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spotlight Five Poyner Spruill LLP attorneys were named to the 2018 North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society. Tom Davis, J.M. Durnovich, Drew Erteschik, Cheslie Kryst, and Caroline Mackie were included among 468 attorneys the North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center (PBRC) recognized. Honorees must report 50 or more hours of pro bono legal services 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. Each member of this year’s Honor Society class receives a certificate from the Supreme Court of North Carolina in recognition of their valuable contributions to the people of North Carolina. “Poyner Spruill encourages all attorneys in their pursuit of meaningful legal work, including the opportunity to provide pro bono services,” said Poyner Spruill managing partner Dan Cahill. “The firm congratulates Tom, J.M., Drew, Cheslie and Caroline on earning this recognition from the Pro Bono Honor Society. Their commitment to helping others through this type of work is commendable, and the honors are well-deserved.” Rule 6.1 encourages a variety of activities in addition to the pro bono legal services recognized by the Honor Society. Other encouraged activities include providing legal services at a substantially reduced fee; engaging in activities that improve the law, the legal system, or the legal profession; participating in non-legal community service; and contributing financially to North Carolina legal aid organizations.
Tom Davis
J.M. Durnovich
Drew Erteschik
Cheslie Kryst
Caroline Mackie
Modrall Sperling participated in the Second Judicial District Court’s Civil Legal Clinic. Six of the firm’s attorneys assisted more than 40 people in need of pro bono legal advice. Susan Miller Bisong, Stuart Butzier, Spencer Edelman, Zack McCormick, Nicole Russell, and Walter Stern all provided their time and legal acumen to the effort. “This year there were more people in line for this clinic than there has been in the past four years I have participated,” noted Susan Miller Bisong, the shareholder who supports Modrall Sperling’s efforts by staffing each of the firm’s pro bono matters with the attorneys best able to provide assistance. The Honorable Judge C. Shannon Bacon expressed her heartfelt thanks to the firm, saying the time and effort Modrall Sperling attorneys gave was a great assistance to the judges.