Matt and I have updated our North Carolina Appellate Practice and Procedure treatise!  For those who auto-subscribe to updates or use Lexis Advance, this may be old news as the first update came out in May 2022.  Regardless, it’s high time to make sure everyone knows.

Work for this update began in January 2021.  Over the last year and half, Matt and I learned that updating a publication is almost as slow as the initial publication.  In addition to fixing typos and formatting errors from the initial release, this update:

  • Incorporates important caselaw developments and statutory changes through March 2021
  • Revises relevant chapters to address an assortment of Appellate Rules changes, including:
    • Changes relating to appellate transcripts and the proposed record (January 2021 Appellate Rules amendments)
    • Universal citations (January 2021 administrative order)
    • Ability to obtain secure parental leave (September 2019 Appellate Rules amendment)
  • Provides new and updated sample documents
  • Analyzes the orders, caselaw, and structural developments triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Adds analysis on new topics, including the scope of a trial court’s duty to issue findings of fact and conclusions of law

As luck would have it, the North Carolina Supreme Court released additional rule amendments in January 2022—a few weeks after the proofed manuscript was sent to our publisher. Rather than delaying the update further, a special alert summarizing the January 2022 amendments was added to the front of the treatise. This alert covers the Supreme Court’s new rules on mandatory e-filing, records on appeal, and motions practice.

Print users might notice that the physical pages are now of higher quality.  The initial publication was printed on what our friend Jonathan McGirt called “onion-skin-thin” paper.  Because of McGirt’s advocacy, Lexis replaced most of the pages in this release with thicker paper. 

Why not all the pages?  Rather than replacing all 1500 pages, this release retains a whopping 14 pages from the initial publication.  (We just write the treatise. Some of the publishing decisions are beyond our control). Bottom line:  Pay close attention when you update your print edition, being sure to retain the select unchanged pages.   

As always, thank you to those who have provided ideas, encouragement, and support since the treatise was first released in July 2019.  We hope you find this update useful.   

–Beth and Matt