If you practice in North Carolina or are involved in our court systems, you probably know that five counties have made the transition to e-filing. Those counties include Harnett, Johnston, Lee Mecklenburg, and Wake counties. In today's episode, we discuss what you need to know as we transition to E-Filing across the state ..read more

Today's topic is Family law, when to lawyer up, and why. We talk about why an attorney can be beneficial in a number of different family law situations, when you should consider getting an attorney involved, and why hiring a family law attorney from a firm with a multidisciplinary practice is a smart move. Landon Van Winkle is an associate within the firm's Construction Litigation practice group where he assists clients with pre-suit negotiations and litigation in matters involving construction, equipment leasing and financing, and bankruptcy. His areas of practice are Bankruptcy, Business Li ..read more

Attorneys Christina McAlpin Taylor, Melissa Tulis, and Rachel Rogers discuss dealing with debt management companies - the risks and challenges they pose from the point of view of a collections attorney. Christina McAlpin Taylor is a partner at the Raleigh-based law firm of Smith Debnam and a member of the firm’s Creditors’ Rights and Collections practice group. An accomplished attorney known for handling a large volume of cases with precision and grace, she represents a wide range of businesses through all stages of creditor representation, including pre-suit collection efforts, lawsuits, jud ..read more

In this episode, Smith Debnam attorneys Christina McAlpin Taylor and Melissa Tulis discuss how Post Judgment Collections work in North Carolina. Christina McAlpin Taylor is a partner at the Raleigh-based law firm of Smith Debnam and a member of the firm’s Creditors’ Rights and Collections practice group. An accomplished attorney known for handling a large volume of cases with precision and grace, she represents a wide range of businesses through all stages of creditor representation, including pre-suit collection efforts, lawsuits, judgments, and executions. In her practice group, she activel ..read more

In today's episode, Smith Debnam attorneys Landon Van Winkle and Garret Kirkpatrick discuss the growing issue of student loans in the U.S., including how those loans are treated in bankruptcy, and how recent regulatory and legislative developments may provide relief to student borrowers in the future. Landon Van Winkle is an associate within the firm's Consumer Financial Services Compliance & Litigation practice group where he assists clients with pre-suit negotiations and litigation in matters involving consumer financial services litigation and compliance and bankruptcy. His areas of pr ..read more

A new regulation has gone into effect this year that has altered the itemization and disclosures to consumers that banks, financial service providers, and creditors have to provide. In this podcast, we'll discuss those changes. Specifically - we discuss what type of itemization credit card providers are required to disclose to the consumer periodically, how much transaction history a credit card provider is required to retain, and for how long.We’ll also get into what type of itemization debt buyers are required to disclose to consumers. In particular, we discuss why debt buyers need to pay at ..read more

In today's episode, attorneys Garret Kirkpatrick, Ron Jones, and John Sperati explore what creditors need to know in order to remain fully compliant with the Uniform Commercial Code when sending pre-and post-sale deficiency notices to debtors in North Carolina and South Carolina. Garret Kirkpatrick is a member of the firm's Consumer Financial Services Litigation and Compliance group. In his role, Garret focuses on assisting clients with pre-suit negotiations, litigation, and advocacy in matters involving consumer financial services litigation and compliance, bankruptcy, and commercial litigat ..read more

In today's episode, attorneys Christina McAlpin Taylor and Melissa Tulis share the lessons they've learned from traveling to motion hearings across North and South Carolina. Within each state, every county’s court functions a little different, with distinct rules and processes. From differences in security lines to the types of motions allowed – Christina and Melissa have seen it all. Christina is a partner at Smith Debnam and a member of the firm’s Creditors’ Rights and Collections practice group. She represents a wide range of businesses through all stages of creditor representation, includ ..read more

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In today’s episode, attorneys Melissa Tulis and Christina McAlpin Taylor discuss what the new debt collection rule says about communicating with consumers via email. Our discussion will cover the handoff letter, opt-out options, and how best to verify a consumer’s email address. Christina McAlpin Taylor is a partner at the Raleigh-based law firm of Smith Debnam and a member of the firm’s Creditors’ Rights and Collections practice group. An accomplished attorney known for handling a large volume of cases with precision and grace, she represents a wide range of businesses through all stages of ..read more