Raleigh partner Jeff Kelly has been appointed to the North Carolina Supreme Court's Commission on Practice Innovation, a newly established body charged with developing thoughtful, forward-looking solutions to improve access to legal services.

The Commission was formed in response to the growing challenges North Carolinians face in accessing legal services, the rising cost of legal education, and the national movement toward innovative licensure models and expanded supervised practice roles. Its initial charge is to study alternative pathways to bar licensure, examine the regulatory framework for paralegals and paraprofessionals, and assess how those approaches affect both access to justice and the quality of legal services. The Court's order cites the Administrative Office of the Courts' finding that 48 of North Carolina's 100 counties qualify as legal deserts, with fewer than one attorney per 1,000 residents. The Commission will recommend to the Court whether statutory or regulatory changes should follow.

Justices Phil Berger, Jr., and Anita Earls serve as Co-Chairs. Membership reflects the bench, legal education, regulatory bodies, and the practicing bar.

Kelly previously served from 2020 to 2021 on a State Bar committee examining similar questions of licensure and regulatory reform, where he led the working group on regulatory sandboxes. He also chairs the Board of Legal Aid of North Carolina and its Innovation Lab Board of Advisors.