Robert E. Harrington to Serve as President of Mecklenburg County Bar

Robert E. Harrington, an attorney with Robinson Bradshaw, will serve as the 101st president of the Mecklenburg County Bar in 2012-13. His year-long term begins July 1.

Under Harrington’s leadership, the focus of the Mecklenburg County Bar will remain its role, together with the North Carolina State Bar, in regulating the practice of law in Mecklenburg County. The local bar also will continue its commitment to improving access to legal services for Mecklenburg County residents. Additionally, Harrington’s goals for the Bar’s 2012-13 year include assisting members of the Bar who are new to the profession and lawyers who are in career transition, and overseeing the construction of a new Mecklenburg County Bar Center.

“With the arrival of new lawyers and the dislocation of law practices because of economic challenges, the Bar must provide mentoring and support for our members,” Harrington said.

“In the early stages of our careers, all of us, regardless of our trade or profession, benefit from interacting with experienced practitioners, who can help us deal with situations that just are not addressed in the classroom,” he said. “Moreover, young lawyers launching solo practices face not only the challenges of a new career but the added demands of running a small business. Lawyers changing practices in mid-career face many of the same challenges.”

During Harrington’s term, the Bar will also complete the process of securing a location and breaking ground for a new Mecklenburg County Bar Center to replace the current facility on Queens Road.

“A dedicated team of volunteers has reviewed locations across the city, and the Bar is on the threshold of settling on a site and moving forward with construction,” according to Harrington.

He observes that the number of Mecklenburg County lawyers has more than doubled from 1994, when the Bar occupied the current building, to today—growing from approximately 2,000 to more than 4,400 members.

Prior to becoming president, Harrington served on the Mecklenburg County Bar’s board of directors and executive committee, and he co-founded its special committee on diversity.

Harrington earned his bachelor’s degree from Duke University, where he graduated magna cum laude and was an Angier B. Duke Memorial Scholar. He attended Duke University School of Law, where he graduated with high honors. He is also a member of the Duke Law School Board of Visitors, a member of the American Law Institute, and he is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Harrington has been a commercial litigator for nearly 25 years. His practice at Robinson Bradshaw focuses on the representation of consumer lenders and financial institutions in their capacity as fiduciaries, general commercial disputes, and the defense of employment actions.