The number of law school applicants and applications has continued its downward trend, according to data compiled by the Law School Admission Council.

By May 31, about 56,424 people had applied to law schools accredited by the American Bar Association for the 2013-2014 school year, a drop of 13.2 percent from the year before. That’s from last year’s applicants. Keep in mind that applications have been on decline for 4 to 5 years.

With the typical applicant applying to multiple schools, there were 376,380 total applications filed, which was a drop of 18.6 percent from the year before.

At least would-be applicants are getting the picture: there are few jobs for recent graduates.

My question: why don’t more people apply to engineering schools instead? We need more engineers and scientists.

Build-A-Bandit owner, Robert Allen McElreath, took over $2,000,000 in deposits from car owners then didn’t work on their cars. He’s believed to have fled the state.

Attorney General Roy Cooper said June 3 that a judge issued a temporary restraining order against Robert Allen McElreath. The order issued last week told el Bandito to stop taking orders and advance deposits for automobile restoration in North Carolina.

“Promising consumers a custom car, taking their money and then leaving them high and dry is no way to do business,” Cooper said. “We want to stop bandits from making off with people’s money.”

The business name is a reference to the 1977 movie “Smokey and the Bandit,” which featured the Trans Am driven by Burt Reynolds. Other pseudonyms are Pick a Pony, Pontiac Pros, Common Man Classic Hot Rods and Discount Automotive Classic Reconstruction, Cooper said.

Since June 2012, the Attorney General’s Office has received 52 written complaints from people from as far away as Australia. There have been 26 warrants have been issued against McElreath for obtaining property by false pretenses.

The complaint filed by Cooper’s office lists Erica Kampert as an accomplice. The scam, per the AG, is that McElreath advertised “Smokey and the Bandit” cars on Internet auction sites. Bidders who lost got a call from McElreath offering them a car at a discounted price, Cooper said. Then the duped consumer executed a contract and wired thousands of dollars before work began, according to the AG complaint said.

Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning ordered McElreath to appear in court June 10. He did not appear at the hearing last week when the temporary restraining order was issued.

Welcome the newest construction to Downtown Winston-Salem. Commercial Realty Advisors is developing the lot at the corner of 4th and Broad Street with Frank L. Blum as contractor, archSTUDIO7 as the architect, and Stimmel & Associates as the engineer. This rendering of this 55,000 sf building is excellent. John Reese II, the managing partner, says it is 65% preleased . Good to see Class A on the West End side of Downtown.

Construction begins in June 2013.

So you have a business and need some additional funding , well financial institutions are unlikely to give a small business a loan with no collateral and/or no credit history.

And, if your business lacks a track record, it’s doubtful you can get venture capital.

Where to turn?

Sometimes the only place you can turn are Friends & Family.

The National Entrepreneurship Center (NEC) actually endorses this idea, but it needs to be done carefully.

Done improperly and you run the risk of losing or destroying those relationships. Just think of the [high school reunion/family reunion/poker night] spent with people who think or know you blew their hard saved money.

So if you do borrow from F&F or they invest in your business, make sure you do it write.

1) Write out the plan. First step, have some business plan – and it doesn’t have to be some 20 page MBA business plan—but some plan with goals and how to meet goal and analysis of market and competition, etc.

2) If a loan, make it an official loan agreement (principal amount, interest rate, length of loan, and collateral used to secure the loan). Get an attorney to draft (especially if you are the person lending the money).

3) Define of person with money is a lender or an equity stakeholder

4) Document everything. No handshakes here.

5) Business better be absolutely clear with person loaning/investing on exactly how the money will be used & how it will be repaid.

Investors/Lenders ask yourself: “If I didn’t know this person, would I still think this was a good idea to lend the money to them?”

Make sure you don’t draw up your own legal papers. I’ve seen what non-lawyers can do & it’s scary.

Mark Fetters of Greensboro, NC (Guilford County) has a writ of execution issued against him based on a judgment due to a creditor.

Mark Fetters also operating as Fetters Builders (contractor’s license was revoked).

ßmark Fetters, Greensboro, judgmentà

Check out the following series of talks at New Winston Museum (no admission charges): https://www.facebook.com/NewWinston

March 28th at 5:30 pm there will be a talk on the new stained glass windows that have been created for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.  Anyone interested in architecture or stained glass will find this very interesting.

April 11th at 11:45 am – just as we are going into gardening season David Bare (Reynolda Gardens & the WS Journal), Eric Jackson (Old Salem Gardens) and Margaret & Salem Neff (Beta Verde) will be speaking about heirloom gardening.  If any of you are in a garden club it would be wonderful if you passed this information on to your fellow members.

April 25th at 5:30 pm Artist Jan Detter (teaches at WFU in the Entrepreneurial Program and has created art pieces all over town) will be speaking on the evolution of textiles as art and what it is like to be a professional working artist.  She is an incredibly dynamic and inspiring speaker.  Anyone interested in the Arts will love hearing her ideas.

May 9th at 11:45 am local historian Fam Brownlee will be speaking about the joining of Winston and Salem.  He knows lots of interesting stories about the period and is just a delight to listen to.  His talk will be a wonderful way to start your celebration of the centennial of Winston-Salem.

May 23rd at 5:30 pm will be Twin City Story Time.  Four WS writers, including our very own Bill Womble will be sharing their tales of the city.

June 13th at 12:30 pm fellow board members and Scott Wierman (Winston-Salem Foundation) will be speaking about the many ways that philanthropy has shaped our city.

June 27th at 5:30 pm Ellen Kutcher (Director of Historic Bethabara Park) will be speaking of our community’s unique shared history.