Amy L. Cox Gruendel

Valecia McDowell is a national thought leader in the areas of governmental and internal investigations, conduct risk management, and civil rights and racial equity assessments. Valecia is ranked in Chambers USA and Best Lawyers , included in national publications such as Bloomberg , American Banker , Corporate Compliance Insights , and Inside Counsel. Valecia was one of the ten “Innovative Legal Practitioners” identified by the London-based Financial Times in 2023 and on Forbes To...

Ernie Reigel, who served as chairman of the firm for 15 years, brings to his blue-chip domestic and international corporate clients sophisticated counsel on mergers and acquisitions, as well as other business matters. For over three decades of practice, Ernie has represented both public and private companies in a wide range of transactions, including, most recently, the sale of a publicly held company to a foreign buyer and the purchase of the U.S. division of a Japanese-owned public company ...

Chris Jones is a nationally recognized specialist in the areas of estate planning and business succession planning. Chris heads the firm’s Wealth & Estate Planning group and has substantial experience advising and counseling clients regarding sophisticated estate planning, business succession, asset protection, charitable planning, life insurance matters, and international estate planning. Understanding that each client has specific, unique objectives, Chris and his team provide cre...

George Taulbee heads the firm’s Technology, Privacy & IP Transactions Group in North Carolina. He focuses on all intellectual property and transactional matters involving computer and Internet technology, electronic commerce, and sports and entertainment. Mr. Taulbee has more than 25 years of experience working in software licenses and development outsourcing, joint venture, website hosting, and content and linking agreements. He has extensive experience in patent, trade secret and ...

Skott Smith brings considerable experience to his clients in the areas of retail, office and mixed-use development, leasing and financing. In this capacity, Skott assists developers, owners, tenants, lenders, and investors in a variety of transactions: He recently handled the development of a downtown office tower adjacent to and part of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC He has handled the acquisition, financing, development and disposition of numerous large office, retail and resident...

Beth Grimes’ practice focuses exclusively on employee benefits and executive compensation. She regularly advises the firm’s clients on a broad array of executive compensation, employee benefit matters, and equity compensation issues in connection with corporate mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, and other significant corporate transactions. Beth works to resolve employee benefits and executive compensation issues with her experience navigating the rules under the Internal Rev...

With "a great knowledge of real estate and lending" and more than 30 years' experience closing real estate deals, Hayden Harrell "brings a logical and practical business perspective to the transactions." Hayden represents lenders, investors and developers in construction, permanent, mezzanine and syndicated loan transactions. He also provides experienced advice in joint venture agreements for both the equity providers and the sponsors. According to Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyer...

Patrick L. Kartes is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Patent Law. Patrick L., who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Patrick L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Marcus Lee is a business-oriented corporate attorney with extensive experience in advising companies on raising private and venture capital, licensing and protecting software, trademarks, patents, and other intellectual property, and structuring, negotiating, and documenting complex business contracts, acquisitions, and joint ventures. With over 20 years of experience advising his clients, Marcus is recognized by his clients as a business focused attorney who gets transactions completed in an...

Mitchell Anderson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Mitchell, who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Mitchell is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.