YLD Rises To Occasion: Legal Feeding Frenzy Exceeds 600,000 Pounds
Volunteers get into the spirit of Legal Feeding Frenzy during kickoff event.
Even in the best of times, over 1.5 million North Carolinians struggle with hunger—of those, nearly half a million are children. Regrettably, over 1 in 5 children in North Carolina does not regularly get enough to eat.
Since 2013, the NCBA Young Lawyers Division has partnered with Feeding the Carolinas and the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office to tackle this problem head on through the Legal Feeding Frenzy.
The Legal Feeding Frenzy is a month-long food and fund competition between legal organizations (including law firms, law schools, public-interest groups, and in-house legal departments) throughout North Carolina to fight hunger. To help fuel the competition, organizations that raise the most food and funds (based on a pounds-per-person average where $1 equals 4 pounds of food) are recognized in various categories, and the overall inner receives the coveted “Attorney General’s Cup.” The categories include Sole Practitioner, Small Firm, Medium Firm, Large Firm, Law School, Public Interest, and Corporate/In-House Counsel).
The 2020 Feeding Frenzy kicked off on February 28, with a press conference and volunteer event at the Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC in Raleigh. More than 30 attorneys, paralegals, administrative staff, and members of the community joined in the event and assisted the food bank with sorting potatoes. Those who attended were awarded 100 bonus pounds toward their team’s overall number of pounds raised.
Shortly into this year’s Legal Feeding Frenzy, a state of emergency was declared in North Carolina due to COVID-19. Throughout the state, public schools closed, layoffs began, and many religious and nonprofit organizations that traditionally served the food insecure throughout North Carolina were forced to close their doors for indefinite periods. As a result, an immediate surge in need was felt by our local Feeding the Carolinas food bank partners.
Co-chairs of the Legal Feeding Frenzy, Michele Livingstone and Erin Ball, immediately responded to the increased need by raising the Legal Feeding Frenzy’s fundraising goal from 300,000 pounds of food ($75,000) to 400,000 pounds of food ($100,000). To buoy these efforts, Michele partnered with YLD Secretary, Will Quick, to author NCBarBlog posts highlighting the increased need due to COVID-19 and asking our members to rise to the occasion.
And rise the occasion they did.
Within just 48 hours, online donations surpassed the new goal. With the help of 60 teams across the state, the 2020 Legal Feeding Frenzy raised an incredible 604,332 pounds of food ($151,083)—more than double the original goal and more than had been raised in any past years. As Feeding the Carolinas generously agreed to cover all online processing fees, 100% of the food and funds raised directly supported local food banks in helping families in crisis.
On Thursday, April 23, NC Attorney General Josh Stein, honorary chair of the Legal Feeding Frenzy and a member of the NCBA, presented the awards live on Facebook. The awards are made possible by the generous funding of the North Carolina Bar Foundation Endowment. Mason Law Office of Asheboro claimed the top honor and took home the 2020 Legal Feeding Frenzy Attorney General’s Cup, which is awarded to the firm/organization that raises the most pounds per person.
Here is a complete listing of this year’s winners:
- Attorney General’s Cup: Mason Law Office of Asheboro (9,995 pounds of food per person)
- Large Firm Division (over 100 employees) – Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte
- Medium Firm Division (51-100 employees) – Ellis & Winters, Raleigh/Greensboro
- Small Firm Division (11-50 employees) – Gardner Skelton, Charlotte
- Solo Practitioner Division (1-10 employees) – Fisher Law, Raleigh
- Corporate/In-House Division – Atrium Health, Charlotte
- Public Interest/Government Division – Legal Aid of North Carolina
- Law School Division – Wake Forest University School of Law, Winston-Salem
This year, the Legal Feeding Frenzy also introduced a new award, the “Altruist Award.” This award is intended to recognize one volunteer, participant, and/or partner who has given selflessly and made a significant impact on the Legal Feeding Frenzy. In its inaugural year, we were honored to present the Altruist Award to Mike Darrow, Executive Director of Feeding the Carolinas. Mike worked tirelessly behind the scenes to create the Legal Feeding Frenzy’s new standalone fundraiser page, help teams register and answer questions, and address technology glitches. Mike has been an integral part of this year’s success, and we value his partnership!
Thank you to all of the 2020 Legal Feeding Frenzy participants, including the following teams: Anderson Jones, Atrium Health Legal Department, Brooks Pierce, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Campbell Law School, Cumberland County Bar Association / Fayetteville Women Attorneys, Deyaska Spencer Law Firm, District Attorney’s Office – 1st Judicial District, District Court Judges Office – District 10, Ellis & Winters, Epstein Law Firm, Financial Protection Law Center, Fisher Law, Fox Rothschild, Gardner Skelton, GTCC Paralegal Program, Hall Booth Smith, Holt Sherlin, IQVIA Legal Department, James Scott Farrin, Kennon Craver, Legal Aid of North Carolina (all offices), Lord Law Firm, Mason Law Office, McGuireWoods – Raleigh, Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office, Moore & Van Allen, NC Department of Justice, NC Supreme Court, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, Nexsen Pruet, Novant Health Legal Department, Passport Legal Department, Ricci Law, Rose Harrison Gilreath & Powers, SAS Legal Division, Smith Anderson, Spilman Thomas & Battle, UNC School of Law, Van Der Have Law Firm, Wake Forest School of Law, and Womble Bond Dickinson.
Cabell Clay is the immediate past chair of the NCBA Young Lawyers Division.
This article is part of the August 2020 issue of North Carolina Lawyer. Access a curated view of NC Lawyer or view the table of contents.