• Blog Post

    Do Not Resuscitate Tattoo Sparks Legal and Ethical Dilemma

    Imagine: you are an emergency room doctor and an unconscious 70-year-old man arrives. He has an elevated blood alcohol level, a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, and atrial fibrillation. He has no identification. No friends. No family. He does, however, have a tattoo that reads: “DO NOT RESUSCITATE” along with his signature.   Do Not Resuscitate orders (DNRs) are standard in the medical field and often arise in cases of terminal illness or incurable diseases. Many people sign DNRs because they do not want their doctors and family members to keep them alive if they are in a persistent vegetative state with little to no hope of…

  • Blog Post

    The Legality of Little Lemonade Stands

    While driving through the residential neighborhoods of Charlotte, North Carolina in the hot summer months, it’s not hard to find kids selling lemonade. I’ve seen three in the last three weeks. Harnessing their budding entrepreneurial skills (and perhaps at the suggestion of a parent tired of their kids watching television), setting up a lemonade stand is a relatively simple task. All you need is a pitcher, cups, water, sugar, lemons, knowledge of zoning laws, heath regulations, the fire code, federal income tax implications, and potentially a peddler’s license or a license to solicit charitable donations.   In a perfect world, police and city officials would use a bit of common…

  • Blog Post

    The Legal Considerations of Using Drones in Construction Zones

              The use of drones is no longer science fiction or limited to combat zones; commercial drones are the way of the future.  Drones are used in a host of industries: aerial photography, real estate, agriculture, construction, search and rescue, emergency management, and mining.  Even package delivery via drone may soon be a part of our everyday lives.  In May of 2014, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began approving petitions for commercial drone usage and those slated for construction purposes comprised roughly 13% of the first 1000 approvals.[1]             These drones are not actually building structures or moving materials (yet).  Instead,…