Charlotte attorney receives Distinguished Service Award

A Charlotte attorney was presented with the John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award at the Mecklenburg County Bar’s annual Law Day luncheon on May 3.

The award was given to George Hanna III for his career-long commitment to pro bono service.

Hanna received the award from North Carolina State Bar President John Silverstein, with the help of State Bar Councilor Robert Bowers.

Hanna’s accolades include being a founding member of the Public Service Committee at Moore & Van Allen, as well as playing an instrumental role in the firm’s Housing Rights Project, which helps prevent homelessness and protects families from unsafe housing conditions.

He is a long-term leader in the development and delivery of pro bono services to clients of Legal Services of Southern Piedmont and Legal Aid of North Carolina.

He has also served as the chair of the Mecklenburg County Bar’s Volunteer Lawyer Program, as well as on the North Carolina Bar Association’s Pro Bono Planning Committee, the Chief Justice’s Commission on Equal Access to Justice, the NCBA’s Board of Governors and the NCBA’s 4All Task Force.

Hanna previously received the I. Beverly Lake Public Service Award, the Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award, the Citizen Lawyer Award and the Mecklenburg Bar Foundations Ayscue Professionalism Award.

Outside of his pro bono work, Hanna has done much to champion diversity and inclusiveness programs, serving as a founding member and chair of Moore & Van Allen’s Diversity Committee and as the founding chair of Mecklenburg County Bar’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion.

He previously received the Charlotte YMCA’s Will Stratford Diversity Award and with the Julius L. Chambers Diversity Award.