Community - Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog
Organizations our attorneys and staff support:
- American Cancer Society
- American Diabetes Association
- Angels Among Us
- Cape Fear Council of Boy Scouts of America
- Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation
- Easter Seals UCP North Carolina
- Food Bank of North Carolina
- Foundation for Autism Research and Remediation
- Habitat for Humanity
- Hospice of Wake County
- Interact
- Katrina Aid Project
- Kids Chance of North Carolina
- Legal Aid of North Carolina
- March of Dimes
- Mecklenburg Bar Foundation
- National Foundation for Judicial Excellence
- North Carolina Guardian ad Litem (GAL) program
- North Carolina Museum of Art
- North Carolina Museum of History
- Prevent Blindness North Carolina
- Shoes-4-Souls
- Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure
- The Salvation Army
- Thurgood Marshall College Fund
- Triangle Impact
- United Arts Council of Raleigh
- United Way
- Visual Art Exchange
- Wake County Bar Association Clothing Drive
- Wake County Social Services – families in need
- WakeMed Foundation
- YMCA of the Triangle
Campbell Law Trial Team Wins Regional Championship
Mike Allen (pictured on right), a coach for the Campbell Law School mock trial team, assisted the team in bringing home the crystal championship trophy from the regional American Association for Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition held in Washington, D.C. in March 2011.
James B. McMillan Fellowship Dinner
Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog served as a supporting donor for the 2011 James B. McMillan Fellowship Dinner held on Thursday February 24, 2011. The McMillan Fellowship Dinner named after Judge James B. McMillan, a North Carolina Federal Judge that played a pivotal role in ending segregation of Southern public schools, is held annually to raise funds to support justice and innovation without our local legal system by awarding law students summer fellowships in not-for-profit and government agencies. At this year’s dinner, the Julius L. Chambers Diversity Champion Award was presented to James E. Ferguson, II, co-founder of the first integrated law firm in the state and one of the nation’s top trial lawyers.
CSH Helps Sponsor Competition
In January 2011 Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog helped sponsor the Frederick Douglas Moot Court Competition at the 40th Annual Southern Region Black Law Students Association (BLSA). The regional event, hosted by Campbell University, brought 40 schools and 400 law students together for four days of meetings, seminars and competitions. In addition to financial support, the firm also provided judges for the moot court competition.
2010 Thurgood Marshall College Fund
Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog served as a supporting friend for the 2010 Thurgood Marshall College Fund 6th Annual Awards of Excellence dinner. This event recognizes leaders nationwide who exemplify professional and civic excellence and individuals who share Justice Marshall’s concern for civil rights and his passion for justice and education. This year’s Awards of Excellence recipients are: Yele Aluko, MD, FACC-Partner, Mid Carolina Cardiology; The Honorable Henry E. Frye–North Carolina Supreme Court Justice (Ret.); Sarah Stevenson–Charlotte-Mecklenberg School Board (Ret.); Donnie Shell–Director of Player Development, Carolina Panthers (Ret.); and Joan Zimmerman–Founder & CEO, Southern Shows, Inc. Over the last 21 years, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund has awarded more than $100 million in leadership development, programmatic and capacity support, and scholarships enabling more than 12,000 students to attend public HBCUs. It is the only national organization of its type that provides merit-based scholarships and programmatic support to students attending the nation’s public HBCUs. TMCF also provides internship programs and joins corporate and foundation partners in providing leadership training and support to students preparing for undergraduate and professional schools.
Summer Associate Social
The minority bars in Charlotte, NC hosted the Summer Associate Social 2010. The Mecklenburg County Asian Pacific Bar (MAP-Bar), chaired by Mica Nguyen (pictured below, fourth from left), joined with The Leary Association of Black Attorneys and The Latino-Hispanic Bar to bring law students from all over Charlotte to BlackFinn Restaurant for a social networking event. CSH was a firm sponor of the event along with Robinson Bradshaw, Moore & Van Allen, and Parker Poe.
Special guests in attendance included Mecklenburg County Bar President, Todd Brown, and the co-chairs of the MCB Special Committee on Diversity, Valecia McDowell of Moore & Van Allen, and Judge Albert Diaz of the Charlotte Business Court. In this picture, these special guests were met by the President of The Latino-Hispanic Bar and The Map-Bar.
Here, members of The Leary Bar, including Janelle Lyons (second from left), provided a warm welcome to the law students participating in the Charlotte Legal Diversity Clerkship program.
2010 Diversity Summit
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Alka Srivastava and Donna Rascoe traveled to Chicago for the 2010 Diversity Summit sponsored by DRI. At the conference, Alka was presented with the DRI Law Student Diversity Scholarship. Alka was one of two scholarship recipients selected from a national pool of law students. Donna and Alka attended diversity workshops and a special awards reception. |
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Raleigh Summer Clerks Volunteer at Food Bank
Pam Dickson, along with the summer clerks, put in a shift at the food bank sorting sweet potatoes. |
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CSH Donates Computer Equipment to Graham County Sheriff’s Office
An arson attempt left the Graham County Sheriff’s office completely destroyed on Monday, May 17, although it wasn’t until that Wednesday that Sheriff Russell Moody called for help from the NC Sheriff’s Association (NCSA). Through a combination of community support and the NCSA’s quick action, only two days after the call a new office was already established and open for business in a vacant Wachovia building.
Despite the short notice, Sam LaRoche and the IT staff at Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog immediately helped to supply the new office with IT and computer equipment to ease its technological transition alongside computer technicians from NetSmart, Inc., who installed up-to-date telephones in the new location.
Shoes for Haiti
517 pairs of shoes were collected and donated to Shoes-4-Souls for the Haiti earthquake victims.
Lunch With A Lawyer
Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog lawyers volunteer annually to participate in Lunch with a Lawyer programs organized by both the Mecklenburg County Bar and the Wake County Bar. Through a partnership with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Charlotte Lawyers serve as mentors to eighth graders throughout the academic school year, meeting with a student at school at least once a month for lunch. In Wake County, the program matches attorneys and high school students, who meet together for lunch during the summer break. Both programs aim to identify students with an interest in the law and partner them with a mentor-lawyer. These attorneys provide the students with positive role models as well as unique insight into the legal profession. The students are given the opportunity to ask important questions about the reality of a career in law as well as the journey taken to become a lawyer.
Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog’s participation in the Lunch with a Lawyer programs demonstrates its commitment to the local community and to strengthening the pipeline of students entering the legal profession.
Minorities In The Profession
Summer Clerk Program
Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog annually participates in the Minorities in the Profession (MIP) Summer Clerk Program through the North Carolina Bar Association. The MIP Committee of the North Carolina Bar Association plays a key role in encouraging the participation of minorities in the legal profession and offering support to minorities pursuing a law degree.
Every year law firms and corporations dedicated to promoting diversity in their workplaces are invited to participate in the program which includes first year (1L) law school students from all seven North Carolina law schools. The MIP 1L Summer Clerk Program is designed to provide corporate legal departments and law firms in North Carolina with an “inside track” on recruiting some of our state’s brightest and most talented minority law students. Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog interviews 1L students each year for a summer position with the firm. Several former MIP participants subsequently followed the program with a second summer associate position and some have also been hired as full time associates. For example, Mica Nguyen, an associate in our Charlotte office, was originally a participant in the MIP program as a 1L student.
Participation in the MIP Summer Clerk Program every year is just one example of the efforts made by Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog to demonstrate its commitment to hiring diverse employees and developing a firm culture that is welcoming, respectful and inclusive of its employees.
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Holiday Fundraiser
Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog held a Casino Night Holiday Fundraiser. Over $1,500 was raised to benefit Hospice of Wake County. |
Old Reliable Run
On November 15, 2009, the CSH Team (pictured below) participated in the Old Reliable Run Benefiting United Way of the Greater Triangle.
Thurgood Marshall College Fund
Luke Hardison, Mica Nguyen, and Janelle Lyons
Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog supported the Thurgood Marshall College Fund in 2009 by purchasing a table at the annual Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s Awards of Excellence held at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, NC on October 7, 2009. This event recognizes leaders who exemplify professional and civic excellence and individuals who share Justice Marshall’s concern for civil rights and his passion for justice and education. Janelle Lyons, an associate in Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog’s Charlotte Office, served as a Dinner Committee Member for this year’s event.
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund was founded in 1987 and continues to be the only national organization to provide merit scholarships, leadership development, training¸ programmatic support, and capacity building support to the 235,000 students attending the nation’s public historically black colleges and universities. Its mission is to develop and prepare a new generation of leaders by providing resources, opportunities, scholarships and advocacy to public historically black colleges & universities, students and alumni. Since its inception, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund has provided more than $68 million in scholarships and programmatic support to students attending its 47 member public historically black colleges and universities and its 6 historically black law schools, where 97% of all students in attendance require some form of financial assistance.
National Foundation for Judicial Excellence
CSH supports the National Foundation for Judicial Excellence (NFJE). Established in 2004, the NFJE is a charitable organization based in Chicago, dedicated to supporting an independent, well-informed judiciary in order to preserve excellence and fairness in the civil justice system. The NFJE was formed as an initiative of the Defense Research Institute (DRI) when CSH’s Richard T. Boyette was serving as president of DRI. Mr. Boyette currently serves as the president of NFJE.
Each year, the NFJE produces a first-rate annual symposium attracting ten (10%) percent of state appellate judges. The symposia have featured an array of nationally distinguished legal experts and scholars discussing contemporary and complex legal issues relevant today in courtrooms across the country. The end result is the top-quality, tuition-free series of educational programs provided by the NFJE, which assist our nation’s appellate judges to perform at their highest levels. For more information about the NFJE, visit www.nfje.net or call 312-698-6280.
The Food Bank of Central North Carolina
Recruiting Director, Pam Dickson, along with Raleigh summer clerks, participated in an event to assist the Food Bank of Central North Carolina by contributing monetary donations and “sweat equity.”
Susan G. Komen 5k Race for the Cure
Approximately 23,000 runners, walkers, survivors, and volunteers participated in the Race for the Cure on June 13, 2009 in Raleigh. The CSH Team (pictured below) raised several thousand dollars for the cure.
“Bark at the Beach” Fundraiser
The Third Annual “Bark at the Beach” was held at Holden Beach, NC on Saturday, April 11th, 2009 and raised over $5,000 for Easter Seals UCP. There were over 65 dogs and 125 walkers participating in the event.
| Raleigh attorney, Trey Collier and Niki Murray with her labs, Toby and Blake.Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP was a “Big Dog” sponsor for this event! |  |
CSH Collects Approximately $5,000 in its
2008 Annual Holiday Giving Campaign
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During its annual “Holiday Giving Campaign” organized by the firm’s newest associates, Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog was able to raise approximately $5,000 to help provide a warmer and happier holiday season to families and children in the Triangle.
- The money was used to purchase gifts for several families in need this holiday season and gifts for Guardian ad Litem children as well.
- The families were nominated to the firm by Social Services, attorneys and staff.
- The firm has the families and Guardian ad Litem children create “wish lists” of things they need, and some things they just want, and then raises money from in-firm donations to fund the project. In lieu of donating cash, employees and staff can also help wrap, deliver, or buy gifts directly.
Thanks to everyone who participated in our 2008 Annual Holiday Giving Campaign!
Habitat for Humanity
On Wednesday, June 11, 2008, Raleigh summer clerks (Andrea Fowler, Jeff Monroe, Mollie Livingston, and Kathryn Roebuck) and Stephanie Gaston participated in a local build for Habitat for Humanity.
July 2007 Contribution to Interact of Wake County
During the month of July, employees of Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP were encouraged to bring in their old cell phones and/or Blackberrys to be donated to Interact of Wake County. On August 17, 2007, 29 cell phones and 9 Blackberrys were delivered to Interact of Wake County.
Interact is a private, non-profit, United Way agency that provides safety, support, and awareness to victims and survivors of domestic violence and rape/sexual assault.
Mecklenburg County 2007 Relay For Life Event
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From left to right. Emerson Thompson, Cecily Steele, Melody Jolly, Heather Puljung, Kenny Coble, Ashley Earnhart & other related supporters. |
In May, 2007, several members of the Charlotte office of Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP participated in the American Cancer Society’s 2007 Relay for Life event held at E.E. Waddell High School. Thanks to the hard work and donations of many people, Team CSH was able to raise over $4,000 towards the fight against cancer and was honored at the event as a sponsor.
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2007 Food Bank of NC Food Drive Sponsored by the
Wake County Bar Association Young Lawyers’ Division
| Attorneys Stephanie Gaston and Jennifer Addleton of the Raleigh office of Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP served as co-chairs for the 2007 Food Drive sponsored by the Wake County Bar Association Young Lawyers’ Division.Various Wake County firms and agencies donated over $8,000 and over 2,000 pounds of food to benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. |
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