Elizabeth Croom Receives Government & Public Sector Section Award
Elizabeth Croom, who serves as Deputy Legal Counsel for Technology and Innovation at the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts, is the 2023 recipient of the NCBA Government and Public Sector Section’s Grainger Barrett Award for Excellence.
The award honors “an outstanding government or public sector attorney as an exemplar of the excellence, dedication and passion for justice of North Carolina’s government and public sector attorneys.” Croom is the 22nd recipient of the award.
In her acceptance remarks, Croom recognized members of the Government & Public Sector Section for “all of your work for the public good,” and provided background information on Grainger Barrett, who died unexpectedly in 2009. The award, which was established in 2001, was renamed by the section in his honor and presented to Barrett posthumously in 2010.
Elizabeth Croom
“I did not know Grainger Barrett, but I wish that I had,” Croom said. “His father served as a diplomat for the U.S. Department of State, so Grainger lived in various countries throughout the world when he was growing up, including Egypt, Ireland, and Spain. Grainger graduated from high school in Madrid, Spain. He began college at Elon – where my maternal grandparents went – and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“He then served as an Air Force officer and returned to UNC to attend law school. He dedicated his career to public service, serving as Person County Attorney, City of Chapel Hill Attorney, an assistant professor at the UNC School of Government, and then, for 10 years as Cumberland County Attorney.”
Croom describes public service as the lifeblood of the Judiciary, which is supported by her legal work.
“Public service defines who we are as an institution,” Croom said. “The Judiciary’s role in our democracy is different from the other two branches of government, but we share the common goal of serving the public. Our core mission is to decide cases fairly and impartially in accordance with the law.
“But our work doesn’t end when the gavel falls. We implement programs to address the root causes of recidivism, such as drug use, mental health, human trafficking, and adverse childhood experiences. We embrace this expanded role.”
Croom thanked Chief Justice Paul Newby, Director Ryan Boyce, Deputy Director Joseph Kyzer, and General Counsel Andrew Brown for their leadership and for providing her with the opportunity to work with the AOC. She also thanked her colleagues in the Office of General Counsel for their “scholarship, teamwork, and dedicated service. They lift me up and make me a better lawyer and public servant every day.”
“Like everyone else,” Croom continued, “the pandemic tested the Judiciary, but we have emerged as a stronger, more resilient institution. We have harnessed new technologies to make us more accessible. We are forging new partnerships to make our community safer. We are expanding programs to support vulnerable children and families. And we are improving access to justice.”
In describing her work, Croom explained that she primarily represents the AOC in its legal transactions with external parties, including vendors, grantors, grantees, and other governmental entities.
“Much of my work,” she continued, “has focused on technology contracts as the Judicial Branch has moved from developing its own software and storing data on premises to vendor solutions hosted in the cloud. We now have enterprise agreements with AWS, Microsoft, Tyler Technologies, Inc., and a host of other technology vendors.”
Croom and her Office of General Counsel partner Allison Pluchos, who serves as Assistant General Counsel and spent 19 years at DOJ before joining the AOC, also review, negotiate, and draft grant agreements.
“Grants,” Croom explained, “principally federal grants, are the Judicial Branch’s second largest source of funding after legislative appropriations. The General Assembly has also appropriated over $30 million to the AOC and the Human Trafficking Commission to administer as grantors to develop and support innovative courts (like treatment courts), as well as non-profit organizations and programs that support victims of DV, sexual assault, and human trafficking.”
Croom also works with AOC Privacy Officer Sherri Brooks to negotiate the Judicial Branch’s data sharing agreements with law enforcement and other governmental entities.
“For example,” Croom said, “the AOC provides the Government Analytics Data Center with criminal case data for CJLEADS (Criminal Justice Law Enforcement Automated Data Services). CJLEADS was established by the General Assembly after UNC Student Body President Eve Carson was murdered, and its purpose is to ensure that law enforcement has access to accurate and timely criminal justice information to promote public safety.”
Croom provided two recent examples of assisting innovative judicial officials with third-party legal transactions.
“The first,” Croom said, “comes from Grainger Barrett’s home county of Cumberland, which is also home to the largest U.S. military installation by population, Fort Bragg. There, Judge Lou Olivera has been instrumental in establishing Veterans Treatment Court. This innovative court serves veterans charged with certain criminal offenses and seeks to address underlying issues that cause veterans to be involved with the criminal justice systems, such as substance abuse and mental health problems.
“Judge Olivera reached out to me for help with an effort to work together with the U.S. Veterans Administration to identify eligible veterans because veterans are often reluctant to self-identify within the criminal justice system. He and I worked together with the AOC’s Research, Policy, and Planning team and Technology Services Division to obtain the criminal case data needed to work with the VA to identify veterans eligible for Veterans Treatment Court.”
Judge Olivera recently invited the AOC team to visit his court to see, in his words, “firsthand the many veterans that you are assisting by your efforts to support our court and identifying those veterans in need.”
Olivera, she added, went on to say, “As a veteran myself, I thank you and your team for assisting. The impact and importance of this system will benefit our state for years to come.”
“Judge Olivera’s passion and inspiration are contagious,” Croom said, “and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with him and other role models like him across the Judicial Branch.”
Croom’s second example involved Wake County District Court Judge Ashleigh Parker Dunston.
“I had the privilege of working with Judge Dunston recently on her vision to establish a Legal Support Center in the Wake County Courthouse,” Croom said. “The purpose of the Center is to assist self-represented litigants navigate the courts. This was another team effort, including the Chief Justice’s Commission on Equal Access to Justice, which is staffing the Legal Support Center, and the Wake County government, which is providing space in the Wake County Courthouse, as well as funding for the Center.
“Judge Dunston spoke at the grand opening of the Center in January, pledging to continue her mission until all 100 counties have a Legal Support Center. Judge Dunston’s passion and inspiration are contagious, and I am privileged to work with her on this project.”
Croom concluded her acceptance remarks by thanking her family for indoctrinating her into a culture of service.
“According to the 1910 census,” Croom said, “my maternal grandparents worked in the Saxapahaw Mill when they should have been attending elementary school. Somehow, they were both able to attend and graduate from Elon College. They taught at Hillsborough High School, where my grandfather eventually became principal. He later served as the Superintendent for Orange County Schools; Grady Brown Elementary School is now named for him.
“On the other side of the family, my paternal grandfather was a medical doctor in Maxton, which is in Robeson County (one of the poorest in North Carolina). He told stories of receiving whatever produce was in season as payment. He came from at least two generations of medical professionals in Maxton before him. My paternal grandmother was a piano teacher who was awarded North Carolina Mother of the Year for her community service.”
Her parents, Croom continued, earned their undergraduate and Ph.D. degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“For about four decades, more or less, my parents were professors at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, where my brother and I grew up. My mom taught microbiology, at times heading the Pre-Med Committee and the Biology Department. My dad taught mathematics and also served as a dean and then provost at Sewanee.
“My brother followed in our family’s medical tradition after earning his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his M.D. from Columbia University in New York City, both with honors. He now serves as an epidemiologist with the Tennessee Department of Health. My dad’s brother Dr. Bob Croom was a general surgeon and professor at the UNC School of Medicine and his wife, Aunt Patsy, was a nurse there. Their son, my cousin Bobby Croom, is a former assistant district attorney and is now an attorney for the Department of Insurance, and my cousin Trish is a social worker who helps UNC students who have gotten into trouble due to substance use.
“Finally, I will mention a true hero, who is a generation younger than I am. Retired U.S. Marine Corps Corporal Christian A. Brown, my maternal cousin’s son, was awarded the Silver Star for his bravery and leadership in Afghanistan.
“I am grateful for these and other role models in my family.”
Croom is also grateful, she reiterated, to the Government & Public Sector Section for selecting her to receive this award.
“I am deeply honored and look forward to continuing in service to the public together.”
Croom received her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from the University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn., in 1987. She earned the juris doctor, cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law in Athens, Ga., in 1990. She also holds an LL.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Science, which she received in 1993.
NCBA Government and Public Sector Section
Grainger Barrett Award for Excellence Recipients
2001 – M. Ann Reed
2003 – Jo Anne Sanford
2004 – John Stuart Bruce
2005 – Gill P. Beck
2006 – Dan McLawhorn
2007 – Ann B. Wall
2008 – Curtis B. Venable
2009 – Jeffrey P. Gray
2010 – Grainger R. Barrett
2011 – James B. Blackburn III
2012 – M. Lynne Weaver and Philip A. Lehman
2014 – Ellis Hankins
2015 – Chief Justice Sarah Parker
2016 – Frayda Bluestein
2017 – Frank Whitney
2018 – Thomas McCormick
2019 – Christine Simpson
2020 – Albert M. Benshoff
2021 – Robert W. Oast Jr.
2022 – Mac McCarley
2023 – Elizabeth Croom
Russell Rawlings is director of external affairs and communications for the North Carolina Bar Association.