Everett Gala honors public servant for accomplishments and character
The Everett Gala is an event of both celebration and remembrance. It is an event of celebration because it honors a local legal professional who has devoted their life to public service and to upholding legal professionalism.
Photo by: Burcu Atakturk Hensley
On November 7th, 2018 Campbell Law School, in partnership with Delta Theta Phi, hosted the annual Everett Gala in downtown Raleigh. This year’s Everett Gala Award recipient was the Honorable Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman.
Each year Delta Theta Phi partners with Campbell Law School to host the Everett Gala. Delta Theta Phi is an international law fraternity founded in September of 1913.
Delta Theta Phi has provided forums in over 200 law schools for students, lawyers, and other members of the profession of law to network, exchange ideas, and create lifelong professional affiliations and personal friendships.
At Campbell Law School, Delta Theta Phi has provided this forum through the Everett Gala and numerous other events.
The Everett Gala is an event of both celebration and remembrance. It is an event of celebration because it honors a local legal professional who has devoted their life to public service and to upholding legal professionalism.
In addition, the Everett Gala is an event of remembrance to honor the late Judge Robert O. Everett.
Judge Robert O. Everett began his career as a Judge Advocate in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the serve as a senior judge for the Court of Appeals for the Armed Services and as a Commissioner and then Chief Judge for the United States Court of Military Appeals (now the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces) from 1980 until 1990. He was the author of the textbook Military Justice in the Armed Forces of the United States, and of numerous articles on military law, criminal procedure, evidence and other legal topics. As a practicing attorney, Judge Everett was actively involved in redistricting litigation. As both counsel and plaintiff, he twice successfully challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court congressional districts drawn by the North Carolina General Assembly that violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Throughout his career, Judge Everett taught at Duke University for over fifty years teaching numerous legal topics. Judge Everett lived his life to the fullest as a father, husband, advocate, and a man devoted to serving the community around him.
The 2018 recipient was Honorable District Attorney Lorrin Freeman.
Lorrin Freeman was first elected as Wake County District Attorney in 2014 after serving two terms as the elected Clerk of Court. As District Attorney she oversees a team of over forty attorneys and forty victim/witness assistants, investigators and others committed to pursuing justice and prosecuting criminal offenses. Prior to her career as District Attorney, she was the Wake County Clerk of Court. As Wake County Clerk of Court, she served as the President of the N.C. Conference of Clerks of Superior Court in August of 2013 and was recognized by her peers across the State in 2010 when they presented her with the Conference of Clerks President’s Award. Before holding elected office, Ms. Freeman worked in the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office where she represented the Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. Ms. Freeman also served as an Assistant District Attorney. Ms. Freeman received both her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel-Hill. Ms. Freeman has been active in her community throughout her life. For six years, she served on the City of Raleigh’s Human Relations Commission including serving as Chair and Vice Chair and she previously was on the board of the North Carolina Victims’ Assistance Network. In addition to serving as Wake County District Attorney, Ms. Freeman currently serves on the North Carolina Courts Commission, the North Carolina Conference of District Attorney’s Executive Committee and on the Board of Visitors for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also the Honorary Co-Chair of the Advocates for Health in Action Adverse Childhood Experiences Initiative and has led a multi-agency collaboration to assist individuals exiting the criminal justice system. Ms. Freeman is married and has two daughters.
This year at the Everett Gala, Judge Robert Rader spoke on behalf of Lorrin Freeman’s accomplishments and character. He went on to say the Wake County District Court and the Wake County court system would not be as efficient and proactive as it is today without Lorrin Freeman’s work as both Clerk of the Court and District Attorney. Dean Leonard of Campbell Law School and Delta Theta Phi’s President, Harrison Broadbent, also spoke of the event remarking Lorrin Freeman’s accomplishments. Survivors of Judge Robert O. Everett were in attendance, all who stated that Robert Everett would have been honored to have witnessed Lorrin Freeman’s accomplishments.
The next Everett Gala will be held in November of 2019.
