RALEIGH -- Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough is pleased to announce that 16 of its North Carolina-based attorneys have been inducted into the 2019 North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society by the North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center (PBRC). Society members reported providing 50 or more hours of pro bono legal services in 2019 to clients unable to pay without expectation of a fee, an aspirational threshold set by Rule 6.1 of the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct.

The North Carolina-based attorneys are:

• Ashia Crooms-Carpenter (Charlotte)
• Benjamin Chesson (Charlotte)
• C. Wells Hall, III (Charlotte)
• Paul J. Osowski (Charlotte)
• Ariel Roberson (Charlotte)
• Joshua Smith (Charlotte)
• William Starr (Charlotte)
• John Nicholas Suhr, Jr. (Charlotte)
• Fred M. Wood, Jr. (Charlotte)
• Reed J. Hollander (Raleigh)
• Joseph M. Lischwe (Raleigh)
• George M. Teague (Raleigh)
• D. Martin Warf (Raleigh)
• Chelsea Barnes (Winston-Salem)
• Lorin Lapidus (Winston-Salem)
• Donald R. Pocock (Winston-Salem)

The PBRC inducted 520 attorneys in total into the 2019 Honor Society and each member receives a certificate from the Supreme Court of North Carolina in recognition of their valuable contributions to the people of North Carolina. This group of attorneys provided nearly 40,000 hours of pro bono legal services in 2019 to North Carolinians living in poverty. All 1,703 attorneys, or more than 6% of active attorneys in North Carolina, who shared information about their pro bono volunteerism together provided nearly 50,000 hours of pro bono legal services in 2019.

“The provision of free legal services to those who cannot afford representation is not only encouraged by Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1, it is an affirmation of the highest ideals of our noble profession,” said Chief Justice Cheri Beasley of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. “In these times of crisis and extraordinary need, it is especially heartening to learn about and celebrate our Pro Bono Honor Society members – these attorneys are truly making a difference for people in our state.”

The PBRC, led by Sylvia Novinsky, launched in April 2016 and began collecting responses from attorneys about pro bono involvement through the state's first voluntary reporting process in January 2017. The PBRC, a program of the North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission, works to increase North Carolina attorney pro bono legal service as a way to meet the legal needs of people of low-income and modest means in the state.

Committed to serving the most vulnerable in our society with legal, social, and economic issues through pro bono service, Nelson Mullins engages in complex pro bono litigation, policy, and legislative advocacy, and provides individual representation to a diverse group of individuals and organizations whose mission is to serve people with limited means. Our culture and multidisciplinary platform provide our community of clients trusted advice to meet a broad range of business needs. For more information, visit https://www.nelsonmullins.com.