Joe Lucas, an attorney concentrating in public finance, development finance, and banking and underwriting at Pope Flynn in Charlotte, NC, has been elected to serve as a trustee of the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation. Established in 1956 by Mary Duke Biddle, an American philanthropist and granddaughter of industrialist and philanthropist Washington Duke, the Foundation “supports arts organizations, artists, and K-12 education in the Triangle region of North Carolina” as well as Duke University. Lucas also serves as the managing member of Pope Flynn, a Columbia, SC-based law firm that concentrates in public finance and governmental law.

Lucas is a Fellow of the American College of Bond Counsel in the College’s class of 2016, one of thirteen bond attorneys around the country who were selected for induction in the class. He was designated “Lawyer of the Year” in Public Finance Law for Charlotte from The Best Lawyers in America© in 2020 and 2015.

“Joe is a valued addition to our board of trustees,” said Mimi O’Brien, executive director, “and his work in public finance in North Carolina, including school districts, has given him significant insight into the development and needs of our communities. We appreciate both his experience and his wise counsel.”

Lucas, the great-grandson of Mary Duke Biddle, is also Vice President and serves on the executive committee of the Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Foundation, a separate Durham-based grant-making foundation, and is President of the board of directors of The Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation Endowment Fund at Duke University. Previously he served on the board of directors of Myers Park Trinity Little League in Charlotte for more than 12 years, including nine years as President of the league.

A member of the North Carolina and South Carolina bars, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in history, then went on to receive his JD from Duke University School of Law.