Joseph S. "Joe" Dowdy

Thurston Debnam is one of the founding partners of Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers, L.L.P. Thurston is the Section Head of the Business Law practice group and served as the firm’s managing partner from 1992 through 1997. He concentrates his practice in the areas of business and corporate planning and real estate law, including land use planning and zoning. For more than thirty years, Thurston has maintained a broad-based business practice, assisting clients with business...

With a career that has included in-house patent counsel positions at GlaxoSmithKline and Targacept, Inc. (now Catalyst Biosciences), Amy Fix understands the core business issues her clients face. She has spent many years helping clients protect pharmaceutical, agricultural and polymer technologies, and is notably skilled in the growing sector of small-molecule drug development. Amy’s clients range from large international pharmaceutical corporations to smaller companies producing innova...

In joining Hardison & Cochran in 2008, Joel Jackson Hardison made a transition from defending insurance companies in Workers Compensation cases to representing injured and disabled workers. He applies the insights he gained from representing insurance companies to assist the injured workers he represents. There is little doubt about which type of practice he prefers. Hardison received a B.A. degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina in 1999 and a J.D. from the UNC School ...

James C. Thornton is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Municipal and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. James C., who practices law in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which James C. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Gabe graduated from the North Carolina State University and obtained his law degree from Rutgers University School of Law. His commitment to helping clients is deeply rooted in his personal life experiences and a genuine passion for the law. Throughout his career, Gabe has been driven by a strong desire to assist those in need, which is reflected in his extensive work in personal injury cases. His legal practice encompasses representing clients in cases involving automobile accidents, wrongfu...

Edwin Walker Jr. is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Edwin, who practices law in Durham, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2016. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Edwin is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jack Cummings is counsel in the Federal Tax Group of Alston & Bird in Raleigh and Washington, D.C. He served as IRS associate chief counsel (corporate) and chair of the Corporate Tax Committee of the ABA Section of Taxation. His books include The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (with Robert Hanson), The Supreme Court’s Federal Tax Jurisprudence published by the American Bar Association in 2010 and The Supreme Court, Federal Taxation and the Constitution , published by the America...

Mr. Schilawski is a partner in the law firm of Wake Family Law Group in Raleigh, North Carolina. He received his B.A. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1971, his M.Ed. degree from North Carolina State University in 1976 and his J.D. degree from Campbell University in 1982. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the Campbell Law Review. Mr. Schilawski's principal area of practice is family law. In 1989, he was board certified as a specialist in family law by the North Car...

Forest has been practicing law for twenty-five years. He spent the first six years of his career as a partner with a large "defense" law firm mainly defending large corporations in civil lawsuits. Seeing the inequalities that existed in the justice system between wealthy and powerful companies and regular people, Forest was motivated to change his law practice, join Martin & Jones and help level the playing field for ordinary, hard-working people and their families. With the experience Fo...

3 Things to Know About Tom Wilmoth: He leads the firm’s litigation team handling mass torts, multidistrict litigation, and consumer class actions. He has been recognized by Best Lawyers on the Consumer Protection Law list (2025–2026).* He brings prior experience in complex corporate defense litigation, including product liability matters. Tom Wilmoth is a Partner at the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin , where he focuses on complex litigation , including mass torts, federal multi...