GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2003
SESSION LAW 2004-174
HOUSE BILL 356
AN ACT to amend the authority of the north carolina state bar CONCERNING paralegals and fees RELATING TO CERTIFICATION and to extend the sunset of the industrial commission fee earmarked for information technology.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 84-23 reads as rewritten:
"§ 84-23. Powers of Council.
(a) Subject to
the superior authority of the General Assembly to legislate thereon by general
law, and except as herein otherwise limited, the The Council
is hereby vested, as an agency of the State, with the authority to
regulate the professional conduct of licensed attorneys. lawyers and
State Bar certified paralegals. Among other powers, the Council shall
administer this Article; take actions that are necessary to ensure the
competence of lawyers; lawyers and State Bar certified paralegals;
formulate and adopt rules of professional ethics and conduct; investigate and
prosecute matters of professional misconduct; grant or deny petitions for
reinstatement; resolve questions pertaining to membership status; arbitrate
disputes concerning legal fees; certify legal specialists;
specialists and paralegals and charge fees to applicants and participants
necessary to administer these certification programs; determine whether a
member is disabled; and formulate and adopt procedures for accomplishing these
purposes. The Council may do all things necessary in the furtherance of the
purposes of this Article that are not otherwise prohibited by law.
(b) The Council or
any committee thereof, of the Council, including the Client
Security Fund and the Disciplinary Hearing Commission or any committee thereof,
of the Commission, shall have the authority to may subpoena
financial records of any licensed attorneys, attorneys lawyers,
lawyers whose licenses have been suspended, or disbarred attorneys,
lawyers, relating to any account into which client or fiduciary funds have
been deposited.
(c) The Council
may publish an official journal concerning matters of interest to the legal profession
and profession.
(d) The Council
may acquire, hold, rent, encumber, alienate, and otherwise deal with real or
personal property in the same manner as any private person or corporation,
subject only to the approval of the Governor and the Council of State as to the
acquisition, rental, encumbering, leasing and sale of real property. The
Council is authorized and empowered in its discretion to may
utilize the services of the Purchase and Contract Division of the Department of
Administration for the procurement of to procure personal
property, in accordance with the provisions of Article 3 of Chapter 143 of the
General Statutes; and to do all things necessary in the furtherance of the
purposes of this Article as are not prohibited by law. Statutes."
SECTION 2. G.S. 84-37 reads as rewritten:
"§ 84-37.
State Bar may investigate and enjoin unauthorized practice.
activities.
(a) The Council or any
committee appointed by it for that purpose may inquire into and investigate any
charges or complaints of (i) unauthorized or unlawful practice of law.
law or (ii) the use of the designations, "North Carolina Certified
Paralegal," "North Carolina State Bar Certified Paralegal," or
"Paralegal Certified by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Paralegal
Certification," by individuals who have not been certified in accordance
with the rules adopted by the North Carolina State Bar. The Council or
any committee of its members appointed for that purpose may inquire into and
investigate any charges or complaints of unauthorized or unlawful practice of
law. The Council may bring or cause to be brought and maintain
maintained in the name of the North Carolina State Bar an action or
actions, upon information or upon the complaint of any person or entity against
any person or entity that engages in rendering any legal service
service, holds himself or herself out as a North Carolina certified paralegal
by use of the designations set forth in this subsection, or makes it a
practice or business to render legal services which that are
unauthorized or prohibited by law or statutes relative thereto.law. No
bond for cost shall be required in the proceeding.
(b) In an action brought
under this sectionsection, the final judgment if in favor of the
plaintiff shall perpetually restrain the defendant or defendants from the
commission or continuance of the unauthorized or unlawful act or acts
complained of.acts. A temporary injunction to restrain the
commission or continuance thereof of the act or acts may be
granted upon proof or by affidavit, that the defendant or defendants have
violated any of the laws or statutes laws applicable to
unauthorized or unlawful practice of law. law or the unauthorized use
of the designations set forth in subsection (a) of this section or any other
designation implying certification by the State Bar. The provisions of statute
or rules law relating generally to injunctions as provisional
remedies in actions shall apply to a temporary injunction and the proceedings thereunder.
for temporary injunctions.
(c) The venue for actions
brought under this section shall be the superior court of any county in which
the relevant acts constituting unauthorized or unlawful practice of
law are alleged to have been committed or in which there appear reasonable
grounds that they will be committed committed or in the
county where the defendants in the action reside reside, or in
Wake County.
(d) The plaintiff in the
action shall be entitled to examination of examine the adverse
party and witnesses before filing complaint and before trial in the same manner
as provided by law for the examination of examining parties.
(e) This section shall
not repeal or curtail limit any remedy now provided in cases of
unauthorized or unlawful practice of law, and nothing law. Nothing
contained herein in this section shall be construed as disabling
or abridging the inherent powers of the court in these matters.
(f) The Council or
its duly appointed committee has the authority to may issue
advisory opinions in response to inquiries from members or the public regarding
whether contemplated conduct would constitute the unauthorized practice of
law."
SECTION 3. Section 12.6C(e) of S.L. 2003-284 reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 12.6C.(e) The Commission may
retain additional fees as authorized by subsection (a) of this section only
in the 2003-2005 fiscal biennium and shall not retain any additional fees after
the 2003-2005 until the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium."
SECTION 4. This act becomes effective October 1, 2004.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 16th day of July, 2004.
s/ Beverly E. Perdue
President of the Senate
s/ Richard T. Morgan
Speaker of the House of Representatives
s/ Michael F. Easley
Governor
Approved 5:01 p.m. this 2nd day of August, 2004