Leading Off
Welcome to the May 2025 edition of North Carolina Lawyer magazine, the flagship publication of the North Carolina Bar Association.
The accompanying photo of the North Carolina mountains – provided courtesy of ExploreAsheville.com – heralds the return of the NCBA Annual Meeting to Asheville on June 26-28. Access additional information and register to attend what promises to be an eventful gathering of our members and their families.
Our May edition begins with the President’s Perspective, Association, Foundation Maintain Focus On Core Values: What We Do, Not What We Say, in which President Kim Stogner discusses the NCBA’s longstanding commitment to the administration of justice and judicial independence. Stogner will pass the presidential gavel to Rob Harrington at the Annual Meeting – the traditional highlight of this event – and new members of the NCBA Board of Governors and NCBF Board of Directors will be elected and installed.
Past President Janet Ward Black is first up in our Featured Coverage as the Women in the Profession Committee’s inaugural Women in the Profession Trailblazer Award recipient. Features are also devoted to members Peter Singh, Peter Singh Composes Harmonies In Music and the Law, Natalia Talbot, Asheville Attorney Natalia Talbot Models Courage In The Face Of Difficulty, and Bonnie Keen, Paralegal Division Member Keen To Make A Difference In Beaufort and Beyond.
May 2025 Columns are provided by YLD Chair Collins Saint, Camp First Gen: Building Together . . . With Purpose, Center for Practice Management Director Catherine Sanders Reach, Seven Ways to Use Microsoft Copilot, and Professor Laura Graham of Wake Forest University School of Law (Writing That Works), More Than Red Ink: How Senior Attorneys Can Give Better Feedback to the Next Generation.
Articles covering major developments with the NCBF Open Door Fellowship and Fund come next, beginning with New NCBF Endowment Justice Funds Support Open Door Initiative, followed by Mission Possible! Open Door Fund Campaign Exceeds $1 Million Goal and, last but certainly not least, Campbell Law Students Comprise Third Pair Of Open Door Fellows.
NCBA News concludes our presentation of articles for May 2025. Chair Allyn Elliott and Vice Chair Lauren Snyder discuss the achievements of the Women in the Profession Committee and attorney/author Steve Epstein discusses his fourth true crime book, followed by a tribute to Past President John Haworth, who died in April. Awards coverage is next, beginning with presentation of the Liberty Bell Award to Judge Diane Phillips Greene, followed by section recognition bestowed upon Jeff Gray (Administrative Law), Bob King (Litigation) and Dispute Resolution honorees Frank Laney, retired Chief Justice Henry Frye, and Maureen Robinson.
Pick and choose from the May issue page, or scroll conveniently from article to article through the entire edition utilizing the Previous Article – Next Article option at the end of each piece.
Russell Rawlings is director of external affairs and communications for the North Carolina Bar Association.