ABOUT MARK HERRING
I was born in 1974 and grew up in Clinton, North Carolina. I graduated from Clinton High School in 1992 and then attended North Carolina State University. While at N.C. State I was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. I graduated in 1996 and then moved to Birmingham, Alabama where I attended the Cumberland School of Law (at Samford University).
I graduated and passed the North Carolina State Bar Exam in 2000. While in law school, I met my wife, who was from Kinston. We left Birmingham together and bought our first home in Kinston, and we have been here since. Our two wonderful children attended Lenoir County Public Schools and are now off at college (and may be thinking about law school).
I was sworn in as an attorney in Sampson County Superior Court on September 5, 2000. I will always remember that date because it was very special. It was the culmination of many years of hard work and preparation. However, although law school taught me a lot, I didn't realize at the time how much more there was to learn.
I began my legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in what was then the Fourth Judicial District (Sampson, Duplin, Jones, and Onslow counties).
A few short years later I came to work with the firm, White & Allen, P.A. in Kinston. This was one of my greatest professional experiences. I was fortunate to practice alongside some of the best attorneys in the State. I became a partner in the firm and stayed until 2015 when had an opportunity to serve the citizens of Lenoir, Greene, and Wayne counties by becoming an Assistant District Attorney in Kinston. I continued in that position until 2024 when I went back to private practice.
Since moving to Kinston, I have been fortunate to have several opportunities to serve our community. Since 2000, I have been a member of several boards of directors, including the Lenoir County Boy's & Girl's Club, the Lenoir-Greene United Way, the Pride of Kinston (past president), the Kinston Country Club (past president), the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council for both Lenoir and Greene counties, and I have helped coach several youth athletic teams through the Lenoir County Parks and Recreation Department.
Our family attends St. Mary's Episcopal Church where I have served two terms as a member of the Vestry, including one year as Junior Warden.
Professionally, I have had the good fortune to serve in several roles, including past president of the Lenoir County Bar Association, past president of the Eighth Judicial District Bar Association, member and leader of the North Carolina Bar Association's Young Lawyer's Division, member and leader of the North Carolina Bar Association's Criminal Practice Division, and a member and leader of the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers (now North Carolina Advocates for Justice) Criminal Practice Division. Currently, I have the honor of serving as our North Carolina State Bar Councilor representing the Eighth Judicial District. I was included in the Kinston Free Press' "20 under 40" group and I was a "People's Choice" award winner for best attorney in Kinston (tied for first with the late P.C. Barwick-which was an honor to just be named along with such a respected attorney in our community).
Professionally, I have been named as one of the "Top 100 Trial Lawyers" for North Carolina and I have been recognized multiple times in the "Super Lawyers" publication for my work in criminal defense.
