Anna S. Mills of The Van Winkle Law Firm has been named Chair of the NC LEAP Steering Committee. NC LEAP exists to assist low-wealth entrepreneurs with their legal needs in starting or expanding their businesses through pro bono service by North Carolina business and transactional lawyers.
The Steering Committee is comprised of attorneys who are members of the North Carolina Bar Association and community representatives.
Ms. Mills works with clients to help them successfully buy, sell and finance their businesses. She also counsels businesses and nonprofits regarding employment, corporate, contract and intellectual property issues and emerging issues related to sustainable products and services.
For more information on NC LEAP, please visit: ncleap.ncbar.org.
To contact Ms. Mills, please email her at: amills@vwlawfirm.com.
Travis Smuckler, an attorney with The Van Winkle Law Firm, was named the 2010-2011 President of The Young Professionals of Asheville (YPA). YPA fosters leadership through community service by volunteering time and resources to help those in need. YPA also assists members by providing opportunities for business networking, personal growth, leadership development and social interaction. For more information please email Travis Smuckler @ TSmuckler@vwlawfirm.com or call him at 828.258.2991
On Friday, March 5, 2010, North Carolinians had the opportunity to call and talk, by phone, to a North Carolina lawyer at no charge. Attorneys from Van Winkle’s business group, including Allan Tarleton, Larry Harris, Anna Mills, Jeff Dunlop and Travis Smuckler, participated in 4All at the WLOS station in Asheville. Attorneys were available from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. To get more information, please contact the NC Bar Association at (800) 662-7407 or call WLOS at (828) 684-1340.
Click here to view Allan Tarleton’s interview with WLOS.
On April 23, 2010, the WDNC Chapter of the Federal Bar Association will host a half-day program on civil practice in the Western District.The event will take place at the Hilton Asheville at Biltmore Park, 43 Town Square Boulevard, Asheville, NC and will include a judicial panel as well as segments on substantive and procedural aspects of civil practice.To view the complete Agenda and Registration Form, please follow this link.Additional information concerning the Chapter is also available at http://fedbar.org/WDNC.html
On Tuesday, March 16, Phil Smith was awarded Pisgah Legal Services’ Roy W. Davis, Jr. Award. The following is a reprint of the announcement in the event booklet from the evening, “Jazz for Justice.”
Phil embodies the professional ideal of service by attorneys to the community, particularly the responsibility of attorneys to serve people who cannot afford legal assistance. Phil has repeatedly donated his srvices to lead local Bar efforts to fulfill the promise of equal justice under law. Access to legal assistance underpins the goal of justice in our country.
In 1998, PLS was threatened by an effort to merge it as a local non-proft into a statewide legal aid program. PLS would have lost its local Board of Directors and local leadership of the program. Phil Smith worked zealously and successfully to represent PLS without compensation in a complex set of issues to preserve PLS as a local and independent non-profit agency.
A few years later, Phil joined the Pisgah Legal Services Board of Directors. He served two three-year terms, including two years as Vice President and two years as President. In this period and under Phil’s leadership, PLS programs expanded steadily, as did volunteer attorney participation in those programs.
While President, PLS was challeneged again by external forces, this time by a lawsuit in federal court by the Legal Services Corporation in Washington, D..C. seeking to take the PLS office and parking lot on Montford Avenue in Asheville. A loss of this resource would have greatly impeded PLS. Phil led another successful and organized effort of local attorneys. Under his leadership, the lawsuit was favorably resolved, enabling PLS to retain ownership of its real estate.
Once that issue was resolved, Phil served with a special group of PLS leaders to find and finance large office space so that PLS can double the number of people it serves annually. This project involved many, many meetings and considerable vision, in addition to generous financial contributions.
As president of the Van Winkle Law Firm, Phil continues his long-standing support for the mission of PLS. The firm’s support for PLS has been crucial to PLS’ growth and stability over the years. Previous recipients of the Roy W. Davis, Jr. award are Roy Davis, Jr., Walter Allen, Larry McDevitt and Ward Hendon.
On Tuesday, March 16th, Phil Smith of The Van Winkle Law Firm will be honored by Pisgah Legal Services with the Roy Davis Award. For more details, or to purchase tickets, please see the link below.
On February 11, 2010, approximately fifty legal professionals gathered at the Van Winkle Law Firm in Asheville for an introductory reception of the Western District of North Carolina Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Attendees included federal court personnel and practitioners in the District.
Persons interested in the Western District’s Chapter or the FBA generally are encouraged to contact one of the chapter’s officers directly or the FBA national office at (571) 481-9100, or on the web at www.fedbar.org.
A group of lawyers and judges in Western North Carolina has formed the Western District of North Carolina Chapter of the Federal Bar Association (“FBA”).The organization will focus primarily on the needs of federal judges and practitioners in the District.
Founded in 1920, the FBA was originally designed as a professional organization to serve federal judges and government lawyers.In the 1980s, attorneys engaged in private practice, along with law students, were allowed to join the FBA’s ranks.Since then, the FBA’s membership has swelled to nearly 16,000 members across the United States, with over eighty (80) active chapters across the country and in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In September of 2009, several lawyers and federal judges petitioned the FBA for permission to open a chapter in the Western District.The application was allowed by the FBA’s Board of Directors and a charter for the group, which is the first of its kind in North Carolina, was presented at the FBA’s annual meeting in Oklahoma City shortly thereafter.
The chapter has elected its first slate of officers–W. Carleton Metcalf, Esq. (President), U.S Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer (Vice President), Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Ray (Secretary), retired Superior Court Judge Forrest Ferrell (Treasurer)—and is busy planning events for 2010.
Persons interested in the Western District’s Chapter or the FBA generally are encouraged to contact one of the chapter’s officers directly or the FBA national office at (571) 481-9100 or on the web at www.fedbar.org.Details on specific events will also be forthcoming.
On October 22nd, 2009, Chief Justice Sarah Parker (North Carolina) will present Mr. Roy W. Davis, Jr., of The Van Winkle Law Firm, with the Chief Justice’s Professionalism Award.Only one recipient is selected annually for their contributions to the legal profession and for services to the people of North Carolina.
According to the North Carolina Court System’s website, “The North Carolina Chief Justice’s Professionalism Award was created to spotlight individuals whose career commitments in areas such as legal ethics, disciplinary enforcements and lawyer professionalism demonstrate the high calling and higher achievement of lawyers in modern society.”
This award is presented annually to an individual or organization whose contributions have demonstrated the highest commitment to genuine professionalism and the highest standards of legal ethics.Recipients have demonstrated the good that can be accomplished by employing intellectual honesty, compassion, and practical skills in the practice of law.
