Eugene C. (Gene) Pridgen, a 1964 graduate of West Montgomery High School and self-proclaimed proud Warrior, is the new president-elect of the N.C. Bar Association. Pridgen, the son of Georgia Pridgen, of Troy, and the late T.C. Pridgen, was elected to the office during the bar association’s annual meeting at Grove Park Inn, Asheville, June 27.
“It’s always a surprise to be elected. It’s not a position where you run for office, and I was more than surprised when I found out about it. I’m very excited to have an opportunity to serve a profession that’s been close to my heart for a long time,” said Pridgen, who is a long-time active member of the association.
Pridgen came to the law profession by what he called “the scenic route.” His mother says he inherited his father’s artistic talent and originally thought he wanted to be an architect, but soon found that wasn’t his thing.
Pridgen was enrolled in ROTC and earned a degree in mechanical engineering from N.C. State in 1969 and then entered the Army, serving four years in Germany, attaining the rank of captain before his discharge in 1973. He met his wife, Jamie, the sister of his company commander, while stationed overseas.
“I knew I didn’t want to make the Army a career,” Pridgen said, “but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.” He returned to school at Wake Forest University to earn an MBA in 1975 but said he had law in the back of his mind for some time.
“I always liked reading biography and history and lawyers were in the middle of what’s going on,” he explained of his attraction to law. He earned his law degree from Wake Forest in 1978.
Although his resume indicates he graduated magna cum laude from Wake Forest School of Law, his mother proudly expanded on that information, noting that he graduated first in his class, both from the business school and law school. “He’s been very smart all his life and I’m very proud of him. He’s a wonderful son,” Georgia said.
Pridgen joined the law firm of Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman in 1978 and has also served as executive vice president and general counsel for Glenayre Technologies for three years in the late 90s. Kennedy Covington combined with the international law firm of K&L Gates last year, and Pridgen is currently administrative partner working in the firm’s Charlotte office.
Pridgen and his wife have three adult children, daughter Laura Taylor, and two sons, Blake and Jack, and are looking forward to the coming birth of their first grandchild.
As president-elect he will serve as part of the association’s leadership team and chair the association’s finance committee. He will be the 116th president of the association’s more than 15,000 members in 2010-11.
