News
Carolin Bakewell joined the firm as Of Counsel in January 2010. Carolin left her most recent position as Counsel to the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners to reenter private practice. She will continue to represent the Dental Board through her own firm and will act as Of Counsel with our firm on other professional licensing and disciplinary matters. Prior to joining the Dental Board, Carolin served as General Counsel to the North Carolina State Bar for 15 years from 1991 until 2006. Doug and Deanna Brocker both worked with Carolin for numerous years at the State Bar. Read more information about Carolin’s background.
Beth Smoot, a law school classmate of Doug and Deanna Brocker, joined the firm as Of Counsel in 2009. Beth was formerly with the Attorney General's office, serving as Special Counsel for Development and Diversity and as an Associate Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Section. She also was in private practice with a civil litigation firm focusing on the defense of medical malpractice claims, after completing a judicial clerkship for North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Henry Frye. Read more information about Beth’s background.Doug and Deanna Brocker presented several seminars and CLEs in 2009:
- Doug and Deanna presented a seminar to the North Carolina Bar Association’s “Solo Boot Camp” program in December. Their portion of the seminar focused on the important ethical considerations of starting your own practice.
- Doug lead the Professionalism Roundtable Discussion Summary at the Wake County Bar Association’s October 6, 2009 meeting, which focused on unsolicited contact by prospective clients, conflicts of interest, and use of confidential information obtained inadvertently.
- Doug presented a CLE for the North Carolina Bar Association at its Practical Skills Seminar directed primarily at new attorneys. The seminar occurred on September 16 and the title was “Ethics Every New Attorney Can Use.”
- Doug presented a CLE for Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company to over 100 of its insured lawyers and paralegals on September 11 in Greenville, NC. The topic was Five Common Ethical Pitfalls.
- Deanna presented a seminar to the North Carolina Bar Association Law Practice Management Section Council on August 28, 2009. The topic was Recent Developments in Ethics.
Doug also published his last two President's Messages in the Wake County Bar Flyer.
- The Message in the October 2009 edition was entitled “Raising the Bar: The Future of Professionalism.” This Message summarized the previous efforts of the Professionalism Committee and introduced a new program to recognize notable acts of professionalism among members of the Wake County and Tenth Judicial District Bars.
- The Message in the November 2009 edition of the Bar Flyer was entitled: “The Future Face of the Bar.” This Message highlighted the rapidly changing demographics in the local bars and the importance of encouraging participation and engagement of women and ethnic minorities in the bar, including in leadership positions.
Doug Brocker is the Immediate Past President of the 10th Judicial District Bar, the largest local bar in North Carolina. This organization consists of all the approximately 4,000 licensed attorneys in Raleigh and Wake County. Doug was elected in December 2007 by members of this Bar. While President of the District Bar, Doug attended the North Carolina and American Bar Association's Bar Leadership Institutes and the ABA annual meeting in 2008. [http://www.wakecountybar.org/]