Deb Dilman Receives Harmony Award
By Amy Cox Gruendel and Sean Vitrano
At the Annual Meeting of the Dispute Resolution Section this past March, attorney Deborah (Deb) Lynn Dilman became the inaugural recipient of the Section’s Harmony Award. The Harmony Award recognizes a section Member who, during the course of the award year, provides significant pro bono service as a dispute resolution professional; contributes to the development of the dispute resolution field through volunteerism and leadership; and participates in general civic, community, and charitable efforts during the award year.
Deb is an attorney at Southpark Family Law in Charlotte. She is a NCDRC-certified Family Financial Mediator and a Collaborative Law practitioner who enjoys helping her clients find creative solutions that provide peace of mind and hope for the future.
This problem-solving approach and desire to help have long been part of Deb’s DNA. Before becoming a lawyer, Deb spent 18 years in the financial services/insurance industry working in customer service, training, and compliance. All the while, Deb sought volunteer opportunities that allowed her to help people in need. Indeed, her decision to go to law school was in pursuit of a dream to one day run a nonprofit organization.
Since becoming a lawyer in 2003, Deb has continued to help others. She began her legal career as a staff attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina, where she assisted the State’s low-income residents with their legal needs. Though she eventually moved into private practice, Deb’s commitment to low-income residents has not waned. She has served low-income residents as a volunteer for the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy and Legal Aid of North Carolina.
Deb also volunteers in the Custody Advocacy Program run by the Council for Children’s Rights. Through that program, volunteer attorneys and custody advocates are appointed by Mecklenburg County Family Court Judges to advocate for the best interests of children in high-conflict custody cases. In the course of this representation, and using her mediation skills, Deb has conducted numerous settlement conferences in an effort to resolve custody matters before trials commence.
As a peacemaker, Deb is also involved in providing pro bono services to pro se individuals who have matters to settle concerning their separation. Deb works as part of a professional team to provide guidance to these clients in an effort to resolve matters outside of court. Deb uses both her mediation skills and skills she has learned as a Collaborative professional to seek solutions to complicated, and usually emotional, matters concerning children, marital assets, and financial support.
In recognition of her tremendous contribution of pro bono services, Deb has been recognized annually in the North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society since 2017. Individuals inducted into the Honor Society have met the aspirational goal enshrined in Rule 6.1 – that each North Carolina attorney provide at least 50 hours of pro bono legal services annually.
In addition to the many hours she spends doing pro bono legal work and providing dispute resolution service on a pro bono basis, Deb provides her time and leadership to a variety of organizations in the dispute resolution field. She is a past President of Charlotte Collaborative Divorce Professionals (CCDP) (previously known as the Mecklenburg County Collaborative Family Law Group), a group organized to educate the public, promote Collaborative Family Law as a more effective process for divorcing families to reach a long-lasting resolution, and represent individuals who enter into the Collaborative process. Deb has also been active in Dispute Resolution Sections at both the local and state levels. Currently, she serves the NCBA’s Dispute Resolution Section as a Council member, committee lead, and member of the Executive Committee.
Deb’s leadership and service extend beyond the dispute resolution field as she is also very involved in general civic and community activities. Deb is a Board Member and current Governance Chairperson for the Council for Children’s Rights, the largest children’s advocacy agency in the state. She is a two-term member of the 26th Judicial District Bar’s Grievance Committee, which receives and investigates complaints about attorney members on ethical matters. Deb also holds (or has held) roles with the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, Legal Aid of North Carolina, the Charlotte Chapter of the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys, the Mecklenburg County Bar Foundation, and the Bar Leadership Institute Committee of the Mecklenburg County Bar.
Deb is a firm believer that a law license is a gift, and with that gift comes the responsibility to help others. Her service has been a source of personal enrichment as well as a benefit to many others who would not otherwise have a voice in the legal system. Please join the Committee in congratulating Deb for receiving the Harmony Award!