Message from the President, October 2024

Dear Members of the Greensboro Bar Association,

As we step into October 2024, our committees and sections have been hard at work planning events and programs for our membership. 

I am thrilled to welcome Justice Allison Riggs of the North Carolina Supreme Court as our featured speaker for our October 17th virtual meeting of membership. Justice Riggs will share updates from the judiciary and the appellate/higher courts and the impact these courts have on our day-to-day practices. The Business and Corporate Law section will hold its first event on October 1st with a networking lunch at Syngenta’s corporate office to meet colleagues and learn about pro bono opportunities available to corporate counsel.  The CLE Committee, along with the guidance of GBA Past-President Eric Richardson, have planned our October 22nd Lunch and Learn with Southern First Bank on the issues of the latest fraud trends affecting law firms nationwide and how to mitigate such risks. The Young Lawyers Section is off to a great bar year with their annual kickoff event on September 26th at The Abbey Taphouse. 

One significant event last month was the annual NC State Bar’s Judicial District (JD) Presidents Meeting, held on September 13, 2024. This gathering was an opportunity for bar leaders across the state to come together, exchange ideas, and address pressing issues in the legal profession. Executive Director Alice Neece Mine provided resources to the presidents representing the 44 JDs in North Carolina with information from the NC Lawyers Assistance Program in Managing a Crisis Event, breaking down the relationship between the NC State Bar and Judicial Districts, as well as NC State Bar recommendations to the NC Supreme Court on the study of the secured leave policy for North Carolina lawyers and the proposed rule amendment on “unbundled” legal services. A robust discussion amongst the JD Presidents and NC State Bar Councilors and officers highlighted the similarities in the challenges we are navigating through the eCourts implementation, and opportunities in legal oases throughout our state. If anyone would like to discuss any of these issues in more detail, please contact me. If I don’t have the answer, I will find the resource or inquire with the NC State Bar on behalf of our membership.

Looking forward, I encourage each of you to stay engaged with our ongoing efforts to serve our community, improve access to justice, and support the well-being of our fellow members. Together, we can make meaningful contributions to the legal landscape in Greensboro and beyond. Thank you for your continued dedication to our profession and the communities we serve. Let’s keep the momentum going as we delve deeper into our bar year.

Most sincerely,

Manisha P. Patel, Esq.
President, Greensboro Bar Association and the 24th Judicial District