James B. "Jim" Stephenson II

A native of North Carolina, Matt grew up in Marion, a small town in the foothills of the state. He graduated summa cum laude from North Carolina State University, receiving a B.A. with Honors in History and a B.A. in Political Science. He went on to receive his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During law school, Matt was one of ten students from his class selected onto the Broun National Trial Team, the law school’s nationally competitive mock trial group...

Kevin Prakke focuses his practice on the areas of corporate law, corporate finance and securities law. He has 20+ years of experience representing corporations, entrepreneurs and investors in a broad range of transactions, including business organizations, venture capital financings, private placements and public offerings of both debt and equity securities, mergers and acquisitions, contract drafting and negotiation, corporate governance, securities regulatory compliance, and private equity ...

Wade Smith has been one of North Carolina's best known and most acclaimed lawyers for nearly 50 years. His trials are recounted in books, magazines and journals. A renowned storyteller, Wade insists that within each case there is a compelling story waiting to be told. In seminars and bar meetings Wade has shared the art of storytelling. His cases offer a fine collection of North Carolina Courtroom lore. In 1979, Wade served as counsel to Dr. Jeffrey McDonald in the much studied and discussed ...

A member of Manning Fulton's litigation section, William C. Smith, Jr. has a diverse litigation practice. He represents small and large businesses, and individuals in a variety of litigation and administrative law matters, including contract disputes, debt collection, employment, real estate and bankruptcy matters. William represents clients in both federal and state courts. He also advises both employers and employees on labor and employment issues and related matters, and represents a numbe...

Joan has over thirty years of experience in eminent domain and condemnation law and has taught seminars to other lawyers on how to handle condemnation cases involving commercial property. She has a wide range of experience in federal district court, federal bankruptcy court, and many state court systems. Joan has been inducted as a Lifetime Member of the Million and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums for obtaining multiple recoveries for her clients in excess of One Million Dollars. She ha...

Devon is one of the firm's Managing Directors. Her practice encompasses a wide range of labor and employment issues, including wage and hour matters, federal contractor compliance, employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims, employee discipline and termination decisions, personnel policies and practices, restrictive covenants, and background checks. Devon regularly counsels HR executives and C-suite officers, navigating them through the many state and federal requirements f...

With an extensive trial résumé, Brian centers his practice on the defense of transportation liability claims involving large commercial trucks and buses, medical negligence cases, insurance coverage litigation, insurance bad faith and extra-contractual litigation, and insurance regulatory matters including representation of the North Carolina Rate Bureau and the North Carolina Reinsurance Facility. Brian has litigated cases to verdict in many state and federal courts in North Ca...

Shirley M. Diefenbach is a partner/member of the law firm of Walker, Lambe, PLLC, where she primarily practices in the areas of Estate Planning, Elder Law and Trust & Estate Administration. Ms. Diefenbach is also the managing partner of the Trust & Estate Administration department within the law firm. For over forty years, Walker Lambe, PLLC has served its clients, in the areas of Estate planning, Trust Administration, Probate, Taxation, Estate and Trust Disputes, Planning for childre...

Daniel G. Katzenbach is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Construction Law, Litigation - Construction, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants and Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants. Daniel G., who practices law in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2018. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Daniel G. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice a...

Justyn J. Kasierski is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Technology Law and Venture Capital Law. Justyn J., who practices law in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2013. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Justyn J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.