Legal group honors Elon Law students, Advisory Board member

Two of Elon Law’s top students received scholarships this month at the inaugural Scholarship and Recognition Gala hosted by the Guilford County Association of Black Lawyers.

The association also honored retired North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Henry Frye, the first African-American to serve on the state’s highest court and a current member of Elon Law’s Advisory Board, with a lifetime achievement award.

The Nov. 5, 2016, gala took place at Bennett College’s Global Learning Center in Greensboro, where nearly 170 people gathered to celebrate the achievements of regional African-American legal leaders and young professionals known for their potential to make a lasting impact in law.

Vondella Smith is a third-year law student serving as an academic Dean’s Fellow in Elon Law’s academic support office. She participates with the Elder Law Society and Innocence Project. Andreas Mosby, a second-year Elon Law Leadership Fellow pursuing his Juris Doctor and MBA degrees, is involved in organizations and activities that include the Elon Law Review and the Elon Law Moot Court Board.

The scholarships will help both students cover the cost of books in upcoming academic terms.

“We were looking for individuals to honor who we see as rising stars in the legal profession,” said Gerald Walden, assistant general counsel for The Fresh Market and president of the Guilford County Association of Black Lawyers. “Based on their grades and their achievements, they were both standouts. The two of them embody what we are looking for and what we hope future attorneys will be.”

Frye was the first African-American elected to the North Carolina legislature in the 20th century and the first African-American to serve as an assistant U.S. Attorney in North Carolina. He founded and served as president of the first black-owned bank in Greensboro, North Carolina. He was the first African-American named to the North Carolina Supreme Court and to be named chief justice of that court.

Frye, who retired in March 2016 from the practice of law, spent a lifetime fighting for fairness and justice and held many leadership roles in nonprofit, academic, professional and civic organizations. He graduated summa cum laude from North Carolina A&T State University and received his law degree with honors from the University of North Carolina. He helped launch Elon Law in 2006 as a charter member of the school’s advisory board.

“Recognizing Justice Frye as a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient was really a no-brainer,” Walden said. “When you think about the legal community, and particularly the African-American legal community in North Carolina, he’s been a true trailblazer.”

The Guilford County Association of Black Lawyers was formed to educate its membership regarding issues in the legal profession; promote fellowship and cooperation among its members; provide a forum for the discussion and advancement of ideas through which the organization may promote the general welfare of the black community; uphold the honor and integrity of the legal profession; and promote and defend the general welfare of the black lawyers in Guilford County, North Carolina.

Elon Law was a co-sponsor of the organization’s 2016 gala.

About Elon Law:

Elon University School of Law in Greensboro, North Carolina, is the preeminent school for engaged and experiential education in law. It integrates traditional classroom instruction with highly experiential full-time residencies-in-practice in a logically sequenced program of transformational professional preparation. Elon Law’s groundbreaking approach is accomplished in 2.5 years, which provides distinctive value by lowering tuition and permitting graduates early entry into their professional careers.

For more information, visit law.elon.edu.