Dear Guardian ad Litem Advocates:
My name is Hal Morris and I am the new
Guardian ad Litem attorney advocate for Wake County. I’ve been fortunate to
speak with many of you already but I wanted to let all of you know a little
about me and thank you in advance for the opportunity to represent your GAL
children.
I grew up in Moore County and am a life long North
Carolina resident. I graduated from East Carolina University with a
degree in English Literature in 1993. I graduated from the Tulsa University
School of Law in 1997. I have been practicing law since 1997.
I worked as an assistant district attorney
for two years in Moore, Randolph and Montgomery Counties
where I prosecuted cases in district and Superior Court. I then spent three
years in private practice handling a variety of matters, including work as a
parents’ attorney as well as criminal defense, personal injury and family
law.
I began working for Moore County Department
of Social Services as a staff attorney in January 2003 and was responsible
for child support, child protective services and adult protective services.
In August 2004 I took a job with Pitt County Department of Social Services
where I primarily represented child protective services at the trial and
appellate levels.
I have a four-year-old daughter, Elizabeth,
who is the center of my attention. I still see my family even though we are
scattered throughout the state now. I enjoy going home to Moore County and catching my breath.
A lot of people groan in pity for me when I
tell them I work in this field. It’s true that we see lots of sad cases but,
sometimes we make a difference and that’s exciting. We all would like to be
a hero and as cynical as we adults are we can all remember being a child and
believing in heroes. Children need heroes.
Its great to be here and I am very excited
about this opportunity. Even after a week I can tell we have great staff
and volunteers who are dedicated. I am looking forward to the challenge of
carrying on the great work that Rick has done and doing the best possible
job I can.
Best Regards,
Hal Morris, Attorney Advocate
May 2007
