Hail To The Nominators, Who Make The Applause Possible
Awards have been a part of my professional life for nearly 50 years, dating back to the spring of 1974. I was a senior in high school and two months into my first full-time job as a sportswriter at The Wilson Daily Times when classmate Clay Johnson received our first Athlete of the Year Award.
Lifelong friend and Raleigh attorney William Plyler was also a member of that class. Yes, time flies!
But the significance of receiving an award has not changed. Whether you’re a high school senior looking forward to adulthood or a seasoned legal profession looking back on a long and successful career, recognition for your accomplishments is always meaningful and appreciated.
Which brings us to the focal point of this article: the nominators.
Past President Betty Quick refreshed my memory on the importance of nominators in her closing remarks at this year’s Legal Practice Hall of Fame banquet (see story, this issue). She congratulated the recipients, thanked the planners and participants, and paid special tribute to those who took the time to nominate their peers.
Yes, it requires a little effort – a few phone calls and emails, perhaps a recommendation letter or two, and there is no guarantee that your nominee will win, right away or ever for that matter. But when the nomination is successful, there is no feeling that compares to seeing your colleagues and friends accepting their awards. In many ways, it’s more meaningful than receiving an award yourself.
It is an award, or better yet a reward, for stepping up on behalf of deserving individuals and organizations.
Awards such as these from the 2023 NCBA Annual Meeting are made possible by their respective nominators.
The North Carolina Bar Association and its sections, divisions and committees and the North Carolina Bar Foundation administer nominations and selection procedures throughout the year. A complete listing of these awards is posted here on the NCBA website.
Included in this list are the awards traditionally presented in June at the NCBA Annual Meeting: H. Brent McKnight Renaissance Lawyer Award, Legal Legends of Color Awards, Pro Bono Awards, and Citizen Lawyer Awards.
Nominations are currently being accepted for annual meeting awards with the exception of the Citizen Lawyer Awards, which will commence in January. Read further for additional information about the awards, derived from the respective web pages, and pay careful attention to the deadlines for each award.
And thank you in advance for being a nominator!
Brent McKnight Renaissance Lawyer Award
The H. Brent McKnight Renaissance Lawyer Award was established in honor of Judge McKnight’s contributions to professionalism and the practice of law in North Carolina, and in recognition of the enduring influence and high ideals of the full, accomplished life of a “Renaissance Lawyer.” Proposed by the NCBA Professionalism Committee and adopted in 2006 by the NCBA Board of Governors, the award recognizes attorneys who demonstrate the “Renaissance Lawyer” qualities embodied by Judge McKnight, who died in 2004 while serving on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of N.C.
Nominations for the 2024 awards are due December 8, 2023. Everything you need to know can be found here.
Legal Legends of Color
Launched in 2016, the Minorities in the Profession Committee’s Legal Legends of Color Award publicly recognizes attorneys of color who have had undeniable impacts on the legal profession and whose legacies represent ceilings broken for all attorneys who follow in their footsteps. The Legal Legends of Color Awards Celebration demonstrates the NCBA’s commitment to embrace diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. The celebration is a time to recognize and honor attorneys and other legal professionals of color whose legacies represent ceilings broken for all attorneys who follow in their footsteps and whose impacts on the legal profession are undeniable.
Nominations for the 2024 awards are due March 1, 2024. Everything you need to know can be found here.
NCBA Pro Bono Awards
The North Carolina Bar Association and Foundation are committed to addressing inequities in access to legal services and participation in the legal profession by historically excluded individuals and communities in our state. This commitment includes recognizing the achievements of those legal professionals who identify as members of historically excluded groups. The Pro Bono Committee is currently accepting nominations for the following awards: Thorp Pro Bono Service Award, Greenblatt Outstanding Legal Services Attorney Award, Younger Lawyer Pro Bono Service Award, Law Firm Pro Bono Award, Outstanding Collaborative/Group Pro Bono Service Award, Law School Pro Bono Service Award, Outstanding Paralegal Pro Bono Service Award, and The Filling the Justice Gap Award.
Nominations for the 2024 awards are due February 16, 2024. Everything you need to know can be found here.
NCBA Citizen Lawyer Awards
The Citizen Lawyer Award was established to recognize and thank lawyers who, in addition to their legal work, exemplify the ideals of a citizen lawyer by volunteering their time for worthy community or civic causes to improve the quality of life of those in their local or statewide communities. This award recognizes role models who inspire other lawyers to invest their time and talents in service-oriented activities.
Nominations for this year’s awards will open in January 2024. Everything you will need to know can be found here, including the criteria statement and nomination guidelines which are available now.
Russell Rawlings is director of external affairs and communications for the North Carolina Bar Association.