Walker Earns NCBA's Highest Honor
Article Date: Monday, June 19, 2006
Written By: Russell Rawlings
"Ace" Walker, right, accepts award from Mike Colombo. |
The 29th recipient of the John J. Parker Award is Clarence W. “Ace” Walker of Charlotte, past president of the North Carolina Bar Association (1978-79) and partner of counsel in the business law department of Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman, LLP.
Walker has served on the Board of Governors of the NCBA and the ABA, and was a member of the ABA House of Delegates from 1980-2000.
The award was presented Saturday, June 17, during the General Session of the 108th NCBA Annual Meeting in Atlantic Beach. It is considered the highest honor awarded by the NCBA.
G. Gray Wilson of Winston-Salem, immediate past president and chair of the Past Presidents’ Council which selected Walker, made the presentation.
“Ace has long been a giant in the profession in leadership roles,” Wilson noted from the nominating materials, “with the North Carolina Bar Association and the American Bar Association, as a longtime member of the board of directors of Lawyers Mutual Liability Insurance Company, which he helped found, as a speaker in numerous continuing legal education programs, and as a lifelong champion of pro bono legal services.”
Walker is a Durham native and 1953 graduate of Duke University, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He proceeded to the Duke Law School where he served as notes editor of the Duke Law Journal and was a member of the Order of the Coif. He graduated in 1955 and practiced initially in New York City with the firm of Mudge, Rose, Guthrie & Alexander.
He joined Kennedy Covington in 1959 and was a partner there for more than 40 years, playing a substantial role in the growth of the firm. Walker also found time to chair the NCBA’s Business Law Committee, forerunner to the Business Law Section, and has been active in the Business Law, Utilities and Transportation Law and Dispute Resolution sections of the ABA.
Walker has been married to Ann Heath Walker for more than 40 years and has two children, Clare and Greg.
“Ace has been a lifelong champion of honoring our professional commitment to provide access to justice for our poorest citizens,” noted the nomination. “He has done this not only as a bar leader, but also on a hands-on basis.”
Walker received the Mecklenburg County Bar’s Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year Award in 2003 for his service to the local Legal Services for the Elderly Program.
Among his notable community contributions has been his service to the Charlotte hospital. Walker became a member of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority board in 1975 at a time when its flagship facility, Charlotte Memorial Hospital, was not highly regarded in the community or beyond.
During 24 years of board service, however, including seven years as vice chair, what is now known as the Carolinas Healthcare System is regarded among the nation’s finest. Walker has also served as president of the Hospital Authority Foundation and as chair of the Carolinas Medical Center Board of Managers.
Walker served as general campaign manager for the United Way of Central Carolinas in 1989-90 and chaired the board of directors in 1992-93. He served on the board of directors of Myers Park United Methodist Church during 1985-87, as a trustee of North Carolina Central University from 1973-83, and also has served on the board of visitors at Johnson C. Smith University and Duke Law School.
The Judge John J. Parker Memorial Award was established in 1959 by the NCBA as “the highest honor of this association bestowed in recognition of conspicuous service to the cause of jurisprudence in North Carolina.” Underscoring the significance of the award is the fact that recipients are chosen as merited, not annually.
Judge Parker served with distinction on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1925 until his death in 1958, including 27 years of service as chief judge. He practiced law in Greensboro, Charlotte and his native Monroe, and served as special assistant to the U.S. Attorney General prior to his appointment to the bench. In 1944-45, Judge Parker served as an alternate judge on the International Allied Military Tribunal, better known as the Nuremburg Trials.