Parker Takes Helm As Lawyers Mutual Chair

August 13, 2021

Sharon L. Parker of Marion is the new chairperson of the Lawyers Mutual Liability Insurance Company of North Carolina Board of Directors.

She is only the fifth individual – and first woman – to lead the organization, which was organized by members of the North Carolina Bar Association in 1977 when all other professional liability carriers left the state. Henry Mitchell, Glen Hardymon, Ken McAllister and Gray Wilson preceded Parker as board chairs.

“I consider serving on the Lawyers Mutual Board and being elected Chairperson a very high honor,” said Parker. “I have been on the board since 1999, and it has been amazing to watch the transition as the organization has grown and added staff. When I came on the board, many of the original board members were still serving on the board, and their dedication, knowledge and insight was inspiring.”

In so many ways, Parker’s career resembles a road map designed to bring her into this position.

“I started at Petree Stockton (later Kilpatrick Stockton) in Winston-Salem, in medical malpractice defense,” Parker said. “After 4 years, I moved to Marion in McDowell County, a rural county bordering the Blue Ridge Parkway, to work with Charles Burgin, Penn Dameron, and Tony Lynch at Dameron & Burgin, continuing in medical malpractice defense but also handling criminal and death penalty cases along with general health care matters.”

“Medical Malpractice defense is governed by similar law, rules and procedures as legal professional liability litigation. At Dameron & Burgin, my firm resembled many of our insureds in both firm size [4 attorneys] and running a general practice. My work with the North Carolina Bar Association on both the Board of Governors and as Co-Chair of the NCBA Commission on the Status of Women in the Legal Profession brought me to the attention of LML board members, who look for new members to represent our insured’s demographics, including geographic, practice area, and firm size.” Parker reflected, “I think that is part of why I was asked to join the board in 1999.”

Parker and Dottie Bernholz co-chaired the NCBA Commission on the Status of Women In the Legal Profession in the early 1990s, an effort which led to the establishment of the Women in the Profession Committee. Parker also worked with the Litigation Section Council and the Health Law Section Council, and served on the NCBA Board of Governors and the North Carolina Bar Foundation Board of Directors in 1992-95.

She is a former member of the N.C. Association of Defense Attorneys Board of Directors and a longtime member of the N.C. Association of Women Attorneys, which honored her in 1993 with the Gwyneth B. Davis Public Service Award.

Parker was the second woman to serve on the Lawyers Mutual Board of Directors. Today, the Board is more diverse with 50% female attorneys and the ages of board members trends younger.

“I cannot tell you how honored I am to work with our excellent staff and the board members,” Parker said. “What means the most to me is everyone’s dedication to our insureds and to improve the practice of law, trying to reduce risks, and working with attorneys and staff how to reduce risks and to communicate more clearly with clients.”

Parker moved to Marion in 1991 and remained with Dameron & Burgin, which preceded Dameron, Burgin, Parker, Jackson, Wilde & Walker, P.A., until the latter closed in 2012. “When my young daughter was ill and my father was battling Leukemia and Lewy Body Dementia, I could not travel so I moved out of trial work into estate planning, estate administration and general corporate work.” Now a solo practitioner, she manages Sharon L. Parker, P.A.

“Having transitioned from a large firm to a firm with four [and at one point six attorneys] in a rural community,” Parker said, “and now choosing a solo practice, I have experienced many of the practice settings representative of many our insureds, which I believe provides me insight into their needs.”

“Having served on our Claims Committee for over 15 years and chairing the Claims Committee for the past six years, I have seen the ways that good client communication, such as clear engagement and dis-engagement letters, confirming emails, strong conflict systems, and good staff training can win cases—and prevent cases from arising.” Parker explained, “that is why Lawyers Mutual focuses so much on helping insured with claims repair and client services (Email alerts, sample letters and resources, risk management Continuing Legal Education) in order to provide resources to our insureds that can educate them about their risks and ways to reduce risk.”

Parker feels that Lawyers Mutual’s work to educate law firm staff as well as attorneys is very important. “I know as an attorney in a solo or small firm, creating training resources takes time and thought. Having resources and trainings prepared by informed, talented people such as Lawyers Mutual’s Claims Attorneys and professional staff is value added, which is what we want to be for our insureds.”

Part of it, Parker added, comes from her background as a paralegal and appreciating the needs of those legal professionals as well. “I worked in the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office as a Consumer Protection Specialist in the early ’80s before I went to law school,” said Parker, who is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and UNC School of Law. “In the early 1980s, there weren’t certified paralegals – you learned on the job.”

“My career has been a journey with unexpected pivots and challenges, but I think every lawyer in the state would say the same thing. Part of what is important is appreciating each other’s journey and perspective.”

Parker succeeds a longtime colleague in Gray Wilson, who in addition to chairing the Lawyers Mutual Board of Directors has served as president of the NCBA, the NCBF and the North Carolina State Bar.

Parker is excited for the opportunity and challenges that await her and Lawyers Mutual as they navigate the changes to the legal profession and the uncharted waters of the pandemic and beyond.

“I do see this as a challenging time with the profession changing, but at the same time I am very excited because I work with such a great group of people, especially the knowledgeable staff, at Lawyers Mutual,” Parker said. “We all have the same drive and goal to protect our insureds, to make their practice better, and to be a support for them. We want to know how we, as a company, can continue to serve our insureds.”

“We spend time talking about how the profession is changing. What can we do to help our insureds understand what their risks are and then to create ways to help them to reduce their risks . . . and all of that leads to better outcomes for our insureds and for their clients. Do I recognize that I have big shoes to fill? Yes! I will be relying heavily on the board and staff, and I would like to hear from other attorneys and insureds about ways that we could help support them.”

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