The criteria for the Ayscue Professionalism Award embraces sustained outstanding service to the Bar and the community at large that may serve as a personal and professional inspiration to others. Corby Anderson’s outstanding professional career and life of service to the Bar, to the justice system, and to the community make her an exemplary model of the qualities this award was established to recognize.
Corby Anderson grew up in the mountains of Virginia before graduating magna cum laude from the College of William and Mary in 1976. After a career in journalism, she received her Juris Doctor in 1994 from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Corby has spent many years volunteering her time with various Bar activities and local non-profit organizations. She served as a Mecklenburg County Bar Board member from 2003 to 2006 and several years as a Board member for Generation Nation, a local organization whose mission is to prepare young people for a lifetime of active civic participation.
Corby is a longtime active member of the North Carolina and American Bar Associations. Her contributions to the North Carolina Bar Association include educational presentations on franchising. Her expertise on franchising has been shared in numerous ABA publications and presentations including: Fundamentals of Franchising, The Annotated Franchise Agreement, Annual Franchise and Distribution Developments, The Franchise Lawyer and many more.
Corby founded the Franchise Business Network in Charlotte, which provides local franchise professionals quarterly networking opportunities. Industry accolades and certifications include: Who’s Who Legal for franchise law each year since 2017, the International Franchise Association’s Certified Franchise Executive designation and one of The Best Lawyers in America for franchise law. Her professionalism has been recognized by Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation and Best Lawyers. She was listed among the regions “50 Most Influential Women” in 2017 by The Mecklenburg Times. Her colleagues at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP credit her with building their Franchise and Distribution and the Retail practice groups from scratch. These groups have since expanded to offices in five states.
In her career she has represented many clients in matters of copyright, intellectual property, franchising, commercial litigation, first amendment rights and trademark law. Her legal counsel has been credited with landmark Third and Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals victories including: Fleet Feet, Inc. v. Nike, Arrowpoint Capital Corp. v. Arrowpoint Asset Management and Broussard v. Meineke. Journalists at the Charlotte Observer describe her counsel as thoughtful, diligent and compassionate. It is for these reasons and many more that we are delighted to award Corby Anderson the 2021-22 Ayscue Professionalism Award.