Kimberley Receives YLD Award
Article Date: Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Catherine Kimberley of Raleigh has been honored by the Young Lawyers Division of
the North Carolina Bar Association as the 2009 recipient of the Charles F.
Blanchard Outstanding Young Lawyer Award.
The award, named in honor of the founding YLD chair who served from 1953-55,
was presented at the YLD Annual Meeting on Saturday, June 27, at the Grove Park
Inn in Asheville. The meeting coincided with the 111th NCBA Annual Meeting.
Outgoing YLD Chair Patti Ramseur presented the award.
Kimberley practices law in Raleigh with Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett,
Mitchell & Jernigan, L.L.P. Among her many contributions this year,
Kimberley served as co-chair of the Pro Bono Poverty Issues Committee.
The committee conducted a legal seminar on domestic issues in August at the
Women’s Resource Center in Greensboro, where 34 women were served. On Nov. 13,
the committee conducted a panel discussion at Helping Hands in Raleigh, where
over 30 individuals were served and had an opportunity to ask about issues such
as landlord/tenant, domestic, criminal, and employment.
On May 2, the committee held a panel discussion as part of the neighborhood
“open house” held at Ardmore Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, where a number of
Hispanic families presented for financial consulting, job services, games and
lunch.
The committee also worked with Youth Focus in Greensboro to implement an
e-mentorship program for the children in its therapeutic foster care program and
is in the process of distributing application forms and guidelines to recruit
mentors for this program.
“Catherine was very active with the clinics and spearheaded the
e-mentorship program,” Ramseur said. “Additionally, she participated in the
Legal Feeding Frenzy (food drive) and got her firm to do so. Smith Anderson
ended up winning the award for the 2nd Place Contributor.
“Catherine also participated in the toy drive we did in December for the
Wayne County Boys & Girls Club. She was very willing to jump in and assist
other committees and with other projects.”
Kimberley will continue to serve in a leadership position in 2009-10 as the
ABA State Bar delegate and will be serving as a division director.
Craig Cannon of Winston-Salem is the incoming chair of YLD while Roberta
King, also of Winston-Salem, will serve as chair elect. Brad Williams of Raleigh
was elected secretary and Clark Walton of Charlotte will serve as the ABA
District 9 representative.