2026 DCBA On-Demand CLE
When: NOW! Why wait?
Where: Right here on our web site!
Courses Offered On-Demand, Fall 2025
Am I Eligible to Take These Courses?
The course materials listed here are available via on-demand delivery to DCBA members at no additional charge beyond annual membership in the Durham County Bar Association, your voluntary Bar, which charges members an annual fee of $125 for all lunches and related CLE content.
You may already have earned these credit hours at the February 2025 virtual CLE event. If you have NOT earned these hours by attending that live virtual event on February 11-12, 2025, you may earn them on-demand at this time.
Note: The DCBA Professional Wellbeing CLE event that was delivered in person at the University Club on Wednesday November 12, will be online on December 1. We’ll send a direct email to DCBA members who are eligible to earn that credit when it is open. Additional courses will be posted as we move forward.
How Do I Earn Credit
- If you are already logged into the web site, scroll up and click the link in the RED BAR at the top.
OR
- Log into the web site at durhambar.net.
- From the top right corner, tap your name and from the drop-down menu, choose to view your Profile (not your “Public Page”).
- On your Profile, scroll to the bottom right corner and choose “Continuing Legal Education.”
- From there you can browse the four available courses and proceed to enroll, view course materials, respond to the quiz/affidavit, and complete each course.
IMPORTANT: Note that the NC State Bar CLE rules require that you watch ALL on-demand video content. There are no on-screen controls to fast forward the courses. Our web site tracks your time in a course, so please complete each course (all courses are 1-hour videos) in a single 1-hour sitting. You do not need to open the course materials documents, but you may find it useful to follow along with the speakers.
Course 001 Estate Administration for Personal Injury Litigators
Personal injury litigators may come across the field of estate administration when pursuing a wrongful-death claim, and litigators more generally may interact with estates that are pursuing or defending a lawsuit of another type. This program provides an overview of the estate-administration process generally, with a particular focus on matters that arise in litigation, including approval of settlements, accounting for wrongful-death proceeds to the Clerk of Court, and payment of creditors.
About Jeff Austin
Jeff graduated with honors from Brown University and cum laude from the Georgia State University College of Law. His background is in nonprofits and the public interest and he primarily practices estate planning law. In addition to his work for private clients, he serves as an appointed attorney guardian ad litem through the Durham Public Defender. Jeff is also a volunteer attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina and a member of the Durham Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee. Always interested in making the law more accessible, he manages several online legal databases maintained by the University of North Carolina’s School of Government at Chapel Hill. He returned this past summer from a year abroad, where he practiced law remotely from Argentina.
Course 002 Current Status of Non-Compete Agreements in NC
With recent guidance from both the Federal Trade Commission and the National Labor Relations Board, there is potential for great impact on the enforceability of non-compete agreements throughout the State. This presentation will analyze the status of North Carolina law, the recent guidance by the NLRB and FTC, the court challenges that follow, and what this all means for NC employers and employees. The basic overall tenet of the presentation will be that non-competes are still enforceable, but all should be wary of trying to argue this in State Court.
About Daniel Mullins
Daniel “Danny” Mullins is a Partner with Hartzog Law Group LLP. He is originally from Oceanside, New York but grew up in Wilmington. He graduated from Wake Forest University in 2010 with a degree in Political Science. Following college, Danny spent a year in the Gulf Coast working with AmeriCorps. After a year of grueling physical labor, he was ready to return to school and earn his law degree from the University of North Carolina, graduating with honors in 2014.
In his legal practice, Danny has litigated a variety of civil litigation matters through state and federal court, with an emphasis on employment law cases and business disputes. He has also handled cases involving construction law, homeowners’ associations, evictions, and municipalities. When he is not at work, Danny and his wife Liz are active in our local community theater, or chasing after their puppy, Kodi. Danny is also an avid sports fan, especially rooting for the Demon Deacons.
About Madelyn Bruckel
Madelyn Bruckel (“Maddie”) is an associate attorney with a background in education and law. Before law school, Maddie spent six years teaching elementary and special education and earned her M.Ed. in Literacy Education from SUNY Geneseo in 2018. Maddie attended Campbell Law School where she graduated Cum Laude in May of 2024. During her time at Campbell, Maddie interned at the North Carolina Supreme Court under the Honorable Justice Trey Allen. Additionally, Maddie served as the Membership Editor for Volume 46 of the Campbell Law Review and as a student editor for the Antitrust Law Journal.
Maddie was a summer associate at Hartzog Law Group in the summer of 2023 before joining full-time after graduating from law school. During her time at Hartzog Law Group, Maddie has been involved in a variety of cases and has experience in civil rights issues including Section 1983 claims, employment law issues, and education law issues. Originally from Rochester, New York, Maddie has called Raleigh home since 2019, though she remains an avid Buffalo Bills fan. In her free time, Maddie enjoys walking her dog Murphy, reading, and listening to podcasts.
Course 003 AI, the Law and Emerging Legal Technologies
Artificial Intelligence is posed to change the legal industry and how attorneys practice. As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly prevalent in the legal profession, attorneys must navigate a myriad of considerations related to its use. This CLE course delves into the challenges and opportunities posed by AI, discussing issues such as bias in algorithms, generative AI and data privacy. Attorneys will gain essential knowledge on how to leverage AI in their practice.
About Diane Littlejohn
Attorney Diane Littlejohn serves as the Executive Director of the Technology Law and Policy Center at North Carolina Central University School of Law (NCCU). In addition, Ms. Littlejohn maintains her private practice, practicing primarily in intellectual property law. While a student at NCCU, Ms. Littlejohn served as a staff editor on the NCCU Law Review as well as a senior editor on the Southern Region Black Law Students Association Law Journal (SRBLSA). Ms. Littlejohn has also been featured in publications including Voyage Raleigh Magazine, Authority Magazine and Canvas Rebel. She is originally from Omaha, Nebraska. Ms. Littlejohn enjoys fitness, spends time with her two dogs, and listening to podcasts.
Course 004 Developments in Daubert
The Daubert Standard is a framework that trial judges use to determine if expert testimony is admissible in court. The standard was established in the 1993 Supreme Court case Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. North Carolina became a “Daubert” state for expert testimony in 2016. What has changed and what has not? We will review updates to case law applying the standard and discuss how it has affected both civil and criminal practice.
About Carl Newman
Carl Newman graduated from the University of Illinois and began law school at Wake Forest University before transferring to the University of Chicago Law School. He began his career as a legal aid attorney primarily representing domestic violence victims, and then as an appellate lawyer for the City of Chicago. After a year and a half as the chair of the appellate practice section at Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog in Raleigh, Carl returned to public service. Now he is the Special Deputy Attorney General for the NC Department of Justice, working on Tort Claims for the Department of Health & Human Services as well as the Department of Public Instruction.