Poyner Spruill is pleased to announce that the American Bar Association’s 2026 Awards of Achievement has nationally recognized the North Carolina Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (YLD) for two diversity, equity, and inclusion projects co-developed by attorney Tia Overway during the 2025-26 bar year.
The NCBA YLD received an ABA Award of Achievement in the “Service to the Public” category for its Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Event. The NCBA YLD earned a second ABA Award of Achievement in the “Newsletter” category for its monthly DEI Committee blog series, an initiative created and written by Overway and her co-chair, Taylor Gibbs.
As co-chair of the DEI Committee, Overway helped develop award-winning initiatives that fostered meaningful dialogue, celebrated diverse perspectives within the legal profession, and engaged attorneys across North Carolina. The DEI Committee’s monthly blog series, which Overway and Gibbs developed and authored, highlighted North Carolina attorneys and judges while recognizing important cultural and historical observances, including Native American Heritage Month, Black History Month, International Women’s Day, and International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The two also helped organize the YLD’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service project at the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. The service project drew strong participation from YLD members, where all volunteer slots were filled.
In addition to those initiatives, the DEI Committee hosted several educational and networking programs throughout the year, including a virtual panel discussion moderated by Overway that featured Judges Cull Jordan II and Tiffany Whitfield, and a Black History Month Trivia Night at the NCBA Bar Center in Cary.
The ABA Awards of Achievement recognize outstanding programs and public service projects undertaken by young lawyer organizations across the country. The awards were presented during the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago.
