Meet the 2023-24 YLD Leadership Team
With the conclusion of the 2023 Annual Meeting comes the start of another bar year and another opportunity to continue furthering both the NCBA’s mission statement and diversity statement. First and foremost, I want to congratulate the YLD’s immediate past chair, Lisa Arthur, and outgoing YLD leaders for an amazing bar year.
Before I introduce my amazing and dynamic leaders for the 2023-2024 bar year, I want to take a second to brag on all the amazing things the YLD has accomplished this past year. Earlier this August at the American Bar Association Annual Meeting in Denver, the NCBA YLD and NCBA YLD members came away with a handful of awards and recognitions.
First, the ABA YLD honored the NCBA YLD under the Embracing Diversity Challenge for our “Trauma Informed Practice” initiative. The NCBA YLD was also awarded for our highly successful “Grab-A-Coffee” program. Not only was the NCBA YLD honored at the Annual Meeting for its programming, Collins Saint, our YLD Chair-Elect, was recognized as an ABA YLD “Star of the Year.”
As you can see, I certainly have big shoes to fill. However, I am more than confident that with this bar year’s YLD leadership team, not only can we continue furthering the NCBA’s mission statement and diversity statement, but we can continue growing and pushing the legal profession to new heights.
Incoming Chair Jonathan Bogues accepts gavel from outgoing Chair Lisa Williford.
Before I introduce this year’s leadership team, I want to tell you a little about myself. I practice commercial real estate in the Raleigh office of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP. I was born and raised in Durham and graduated from North Carolina State University and North Carolina Central University School of Law. I got married earlier this year, and my loving wife, Whitney, supports and encourages me in everything that I do.
I have been involved with the YLD since 2017, when I had the pleasure to be a member of the Leadership Academy led by Patti Ramseur and Roberta King Latham. I have worn several hats with the YLD, so it my absolute honor to serve as chair this year. I have also had the pleasure to serve as YLD Liaison and Membership Committee Co-Chair to the NCBA Real Property Section.
Now on to our dynamic leadership team. First, our officers for this bar year consist of our Chair-Elect, Collins Saint of Brooks Pierce McLendon Humphrey & Leonard LLP; Secretary, Sheila Spence of SAS, Inc.; Administrative Division Director, Michele Livingstone of O’Hagan Meyer; and Lisa Williford of Fox Rothschild as Immediate Past Chair.
Our Division Directors are Jeremy Locklear of Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP (Bar Outreach Division); William Walton of the North Carolina Department of Justice (Community Outreach Division); Samantha Gordon of McIntyre Elder Law (Pro Bono Division); and Kayla Britt of the North Carolina Department of Justice (Law Student Division). Last and certainly not least, our ABA representatives will be Kayla Britt (ABA delegate) and Taylor Dewberry of Smith Anderson (District 9 Rep).
The YLD Leadership is also comprised of an amazing group of young lawyer leaders who will serve as committee chairs to our various committees across the four YLD divisions. This year’s committee chairs are made up of a diverse group of both returning and new committee chairs.
Within the Bar Outreach Division, we have the Membership & Outreach Committee led by Latasia Fields (NC DOJ) and Joe Newlon (Brooks Pierce); the New Lawyers in Practice Committee led by Trey Ellis (Parker Poe) and Maria Collins (Heidi Royal Law); the Wellness Committee led by Katarina Stockton (Michael Best & Friedrich LLP) and Kadija Locklear (Thermo Fisher); the Communications Committee led by Ari Sibrey (Clauson Law Firm) and Megan Reilly-Dreas (North Carolina Court of Appeals); and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee led by Brooks Savage (NC Office of State & Budget Management) and Shameka Rolla (Smith Anderson).
In the Community Outreach Division, the Legal L.I.N.K. Committee is led by Cherell Harris (Smith Anderson) and Rachel Nicholas (Poyner Spruill); the Legal Feeding Frenzy Committee is led by Meredith Brewer (Dysart Willis) and Spencer Fritts (Law Offices of John M. McCabe, P.A.); and the Law Week and Liberty Bell Committee is led by Sidney Thomas (N.C. Office of the Commissioner of Banks) and Nick Sorenson (NC DOJ).
In the Civic Engagement & Pro Bono Division, the Pro Bono Committee is led by Brad Piland (NC Dept. of Public Safety); the Foundation & Development Committee is led by Sarah Clark (Wells Fargo) and Justin Hill (Ward & Smith); the Civic Engagement Committee is led by Isaac Ridgeway (City of Raleigh) and Nute Thompson (Summit Design & Engineering Services, PLLC); and the Disaster Legal Services Committee is led by Taylor Dewberry and Brad Piland.
In the Law Student Division, the Law Student Outreach Committee is led by Alexandria Gwynn (Turner Construction Company) and Will Robertson (Brooks Pierce); and the Bar Exam Committee is led by Tae Storr (Law Offices of James Scott Farrin) and Sarah Spangenburg (Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP).
Last, the amazing Cheyenne Merrigan, NCBA Director of Communities, will help keep us all on track as our staff liaison.
This bar year, I want to continue with and strengthen the signature YLD programs and initiatives such as Legal L.I.N.K., Legal Feeding Frenzy, and the Grab-A-Coffee program. Additionally, I want to continue strengthening our relationship with law students and serve as the connection and first entryway into the NCBA. It is also our goal to reach young lawyers in other parts of the state such as the Triad area, the greater Charlotte area, and the greater Wilmington area.
During my remarks at this year’s Annual Meeting in Wilmington, I mentioned that the YLD is “home” for all young lawyers to grow both professionally and personally. As such, I want to create a new initiative to be accomplished through a series of blog posts called “Letters to my Young Lawyer Self.” The “Letters to my Young Lawyer Self” is where young lawyer leaders will write a first-person letter to their younger selves to tell their stories of growth and the invaluable and priceless lessons they have learned along the way.
Not only do I want to open the “Letters to my Young Lawyer Self” to the YLD, but I would also love for leaders from the Senior Lawyers Division, the Paralegal Division, and other more experienced lawyers who want to tell their stories and provide valuable advice to young lawyers and law students. My hope is that this initiative will allow open and honest conversations regarding both successes and failures in the legal profession and how we can learn from them as well as provide additional learning and growth opportunities for young lawyers and law students.
If you are reading this and wondering how you get involved with the YLD or help with anything, please reach out to me. I will do my best to find a place where you can make a difference as a young lawyer and help to continue improving our shared profession! Additionally, please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions you may have with any regarding the YLD. I am here not only to lead the YLD but serve young lawyers statewide.
Jonathan M. Bogues is the 2023-24 chair of the North Carolina Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.