Jennifer Lyday Receives Bankruptcy Section Pro Bono Award
The NCBA Bankruptcy Section presented its Outstanding Achievement in Pro Bono Award last fall to Jennifer Lyday, a partner at Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey PLLC in Winston-Salem.
Jamey Lowdermilk, who serves as co-chair of the section’s Pro Bono Committee along with Tyler Russell, presented the award.
“Jennifer has a long and laudable history contributing pro bono services,” Lowdermilk stated. “For many years, she has helped interpersonal violence victims obtain 50-B protective orders in collaboration with Legal Aid of North Carolina. Jennifer also has served as counsel in Hague Convention cases representing parents whose children have been abducted into the U.S. She also has helped a victim of religious persecution in Burma obtain asylum in the U.S.”
Jennifer Lyday, right, accepts award from Jamey Lowdermilk.
Lyday received the NCBA’s Younger Lawyer Pro Bono Award in 2013 in conjunction with her pro bono involvement in Hague Convention cases.
“Lyday,” Lowdermilk continued, “has an extensive record of pro bono and community service. She has served on the Board of Directors for The Children’s Law Center of Central North Carolina since 2016, and facilitated a partnership between her firm and Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Winston-Salem Office for pro bono representation of certain consumer bankruptcy cases.”
“This year,” Lowdermilk added, ”in addition to some of the pro bono representation already described, Jennifer and her colleague, Diana Santos Johnson, led a team of attorneys in assisting the First Church of God of Winston-Salem in avoiding foreclosure and securing a new lender to refinance the loan for their property. First Church of God had been in their worship space for 23 years when they unexpectedly faced the prospect of foreclosure. Jennifer and her team facilitated the Church keeping their home.”
Lyday is a graduate of Wake Forest University and William & Mary School of Law, where she served as Lead Articles Editor for the William & Mary Law Journal. Her previous legal experience includes service as a partner at Waldrep LLP and as an associate at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP (now Womble Bond Dickinson).
Her reaction to receiving this award was a combination of surprise and appreciation.
“Initially, I was very surprised,” Lyday said. “My mentor and partner Tom Waldrep is really good at keeping secrets! After I recovered from my shock, I just felt so honored. I don’t think anyone does pro bono work to win awards, but it certainly felt wonderful to receive the recognition of my peers whom I respect so much.”
Involvement in the section, Lyday added, has enhanced both her practice and membership in the NCBA.
“My involvement in the Bankruptcy Section has allowed me to interact with bankruptcy attorneys across the state of North Carolina with whom I would not normally have the opportunity to interact,” Lyday said. “This has made my practice richer and more fulfilling. It is also the best part of my membership in the NCBA!”
Previous recipients of the Bankruptcy Section’s Outstanding Achievement in Pro Bono Award are:
2015 – Ciara Rogers
2016 – Jennifer Bennington
2017 – Matthew Crow
2018 – Michael Martinez
2019 – Lance Martin
2020 – Heather Culp
2021 – Richard Cook
Russell Rawlings is director of external affairs and communications for the North Carolina Bar Association.