Joshua O. "Josh" Harper

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.

Scott Anderson has been an attorney since 1989 and is licensed to practice in North Carolina and South Carolina. He is also a Certified Civil Mediator in the state of South Carolina. Early in his career, Scott focused on insurance defense and criminal defense, representing several auto insurance companies and workers compensation insurance companies as well as the S.C Uninsured Employers Fund. He regularly was lead counsel in jury trials and administrative hearings for these clients. In his c...

Born in 1965 in Huntington, West Virginia, Brian grew up in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. Brian's mother was a nurse, and his father was a doctor in Spruce Pine who ran a clinic, worked in the hospital emergency room, made house calls to people in need. Brian often accompanied his parents when the house calls were after hours. Growing up in a home where taking care of others was so important continues to inspire Brian in his work representing injured and disabled people. In the mid-1990's, bef...

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...

Hayley's practice primarily focuses on labor and employment law, civil litigation, and alcoholic beverage law. Hayley regularly advises individual and corporate clients on matters of covenants not to compete, employment discrimination, discipline and termination, harassment, wrongful discharge, wage and hour matters, personnel policies and procedures, and preparation of employment agreements and employee handbooks. She also litigates employment-related matters in North Carolina state and fede...

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...

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...

TRUE UNDERSTANDING: Asheville Personal Injury Attorney "My father became disabled when my sisters and I were young. Our family nearly lost everything, but my parents got good legal advice and persevered. My mother became a paralegal for the attorney who helped us. My father became our hero who preserved our future through wisdom, frugality and dignity. And I became a personal injury attorney focused on matters of personal injury, workers’ compensation, and wrongful death, who truly unde...

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...