Joseph W. Grier, Jr., has always exhibited the highest standards of professionalism and excellence in his long career as an attorney, which spans multiple disciplines from corporate transactions to litigation to estate planning and administration. His civic endeavors have had an enormous impact on the Mecklenburg County community.
He served on the Charlotte Parks and Recreation Commission and was the leader who helped integrate the Charlotte parks system. He is one of the reasons that Queens University still exists. As Chair of the Board of Trustees of Queens University during the period that it had no president, Mr. Grier personally guided and brought the university through a difficult period. While he served the YMCA as legal counsel and chair, he helped move the organization from having a Y for whites and a Y for African Americans to a Y with branches that serve all.
Mr. Grier received his bachelors from the University of North Carolina and his law degree from Harvard Law School. He was elected to the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, the American Law Institute, and the North Carolina Bar Association's General Practice Hall of Fame. He served as president of the Mecklenburg County Bar and vice president of the North Carolina Bar Association. He is also a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Mr. Grier's dedication to the law and to the community has earned him many awards including Queens College of Charlotte's Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, the YMCA's John R. Mott Award and Willie J. Stratford Sr. Diversity Award, and the North Carolina Chief Justice's Professionalism Award.