Recent News
Representing Small Businesses (and Their Owners)
Small business owners have a lot on their plate. Growing a small business is not a simple task, and protecting a business legally isn’t either. It’s...
Successful Appeal Replaces 15+ Year Prison Sentence With Time-Served
When attorneys are asked legal questions, most often the answer is “it depends.” This response might seem like lawyerly waffling, but it’s true....
Oral Arguments
Have you ever wondered what "Oral Arguments" are? Scroll down to the bottom of this post for an audio excerpt! In an appeal, both parties submit a...
Intern Announced by the Law Office of Mark Hayes
The Office of Mark L. Hayes is proud to announce the hiring of its second intern for the summer of 2017—University of North Carolina School of Law...
Correcting Mistakes Made at Trial
An experienced appellate attorney must be able to make lemonade out of lemons. On appeal, a client’s arguments may be limited by the mistakes of his...
Suing an Out-of-State Party
Attorney Mark Hayes represented an out-of-state corporation in a recent breach of contract case. The case was eventually dismissed for lack of...
Evidence of a Defendant’s Prior Bad Acts
Attorney Mark Hayes recently handled an appeal that points out the complexity and importance of Rule 404 and “prior bad acts” evidence. Rule 404...
Scalia Memorabilia
While Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court was a divisive figure on many issues, I hope we can all agree that he was a great defender of...
Evidence: To Admit or To Exclude?
Most readers will admit to watching, or at least having seen, television shows about trial lawyers. Boston Legal, The Good Wife, Law & Order – the...