Kearns Davis Is New NCBA President-Elect

Kearns Davis was elected president-elect of the North Carolina Bar Association today in Asheville, where the NCBA is conducting its 2015 Annual Meeting. Davis will serve as president in 2016-17 following a year as president-elect.

“I’m deeply honored by the trust of my fellow lawyers.” Davis said. “For more than a century, the North Carolina Bar Association has played a vital role in shaping and improving our system of justice. I look forward to working with attorneys, judges and citizens across the state to address and meet the challenges of our time.”

Davis previously served as chair of the NCBA’s Young Lawyers Division from 2004-05, as chair of its Criminal Justice Section from 2007-08, and as a member of the NCBA Board of Governors from 2011-14. He was the first recipient of the Young Lawyers Division’s Robinson O. Everett Professionalism Award.

Davis is a partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP in Greensboro. He joined the firm in 1996 after serving as a law clerk to the late Sam J. Ervin III, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Focusing his practice on business and federal litigation, he became a partner in the firm in 2002, then left in 2003 to serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina. During his years as a federal prosecutor, Davis served as lead counsel in numerous felony trials encompassing a broad spectrum of criminal matters.

In 2007 Davis returned to Brooks Pierce to launch its white-collar criminal defense practice group. His tenure as president will occur exactly 100 years after firm founder Aubrey Brooks served as president of the NCBA.

Davis is a 1991 graduate of Davidson College and received a master’s degree from Duke University in 1994. He graduated with honors in 1995 from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he served as managing editor of the law review.

Throughout his career Davis has been deeply involved in activities of the NCBA. During his tenure as chair of the Criminal Justice Section in 2007-08, the section initiated an annual recognition dinner that has evolved into one of the highlights of the association year. The event features recognition of an outstanding criminal defense attorney and an outstanding prosecutor.

“I have benefitted immeasurably from my membership and involvement in the North Carolina Bar Association,” Davis said. “I cannot imagine practicing law without the resources and support provided by the NCBA, especially the relationships I have developed with members from all practice areas and all parts of the state.”

Davis has participated in a broad range of professional and civic activities, including service on the boards of directors of the Greensboro Police Foundation and the Greensboro Sports Council. He has also served on the N.C. Equal Access to Justice Commission and as president of the Federal Bar Association’s Middle District of North Carolina Chapter.

Davis will be sworn in as the 122nd president of the NCBA on Saturday, June 25, 2016, at the 118th Annual Meeting in Charlotte.