Brooks Pierce is pleased to announce that it is now accepting applications for the 2023 Chief Justice Henry E. Frye – Brooks Pierce Diversity Summer Fellowship, created to provide opportunities for members of communities historically underrepresented in the practice of the law. The deadline for application submission is Jan. 13, 2023.
The fellowship is open to any student who is a member of a community historically underrepresented in the legal profession, who is in a full-time law program at an American Bar Association accredited law school, and who expects to graduate in 2025 with plans to practice in North Carolina. It includes a salaried summer associate position in one of Brooks Pierce’s three offices in 2023 as well as a $10,000 scholarship. It also carries the possibility of a $5,000 scholarship after completing Brooks Pierce’s 2024 summer program and a $25,000 upon starting at the Firm as a first-year associate.
“The Frye Fellowship not only honors the remarkable legacy of former Brooks Pierce attorney and Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court Henry Frye, but also serves to represent Brooks Pierce’s commitment to dedicating its time, energy and resources towards fostering a diverse and inclusive environment both internally and externally,” said Reid Phillips, the firm’s managing partner.
Frye, who retired from Brooks Pierce in 2016, broke many racial barriers during his long and storied career. In 1963, he was appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, one of the first African-Americans to be appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney in the South. In 1968, Frye became the first African-American to be elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in the 20th Century. He served in the North Carolina House for 12 years and was then elected to a two-year term in the North Carolina Senate. In 1983, Frye became the first African-American appointed to the Supreme Court of North Carolina, and in 1999 he was appointed Chief Justice, another first. When he left the bench in 2001, Frye returned to private practice, joining Brooks Pierce, where he focused on appellate advocacy, mediation and commercial arbitration.
For more information on the fellowship, click here.