Sam J. Ervin IV, of counsel at Brooks Pierce, has been certified as a specialist in Appellate Law by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization (NCBLS).
The NCBLS was created by the North Carolina State Bar in 1983 to provide a method for qualified attorneys to become certified as specialists in various fields of the law. The North Carolina State Bar, an agency of the State of North Carolina, certifies lawyers as specialists in designated practice areas as a service to the public. The program assists members of the public in the selection of legal counsel by identifying lawyers who have demonstrated special knowledge, skill and proficiency in certain areas of law. The program also gives lawyers a credible way of making their expertise known to the public and other lawyers. Appellate specialization requires substantial involvement in the appellate arena, such as representation of clients in the North Carolina or federal appellate courts or service in the appellate judiciary as well as attendance at continuing legal education programs that are focused on appellate practice and related fields.
Ervin brings his more than 19 years in private practice and more than 23 years’ experience as a public servant to his work in assisting clients with a variety of regulatory and litigation-related matters. Before joining Brooks Pierce, he served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina for eight years, as a Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals for six years, and as a Commissioner of the North Carolina Utilities Commission for nine and a half years. During his time as a Utilities Commissioner, Ervin served as Chair of the Subcommittee on Nuclear Issues and the Committee on Electricity of the National Association of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners and as a member of the board of the Organization of PJM States. While in private practice, Ervin has handled a wide variety of civil, criminal, and administrative matters and participated in many civil and criminal jury trials and numerous civil and criminal appeals to the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the North Carolina Supreme Court. In addition to his Appellate Law certification, he is also a Board Certified Specialist in Utilities Law, making him one of only a few North Carolina lawyers to have been certified as a specialist in multiple areas of practice.
To learn more about the NCBLS, click here.