YLD Awards Presented at NCBA Annual Meeting
The Young Lawyers Division of the North Carolina Bar Association presented the Charles F. Blanchard Young Lawyer of the Year Award and the Robinson O. Everett Professionalism Award on Friday, June 27, at the NCBA Annual Meeting in Asheville.
The awards were presented during the Awards Dinner and Presidential Installation by Collins Saint, outgoing YLD chair. The Blanchard Award was presented to Elizabeth (Brooks) Savage of Wilson, Jones, Carter & Baxley in Raleigh. The Everett Award was presented to Taylor Dewberry Sorace of Smith Anderson in Raleigh.
The Younger Lawyer Pro Bono Service Award, which is presented annually to a YLD member, was presented during the Pro Bono Awards component of the ceremony to Brad Piland of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and Brooks Savage.
The Charles F. Blanchard Young Lawyer of the Year Award is named in honor of the late Charles F. Blanchard, who served as founding chair of the YLD from 1953-55. The Robinson O. Everett Professionalism Award is named in honor of the late Judge Robinson Everett, a Duke law professor and former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.
Celebrating the YLD award winners, from left, Executive Director Jason Hensley, honoree Taylor Dewberry Sorace, YLD Chair Collins Saint, honorees Brooks Savage and Brad Piland, and President Kim Stogner.
Collins Saint provided the following introductory remarks about each recipient:
Charles Blanchard Young Lawyer of the Year Award
First, we honor someone whose service this year was not only extraordinary – it was transformative. Brooks Savage is the recipient of the Charles Blanchard Young Lawyer of the Year Award, and she is also being recognized tonight with the Younger Lawyer Pro Bono Service Award from the North Carolina Bar Association. That fact alone tells you something: Brooks doesn’t just lead. She gives. She shows up. And she serves.
This past year, Brooks served as both chair of the Disaster Legal Services Committee and District 9 Representative to the American Bar Association – two roles of enormous responsibility. Under her leadership, the Division faced one of its most urgent tests.
When Hurricane Helene struck North Carolina, it devastated Western North Carolina. A third of the counties in N.C. were declared disaster zones. Legal needs spiked overnight. And the infrastructure we had built during blue-sky times was suddenly called into action.
Brooks didn’t hesitate. She ran toward the need.
She helped implement our new disaster legal services framework for the first time at full scale, coordinating with local bar leaders, mobilizing volunteers, and – most powerfully – showing up in person. She spent time in the hardest-hit communities, working face-to- face with people who had lost nearly everything. Not just their homes – but their bearings. Their safety. Their peace of mind.
And in those places – where trust in lawyers is often hard-won – people trusted Brooks. Because she didn’t just offer legal advice. She brought presence, care, and hope.
Brooks helped people find their sense of home again.
Because of her leadership, North Carolina’s Disaster Legal Services program is now seen as a national model, and Brooks was recognized by the ABA with a Star of the Quarter Award. But far more powerful than any title or trophy are the hundreds of people whose lives were steadied by her work.
And Brooks’ impact extends far beyond disaster response.
Long before this year, Brooks was already a leader in creating space for belonging in our profession. She launched a campaign to recognize diverse heritage months and holidays across the NCBA – bringing visibility, dignity, and celebration to identities that too often go unseen. That campaign has now been adopted as a permanent project by the NCBA.
She’s also helping build something that hasn’t existed before: a home within our Bar for attorneys with disabilities and their allies. A space – like our MIP and SOGI Committees – where connection, advocacy, and leadership can grow.
Brooks understands that inclusion is not a trend. It’s a professional responsibility. And she’s lived that truth in every part of her work – from high-impact projects to quiet moments of support and care.
Even in the midst of crises and deadlines, Brooks has shown us that lawyer well-being matters. She helped organize animal-assisted interventions for lawyers – a simple but meaningful reminder that we are human first. That we must care for each other while we serve others.
Brooks, your service is not performative – it is personal. It’s lived. It’s sustained. And it’s deeply felt by the people you’ve helped – clients, colleagues, and communities alike.
You’ve changed lives. You’ve built systems. And you’ve done it all with humility, clarity, and quiet resolve.
Your legacy will outlast any storm. It is woven into this Division, this Bar, this profession, and into the very fiber of this Great North State.
It is my deep honor to present you with the Charles Blanchard Young Lawyer of the Year Award, and to celebrate your recognition as the NCBA’s Younger Lawyer Pro Bono Award recipient. Thank you for showing us what it looks like to lead with compassion and to serve with your whole heart.
Robinson O. Everett Professionalism Award
Now, we get to honor someone who helped define what inclusion, integrity, and leadership look like within not only the YLD but the entire NCBA.
When Taylor Dewberry Sorace and I were both puppy lawyers, we were asked to co-chair the very first Diversity & Inclusion Committee for the NCBA Young Lawyers Division under then-Chair Rachel Blunk. That committee had never existed before us. There was no playbook. But Taylor helped create one – rooted in thoughtfulness, accountability, and courage. From the very beginning, she shaped what DEI would mean for the YLD.
And she’s continued shaping that meaning ever since.
This evening, we recognize Taylor with the Robinson O. Everett Professionalism Award. And let me say this clearly: Taylor is not being honored because she always says the right thing at the right time in the right tone. She’s being honored because she leads with values – with integrity, substance, and strength.
In our profession, we sometimes confuse civility with professionalism. Civility is about looking nice. Playing nice. Not upsetting anyone. Professionalism is about doing what’s right, even when it’s hard. Even when it’s unpopular. Even when it’s uncomfortable.
Civility asks us to keep the peace. Professionalism asks us to keep our integrity.
And that is what Taylor does – over and over again.
As chair of the Foundation & Development Committee, Taylor led the launch of the Cheslie Kryst Justice Fund – honoring our friend’s legacy by creating opportunities for future lawyers from underrepresented backgrounds. That fund now powers the Open Door Fellowship. Taylor didn’t just support the idea – she did the work to bring it to life.
Taylor also serves on the NCBA Board of Governors, where her thoughtful, principled voice helps guide the future of our statewide legal community.
Like Brooks, she has also co-chaired the Disaster Legal Services Committee and, as District 9 Representative to the ABA, helped create our first-ever operations manual for DLS work – building sustainability and structure that ensures service will continue, no matter who leads next.
And beyond the NCBA, Taylor is Smith Anderson’s first Chief Diversity Officer – a role in which she brings those same principles of authenticity, care, and systems-level change into the heart of private practice.
Taylor’s vision for diversity and inclusion isn’t about checking a box. It’s about changing culture. It’s about creating environments where people feel seen, supported, and free to be their authentic selves – not just in the NCBA, and not just at Smith Anderson, but across the profession and beyond. That vision, and her strategic approach to achieving it, led to her being named a 2024 Leader in Diversity by Triangle Business Journal and one of North Carolina’s 50 Most Influential Women by NC Lawyers Weekly and The Mecklenburg Times.
Taylor doesn’t speak just to be heard. She speaks when it matters. And when she does – people listen. Because her leadership is grounded, measured, and principled.
Taylor, your professionalism isn’t performative – it’s powerful. You don’t just hold space. You make space. And you use your voice not to smooth things over – but to move things forward.
It is my deep honor to present you with the Robert O. Everett Professionalism Award.
Thank you for showing us that professionalism isn’t about tone. It’s about truth. And you speak it – every time – with purpose. The NCBA needs more leaders like you.
Russell Rawlings is director of external affairs and communications for the North Carolina Bar Association.