Parker Poe has a long history of service to our community; we are committed to reinvesting our time and talent in the communities that are the source of our success and growth.

Pro bono legal service represents a significant part of life at Parker Poe. The firm is a past recipient of the North Carolina Bar Association's "Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year" award; individual partners have been awarded the Bar Association's "Outstanding Pro Bono Attorney Service Award." Parker Poe regularly works with the Volunteer Lawyers Programs in both Wake and Mecklenburg Counties and has been recognized by those programs for its efforts to provide legal services to the poor. In South Carolina, fulfilling the pro bono requirements established by the South Carolina Supreme Court, Parker Poe attorneys are active in the South Carolina Bar's voluntary pro bono program.

Parker Poe strongly encourages pro bono legal service by its lawyers. We also encourage pro bono service by actively seeking those opportunities.

Pro bono services provided by firm lawyers range from representation of Legal Aid clients referred by the Volunteer Lawyers Program to providing appellate and trial representation through the Guardian Ad Litem program to children who are involved in challenging home placement decisions. Firm lawyers are also on call to represent indigent appellants before the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and to provide emergency pro bono representation in domestic violence cases. Outside of court, our attorneys assist on a pro bono basis with setting up and providing ongoing legal services to small nonprofit charitable organizations that cannot afford to hire a lawyer.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Our lawyers are involved in a wide variety of bar, civic and charitable activities throughout both North Carolina and South Carolina. Some of the positions our attorneys have held include President of the North Carolina State Bar, Chair of the Charlotte/Mecklenburg School Board, President of the Spartanburg, South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and President of the American Symphony Association. Several attorneys have served as trustees of institutions of higher learning and four attorneys served as President of the Mecklenburg County Bar Association. The firm is consistently a leader in arts, United Way and education fund drives among the attorneys and staff.

In 1992, Parker Poe established a scholarship program through an endowment to Johnson C. Smith University, a historically black university located in Charlotte. Since the school's beginning, a Parker Poe attorney has served as a member of the Board of Trustees.  Currently, William P. Farthing, Jr., Managing Partner of Parker Poe, is a Trustee and a member of the Executive Committee.

Please visit our Parker Poe offices page for more information on our community involvement in each of our six locations.