The Mecklenburg Bar Association honored McGuireWoods Charlotte associate Joie Johnston as its Outstanding Individual Attorney for 2025 for her pro bono work. Johnston received the award at the association’s Law & Society Gala on May 16, 2025.
Johnston was honored for advancing First Amendment rights and government transparency through her pro bono work with the Protecting Journalists Pro Bono Program (ProJourn). The group serves nonprofit and local news organizations that lack resources to pay for the legal counsel needed to serve their communities effectively. Many of the media outlets serve “news deserts” that would otherwise have few reliable local news sources.
With ProJourn, Johnston assists news organizations with prepublication article review to guard against defamation lawsuits and helps with public records requests that local governments do not fulfill.
“I am grateful to the Mecklenburg Bar Association’s Pro Bono & Legal Recruitment Committee for this recognition,” Johnston said. “Supporting ProJourn’s mission and representing journalists who keep our communities informed is important work and I am blessed to play a small part in such a crucial function of government accountability. I am also grateful to McGuireWoods, Angie Zimmern, and Brad Kutrow for supporting my pro bono work.”
Zimmern is McGuireWoods’ pro bono director and Kutrow is the firm’s lead lawyer in the ProJourn program.
The Law & Society Gala is a black-tie event celebrating legal excellence and community service in Mecklenburg County. The event raises funds to support scholarships, pro bono legal services and other programs that strengthen access to justice and promote the Mecklenburg Bar Foundation’s mission of serving the community.