Paul Davis

Paul deVendel Davis GASTONIA - Attorney and public advocate Paul deVendel Davis, 71, of Gastonia, NC, died Thursday afternoon, October 22, 2015. A family memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 21, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church chapel followed by a reception and graveside service at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Greensboro. Paul was born in Greensboro, and spent his childhood there. He graduated from Grimsley High School (1962) and earned degrees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an A.B. in English (1965), an M.S. in Molecular and Cellular Pathology (1969), Graduate School of Medicine, and a Juris Doctor (1972), UNC School of Law. Paul also served as Assistant Dean and Director of Clinical Education at Cumberland School of Law, Samford University, in Birmingham, AL, where he founded the influential American Journal of Trial Advocacy in 1977. Paul is survived by his former wife Gay Rousseau Atkins and children, Paul Atkins-Davis of Asheville NC, Claire Atkins-Davis of Charlotte, NC, and Deni Davis of Brooklyn, NY, and two grandchildren.

Published by Charlotte Observer on Nov. 7, 2015.