McGuireWoods LLP announced today that E. Osborne “Ozzie” Ayscue Jr. of the firm’s Charlotte office has received the Judge John J. Parker Award – the highest honor awarded by the North Carolina Bar Association. He is the 33rd recipient of the award, which was established in 1959, that is given “in recognition of conspicuous service to the cause of jurisprudence in North Carolina.” Ayscue was honored at the North Carolina Bar Association’s annual meeting in Wilmington, N.C., last weekend.
A litigator for nearly 50 years in North Carolina, Ayscue is widely regarded as one of the state’s leading trial lawyers. His leadership roles in the North Carolina Bar Association include serving as president from 1984-1985. He is also the only North Carolinian to serve as president of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
He has served on the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary; as chairman of the first statewide Legal Services’ Access to Justice Campaign; as co-chairman of the U.S. delegation to the 1999-2000 Anglo-American Legal Exchange; and he helped create the Center for Law and the Humanities.
“I am so pleased that the North Carolina Bar has chosen to recognize Ozzie with this award,” said Richard Cullen, chairman of McGuireWoods. “He is not only a legendary trial lawyer with relationships all over the country, but he has continually chosen to give back to the legal profession by serving in a variety of leadership positions with the bar and as a mentor to many young lawyers.”