NCBA Honors News & Record’s Doug Clark

Doug Clark, longtime columnist and editorial writer for the News & Record of Greensboro, is the second recipient of the North Carolina Bar Association’s John G. Medlin Jr. Award.

The award, which recognizes contributions to the administration of justice and judicial independence by a North Carolina citizen who is not a lawyer, was presented on Friday, June 23, at the NCBA Annual Meeting in Asheville.

Shelby Benton, immediate past president of the NCBA, presented the award.

“Doug Clark is best known as a careful observer of the proper operation of government,” Benton said, “and he has not hesitated to write about concerns to attract greater attention on important issues that can interfere with the proper function of government in a democracy.”

“He has written about how judicial elections have unfolded,” Benton added, “and asked the hard questions, backed with lots of research and facts, about whether electing our judges is the best approach for getting the most independent judges, who are focused on the rule of law and fairness and not on other considerations.”

Clark is a native of New York City who moved to North Carolina when he was 15 years old. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Journalism and previously worked for newspapers in Waynesville and High Point.

In 2015, Chief Justice Mark Martin of the N.C. Supreme Court appointed Clark to the North Carolina Commission on the Administration of Law and Justice, where he served on the Public Trust and Confidence Committee.

The Medlin Award was established by the NCBA Board of Governors in 2012 in honor of the late John Medlin, longtime president and CEO of Wachovia. Medlin chaired the Commission for the Future of Justice and the Courts in North Carolina, which is often referred to as the Medlin Commission.

Until now, Medlin has been the only recipient of the award. It was presented posthumously by the NCBA Board of Governors in 2013.