Former ABA President Alfred P. (A.P.) Carlton dies
Alfred P. (A.P.) Carlton Jr.
Updated: Former ABA President Alfred P. (A.P.) Carlton of Raleigh, North Carolina, died on Thursday at the age of 69.
As ABA president from 2002 to 2003, Carlton worked to protect judicial independence, reform corporate governance and promote the rule of law in Iraq, according to a statement by current ABA President Linda A. Klein.
“The ABA honors A.P.’s legal skills, bar leadership and community involvement,” Klein said in the statement. “The ABA is grateful for A.P.’s service in a variety of association posts.”
Carlton was also well known in the North Carolina legal community, the News & Observer reports. The newspaper describes Carlton as “a North Carolina native with a distinct and booming Southern drawl” who “was known not only for his deal-making ability but his respect for tradition. He was remembered as a colorful character who mentored and befriended many in the upper echelons of North Carolina’s legal community,”
Carlton created the ABA Commission on the 21st Century Judiciary, which produced 31 recommendations later adopted by the association’s policy-making House of Delegates. The recommendations laid the groundwork for association policy on enhanced judicial qualifications, judicial selection and campaign reform.
Carlton also worked on association policy and model ethics rule changes following the bankruptcy of Enron and the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate accountability law. The changes adopted by the ABA addressed corporate responsibility and the role of lawyers in corporate governance.
He also worked with the ABA Board of Governors to create the ABA Iraq Initiative to promote the rule of law in that country.
Carlton was chair of the ABA House of Delegates from 1996 to 1998, and was chair of the association’s Standing Committee on Judicial Independence. He was also active in several other ABA entities.
Early in his career, Carlton was staff counsel for the N.C. Bankers Association and then general counsel for the Bank of North Carolina. His biography at the Carlton Law Group is is here. He was active in his local community, where he served as chairman of the University of North Carolina Wilmington Board of Trustees.
“AP leaves behind an incredible legacy of service to our state and country,” North Carolina Chief Justice Mark Martin told the News & Observer.
Carlton is survived by his wife, Blair Creech Carlton; his son, Troy Carlton; and his daughter, Mary Beth Wright.
Updated on May 26 to include information from the News & Observer.
