Commission on Profession seeks Mentor of the Year Award nominations

The Chief Justice's Commission on the Profession is seeking nominations for its G. Dewey Oxner Jr. Mentor of the Year Award. The third annual award will be presented in April 2017.

In November 2013, the Commission on the Profession established this award, which is presented annually to an individual who has performed exemplary service and demonstrated professional excellence as a mentor to a new lawyer participating in the Supreme Court’s Lawyer Mentoring Program.

The award honors the legacy of one of the giants in the legal profession, G. Dewey Oxner Jr., and his steadfast commitment and leadership in ensuring that the practice of law remains a high calling. During his tenure as president of the South Carolina Bar, Mr. Oxner proposed to the Supreme Court that it form the Chief Justice’s Commission on the Profession with its primary charge being to promote and enhance professionalism among South Carolina’s lawyers. The Commission was formed in 2000, and Mr. Oxner served as an inaugural member and co-chair from its inception until his death in 2013.

Among the many fronts on which the Commission promotes professionalism, none was more significant to Mr. Oxner than establishing a mentoring program for new lawyers to ease their entry into the practice of law. He championed this endeavor with unparalleled enthusiasm and worked tirelessly to make South Carolina’s program a highly successful model that other states now emulate. With the establishment of the Lawyer Mentoring Program, Mr. Oxner has left our profession with a living legacy, and this award is a fitting recognition of his enormous contributions to this important effort.

Click the link below for complete eligibility and selection criteria as well as the nomination form. All nominations must be submitted on or before January 9, 2017, to Nichole Davis, Mentoring Program Administrator, at mentors@scbar.org.