L.P. Tony Hornthal Awarded the J. Robert Elster Award for Professional Excellence

Congratulations to L.P. "Tony" Hornthal who has been awarded the J. Robert Elster Award for Professional Excellence for 2011 by the NC Association of Defense Attorneys (NCADA).

This Award, renamed in 2007 in honor and recognition of J. Robert Elster, a founding member and second president of the NCADA, recognizes NCADA members who exemplify the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and ethics and conducts him or herself in a civil, courteous manner with all persons. The recipient must exemplify sustained excellent individual service to individual and corporate defendants in civil litigation, to the Bar and to the community. 

This year's recipient, Tony Hornthal, is a senior partner in the Elizabeth City firm of Hornthal, Riley, Ellis and Maland. Hornthal's legal career, spanning over four decades, has touched nearly every area of civil litigation, zealously representing his clients’ interests both in the courtroom and across the negotiation table. He has diligently served the legal profession as a leader on the Board of Governors and as president for the North Carolina Bar Association, he served as a member of the Disciplinary Hearing Commission of the North Carolina State Bar, and is currently a member of the Judicial Standards Commission, appointed by the State Bar Council. He is a past president of the NC Association of Defense Attorneys, and has served as president of the UNC Law Alumni Association. He also served on the Board of Directors of Lawyers Mutual Liability Insurance Company of NC, where he chaired the Claims Committee of for several years, and served with distinction in this capacity.

Hornthal and his wife, Harriett, have two sons, Phillip and Lang. Phillip is Tony's law partner, and he describes his father as "truly a lawyer's lawyer, in the finest sense of those words. Throughout my dad’s 40 plus year career, he has been a patient and willing mentor to many, many young lawyers." 

Hornthal's dedication to the profession is reflected in service to his community. For over 25 years, he has been the attorney for the Pasquotank County School Board; he is a senior warden, vestry, and lay leader of Christ Episcopal Church and has also held leadership positions with the Diocese of East Carolina. He and Harriet served as co-chairs of the Museum of the Albemarle Capital Campaign which resulted in the construction of the museum's magnificent building. He has served as the president of the Albemarle United Way and Elizabeth City Rotary Club, and has served and chaired a number of other service and philanthropic organizations, such as the Elizabeth City Boys' Club, the HOSTS tutoring program with the Pasquotank Public Schools, and the Benjamin House, a house for mentally-challenged young adults.

Lawyers Mutual congratulates Tony on receiving this honor.