North Carolina General Statutes 114-9.7. Oversight
(a) Until the conclusion of the legal proceeding or other matter for which the services of the private attorney have been retained, the executed contingency fee contract and the Attorney General’s written determination pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 114-9.4 shall not be deemed a public record within the meaning of Chapter 132 of the N.C. Gen. Stat.. All records maintained under this subsection shall be made available to the State Auditor for oversight purposes, upon request.
(b) The amount of any payment of contingency fees pursuant to a contingency fee contract subject to this Article shall be posted on the Attorney General’s Web site within 15 days after the payment of those contingency fees to the private attorney and shall remain posted on the Web site for at least 365 days thereafter.
(c) Any private attorney under contract to provide services to a State agency on a contingency fee basis shall maintain all records related to the contract in accordance with the Revised North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct.
(d) By February 1 of each year following a year in which a State agency entered into a contingency fee contract with a private attorney, the Attorney General shall submit a report to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives describing the use of contingency fee contracts with private attorneys in the preceding calendar year. To the fullest extent possible without waiving the evidentiary privileges of the State in any pending matters, the report shall:
(1) Identify each new contingency fee contract entered into during the year and each previously executed contingency fee contract that remains current during any part of the year.
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 114-9.7
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
- President pro tempore: A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
(2) Include the name of the private attorney with whom the department has contracted in each instance, including the name of the attorney’s law firm.
(3) Describe the nature and status of the legal matter that is the subject of each contract.
(4) Provide the name of the parties to each legal matter.
(5) Disclose the amount of recovery.
(6) Disclose the amount of any contingency fee paid.
(7) Include copies of any written determinations made under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 114-9.4 (2014-110, s. 1.1.)