New Board Members, Officers Join NCBA Board of Governors
Seven new members of the NCBA Board of Governors were elected to three-year terms at the 2024 NCBA Annual Meeting in Charlotte. Joining the new board members as they begin their terms in 2024-25 are five new vice presidents who were elected in April, three incoming division chairs, and the new president-elect.
New board members who are beginning three-year terms in 2024-25 are:
Taylor M. Dewberry, Raleigh
Taylor Dewberry serves as an associate and Chief Diversity Officer with Smith Anderson. She joined the firm in 2017 and previously served as a judicial intern for Chief Justice Mark Martin of the N.C. Supreme Court and Judge James A. Wynn Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Dewberry graduated from Stanford University with honors (American Studies) in 2014 and received her juris doctor, cum laude, from Washington University School of Law in 2017. She is a member of the Labor & Employment Law Section and the Young Lawyers Division, where she has served as ABA District 9 Representative and as co-chair of the Diversity and Inclusion and Disaster Legal Services committees.
Paula A. Kohut, Wilmington
Paula Kohut is a partner in Kohut, Adams & Randall, PA. She joined the firm in 2011 after serving from 1983-2011 with Johnston, Allison & Hord, PA, where she was also a partner. Kohut is a 1980 graduate (B.A., Political Science) of the University of California, Irvine, and received her juris doctor, with honors, from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1983. She served as chair of the Estate Planning & Fiduciary Law Section in 2023-24 and is a member of the Business Law, Elder & Special Needs Law and Real Property Sections. Kohut is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and has served on the N.C. Commission on Inclusion.
Colleen L. Byers, Winston-Salem
Colleen Byers is the owner of Colleen Byers Mediation, LLC. She established the mediation firm in 2021 after practicing with Bell Davis & Pitt, where she was a partner in the firm. Byers graduated summa cum laude from Creighton University in 2005 and earned her joint JD/MBA from Creighton, cum laude, in 2008. She is a member of the International Coaching Federation, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals and the N.C. Civil Collaborative Law Association, where she serves as vice president. Byers is a member of the Dispute Resolution Section, where she has served as CLE Committee chair, and the BarCARES Board of Directors.
L. Nicole Patino, Greensboro
Linda Nicole Patino is the owner of the Law Offices of L. Nicole Patino, PLLC. She established the firm in 2021 and previously served as an associate in the Law Offices of Fred T. Hamlet. Patino earned three degrees from Virginia Tech (B.A., English, B.S., Psychology, 2005; M.A., English, 2007) and graduated in 2015 from Elon University School of Law, where she was an Oaks Scholar. She serves as vice chair of the Labor & Employment Law Section. Patino has also served as a director of the Greensboro Bar Association, legislative chair of the Lower Cape Fear Human Resources Association, and as a member of the Employment Law Specialization Committee.
David W. Sar, Greensboro
David Sar is a partner in Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, LLP. He joined the firm in 1996 and has served as an adjunct professor at UNC School of Law. Sar graduated from Duke University in 1992 (B.A. in Economic Studies and in Public Policy Studies) and received his juris doctor from Yale Law School in 1996. He served as chair of the Intellectual Property Law Section in 2011-12 and has also served as chair of the Trademark Law Specialty Committee of the N.C. State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. Civic involvement includes board service with Launch Greensboro, the Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship, Greensboro Science Center, Cone Health Institutional Review Board and Operation Smile.
John Noor, Asheville
John Noor is a partner in Roberts & Stevens, P.A. He joined the firm in 2013 after serving as law clerk to Judge Calvin E. Murphy of the N.C. Business Court. Noor graduated from UNC-Asheville with a B.A. in Political Science and Economics, with distinction in Political Science, in 2007 and received his juris doctor, with honors, from UNC School of Law in 2011. He is a member of the Antitrust & Complex Business Disputes and Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Law Sections, and has served as chair of the Buncombe County Bar Pro Bono Committee, Pisgah Legal Services, Blue Ridge Public Radio and the City of Asheville Sustainability Committee.
Lindsay Parris Thompson, Asheville
Lindsay Thompson is a principal at The Van Winkle Law Firm. She joined the firm in 2008. Thompson graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.S. in English and American History, with distinction, in 2005 and earned her juris doctor, cum laude, from Campbell Law School in 2008. She has served as chair of the Real Property Section and is also a member of the Real Estate Lawyers Association of North Carolina. Her civic involvement includes service on the Asheville Parks and Greenway Foundation (board and executive committee), Leadership Asheville (graduate and board member), and the Downtown Master Plan Action Committee (member).
New vice presidents serving one-year terms in 2024-25 are:
Judge Valerie Zachary, Yadkinville
Judge Valerie Zachary serves on the N.C. Court of Appeals. She was appointed to the bench in 2015 and elected to a full eight-year term in 2016. Zachary previously served as a partner in the Zachary Law Offices and as an associate with Kennedy, Covington, Lobdell & Hickman (now K&L Gates). She graduated from Michigan State University (B.A.) with honors in 1984 and earned her juris doctor, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1987. Zachary has served on the N.C. Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission since 2017, is a former co-chair of the N.C. Association of Women Attorneys Judicial Division, and a member of the N.C. Supreme Court Historical Society.
Judge Louis Bledsoe III, Charlotte
Judge Louis Bledsoe III serves on the N.C. Business Court. He has served as a Special Superior Court Judge for Complex Business Cases since 2014 and as Chief Business Court Judge since 2018. Bledsoe is a 1981 graduate (A.B., History) of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a John Motley Morehead (now Morehead-Cain) Scholar and Phi Beta Kappa inductee. He received his juris doctor, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1984. Bledsoe clerked for Judge Samuel J. Ervin III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and practiced from 1985-2014 with Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A., becoming a shareholder in 1991.
Judge Julius H. Corpening II, Wilmington
Judge Julius H. Corpening serves as Chief District Court Judge for New Hanover and Pender counties. He has served on the court since 1991 and as chief judge for 18 years. Corpening practiced with Prickett and Corpening, Attorneys, from 1979-91. He graduated from Wake Forest University in 1976 (B.A., Biology) and received his juris doctor from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1979. Corpening is a charter recipient of the NCBA Citizen Lawyer Award and has received numerous other awards, including the N.C. Guardian ad Litem Lifetime Advocacy Award and the National Judge of the Year Award by the National Court Appointed Special Advocates – Guardian ad Litem Association.
Dean Megan Sherron, Raleigh
Megan West Sherron serves as Assistant Dean of External Relations at Campbell Law School. She has held her current position since 2014 and has also served as Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Fund and Assistant General Counsel. Sherron previously practiced with Martin & Jones, PLLC, and interned with the N.C. Supreme Court, N.C. Court of Appeals and N.C. Solicitor General. She is a 2007 graduate of Wake Forest University (B.S., Business) and received her juris doctor from Campbell Law School in 2010. Sherron has been honored by the Triangle Business Journal with its Women in Business Award (2014) and 40 Under 40 Award (2017).
One new vice president beginning a three-year term in 2024-25 is:
Matt Sawchak, Raleigh
Matt Sawchak is a shareholder in Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A. He joined the firm in 2020 after serving as Solicitor General of North Carolina and as a partner with Ellis & Winters LLP and Smith Helms LLP. Sawchak graduated from Harvard University (A.B., cum laude) in 1984 and earned his juris doctor, with honors, and LL.M. in 1989 from Duke University School of Law, where he served as Editor in Chief of the Duke Law Journal. He is a past chair of the Antitrust & Complex Business Disputes Section and former chair of the Appellate Rules Committee. Sawchak is an elected member of the American Law Institute and Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
Incoming division chairs serving one-year terms in 2024-25 are:
Alice L. Johnson, Cary
Alice Johnson, NCCP, is serving as chair of the Paralegal Division. She serves as Senior Paralegal with ABB, where she has worked since 2021. Johnson previously served as a paralegal with Jackson Lewis P.C. from 2010-21 and as a legal secretary and paralegal with Cranfill, Sumner & Hartzog, LLP from 2008-10. She earned her degree in Paralegal Studies from Macomb Community College. Johnson is a North Carolina Certified Paralegal and a North Carolina Notary Public.
S. Collins Saint, Greensboro
Collins Saint is serving as chair of the Young Lawyers Division. He is an attorney with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard and joined the firm in 2017. Saint is a graduate of the University of Alabama (B.S., 2011, magna cum laude and University Fellow; M.A., 2013, summa cum laude) and Wake Forest University School of Law (J.D., 2017, Order of the Coif and National Jurist Law Student of the Year). He was the founding chair of the NCBA Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Committee, served on the Task Force on Community Guidelines and the Task Force on Integration, Equity, and Equal Justice, and currently serves as vice chair of the Education Law Section.
Elizabeth L. Quick, Winston-Salem
Betty Quick is serving as chair of the Senior Lawyers Division. She is a partner with Womble Bond Dickinson, where she has practiced since 1974 and previously served as managing partner of the Winston-Salem office. Quick is a graduate of Duke University (A.B., 1970) and the University of North Carolina School of Law (J.D., 1974, cum laude,
Order of the Coif, and UNC Law Review). She is a past president of the North Carolina Bar Association and the North Carolina Bar Foundation (1997-98), past chair of the NC IOLTA Board of Trustees, and previous recipient of the Estate Planning & Fiduciary Law Section’s Distinguished Service Award.
Russell Rawlings is director of external affairs and communications for the North Carolina Bar Association.