Elon Law advisory board members honored for professionalism

By Eric Townsend, staff

January 26, 2017

Rhoda Bryan Billings and Henry E. Frye each received a Chief Justice’s Professionalism Award from the North Carolina Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism. 

Two founding members of the Elon University School of Law Board of Advisors were honored Wednesday by a statewide commission whose mission is to enhance professionalism among North Carolina judges, lawyers and law students.

Rhoda B. Billings and Henry E. Frye, both former chief justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court and influential figures in the establishment of Elon Law, received the Chief Justice’s Professionalism Award from the North Carolina Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism.

Current North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin presented the award on Jan. 25, 2017, to Billings and Frye at a joint dinner of the N.C. State Bar and the N.C. Bar Association.

Rhoda Bryan Billings (center) with her husband, Don, and N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin
A native of Wilkesboro, N.C., Billings graduated first in her class from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1966. Serving first as a Forsyth County District Court Judge in the newly formed District Court system in 1968 and as a law professor at Wake Forest School of Law, she was later appointed as associate justice to the Supreme Court in 1985 and then chief justice in 1986, making her the second woman to hold this position.

She was the first woman to serve as president of the N.C. Bar Association in addition to her many efforts chairing committees to improve the legal profession and Bar at large. Since her retirement, Billings continues to be involved in the Bar and in higher education.  

Henry E. Frye with his wife, Shirley; daughter, Whitney; and N.C. Chief Justice Mark Martin
Originally from Ellerbe, N.C., Frye graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1959 after serving as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. Serving first as a U.S. attorney and then as state representative in the N.C. General Assembly, he was the first African-American elected as a state legislator in the 20th century. He was the first African-American appointed as associate justice to the Supreme Court, and in 1999, he became the first African-American chief justice.

Since leaving the bench in 2001, Frye has been in private practice in Greensboro. He continues to be involved in community service and in higher education.   

Elon Law’s annual Billings, Exum & Frye National Moot Court Competition honors the award recipients along with retired N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Exum, who also serves as an Elon Law advisor and faculty member.

The primary charge of the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism, chaired by Chief Justice Mark Martin, is to enhance professionalism among North Carolina judges, lawyers and law students. In carrying out this charge, the CJCP – of which Elon Law Dean Luke Bierman is a member – is responsible for providing ongoing attention and assistance through a variety of programs, projects and publications, in order to ensure that the practice of law remains a high calling, dedicated to the service of clients and the public good. 

Martin also presented the award posthumously to H. Grady Barnhill, an accomplished lawyer who served Forsyth County after joining the law firm of Womble Carlyle in 1958.

 

 

 

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