For Immediate Release – Raleigh, NC, United States — Thursday, April 30, 2015 The Raleigh firm of Tharrington Smith LLP is proud to announce that one of its founding partners, Wade M. Smith, has been honored by the North Carolina Bar Association with the state’s highest professional legal award, the Judge John J. Parker Memorial Award.
Established by the NC Bar Association Board of Governors in 1959, the Judge John J. Parker Memorial Award was created to honor the memory of United States Circuit Court Judge Parker’s accomplishments and to instill emulation of his life-long contributions to enhancement of the administration of justice. The award recognizes conspicuous service to the cause of jurisprudence in North Carolina by members of the bar. The North Carolina Bar Association Past Presidents’ Council selects candidates upon nomination, and their selection is subject to the approval of the Board of Governors. While this award is given at the NCBA’s Annual Meeting, it is not given every year. In its 56 year history, the award has been bestowed only 37 times, including this year’s award.
Judge John J. Parker’s illustrious career included nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States by President Herbert Hoover, service as an alternate judge on the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals, and service as a member in the International Law Commission of the United Nations. He was named the North Carolina delegate to the Republican National Convention which nominated Calvin Coolidge, and served as special assistant to the Attorney General of the United States. Judge Parker was appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in 1925, where he served for 33 years – 27 as Chief Judge – until his death in 1958. Judge Parker was a 50 year member of the North Carolina State Bar, and 44 year member of the North Carolina Bar Association.
Wade Smith is one of Tharrington Smith’s founding partners. Established in 1964, his leadership has guided the firm to become one of our state’s most widely recognized guideposts for legal excellence. Among Mr. Smith’s many honors conspicuously appear the University of North Carolina’s Distinguished Service Medal (1989), The Wake County Bar Association’s Joseph Branch Professionalism Award (1998), the North Carolina Bar Association’s H. Brent McKnight Renaissance Lawyer Award (2008), and the Chief Justice Beverly I. Lake’s Commission on Professionalism Award (2014). In 2008, the North Carolina Bar Association established the Wade M. Smith Award, given annually to a criminal defense attorney exemplifying the highest ideals of the profession.
Mr. Smith has been continuously listed in Best Lawyers in America since 1983 and holds their Lawyer of the Year Award in the areas of White Collar and Non-White Collar Criminal Defense on three separate occasions. He has been continuously listed in North Carolina Super Lawyers Top 100 List for the last decade, and in the Top 10 list for seven of the ten years since its inception in the our state. In 2004, he was recognized by his colleagues as the #1 Criminal Lawyer in North Carolina and admitted to Business North Carolina Magazine’s Legal Elite Hall of Fame. Mr. Smith holds fellowships in the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Criminal Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers.
Tharrington Smith LLP is one of the most widely respected firms in North Carolina and has cultivated a positive reputation that reaches across the nation. The firm’s 35 attorneys serve clients in the areas of criminal law, taxation and seizure, family law and mediation, education law, election law and redistricting, and civil litigation. Our lawyers ardently support excellence in the legal profession, the arts, education, and the community through professional service and financial support. The firm’s lawyers welcome referrals and associations in our primary practice areas and are commonly associated by our peers to assist with complex matters in our individual fields of practice. To find out more about Tharrington Smith LLP, visit our website at https://tharringtonsmith.com.