Sam J. Ervin, IV, of counsel at Brooks Pierce, is this year’s recipient of the North Carolina Bar Association’s (NCBA) Liberty Bell Award. The former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice received the award at a luncheon held by Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the NCBA as part of the celebration of Law Day. Law Day is celebrated annually on the first Friday in May and includes a formal proclamation by the Governor of North Carolina. This year, the theme for Law Day was “Civics, Civility, and Collaboration.” The Liberty Bell award recognizes an individual who exemplifies lifelong service to the law in North Carolina and embodies the Law Day theme.
Ervin brings his nearly 18 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, he 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. During his time in private practice, Ervin handled a wide variety of civil, criminal, and administrative matters and participated in many jury trials and appeals to the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the North Carolina Supreme Court.
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