901 Corporate Center Drive
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
(919) 890-1455
(919) 890-1934 (fax)
Melvin F. Wright, Jr.
Executive Director
Melvin.F.Wright@nccourts.org
Melvin F. Wright, Jr. was born and raised in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina in 1967 and his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1973 after serving in the US Army in Vietnam.
Mel was a private practice attorney for twenty-six years until he became the Executive Director of the North Carolina Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism in November 1999.
As a newly formed Commission, Mel had the challenging task of establishing the office from only a Supreme Court Order and a set of bylaws. He has worked tirelessly for the cause of professionalism, both as Executive Director of the Commission and as a private practice attorney.
In addition to his many years in private practice, he has served as President of the Forsyth County Bar Association and the 21st Judicial District, Chairman of the Ethics & Grievances Committee of the Forsyth County Bar Association, officer of Executive Committee of the
Forsyth County Bar Association, officer of the Forsyth County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and Chairman of the National Consortium on Professionalism Initiatives.
Mel currently serves as Chair of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Professionalism,
and as a member of the Consortium of Professionalism Initiatives, the North Carolina Bar Association Professionalism Committee and the Wake County Bar Association Professionalism Committee. He is a member of the Wake County, North Carolina and American Bar Associations,
the American Bar Association Center for Professional Responsibility, and the North Carolina Advocates for Justice. Lastly, Mel is an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law, teaching Professional Responsibility.