Citizen Lawyer Paul Meggett

Article Date: Friday, June 26, 2009

Written By: by Kimberly Gatling

Paul Meggett, right, accepts award from President Charles Becton.

Chapel Hill attorney Paul Meggett is the epitome of a citizen lawyer and undoubtedly deserves the honor of being selected by the North Carolina Bar Association as one of 12 lawyers honored for exceptional community service and leadership.

Meggett’s compassion about giving back to the community is clearly evident. His current focus is on chartering an educationally-focused afterschool program at a school in Chapel Hill where there is a significant achievement gap between the minority and non-minority students. Meggett is actively involved in raising money for the program, and speaks with excitement about his efforts to get grants, including Title I funding. He is also focused on identifying tutors to work with children in the program.
  
Meggett describes himself as having “a calling for education” and this passion extends to his service on the statewide advisory board for the North Carolina Child Welfare Education Collaborative and the Park Scholarship Regional Selection Committee for North Carolina State University.

Meggett is also actively involved in many civic organizations. He serves on the board of directors for Threshold, Inc., which is a psycho-social rehabilitation center for adults with mental health issues, and served for several years on the board of directors for the North Carolina Prisoners legal Services, Inc.

A father of three, Meggett enjoys fatherhood and being involved in his children’s activities, such as by coaching his son’s basketball team. Additionally, Meggett and his family are active in their church where he has taught Sunday school and is presently in ministerial training.

Meggett is associate general counsel for the UNC Health Care System where his responsibilities include a wide variety of transactions and health law, self-insurance, and risk management issues. He also is an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law, where he teaches legal research and writing.

Meggett is a native of Charlotte and a graduate of North Carolina State University and the UNC School of Law.

Provided by the Young Lawyers Division of the North Carolina Bar Association in conjunction with the Citizen Lawyer Task Force in recognition of recipients of the 2009 Citizen Lawyer Awards. The awards were presented on Friday, June 26, at the NCBA Annual Meeting in Asheville.