1st black lawyer to lead N.C. bar

Asheville | The North Carolina State Bar on Saturday elected a Raleigh attorney to lead the group, the first black attorney to serve as its president.

Charles L. Becton, of Durham, will assume the year-long post in June 2008.

"I simply see this as a tremendous opportunity," Becton said in a statement. "I intend to work hard whether I am the first or the 114th to be a role model to all in the legal profession without regard to race or gender or anything else."

Becton graduated from Duke University School of Law in 1969, and has practiced law with the firm of Becton, Slifkin & Bell since 1990. He served on the N.C. Court of Appeals from 1981-1990 and was named N.C. Appellate Judge of the Year in 1985.