Robert "Bert" C. Kemp III was honored with the John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award on December 12, 2024, at the Pitt County Bar Association Holiday Party in Greenville, North Carolina. State Bar President Matthew W. Smith presented the award.
A North Carolina native, Mr. Kemp was born in Henderson and raised in Oxford, where he graduated as valedictorian of Oxford Webb High School. He earned his BA in economics from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1993 and his Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1996.
Out of law school, Mr. Kemp began his career as an assistant district attorney in Pitt County before joining the Pitt County Public Defender’s Office in 2001 as an assistant public defender. In 2007, Bert was promoted to chief public defender for Pitt County, a role he has held for the past 16 years. Under his leadership, he has supervised and mentored an office of 13 attorneys, ensuring the indigent population of Pitt County receives competent and zealous representation in the criminal court system.
Mr. Kemp is widely recognized by his colleagues as a leader of people and a champion of legal professionalism. He is a past-president of both the Pitt County Bar Association and Judicial District 3 (formerly 3A) Bar. He has served as past section chair of the Criminal Justice Section of the North Carolina Bar Association and past-president of the North Carolina Public Defender Association. Bert’s expertise is further reflected in his certification as a North Carolina State Bar board certified specialist in state criminal law and his previous role as chair of the Criminal Law Specialty Committee.
Mr. Kemp has contributed broadly to the betterment of legal services statewide. He has served as a member of the North Carolina Courts Commission, the Governor’s Crime Commission, the Chief Justice’s Equal Access to Justice Commission, and the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism. His commitment to the legal community also includes a longstanding role as an adjunct professor of law at Campbell Law School, where he shared his knowledge with aspiring lawyers. Because of his significant contributions to the profession, Bert was presented with the Wade M. Smith Award by the NCBA Criminal Justice Section and the Chief Justice’s Professionalism Award by Chief Justice Paul Newby in 2023.
In addition to his civilian legal career, Mr. Kemp has had a distinguished military career as a member of the North Carolina National Guard. He holds the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He completed two tours of duty in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Bert graduated from the Army War College in 2020 with a master’s in strategic studies and is currently a certified state military judge.
Mr. Kemp's leadership and dedication to justice have also been exemplified through his service as a State Bar councilor for Pitt County, beginning in January 2021. As a councilor, he served with distinction on the Ethics, Administrative, Appointments, and LAMP Committees, as well as on the Editorial Board and the CLE Board.
While illness forced Mr. Kemp to step down at the end of 2023, his legacy of professionalism, compassion, and leadership remains deeply felt. His years of service to the legal profession, his mentorship of young lawyers, and his unwavering dedication to the principles of justice exemplify why he is so deserving of the John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award.
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