Potential COVID-19 “Shelter-In-Place” Executive Order: Designation of Legal Services as Essential

This afternoon, State Bar President Colon Willoughby sent the following letter to Governor Cooper regarding the critical need for legal services to be available in the event of a statewide shelter in place order.

The Honorable Roy A. Cooper, III
Governor of the State of North Carolina
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301

Re: Potential COVID-19 “Shelter-In-Place” Executive Order: Designation of Legal Services as Essential

Dear Governor Cooper:

As you continue to guide our State through these unprecedented times, I offer my sincerest thanks to you and the hundreds of state employees assisting you with this effort.

I write to you today as President of the North Carolina State Bar, the state agency responsible for regulating the legal profession in the public’s interest, to ask you to consider the critical need for legal services to remain available to the public if and when additional prohibitions or restrictions are implemented in North Carolina. Legal services are essential to the administration of justice in this state and are critically necessary to the well-being of North Carolinians.

As a lawyer yourself, you know firsthand that the legal system and the legal profession provide an essential service to citizens. In times of crisis and uncertainty, lawyers play a vital role in the preservation of society. We stand ready to fulfill our professional responsibilities on behalf of the citizens of our great state.

Thank you again for your leadership, and for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

C. Colon Willoughby, Jr.
President, North Carolina State Bar

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