On January 20, at the joint dinner of the North Carolina State Bar and the North Carolina Bar Association at the Raleigh Marriott City Center, Chief Justice Mark Martin presented former Chief Justice Burley B. Mitchell Jr. with the 2015 Chief Justice's Professionalism Award. He was presented with this annual award for his dedication and commitment to the principles of professionalism and public service in North Carolina.

Chief Justice Mitchell began his outstanding legal career in service to the people of North Carolina as Assistant Attorney General of North Carolina and then as U.S. District Attorney for the 10th Judicial District. In 1977, he served as Judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals for two years, followed by service as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. In 1982, Governor Hunt appointed Burley to the Supreme Court of North Carolina as an Associate Justice, and in 1995, Governor Hunt appointed him Chief Justice, where he served until retirement in 1999. Since then, he has been in private practice with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice handling appellate advocacy and government relations.

In addition to all of his public legal service in North Carolina, both on and off the bench, Chief Justice Mitchell has remained very active in community service, particularly in the area of higher education. He has served as a member of the Board of Trustees for North Carolina State University, a member of the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy.

Originally from Raleigh, Chief Justice Mitchell was educated in the public schools. After serving in the U.S. Navy for four years, he attended North Carolina State University, where he graduated cum laude with his B. S. degree in 1966 and then his law degree in 1969 at the University of North Carolina. Later, while serving on the Supreme Court, he attended the New York University School of Law and Institute on Judicial Administration.

Chief Justice Mitchell has received numerous awards, commendations, and accolades over the years for his leadership and service in the courts and community. Chief among them, are the North Carolina Award for Public Service, the state's highest civilian honor, and the North Carolina State University Alumni Association's College Meritorious Service Award. Throughout his career, he has exceeded all professionalism expectations with his continued selfless dedication and commitment to the legal community, the judicial system, and his fellow citizens. He continues to promote the highest professional standards for all and has set an extraordinary example to follow.

Chief Justice Mitchell is the 19th recipient of the Chief Justice's Professionalism Award. Past recipients of this distinguished award include William F. Womble, Senator Robert B. Morgan, Joseph W. Grier Jr., the late Honorable Robinson O. Everett, the late Honorable David M. Britt, Julius L. Chambers, Elizabeth L. Quick, the Honorable Wallace C. Harrelson, William O. King, E. Fitzgerald Parnell III, Melvin F. Wright Jr., Roy W. Davis, the Honorable Lillian B. Jordan., Robert L. McMillan Jr., James C. Drennan, Roger W. Smith Sr., Wade M. Smith, and the Honorable Shirley Fulton.

For information about the Chief Justice's Professionalism Award or the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism, please contact the Commission office at (919) 890-1455.