Evelyn M. Coman Award
for Distinguished Service in the Field of Construction Law
Establishment of Award
The North Carolina Bar Association Construction Law Section hereby establishes the Evelyn M. Coman Award for Distinguished Service in the field of Construction Law. The Association establishes the right of the Construction Law Section Council to administer this award.
Construction Law Section Council
Whereas, The Construction Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association currently does not recognize its members for meritorious service, and
Whereas, The Construction Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association sees fit to establish an award recognizing excellence in Construction Law, and
Whereas, Evelyn M. Coman served, for many years, as a distinguished member of both the North Carolina Bar Association and the Construction Law Section Council,
The Construction Law Section Council establishes the Evelyn M. Coman Award for Distinguished Service in Construction Law (the Award) under the following guidelines:
Eligibility for Award
Any person who is a current or past member of the North Carolina Bar Association or any recognized Law Firm may win the Award. Nominations will be accepted by the Evelyn M. Coman Award Committee until March 1st of the year of the award.
Eligible nominations will include the name of the person or firm nominated, one of four criteria below for which the nominee qualifies, and a detailed explanation of the nominees qualifications. Any supporting materials or evidence for the nomination is encouraged.
Frequency of Award
There is no set frequency for awarding of the Award, but no more than one (1) person or law firm per year shall receive this award.
Establishment of Award Committee
The Construction Law Section Council of the North Carolina Bar Association establishes a standing committee (the Committee) for the determination of recipients for the Award.
The Committee will consist of five (5) members of the Construction Law Section.
Two (2) seats will belong to the Past Chair and the Past Past Chair of the Council.
Individuals nominated by the Present Chair and approved by the council through majority vote will fill the remaining posts.
Each Committee member will serve a two (2) year term from July 1st of an award year through June 30th of an award year.
A Committee member may serve no more than two (2) consecutive terms.
The Past Chair of the Council will serve as Chair of the Committee.
Meetings of Award Committee
The Committee will meet as necessary to complete its task of giving out the Award.
Criteria for Winning Award
The Award may be awarded to a recipient that meets one or more of the following criteria. One of the criteria is for a single person. A law firm or a person may meet the other three criteria:
a) Lifetime Achievement Person (law firm not eligible) has committed a lifetime of work to construction law and has consistently upheld the highest ideals of his or her profession.
b) Noteworthy Accomplishment Person or law firm has made a groundbreaking accomplishment in the field of construction law. This accomplishment must be well known throughout the construction law community and can include a noteworthy publication or establishment of groundbreaking statutory or case law.
c) Community Accomplishment Person or law firm has a strong record of volunteerism and work within the community, thereby elevating the image of Construction Law. This accomplishment can also include a strong record of teaching construction law or expanding the interest in Construction Law.
d) Professional Excellence Person or firm has, in the year preceding the presentation of the award, had an exemplary professional record, expanding his/her practice or executing important cases. To meet this criterion, recipient must be generally recognized in the Construction Law Community as having a noteworthy year. This criterion, by definition, is held to the highest scrutiny. Any winner under this criterion must demonstrate the highest possible level of achievement.
The Award Plaque
There will be two distinguished service award plaques. One will be given to the award recipient. The second plaque will carry the name of the current recipient and the previous recipients and be on display at the North Carolina Bar Association.
The personalized award recipient plaque will note the winners name, year of award and one or more of the above criteria met.
The Design of both plaques will be the charge of the Past Chair of the Construction Law Section or his/her appointed member to handle the design of the Award.
Determination of Winner
After March 1st of the award year, the Committee will vote on each nominee to determine if that person or law firm potentially meets the above criteria for the Award.
Any nominee receiving three (3) votes from the Committee will be placed in the final nominees pool. Committee debate for each nominee in this phase is limited to one hour. The Committee will then take action on one of three scenarios:
1. If more than one Nominee is listed in the Final Nominees Pool, that pool will be reduced to one Nominee through a series of votes. On each vote, the nominee receiving the lowest number of votes from the Committee will be removed from the Final Nominees Pool. If multiple nominees tie for the lowest number of votes, all nominees receiving the low vote total will be removed from the Final Nominees Pool. Committee debate is limited to 20 minutes per vote in this phase. When there is one nominee left, that nominee must then receive four (4) votes to be officially selected by the Committee. Committee debate is limited to 90 minutes before this vote.
2. If one nominee is placed in the Final Nominees Pool, that nominee must receive four (4) votes to officially be selected. Committee debate is limited to 90 minutes before this vote.
3. If no nominee receives the necessary three (3) eligibility votes, no person or firm will receive the Award for that year.
4. After the Committee has selected a single nominee, the Council must approve the single selected nominee by a majority vote at the Spring meeting of the Council.
Timeframe for Presenting Award
Once an award recipient has been determined, the Construction Law Section Council, upon recommendation of the Committee, will approve when and where to present the Award, the makeup of the Award Ceremony and the presenter of the Award.
