As we reflect on 2025, it’s time to highlight the articles that have most resonated with readers throughout the year.
Ward and Smith attorneys have provided valuable insights into various legal considerations impacting businesses and individuals across the Carolinas. From employment law changes to regulatory developments affecting multiple industries, these articles reflect the most pressing legal concerns facing our clients and community. Here are the top 10 articles that have captured the attention of our audience:
10. The Economic Loss Doctrine: A Valuable Shield for Lenders
Shedding light on an important legal protection for creditors, this article examines how the Economic Loss Doctrine serves as a powerful defense against tort claims in lending relationships. The piece analyzes the North Carolina Business Court’s decision in BioGas Corp. v. NC BioGas Dev., where a lender’s unconventional approach to a defaulted loan—purchasing an unfinished biogas project rather than foreclosing—led to litigation and claims of breach of fiduciary duty.
9. Understanding Trade Secret Misappropriation: A Guide for In-House Counsel
Part of a comprehensive series on trade secret protection, this article provides practical guidance for in-house counsel on identifying and responding to potential trade secret theft. With recent verdicts exceeding $450 million in some cases, understanding what constitutes misappropriation under both federal and state law has become increasingly crucial for protecting confidential business information.
8. Transparency in Homeowners Associations in North Carolina: The Good, the Bad, and the Risky
This comprehensive guide helps HOA managers and board members navigate the fine line between necessary transparency and appropriate confidentiality in community association governance. The article details North Carolina’s specific legal requirements for document access, distinguishing between directors’ broad access rights and members’ more limited unqualified and qualified inspection rights.
7. House Bill 47 Delays Effective Date for North Carolina’s New Building Code
Often overlooked in media coverage of Hurricane Helene recovery legislation, this article highlights a critical development for construction industry stakeholders: the delay of North Carolina’s 2024 State Building Code implementation. While House Bill 47 appropriated over $740 million for disaster recovery, it also postponed the new building code’s effective date by at least 12 months.
6. NC Legislature Considers Comprehensive Hemp Regulation: What Businesses Need to Know
As North Carolina’s hemp industry faces potential regulatory transformation, this article provides stakeholders with crucial analysis of three significant bills introduced during the 2025 legislative session: Senate Bills 535 and 265, and House Bill 607. Each bill proposes different regulatory frameworks that could fundamentally reshape the state’s hemp-derived products market.
5. Trick or Treat Contracts: Avoiding AI Vendor Horror Stories
As vendors increasingly embed artificial intelligence in their products and services—often without clear disclosure—this article provides essential guidance for businesses evaluating and contracting with AI vendors. Part of Ward and Smith’s “Conjuring Competitive Advantage: An AI Spellbook for Leaders” series, the piece emphasizes that AI tools can expose organizations to regulatory violations, data breaches, competitive disadvantages, and reputational damage if not properly vetted.
4. Preserve or Perish: The North Carolina Supreme Court Reinforces Rule 50 Specificity in Vanguard Pai Lung v. Moody
This critical analysis of a landmark North Carolina Supreme Court decision serves as a cautionary message for every trial lawyer: to preserve an issue for a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), counsel must first raise that precise issue with specificity in a motion for directed verdict. The court’s decision in Vanguard Pai Lung, LLC v. Moody formally adopts precedent that enforces preservation requirements with particular rigor in complex cases involving multiple claims or defenses.
3. Corporate Transparency Act Enforcement Suspended Once Again
Following weeks of legal uncertainty involving temporary injunctions and stays, this article reports on the U.S. Treasury Department’s March 2025 announcement that it would not enforce penalties or fines associated with the Corporate Transparency Act’s Beneficial Ownership Information reporting requirements. After a U.S. District Court extended the compliance deadline to March 21, 2025, Treasury officials confirmed they would not impose fines on domestic reporting companies, offering crucial relief to businesses struggling with compliance.
2. Understanding Post-Separation Support and Alimony in North Carolina
This piece demystifies North Carolina’s spousal support system, explaining the distinctions between post-separation support (temporary financial support while an alimony claim is pending) and alimony (longer-term financial support). The article addresses fundamental eligibility requirements, defining “dependent spouse” and “supporting spouse” while explaining how courts evaluate financial need and ability to pay.
1. Key Employment Law Issues Employers Need to Watch in 2025
Topping our list, this forward-looking article provides essential guidance on the employment law landscape as the United States navigates a new administration and the workplace policy shifts that accompany changing federal priorities. With heightened oversight and new legislative initiatives on the horizon, the piece identifies critical areas where employers must remain vigilant and prepared.
2026 promises to be just as impactful as 2025 was! If you are not already receiving our email alerts, please sign up for our email list here. We send articles of interest to businesses, individuals, municipalities, and nonprofits on a regular basis. We published more than 100 articles in 2025 and would be happy to send appropriate topics to you. Select your topics here.
