GREENSBORO — Greensboro attorney and Kannapolis native Janet Ward Black was recently honored as a 2013 Citizen Lawyer by the North Carolina Bar Association.
Each year since 2007, the Bar Association has honored lawyers “who provide exemplary public service to their communities,” a news release said. Nominations are taken from all members of the organization and submitted to the Citizen Lawyer committee for consideration. Black and other 2013 honorees were formally presented with their awards at the association’s annual meeting.
The award was created “to recognize and thank lawyers who exemplify the ideals of a citizen lawyer … those who inspire other lawyers,” the news release said.  Their contributions include volunteering for various programs and organizations, serving as appointed or elected public officials and serving in the military.
Black has been very active in the community for many years serving in leadership roles in The Women’s Resource Center of Greensboro, Hood Theological Seminary, Legal Aid of North Carolina and Christian City Church of Greensboro and other organizations.
Black serves closely with International Cooperative Ministries of Hampton, Va., as a volunteer making mission trips to third world countries, hosting fundraising events for the organization and serving on its board of directors. She is also working as a supporter of The Queen’s Foundation, a Greensboro-based organization that teaches young girls to be servant leaders in their communities. Black has traveled on numerous mission trips for Habitat for Humanity and Mercy Mission teams. 
Black is a past president of the North Carolina Bar Association. As president, she was instrumental in the formation of the “4ALL” initiative which encourages attorneys to provide free legal services to lower-income residents. This program has been so successful that bar associations in other states and in Canada have adopted the program. In addition to serving as president of the Bar Association, Black has also served as the president of the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers. She was the second attorney in history to serve as president of both organizations.