Promoting the Practice – Championing Diverse Attorneys

By Alison Ashe-Card and Leslie Pegram, NCCP

One of the Minorities in the Profession Committee’s goals for this bar year is to continue to advance diversity and inclusion and racial equity efforts. One avenue to advance this goal is through recognizing diverse attorneys, legal professionals, and students for an award or recognition. The MIP Committee’s Awards/Recognitions and Blog Communications Subcommittee is charged with collating and communicating award/recognition opportunities. The Subcommittee encourages everyone to review these opportunities and nominate deserving diverse attorneys for an array of awards from organizations including the ABA, NCBA, and local county bar associations. For November and December, take the opportunity to nominate a diverse attorney who champions diversity and inclusion and embodies professionalism on a daily basis for one of the following awards.

Julius L. Chambers Diversity Champion Award

Nominations are being accepted through Nov. 6 by the Mecklenburg County Bar Association for the Julius L. Chambers Diversity Champion Award. The award recognizes an attorney who champions diversity and inclusion in Mecklenburg County while embodying high ethical standards, unquestioned integrity and consistent competence.

Nominees must be attorneys based in Mecklenburg County who have demonstrated exemplary leadership and impact in the following areas.

1. Diversity within the Bar – through facilitation of recruitment, hiring, retention and promotion of diverse individuals in the legal profession.

2. Community Service – through provision of outstanding service and education to the community about diversity and inclusion.

3. Ambassador for Diversity and Inclusion Programs – through promotion of behaviors and initiatives associated with diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and through the Mecklenburg County Bar.

4. Advancement in Law – through legal work that has embraced and propelled the ideal of diversity and inclusion.

Nominations are due on or before Friday, November 6, 2020, and should be addressed to members of the MCB Diversity & Inclusion Committee, sent to [email protected] or 2850 Zebulon Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28208. The award will be presented to the selected recipient at the McMillan Fund Fellowship Dinner. Click here for more information and a list of former winners.

2020 H. Brent McKnight Renaissance Lawyer Award

Nominations are being accepted through Nov. 30 by the NCBA for the 2020 H. Brent McKnight Renaissance Lawyer Award. The award, presented at the NCBA Annual Meeting, seeks to recognize those North Carolina attorneys whose trustworthiness, respectful and courteous treatment of all people, enthusiasm for intellectual achievement and commitment to excellence in work, and service to the profession and community during a multi-faceted, accomplished life, inspire others.

Nominations are due on or before Friday, November 30, 2020. Materials in support of a nomination (Nominee Data Form, Background Information, Narrative and Letters of Support), should be submitted prior to the deadline to Holly Morris at [email protected]. Nominations may also be submitted by mail to the following address: Professionalism Committee, North Carolina Bar Association, c/o Holly Morris, 8000 Weston Parkway, Cary, NC 27513.

Click here for more information and a list of former winners.

Please feel free to contact MIP Awards Recognition and Blog Communications Subcommittee Co-Chair, Alison Ashe-Card, if you need assistance with your submission.

Scholarship Opportunity for Minority Law Students

Nexsen Pruet Diversity Scholarship Program

Applications are due by Nov. 15 for the Nexsen Pruet Diversity Scholarship Program. The scholarship is awarded to two underrepresented or minority law students who are enrolled at an ABA accredited law school. The program recipients will receive a $5,000 scholarship and a paid summer associate position.

Applications are due by November 15, 2020, to Nexsen Pruet Diversity Scholarship.

Attention: Summer Winslow, 1230 Main Street, Suite 700, Columbia, South Carolina 29201.

The contact email for the scholarship program is [email protected], and a copy of the application is available at this link.