James K. Dorsett, III Elected as Vice-President of North Carolina State Bar

RALEIGH (January 1, 2001) -- Raleigh lawyer James K. Dorsett, III was recently elected to the office of Vice-President of the North Carolina State Bar.

A partner with Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan, L.L.P., Dorsett practices in the area of civil litigation with a concentration in business and commercial cases, products liability and personal injury matters.

As Vice-President, Dorsett serves on the Executive Committee and the Emerging Issues Committee for the North Carolina State Bar. He has also been a State Bar Councilor representing the Tenth Judicial District since 1991 and served two terms as Chairman of the Grievance Committee. In the past, he has chaired both the Publications and Professional Corporations Committees and was Vice-Chair of the Paralegal Committee. Additionally, Dorsett has served on the Administrative, Policies and Procedures and Consumer Protection Committees.

Long active in the legal community, Dorsett served two terms as a Director of the Wake County Bar Association and as Chairman of its Scholarship and Endowment Committee and on the Lawyers’ Support Committee. He has also served on the Boards of East Central Community Legal Services, the WCBA Volunteer Lawyers Program and Legal Services of North Carolina. In 1996 Dorsett was statewide co-chair for LSNC’s record Access to Justice Campaign. Recently, he was elected to the Board of Directors of both the American Counsel Association and the International Society of Barristers. Dorsett is also a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys and American Bar Association. In 1997 he was elected to membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).

After earning his undergraduate degree from Davidson, he graduated from Wake Forest University School of law in 1977 and was admitted to the practice of law that same year.

In addition to work with other civic organizations, Dorsett has been a volunteer “Big Buddy” and fundraiser with the Loaves & Fishes Ministry, and served on the board of directors for Wake Up For Children. He is also a member of White Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Dorsett has remained an avid tennis player since playing varsity tennis for Davidson. He especially enjoys family activities, sports and travel, as well as classical music and reading historical novels, biographies and fiction. Jim, his wife, Wynn, and their four children, Elise (12), Rush (10), James (8) and Grace (3) make their home in Raleigh.