26 NCAC 03 .0119 SECURE LEAVE PERIODS FOR ATTORNEYS (a) Any attorney may designate one or more secure leave periods each year as provided in this Rule.
Indicate any previously designed Secured Leave periods during t he current calendar year that have previously been designated pursuant to Rule 26 of the General Rules of Practice for the Superior and District Courts.
Secured Leave shall consist of one or more calendared weeks, but in any event shall not consist of more than three (3) consecutive weeks during any calendar year.
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N.C. R. App. P. 33.1. Secure-Leave Periods for Attorneys (a) Purpose; Authorization. In order to secure for the parties to actions and proceedings pending in the appellate division, and to the public at large, the heightened level of professionalism that an attorney is able to provide when the attorney enjoys periods of time that are free from the urgent demands of professional responsibility ...
A lawyer may be legally required to withdraw from a case if the following applies:
The attorney or their firm is representing an adversary party in the case. This is also known as a conflict of interest.
Personality conflicts. When attorneys and clients are unable to get along amicably, the likeliness of a successful case outcome diminishes dramatically, and it is often in the best interests of both parties for the attorney to withdraw from the case.
Attorneys, however, are not offered the same privilege. If an attorney wants to withdraw from a case, they must have a valid reason to do so. There are some circumstances in which an attorney is ethically required to withdraw from a case and other situations when an attorney may apply to do so with a valid reason.
A "secure-leave period" is one complete calendar week that is designated by an attorney during which the superior courts and the district courts may not hold a proceeding in any case in which that attorney is an attorney of record.
(b)Allowance. (1) Within a calendar year, an attorney may enjoy three different secure-leave periods for any purpose. A secure-leave period that spans across calendar years counts against the attorney's allowance for the first calendar year.
An attorney must submit his or her designation of a secure-leave period: (1) at least ninety days before the secure-leave period begins; and. (2) before a proceeding in any of the attorney's cases is scheduled for a time that conflicts with the secure-leave period.
An attorney's designation of a secure-leave period must contain the following information: (1) the attorney's name, address, e-mail, telephone number, and state bar number; (2) the date of the Sunday on which the secure-leave period is to begin and ...