NCBA Honors Sen. Dan Clodfelter

Article Date: Thursday, January 22, 2009

Written By: Russell Rawlings

President Charles Becton, left, presents certificate to Sen. Dan Clodfelter.

The Board of Governors of the North Carolina Bar Association, convening on Thursday, Jan. 22, at the N.C. Bar Center, honored N.C. Sen. Dan Clodfelter during a special recognition luncheon.

The event traditionally highlights the NCBA’s winter meeting. The six-term lawyer legislator from Charlotte joins a distinguished list of honorees that includes John G. Medlin Jr., who chaired the Commission on the Future of Courts and Justice in North Carolina, U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr., Superior Court Judge Howard Manning, AOC Director Ralph Walker and ABA President A.P. Carlton.

Fellow Sen. Fletcher Hartsell of Concord, who serves on the NCBA Board of Governors, introduced Clodfelter. Their relationship dates back to Davidson College where Hartsell was Clodfelter's “big brother” in Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity.

Mixing light-hearted reflections with words of respect, Hartsell said that beyond his roles as a legislator and politician, Clodfelter has always been a lawyer first.

Clodfelter, who received a certificate of recognition from NCBA President Charles Becton, agreed.

“Being a lawyer is what I do,” Clodfelter said.

Dignitaries attending the luncheon included N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah Parker, Associate Justice Paul Newby who serves on the NCBA Board of Governors and newly appointed AOC Director John W. Smith.

A Thomasville native, Clodfelter received a bachelor’s degree from Davidson College in 1972. He attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar before returning to the United States to earn his law degree from Yale University in 1977.

He served as a law clerk for Judge James B. McMillan of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of N.C. from 1977-78, after which he began what is now a tenure of some 30 years with Moore & Van Allen in Charlotte.

Clodfelter served on the Charlotte City Council from 1987-93 and in the General Assembly since 1999.