Lawyers Mutual congratulates John McCabe on receiving the North Carolina Advocates for Justice Founder’s Award.
Those who know John understand that this recognition is about far more than his accomplishments as a lawyer. Throughout his career, John has distinguished himself as a skilled advocate, a respected leader, and a generous mentor who has helped countless lawyers along the way. He has dedicated his professional life to serving others, advancing the cause of justice, and strengthening North Carolina’s legal community.
The Founder’s Award is the highest honor bestowed by the North Carolina Advocates for Justice and recognizes extraordinary service to justice and to the organization. It is a fitting tribute to a lawyer whose impact extends well beyond the courtroom.
John’s contributions to the NCAJ have been substantial. He has served in numerous leadership roles, including President of the organization, and previously received both the Ebbie Award for dedication to the NCAJ and the Henson McCabe Miller Leadership Award in recognition of his service and leadership.
In addition to his service to the profession, John has earned the respect of his peers through decades of excellence in practice, including recognition by Best Lawyers in America, North Carolina Super Lawyers, North Carolina’s Legal Elite, and numerous other professional honors. Yet those who know him best would likely point first to his integrity, humility, professionalism, and unwavering commitment to helping others. We are grateful for John’s many contributions to the legal profession and join his friends and colleagues in celebrating this well-deserved recognition. Congratulations, John, on this outstanding achievement.
In a world where technology is automating almost everything we do, the handwritten note remains surprisingly powerful. We communicate through email, text messages, client portals, and automated workflows. Artificial intelligence can draft our correspondence, schedule our appointments, and even summarize our meetings. Yet despite all these advances, one of the most effective relationship-building tools may still be a pen, a note card, and a few sincere words.
Lawyers spend a great deal of time communicating with clients throughout a representation. We send engagement letters, status updates, invoices, and closing letters. But when the matter concludes, how often do we simply say thank you?
A handwritten thank you note at the end of a representation can leave a lasting impression. Unlike an email, a handwritten note requires time and effort. It signals that the client was more than just another file number. It communicates appreciation for the trust the client placed in the lawyer during what was often a stressful and important period in the client’s life.
Before you dismiss this idea as old-fashioned, consider how you feel when you receive a thoughtful handwritten note from someone. Chances are you do not throw it away immediately. You read it, appreciate the effort, and feel a little more positively toward the person who sent it. In a world dominated by emails and text messages, a handwritten note has become memorable precisely because it is so uncommon.
The timing is particularly important. Psychologists have observed that people often judge experiences based on key moments and how those experiences end. A positive final interaction can significantly influence how a client remembers the entire representation. A thoughtful thank you note may become one of the last things a client remembers about working with you.
There are practical benefits as well. Clients who feel appreciated are more likely to return when they need legal assistance in the future. They are also more likely to recommend you to friends, family members, and colleagues. The note itself should not be a sales pitch. In fact, it is most effective when it is simply an authentic expression of gratitude. The referrals often follow naturally.
The best part is that this practice costs almost nothing. A note card, a stamp, and two minutes of your time may be enough to strengthen a relationship that lasts for years. In a profession where lawyers are constantly asking clients for information, signatures, documents, and payments, taking a moment to say, “Thank you for trusting me,” may be one of the simplest and most meaningful marketing strategies available.
Most lawyers understand the value of professional relationships but often struggle to find time to build them. Between client matters, court appearances, administrative responsibilities, and family commitments, it can feel like there are not enough hours in the day. When faced with another invitation to join a bar association, a practice section, or other legal organization, the easiest response is often, “Maybe next year.”
The challenge is that next year rarely arrives. Professional involvement gets pushed behind more urgent demands, and what seems like a discretionary activity becomes something that is perpetually postponed. As a result, many lawyers miss opportunities to build relationships, expand their knowledge, and strengthen their connection to the profession.
While participation in legal organizations requires an investment of both time and money, the return on that investment is often far greater than lawyers realize. One of the greatest benefits of becoming involved in a legal organization is the opportunity to build relationships. While technology has made it easier than ever to communicate electronically, there is still tremendous value in face-to-face interaction. Attending meetings, conferences, and events allows lawyers to connect with colleagues, exchange ideas, and develop relationships that often last throughout an entire career.
Those relationships can be professionally valuable, but they can also be personally meaningful. The practice of law can sometimes feel isolating. Spending time with other lawyers who understand the challenges of the profession reminds us that we are not navigating those challenges alone.
Legal organizations also provide opportunities to serve others. Whether through committee work, leadership positions, educational programs, pro bono initiatives, or community service projects, lawyers can use their skills and experience to make a positive difference. Service benefits the organization, but it often benefits the volunteer as well. Helping others creates a sense of purpose, strengthens professional connections, and reminds us that our work is about more than simply billing hours and meeting deadlines.
Another significant benefit is the opportunity to learn from more experienced lawyers. Many attorneys can point to a mentor who provided guidance, encouragement, or practical wisdom at a critical point in their careers. Legal organizations create natural opportunities for those mentoring relationships to develop. Sometimes the most valuable lesson you learn at a conference comes not from a CLE presentation, but from a conversation over coffee with a lawyer who has faced the same challenge you are confronting.
Participation in legal organizations can also be one of the most effective forms of business development. Lawyers tend to refer work to people they know and trust. When lawyers regularly interact through section meetings, committees, conferences, and volunteer projects, they become familiar with one another’s skills and professionalism. Over time, those relationships often lead to referral opportunities that would never have existed otherwise.
Legal organizations also provide access to an extraordinary amount of practical knowledge. Many associations maintain listservs and online communities where members can seek guidance on difficult legal issues, procedural questions, practice management concerns, and emerging developments in the law. For example, I am a member of the NCBA Estate Planning Section listserv and am constantly learning something new from the posts on that listserv. It offers the benefit of the collective wisdom of hundreds of lawyers. That kind of practical assistance is difficult to find anywhere else.
Perhaps most importantly, involvement in legal organizations reminds us that we are part of something larger than our individual practices. The legal profession is built on relationships, shared values, and a commitment to serving others. Bar associations and legal organizations provide a place where those connections can grow. The question is not whether membership costs money or requires time. The question is whether the relationships, knowledge, service opportunities, and professional support are worth the investment. For most lawyers who become actively involved, the answer is an easy one.
Have you ever had a conversation with someone who simply could not look you in the eye? The conversation itself may have been perfectly pleasant. The person may have been intelligent, friendly, and articulate. Yet something felt off. Their eyes darted toward the floor, the wall, or somewhere over your shoulder. No matter what you were discussing, they seemed unable or unwilling to meet your gaze.
Most of us have had this experience at some point. And when we do, questions may begin to creep into our minds. Is this person nervous? Are they uncomfortable? Are they hiding something? Did I offend them?
To be clear, a lack of eye contact should not be taken as evidence that something is wrong with the other person. People avoid eye contact for many reasons, including shyness, anxiety, cultural norms, or neurodiversity. Yet there is a reason we instinctively react to it. Human beings have evolved to use eye contact as an important social signal. We often associate it with confidence, attentiveness, sincerity, and trustworthiness.
Researchers who study communication have found that those instincts are not entirely misplaced. Appropriate eye contact can strengthen relationships, improve communication, increase perceptions of credibility, and instill confidence. For lawyers, whose success often depends on trust and effective communication, that makes eye contact more than a social nicety. It may be one of the most underrated professional skills we possess.
Consider the client interview. Most clients are not sitting in a lawyer’s office because life is going particularly well. They are often facing uncertainty, conflict, financial stress, or one of the most significant problems they have ever encountered. During those meetings, clients are evaluating more than legal competence. They are deciding whether they trust the person sitting across from them.
A lawyer who maintains appropriate eye contact communicates attention and interest. The message is simple: “I am listening, and what you are saying matters.” That message can help build trust long before the lawyer offers any legal advice.
Eye contact can also improve a lawyer’s effectiveness when gathering information. Communication involves much more than words. Facial expressions, hesitation, uncertainty, and emotional reactions often reveal information that never appears in a transcript or written statement.
This can be particularly important during depositions and witness interviews. A witness may briefly look away before answering a difficult question. A client may display discomfort when discussing a particular event. An opposing party may react unexpectedly when a key document is introduced. Lawyers who remain visually engaged are often better positioned to notice those clues and pursue them with follow-up questions.
There is also a leadership lesson here. Lawyers spend considerable time supervising associates, mentoring younger lawyers, and managing staff. In those conversations, people want more than instructions. They want to feel heard and valued.
One of the simplest ways to communicate respect is to give another person your full attention. Appropriate eye contact signals engagement and presence. It tells the other person that, at least for the next few minutes, they have your attention.
Of course, eye contact is not about staring. Excessive eye contact can feel uncomfortable or confrontational. Cultural norms and individual preferences vary. The goal is not to lock eyes with another person throughout an entire conversation. The goal is simply to be present and engaged.
Lawyers spend enormous amounts of time developing legal knowledge and technical skills. Those skills are essential. But many qualities like trust, credibility, empathy, and connection are communicated through small behaviors that often go unnoticed.
The next time you meet with a client, interview a witness, negotiate a settlement, or mentor a colleague, pay attention to where you are looking. You may discover that one of the most powerful communication tools available is also one of the simplest.
In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” Yet for nearly a century, millions of Black Americans remained enslaved under a system that denied them those very truths. It wasn’t until January 1, 1863, that President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring freedom for enslaved people in the Confederate states. Still, many enslaved people remained in bondage until the Civil War’s end in April 1865—and some not until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment. Many enslaved Black people did not taste freedom until Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, several months after the Civil War had ended and more than 2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. That date—now known as Juneteenth—marks a delayed but momentous declaration of freedom.
We now celebrate this historical event as a federal holiday. On June 17, 2021, the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was signed into law. The day is celebrated across the country with events that honor Black American culture, history, and resilience. It is a day for reflection, education, and recognition of the continued journey toward equality. It is a reminder that words alone are often not enough to secure the rights and freedoms of all people.
From the victories of Thurgood Marshall to the legal architects of the Civil Rights Movement, Black lawyers have been instrumental in challenging unjust systems and dismantling discriminatory laws. Black lawyers in North Carolina have been on the front lines of these battles.
Going all the way back to the late 1800’s, George Henry White served as a Black Congressman of the Reconstruction Era. As one of the few Black lawyers in North Carolina at that time, White fought against lynching, disenfranchisement, and segregation. Following in White’s footsteps, William T. Howell was also one of the first Black lawyers to practice law in North Carolina. He was active in the civil rights community and used his law practice to fight against segregation, disenfranchisement, and inequality.
In1964, Julius Chambers opened the first integrated law firm in Charlotte. Chambers went on to argue numerous cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He won eight of the eight cases he argued in the Court. Chambers served as President of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), an organization that played a central role in legal battles for racial equality in the U.S.
More recently, Henry Frye broke racial barriers by becoming the first Black justice and chief justice on the Supreme Court of North Carolina. Prior to his service on the Court, Frye served as assistant U.S. attorney, working tirelessly to champion civil rights.
Today, Anita Earls serves as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of North Carolina. She has dedicated her career to racial and social justice. Prior to joining the Court, she founded the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and litigated numerous cases related to voting rights, criminal justice reform, and education equity.
These are just a few of the Black North Carolina lawyers who have long understood that words alone do not create and protect rights and freedoms. They have fought to make sure that the words in the Declaration of Independence, the Thirteenth Amendment, and the Emancipation Proclamation mean something.
These legal pioneers reshaped the law to serve justice more equitably. Their legacies continue through the work of younger Black attorneys, judges, and law students across North Carolina who uphold the ongoing mission of Juneteenth: to realize the full freedom, citizenship, and opportunity promised—but not yet delivered—to all.
On Juneteenth, we honor these heroes for the sacrifices they have made in pursuit of a more just and equal society. Let us remember their accomplishments and legacy not only with celebration, but with continued commitment to justice, equity, and the rule of law.
