Opening Doors for Generations: Remembering Legal Legend Charles Edison Smith

The North Carolina Bar Association’s Minorities in the Profession Committee joins the North Carolina legal community in remembering Professor Charles Edison Smith, educator, mentor, trailblazer and 2025 recipient of the NCBA Legal Legends of Color Award.

For generations of lawyers, Professor Smith’s legacy cannot be measured simply by the positions he held or the barriers he broke. His legacy lives in the doors he opened, the students he taught, the institutions he helped build and the lawyers whose careers became possible because he saw promise in them.

But perhaps the most meaningful way to understand Professor Smith’s impact is through the people who knew him, learned from him, and were influenced by his life and work.

He Saw the Potential

For NC District Court Judge Pauline Hankins, Professor Smith’s willingness to see potential and act on it helped change the trajectory of her life.

Professor Charles Smith was a dear friend and an influential mentor who played an instrumental role in my admission to North Carolina Central University School of Law. At the time, I was a senior studying electrical engineering at North Carolina State University, and my GPA was slightly below the law school’s then-required 3.0 threshold. Professor Smith believed in my potential and graciously advocated on my behalf. Hoping that I would follow in his footsteps and become a distinguished patent attorney, he provided me with a paid summer internship while I was in law school. During that internship, he offered invaluable guidance, encouragement, and structure as I learned to navigate a career in the legal profession. His support continued long after I graduated from law school. Professor Smith contributed to my legal and judicial success in many meaningful and thoughtful ways. He generously supported my judicial campaign and, just a few years ago, traveled to Brunswick County to attend my birthday gala. Professor Smith was truly a blessing in my life. I will always be grateful for his friendship, mentorship, generosity and unwavering belief in me. His influence will remain a lasting part of my life and legacy.

— The Honorable Pauline Hankins, District Court Judge, North Carolina 15th Judicial District (Bladen, Brunswick, and Columbus Counties)

Lessons That Last

Professor Smith’s influence also lives in the lessons his students carried with them long after leaving his classroom.

Dale J. Davis ’04 remembers Professor Smith as a teacher, mentor and friend.

I am a 2004 Central Alum that was lucky to have Professor Smith as a teacher, mentor and friend. I was fortunate to speak at his retirement gala when he was transitioning away from Central on a full-time basis. There are a few things that Professor Smith taught me. 1. The importance of long-term thinking/planning. 2. The importance of perseverance and “keep your eye on the prize.” 3. The importance of helping others in substance.

— Dale J. Davis ’04, Deputy General Counsel & Chief IP Counsel, Cummins Inc.

Shaping an Institution

Professor Smith’s impact extended beyond individual relationships. His influence also became part of the story of the institution where generations of lawyers encountered his teaching, mentorship and leadership.

Former North Carolina Central University School of Law Dean Phyliss Craig-Taylor reflects on the institution Professor Smith helped shape:

I am exceedingly saddened to learn of the passing of Prof. Smith. Through teaching and mentorship, he had a meaningful impact on many people, and his loss will be deeply felt. His arrival at the law school brought vision, expertise and change. As he pioneered our expansion into intellectual property law, our footprint would never look the same. Our community lost a giant and friend.

— Phyliss Craig-Taylor, Former Dean and Professor of Law, North Carolina Central University School of Law

A Tall Tree in the NCCU Forest

Professor Smith’s influence remains part of NCCU School of Law’s story today. Dean Joseph Karl Grant reflects on what Professor Smith’s legacy means to the institution and to the generations of lawyers who will follow:

Since my appointment as NCCU School of Law Dean on July 1st, one of my distinct honors was having a couple of occasions to speak with retired Professor Charles Smith. Instantly, I was struck by Professor Smith’s remarkable intellect, kindness, humility and generosity of his time and mentorship. Professor Smith, one of the first African American patent attorneys in the United States, paved the way for countless others to follow in his footsteps. Professor Smith’s mark on NCCU is indelible and immeasurable. He launched NCCU’s Intellectual Property Law Institute, which opened the world of patent and intellectual property law to many who might not have otherwise gained exposure to the field. Professor Smith played an instrumental role in the early development and success of the Performance-Based Admissions Program, helping create a pathway that recognized the full promise of applicants and expanded access to legal education. Having started his teaching career at NCCU in 1979, Professor Smith was a tall tree in the NCCU forest for decades. As an esteemed colleague, mentor and benefactor of NCCU, the hearts of our community are heavy with his unexpected passing.

— Joseph Karl Grant, Dean and Professor of Law, North Carolina Central University School of Law

The Path Continues

The pathways Professor Smith helped open continue to be traveled by lawyers today. Cherell Carr Harris ’19 reflects on Professor Smith’s legacy and what it means to those continuing along the path he helped create:

Professor Charles Smith’s legacy is especially meaningful to me as a second-career student with an interest in Intellectual Property Law. I met him during my first week at NCCU School of Law, and although I was not fortunate enough to have him as a professor, his kindness and encouragement during our conversations stayed with me. As a trailblazer in a field where Black attorneys remain profoundly underrepresented, he not only broke barriers but created opportunities for those who would follow, including through the founding of the Intellectual Property Law Institute at NCCU. As the first African American professor and registered patent attorney, his career was more than an accomplishment — it was a quiet, persistent act of defiance and a commitment to making room for those who would follow.

— Cherell Carr Harris ’19, Associate Counsel, Blue Cross NC; Secretary, NCBA Intellectual Property Law Section; Co-Chair, NCBA Minorities in the Profession Committee

A Legend in Practice

Professor Smith’s legacy also extended beyond the classroom and into the practice of law. Susan Freya Olive, President and Managing Attorney of Olive & Olive, P.A., whose firm helped nominate Professor Smith for the 2025 Legal Legends of Color Award, remembers him as a longtime friend, colleague, mentor and advocate:

Charles was a long-time friend and an honored member of our firm from the early 90’s until his recent retirement, interrupted when the ABA required his full-time professorial presence at NCCU’s School of Law but then resumed. As the first Black attorney to practice patent law in North Carolina, and one of the first in the nation, he was not only a role model for Black attorneys nationwide but for all aspiring patent attorneys and young attorneys, and he cared deeply about all his mentees — including those he hadn’t yet met. He protected his clients’ inventions not only by obtaining patents for them but by defending them against challenges, and his trial work before the U.S. Patent Office led to newsworthy results even in his late 80s. He was unfailingly kind to his paralegal, took time to mentor everyone with whom he worked, from colleagues to clients, and will be deeply missed by all of us.

— Susan Freya Olive, President and Managing Attorney, Olive & Olive, P.A.

These reflections tell an important part of Professor Smith’s story. A legal legend is not created simply through a collection of professional accomplishments. A legacy is created through the people who are able to go farther because someone invested in them, created an opportunity for them, challenged them, taught them, or simply believed they belonged in a room they had not yet imagined entering.

In 2025, the Minorities in the Profession Committee had the privilege of recognizing Professor Smith as a Legal Legend of Color.

Rather than retell his remarkable professional history here, we invite members of the legal community to revisit Professor Smith’s Legal Legends of Color profile below to learn more about his career and contributions to the profession.

Legal Legends of Color Award: Charles Edison Smith – North Carolina Bar Association

As we mourn Professor Smith’s passing, we also celebrate what remains: generations of attorneys, students, educators, entrepreneurs and communities strengthened by his life’s work.

Professor Smith opened doors. Our responsibility is to keep them open — and to hold them open for those coming behind us.

Memorial Visitation & Celebration of Life

Saturday, September 26, 2026

Memorial Visitation: 11 a.m.

Celebration of Life: 12 p.m.

King’s Park International Church

1305 Odyssey Drive

Durham, North Carolina