NCAJ Presents Nine Awards During Convention 2025

Special Lifetime Justice Award Goes to Wade E. Byrd

NCAJ honored members and friends with nine awards during Convention 2025 in Charlotte, kicking off the festivities on June 19 with the presentation of the Wade E. Byrd Lifetime Justice Award presented to the legendary lawyer for whom it’s named.

Longtime NCAJ member and friend of Byrd David Kirby presided over the presentation of the award, which is a commissioned sculpture inspired by a Western scene. Kirby described the piece, titled “Against All Odds,” as a lawman headed out the doors of a saloon to confront a ruckus and take on “whatever’s out there to try to deliver justice, to try to deliver peace, to try to protect his fellow man.”

The Wade E. Byrd Lifetime Justice Award will not be presented annually but will be given occasionally to a recipient who is exceptional in the courtroom and outside the courtroom.

“They are few and far between. But should another Wade Byrd come along, they will receive this award,” Kirby said. “If you ever win this award you need to put it at your front door for every client to see when they walk in your office because you’ll know you’re one hell of a lawyer.”

The traditional NCAJ awards were presented at the Annual Awards Breakfast on June 21. Go to the Convention 2025 page to read more about this year’s honorees.

2025 NCAJ Award Honorees

• Bill Mills received the Founders Award.
• Philip Isley received the Henson McCabe Miller Leadership Award.
• Lisa Lanier, Robert O. Jenkins, Dustin McKinney, George McKinney and James Robert Tate received the Kellie Crabtree Award.
• Lennie Jernigan received the Thurgood Marshall Award.
• Valerie Johnson received the Annie Brown Kennedy Award.
• Chris Nichols received the Charles L. Becton Teaching Award.
• Leslie Leake received the Robby Price Award.
• Judge Mike O’Foghludha received the Outstanding Trial Judge Award.