Elizabeth Todd

Bill leads the Litigation Practice Group and his practice experience encompasses civil litigation in both the state and federal courts. He has represented clients in a broad variety of complex construction, business, and commercial disputes. His civil litigation experience includes depositions, pre-trial and dispositive motions, mediations, arbitrations, jury trials, and appeals. Other areas of his litigation practice include insurance coverage disputes, personal injury, agribusiness litigati...

Michelle Rippon is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Labor and Employment. Michelle, who practices law in Asheville, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Michelle is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Adam Peoples primarily defends doctors, lawyers, accountants, and engineers in negligence and ethics matters. His downtown Asheville practice also includes defending claims regarding general liability, governmental liability, civil rights, and products liability. Ranked AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbel, Adam has enjoyed a great deal of success in the courtroom. He has litigated hundreds of cases, including more than 500 hours of trial time, defending cases involving seven and ei...

Joe Ferikes began his practice in 1974 in Atlanta, Georgia, representing such entities as the County of Dekalb. In 1983, Joe and his wife moved back to their hometown of Asheville to continue his law practice and raise their family. He has been a private practice trial lawyer since 1981, and was a solo practitioner until forming Ferikes & Bleynat in 2001. Joe’s representative clients include the Towns of Woodfin and Fletcher, North Carolina, as well as the ABC Boards for Fletcher, W...

Shannon Sumerell Spainhour is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Banking and Finance and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Shannon Sumerell, who practices law in Asheville, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Shannon Sumerell is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Joanne's practice emphasizes the representation of banks and other financial institutions in commercial loan transactions involving asset-based and real estate secured loans, including new construction, multi-family, mixed use, retail, hotel, and healthcare related projects. She also represents real estate developers and business owners in connection with acquisition, disposition, planning, financing, construction, and leasing negotiations. Joanne's representation has further included the rep...

Zac is certified by the North Carolina State Bar as a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law. He counsels individuals on their estate plans and helps them put in place the legal documents to achieve those plans (such as Last Wills, Trust Agreements, Durable Powers of Attorney, Health Care Powers of Attorney and HIPAA Authorizations). Zac also advises fiduciaries, such as estate Executors and Trustees, on administration matters. Zac's practice also involves assisting clo...

Edward L. Bleynat, Jr. began his legal career by clerking for James G. Exum, Jr., then the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. Cutting hsi trial teeth at a major Greensboro business litigation firm. In 1995, Ed relocated to Asheville, to continue his law practice and to raise his family in Western North Carolina where he grew up. Ed and Joe Ferikes merged their practices into Ferikes & Bleynat, PLLC in 2001. Ed is actively involved in a variety of church, civic, and comm...

Matthew is a North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation law, which is his passion. He has been a critical member of the Workers’ Compensation Department at the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin since joining in 2015. He has extensive experience litigating cases before the North Carolina Industrial Commission , which oversees Workers’ Compensation, and has represented his clients before the North Carolina Court of Appeals . He received his undergraduate degr...

Henry Teich has been practicing law in Asheville, NC for more than 40 years. He and his now retired law partner, Janson Grimes, founded the law offices of Grimes and Teich in 1979. Later, with the addition of partner Scott Anderson, the firm became Grimes Teich Anderson LLP. Henry is a North Carolina Board Certified Workers Compensation Specialist whose interest is assuring that his clients get the best medical treatment available under the circumstances and that they receive protection from ...