Section Honors Nick Fountain

The award was presented by the North Carolina Bar Association’s Administrative Law Section in conjunction with its annual meeting and CLE on Friday, March 29, at the N.C. Bar Center in Cary.

The award was presented by fellow section members John Silverstein, past president of the N.C. State Bar, and Janet Thoren, immediate past chair of the section.

Fountain is a past chair of the Administrative Law Section and an exemplary leader and volunteer throughout his career within the North Carolina Bar Association and the North Carolina Bar Foundation.

“This award and this section have been an important part of my practice and career for longer than the section has existed,” Fountain said, “with various task forces and previous chairmanships of the committee that preceded this section.

“The ability of folks in this section to share what they have learned about upcoming rules and problems and carrying out hearings has simply been an invaluable resource. Frankly, I think that lawyers are well advised to show up in person for these types of CLEs because as much is learned out in the hall as in the auditorium.”

Fountain is a graduate of Duke University (1965) and Wake Forest University School of Law (1968). He served on the NCBA Board of Governors and the NCBF Board of Directors in 1985-88 and has chaired numerous NCBA and NCBF committees, including Endowment, Membership and Legislative Advisory.

Fountain continues to serve on the NCBF Endowment Committee, where he has volunteered to conduct site visits with Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Lawyer on the Line and Eviction Diversion projects.

“The Bar Association and the Foundation have meant an awful lot to me over many years,” Fountain said, “starting when the president from my hometown appointed me to the Administrative Law Committee and made me chair, believing I would energize the committee.

“For perhaps 15 years now I have served on the Endowment Committee of the Foundation. The opportunity to serve on that committee, to see the grant requests, and to see all the money has done for the children of law enforcement officers killed in action or legal services or for Law Day or the 4ALL campaigns has been tremendously satisfying.

“It demonstrates that not only do lawyers do a lot individually, often without recognition, but collectively we can and are making a difference for people in North Carolina, particularly people with limited opportunity.”

Fountain is also a past president of the Wake County Bar Association and the 10th Judicial District Bar and the Raleigh Kiwanis Club, and a former N.C. State Bar councilor.

The Administrative Law Award for Excellence is designed to honor an attorney who:

• has practiced administrative or regulatory law for at least ten years and who has continuous experience in this practice;
• is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association and the Administrative Law Section;
• has an exemplary record and reputation in the legal community and follows the highest ethical standards; and
• has an exemplary record of active participation in the efforts to improve the administrative and regulatory process for regulators, the regulated public, the citizens of North Carolina and in the interests of justice.

Previous recipients of the Administrative Law Award for Excellence are Fred Morrison, who received the first award in 2017, and Jack Nichols who was honored last year.