Peter Romary is a British born American attorney, mediator, arbitrator[1] and diplomat[2] living in Greenville, North Carolina. He is a lawyer, and trainer in the United States.[3] He is best known for his pro-bono and humanitarian work on behalf of victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes[4] as well as for his risk management work in the government and higher education fields.[5]
| Peter Romary | |
|---|---|
| Peter Romary at the 5th Annual North Carolina Higher Education Safety Symposium in 2011 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Leeds, Yorkshire |
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Peter Romary was born in Leeds, United Kingdom and grew up in Cornwall where he attended Truro School. While in school, Romary was an accomplished fencer winning the British Public Schools Epee fencing title and representing England Schools and Great Britain Under-20s.[6] He went on to graduate with law degrees from the University of Reading[7] and from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[8]
Romary attributed his becoming a lawyer to his desire to follow in the footsteps of his father, John Romary, a retired solicitor and judge in England.[9]
Romary's legal work most notably included obtaining in 1998 , as sole trial counsel, a then world record wrongful death jury verdict of $525 Million[10] which still stands as the largest wrongful death jury verdict ever returned in North Carolina. The amount of damages was reduced by the trial judge, after the verdict was returned, to $102 Million.[11]
For over 12 years Romary represented, annually, over one hundred victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and sexual abuse on a pro-bono basis. In total he represented over 1200 victims pro-bono.[12]
For his work, Romary has received a number of honors.[13] These included receiving the inaugural "Frank Carrington Champion of Civil Justice Award" from the National Crime Victim's Bar Association. His litigation work led to him being ranked by the National Law Journal , in 2002, as one of the Top 40 Trial Lawyers Under 40 Years old in the USA[14] and his work on behalf of victims of violence led to him also receiving their Pro Bono Award in the same year. Romary has also received a number of honors from states including being awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine ; the Kentucky Colonel ; the Nebraska Admiral and Colonel Aide de Camp of New Mexico. In 2003, he was one of only 52 men from around the world to be recognized for his work on behalf of victims of domestic violence by CNBC, NASDAQ and Lifetime Television in "The Times Square Project".[15][16][17][18] The honor in Times Square made Romary only the second British Citizen to be honored by having their name in lights in Times Square, the first was Winston Churchill.[19] In 2004 Romary received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.[20]
When Romary began working in academe he founded, in 2006, the Annual North Carolina Higher Education Safety Symposium hosted at East Carolina University. The symposium is a campus safety training event for faculty and staff in institutions of higher education around the USA. Romary also served on the University of North Carolina Campus Safety Task Force.[21] Among their more contentious recommendations was one calling for criminal background checks for applicants.[22] For his work in higher education safety and risk management, in 2010, Romary was awarded the John L Sanders Award for Student Advocacy by the University of North Carolina Association of Student Governments. This is the highest honor that can be conferred by the Association.[23] In 2011, Romary was the recipient of the Verizon Men for Change Award for his work on behalf of victims of domestic violence. [24]
Romary currently works for East Carolina University[25] as well as "Of Counsel" to the law firm of Tanner and Romary, PA[26] and as a partner in QVerity[27] a risk management, investigations and screening firm founded and staffed by former CIA personnel. Romary also continues to lecture around the US and overseas and advise both private and government clients.[28][29]
Romary is an acknowledged expert in the fields of litigation, risk analysis in litigation,[30] risk management, threat management[31][32][33] detection of deception, interviewing and interrogation.[34]
Romary has also served, since 2007, as the Honorary Consul for the Republic of Namibia to North Carolina.[35] Having established the first diplomatic post for any African nation in North Carolina.[36]
Romary lives in Greenville, North Carolina with his wife Marcy and daughter Elizabeth.