The awards recognize attorneys, paralegals and legal services organizations — including several NC IOLTA grantees — that have made significant contributions to justice.
North Carolina Bar Association Announces 2025 Pro Bono Award Recipients
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The North Carolina Bar Association will recognize the recipients of 2025’s Pro Bono Awards during the group’s annual meeting on Friday, June 27. The awards recognize attorneys, paralegals and legal services organizations that have made significant contributions to justice by going “above and beyond” in their commitment to pro bono work.
The awards and recipients are:
- Greenblatt Outstanding Lawyer Award: Jonathan Perry, Legal Aid of North Carolina
- Thorp Pro Bono Service Award: Mark Holt, Raleigh
- NCBA Young Lawyers Division Pro Bono Award: Elizabeth “Brooks” Savage and Brad Piland, North Carolina Department of Public Safety
- Outstanding Paralegal Pro Bono Service Award: Gennell Curry, North Carolina Central University School of Law
- Law Firm Pro Bono Award, Small and Medium Law Firm: Sneed & Stearns (Anna Stearns)
- Law Firm Pro Bono Award, Large Law Firm: Robinson Bradshaw (Ethan White and Julian Wright)
- Law School Pro Bono Service Award: Duke University School of Law, Civil Justice Clinic – Charles R. Holton and Jesse H. McCoy II
- The Filling the Justice Gap Award: NCBA Paralegal Division
- Outstanding Collaborative Pro Bono Award: NCBA Young Lawyers Division, Legal Aid of North Carolina, Pisgah Legal Services, North Carolina Bar Foundation, North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center, NCBA Paralegal Division, American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and Federal Emergency Management Agency.
A number of the organizations represented in these awards are current or prior NC IOLTA grant recipients.
NC IOLTA grantees Pisgah Legal Services, Legal Aid of North Carolina and NC Bar Foundation are among the recipients sharing the 2025 Outstanding Collaborative Pro Bono Award for their work to bring disaster-related civil legal services to Western North Carolina; here, PLS staff attorney Nick Bondurant and volunteer attorney Melissa Parker assist clients during a legal clinic in Burnsville on March 28, 2025.
Among the recipients of this year’s Outstanding Collaborative Pro Bono Award — which recognizes significant contributions in bringing disaster-related civil legal resources to Western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene in September 2025 — Legal Aid of North Carolina, Pisgah Legal Services and NC Bar Foundation received out-of-cycle grant funding from NC IOLTA to support these efforts. Read more in the story from NC IOLTA’s 2024 Annual Report, “Delivering Legal Aid After Hurricane Helene.”
Founded in 1899, the NC Bar Association is a voluntary membership organization of lawyers, judges, paralegals and law students dedicated to serving the public and the legal profession. The North Carolina Bar Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, “leads pro bono and civic education programs and development initiatives for North Carolina Bar Association members and the public.”
Read more about the 2025 award recipients on the NC Bar Blog.