Joseph Santaniello

Stephen Lareau is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Intellectual Property and Litigation - Patent. Stephen, 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 Stephen is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Tom Mitchell has served as Managing Partner and Chair of the Management Committee since 2018 and is a nationally recognized finance lawyer with over 30 years of experience representing financial institutions. Tom serves in multiple leadership positions at the firm, including as Managing Partner, Chair of the Management Committee, and Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. He is also an active member of the firm’s Inclusion & Belonging Committee. Tom served previously as head of ...

Bailey King is a litigation partner and trial attorney with over a decade of experience representing businesses in the areas of intellectual property, trade secrets, securities fraud, and other complex commercial disputes. He has tried numerous cases, including bet-the-company matters, to verdict. Recognizing that businesses often prefer to avoid trial, Bailey also uses his trial experience to counsel clients on litigation avoidance strategies and to negotiate favorable settlements prior to t...

Jack M. Knight, Jr. is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense: White-Collar and Litigation - Banking and Finance. Jack M., who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2010. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jack M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Mike Wilson focuses his practice on taxation, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures. He represents clients in a variety of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, defense, technology, food and beverage, real estate, and renewable energy. Mike handles tax structuring for mergers and acquisitions for private equity funds and strategic buyers and sellers (including ESOP transactions), prepares fund formation and governing documents for private equity funds, and advises family off...

A registered patent attorney, Mark Wilson has been recognized nationally for his experience and expertise in intellectual property. Although Mark can be found regularly in the courtroom, his practice broadly encompasses all aspects of intellectual property counseling, from IP acquisition to litigation and everything in between. Mark has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America , Chambers Partners USA, IAM Patent 1000 , World Trademark Review 1000 , North Carolina Super Lawyers , and North C...

John Fagg is the co-head of the Litigation group and the co-head of the White Collar, Regulatory Defense, & Investigations practice. John represents companies and individuals under investigation by or facing charges from criminal and other government enforcement authorities throughout the United States and around the world. John regularly represents corporations and individuals in high profile criminal and government enforcement matters of all types. John has represented clients in a wide...

Chris Gegg counsels clients with regard to procuring, protecting, licensing, enforcing and defending intellectual property rights. Mr. Gegg's experience includes patent and copyright matters related to computer networks, hardware and software, as well as the electrical, mechanical, optical and business method arts. His practice involves extensive design patent and utility patent preparation and prosecution, patent infringement and patent validity matters. He also works on intellectual propert...

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...

Arlene often serves as external trademark counsel and provides comprehensive legal advice in domestic and international trademark and copyright prosecution, protection, enforcement and related disputes, and intellectual property licensing and transactional work for her clients. Arlene counsels and guides clients through their development of practical brand strategies to maximize brand investment to meet their business and commercial goals, whether of a local, national, regional, or internatio...