Brent Clinkscale Honored for Service to Thurgood Marshall College Fund
October 30, 2009
GREENVILLE, SC – October 29, 2009 – More than 50 years ago, future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall began his battle against school segregation with a case in South Carolina. Now, a South Carolina attorney, Womble Carlyle’s Brent Clinkscale, has been honored by the organization that embodies Justice Marshall’s legacy.
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund honored Clinkscale with the Founder’s Award, the highest volunteer award given by the Fund. Clinkscale is a long-time member of the Fund’s Board of Directors and also serves as its General Counsel, providing his expertise on a pro bono basis. Clinkscale received the Founder’s Award at the Fund’s 22nd Anniversary Dinner, held Monday at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers in New York City. The star-studded gala was hosted by acclaimed actor Danny Glover.
“Brent has made service to others a cornerstone of his practice,” Womble Carlyle Managing Member Keith Vaughan said. “Much like Justice Thurgood Marshall, Brent is an example of what a citizen-attorney can and should be.”
“Brent Clinkscale’s strong leadership at Thurgood Marshall College Fund has changed the lives of thousands of college students and subsequently created a better future not just for them, but for the United States of America, ” said Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of The Gallup Organization. Clifton received the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s Founder’s Award in 2008 for his service to the organization.
Clinkscale has led Womble Carlyle’s efforts to forge strong ties with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which has provided college scholarships to more than 6,000 students in the last 22 years. Womble Carlyle was the first law firm to win the Fund’s Corporate Leadership Award in 2003, and Vaughan chaired the Fund’s Anniversary Dinner in 2006.
Within Womble Carlyle, Clinkscale chairs the firm’s Diversity Committee. Due in large part to his leadership, Womble Carlyle was awarded the 2009 DRI Law Firm Diversity Award, a national award given to one law firm annually for its commitment to diversity.
Clinkscale is a business litigation attorney in Womble Carlyle’s Greenville, S.C., office. He focuses his practice on complex business disputes and class actions. In 2005, Greenville Magazine named him one of Greenville’s 50 Most Influential People.
Womble Carlyle – Innovators at Law
A full-service business law firm, Womble Carlyle ranks among American Lawyer magazine’s list of the 100 leading firms in the country and is a top law firm for companies doing business in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.
The firm is a recipient of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Corporate Leadership Award, making Womble Carlyle the first law firm ever to receive the highest honor given to a business organization in recognition of its support of the Fund and its 45 member educational institutions.
The firm also is the first law firm to be awarded the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Freedom Award, which is the highest recognition given by the U.S. government to employers for their support of employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.
Founded in 1876, Womble Carlyle operates in six states and the District of Columbia with more than 500 attorneys in eleven offices located in Atlanta, GA; Greenville, SC; Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, and Winston-Salem, NC; Washington, DC; Tysons Corner, VA; Baltimore, MD; and Wilmington, DE. Womble Carlyle is located in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions, and serves clients nationally and globally.
