawyer may qualify as a specialist by meeting the standards set for one or both of the subspecialties. If a lawyer qualifies as a specialist in real property law by meeting the standards set for the real propert…

27 NCAC 01D .2104 APPLICABILITY OF PROVISIONS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA PLAN OF LEGAL SPECIALIZATION Certification and continued certification of specialists in real property law shall be governed by the provisions of the North Carolina Plan of Legal Specialization (see Section .1700…

27 NCAC 01D .2105 Standards for Certification as a Specialist in Real Property Law Each applicant for certification as a specialist in real property law shall meet the minimum standards set forth in Rule .1720 of this subchapter. In addition, each applicant shall meet the followi…

27 ncac 01D .2106 STANDARDS FOR CONTINUED CERTIFICATION AS A SPECIALIST The period of certification is five years. Prior to the expiration of the certification period, a certified specialist who desires continued certification must apply for continued certification within the tim…

27 NCAC 01D .2107 APPLICABILITY OF OTHER REQUIREMENTS The specific standards set forth herein for certification of specialists in real property law are subject to any general requirement, standard, or procedure adopted by the board applicable to all applicants for certification o…

SECTION .2200 - CERTIFICATION STANDARDS FOR THE BANKRUPTCY LAW SPECIALTY 27 NCAC 01D .2201 ESTABLISHMENT OF SPECIALTY FIELD The North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization (the board) hereby designates bankruptcy law, including the subspecialties of consumer bankruptcy…

27 NCAC 01D .2202 DEFINITION OF SPECIALTY The specialty of bankruptcy law is the practice of law dealing with all laws and procedures involving the rights, obligations, and remedies between debtors and creditors in potential or pending federal bankruptcy cases and state insolvenc…

27 NCAC 01D .2203 RECOGNITION AS A SPECIALIST IN BANKRUPTCY LAW A lawyer may qualify as a specialist by meeting the standards set for one or both of the subspecialties. If a lawyer qualifies as a specialist in bankruptcy law by meeting the standards set for the consumer bankruptc…