'The consummate adovcate'

Attorneys, by definition, are advocates for their clients. But Pender McElroy extends that role far beyond the well-heeled clientele of his corporate legal practice.

An untiring advocate for the poor and mentally ill, the longtime Charlotte lawyer says the need for his outside-the-office volunteer work is self-evident.

"You have a group of citizens in our community who, because they are poor, are denied civil legal services, and that's an injustice," says McElroy, an attorney with James, McElroy & Diehl.

For years, he has volunteered with locally based Legal Services of Southern Piedmont, which provides legal representation to clients who can't afford to pay, serving on its board since 1998. He's also a board member for the statewide Legal Services of North Carolina.

And McElroy recently took on a more visible role for the other cause he champions, being named chairman of North Carolina's rule-making panel for mental-health services.

People who've seen McElroy in action aren't surprised that Gov. Mike Easley chose him for the top spot at the N.C. Commission for Mental Health, Development Disabilities and Substance Abuse. McElroy has been a diligent mental-health supporter since the 1980s, they note.

"He's the consummate advocate," says Elizabeth Jordak, executive director of the Mental Health Association serving Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties. "He knows what he should say and when he should say it and how he should say it.

"Pender knows everybody across the state and that helps," she adds. "When you're an advocate, that's very important."

As commission chairman, McElroy helps to develop regulations governing mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse programs. Examples of the panel's tasks include deciding when and how restraints are used with patients or setting the qualifications for caregivers.

People involved in such causes often have an interest rooted in the...