NCSB Journal Summer 2026

BAR UPDATES

John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award

Michael Cromwell Michael Crowell stands among North Carolina’s most distinguished public law attorneys, with five decades of service that have shaped the state’s courts, legislature, and legal profession. A UNC–Chapel Hill and Harvard Law School graduate, he built his career at the UNC School of Government as a foremost authority on judicial powers, local government law, and constitutional principles, while also serving as a partner at Tharrington Smith, repre senting municipalities and public bodies across state and federal appellate courts. His influence on the judiciary runs deep. Appointed by Chief Justice James Exum in 1994, Crowell directed a landmark study of North Carolina’s courts that produced sweeping reforms—including family courts, mandatory custody mediation, and early concepts of remote proceedings. He mod ernized the bench book used by trial judges daily and was a fixture at judicial confer ences for decades, earning the Supreme Court’s Friend of the Court Award in 2015. Beyond the bench, Crowell served as Director of Legislative Drafting, chaired mul tiple Bar Association sections, and produced dozens of manuals that became essential ref

erences for judges and public officials alike. Colleagues remember him for his legal bril liance and equal measures of humility and generosity—qualities recognized by the John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award. Judge Richard L. Doughton Judge Richard L. Doughton has dedicat ed his life to justice and public service across North Carolina. After earning his law degree from Wake Forest University in 1971, he built a general practice in rural Alleghany County — handling the full range of small town cases and providing court-appointed counsel to those who couldn’t afford repre sentation. His reputation for fairness earned him an appointment as a special superior court judge in 1997, a role he continues today as an emergency judge. On the bench, Judge Doughton became one of the state’s most trusted judicial fig ures—among the rare judges to have held court in all 100 counties. The Administrative Office of the Courts regular ly called on him to preside over the most dif ficult criminal trials and politically sensitive matters. His courtroom was a model of pro fessionalism, and he became a valued men tor to lawyers and judges across the state,

the naming of Alleghany County’s auxiliary courthouse in his honor—a lasting tribute to a career defined by integrity and an unwa vering commitment to justice. Randel E. Phillips Randel E. “Randy” Phillips is a distin guished North Carolina attorney whose career has been defined by academic excel lence, professional leadership, and deep commitment to the legal community. A Davidson College graduate with high hon ors, he went on to study history as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford before graduating magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he served on the Law Review. After clerking for Judge James B. McMillan, he joined Moore & Van Allen in 1980, spending more than four decades as a leading labor and employment attorney and 15 years as the firm’s general counsel. Phillips was widely regarded as a trusted authority on ethics and professional respon sibility, contributing leadership to the ABA’s State Labor Law Developments Committee and earning Moore & Van Allen’s Sally and Bill Van Allen Public Service Award in 2018. His most lasting contribution came through 14 years on the North Carolina Board of Law Examiners, where he served as the body’s intellectual anchor—drafting and reviewing bar exam questions, grading thou sands of answers, and playing a central role in North Carolina’s adoption of the Uniform Bar Exam. His signature appears on the law licenses of 16,346 attorneys admitted between 2005 and 2019. In recog nition of this extraordinary career, the North Carolina State Bar presented him with the John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award in February 2026. Nominations Sought Members of the State Bar are encouraged to nominate colleagues who have demon strated outstanding service to the profession

guiding colleagues with thoughtful analysis and quiet wisdom. His service to the profes sion has been equally exten sive — chairing the County and District Bar Association, serving on the Pattern Jury Instructions Committee for 16 years, and serving as vice-president of the North Carolina Bar Association, among many other roles. His contribu tions have been recognized with the Governor’s Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the Citizen Lawyer Award, and

Michael Cromwell with State Bar President Katherine Frye.

SUMMER 2026

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