The American Bar Association Judicial Division will present its William D. Missouri Civility Award to Mark Martin, former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, ,,, on Thursday, July 30, during the 2026 ABA Annual Conference.
Martin will receive the Missouri Civility Award, which is named in honor of Judge William D. Missouri who worked throughout his career to promote civility and professionalism through the bar, the bench and the community, across all racial, ethnic and gender groups.
“Chief Justice Martin placed a premium on integrity inside and outside the courtroom, and he instilled this in his law clerks,” said attorney Chris G. Browning, Jr. of Troutman Pepper Locke, one of Martin’s nominators. “Chief Justice Martin has a reputation for being a mentor and role model for his law clerks. That desire to shape the next generation of attorneys undoubtedly was a factor in his decision to leave the bench to become a law school dean. He has the demeanor of a statesman, greets everyone with a warm smile and has a kind word for everyone.”
In 2015, Martin convened the North Carolina Commission on the Administration of Law and Justice, which brought together attorneys and judges from throughout North Carolina to evaluate the administration of justice and identify areas for improvement.
“The work of this commission resulted in the implementation of concrete steps to improve professionalism and the administration of justice,” Browning said.
After leaving the bench, Martin became dean of the Regent University School of Law and was appointed founding dean of the High Point University School of Law in 2022, helping the law school receive provisional accreditation from the law-school accreditation council housed within the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar.
Martin has served on several ABA-related initiatives, including the advisory commission to the World Justice Project, the executive committee of the Appellate Judges Conference, the Coalition for Justice, the Commission on State Court Funding, the John Marshall Award Review Committee and The Judges Journal Editorial Board. He was elected chair of the ABA Judicial Division in 2013. He served as an informal advisor to President Donald Trump in 2021.
Martin received his J.D. from the University of North Carolina Law School and an LLM in judicial process from the University of Virginia. He earned his B.S. degree from Western Carolina University.
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