NCBA Honors Edmunds, Stephens

Justice Robert Edmunds and Judge Linda Stephens, front, with NCBA President Kearns Davis.

The Board of Governors of the North Carolina Bar Association, convening on Thursday, Jan. 26, at the N.C. Bar Center, honored former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert Edmunds and former Judge Linda Stephens of the N.C. Court of Appeals.

The event featured remarks by N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin, who introduced Edmunds, and Chief Judge Linda McGee of the N.C. Court of Appeals, who introduced Stephens.

The recognition event is typically held during the NCBA’s winter board meeting.

Justice Edmunds served on the Supreme Court from 2001 through 2016. Prior to joining the court, he served as assistant U.S. attorney and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of N.C., practiced with Stern & Klepfer, and served on the N.C. Court of Appeals.

Edmunds is a graduate of Vassar College and the University of North Carolina School of Law. He holds an LL.M. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Judge Stephens was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2006 and was elected to an eight-year term in 2008. She previously served as a deputy commissioner of the N.C. Industrial Commission and practiced with Teague, Campbell, Dennis & Gorham from 1984-2006.

Stephens is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Previous honorees at the winter board meeting include N.C. Reps. Leo Daughtry, Rick Glazier and Skip Stam and Sen. Fletcher Hartsell; retired N.C. Chief Justice Sarah Parker; William Johnson, chairman, president and CEO of Progress Energy; Bill Friday, longtime president of the UNC system; Mecklenburg County District Attorney Peter Gilchrist; N.C. Sen. Dan Clodfelter; John G. Medlin Jr., who chaired the Commission on the Future of Courts and Justice in North Carolina; U.S. Rep. Howard Coble; N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr.; Superior Court Judge Howard Manning; AOC Director Ralph Walker and former ABA President A.P. Carlton.

NCBA President Kearns Davis presided.