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2010 News Articles › Education Law Section Honors Thomas Stern
Education Law Section Honors Thomas Stern
Article Date: Sunday, May 02, 2010
Thomas Milton Stern was honored on Friday, April 23, as the 2010 recipient of the Education Law Section’s Distinguished Service Award. Stern is the 16th recipient of the award since its inception in 1990.
The award was presented during the Education Law Section’s annual meeting at the N.C. Bar Center. Stern was recognized for his outstanding service to the Education Law Section.
“As one of the few employee-side attorneys in the Education Law Section, I know most of our section members as worthy adversaries,” Stern said. “It speaks volumes about the integrity of this organization that it is willing to select an NCAE lawyer for the Distinguished Service Award. I have tremendous
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| Thomas Sterns, left, is greeted by Education Law Section chair Mike Delafield. |
affection and respect for my fellow section members, and am very humbled to have received this honor.”
Stern graduated in 1978 from Tufts University and received his J.D. from Harvard in 1983.
Stern spent 1983-2000 with the civil rights law firm of Ferguson, Stein, Wallas, Adkins, Gresham and Sumter as an education law and medical negligence litigation specialist. He opened his own law office in Durham, N.C. in 2000 that is dedicated to the practice of education law and to advocacy teaching and training. Stern represents members of the North Carolina Association of Educators and works closely with the organization on legislative and other issues. He also provides advocacy training across the county to state affiliates of the National Education Association and teaches Trial Advocacy at UNC Law School.
“The shift to solo practice coincided with a shift in Tom’s focus in education law away from the role of litigator and towards the role of negotiator and leader in systemic assessments of education problems, and in representing educators in the give and take of the legislative process in educational law,” remarked his nominators.
Stern has been highly involved with the Education Law Section over the years, having served as chair of the section, Legislative Committee co-chair and as a long-time member of the Executive Council.
Stern, originally from Newark, New Jersey, can also be found on a different type of court when not practicing law, as he is involved with officiating high school and junior college basketball games.