Keith B. Nichols

Stacie Knight is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation. Stacie, who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2022. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Stacie is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

David has represented property owners across North Carolina since 2008. He focuses exclusively on eminent domain and zoning law and litigation. As a property rights attorney, David has always remained committed to working for property owners, often against the government. David primarily represents individuals and businesses in land condemnation and eminent domain trial litigation, but also in obtaining zoning permits and variances, litigating zoning appeals before local boards, and resolving...

Evan Bass is head of the firm’s Commercial Real Estate group. Evan represents clients in their ongoing business affairs and focuses his practice on commercial real estate, real estate finance and real estate related corporate law matters. He is also a member of the Investment Management practice, with a focus on REITs and private real estate investment funds. Evan's experience includes advising investors, developers, lenders and major corporations on a variety of commercial estate trans...

Ernie Reigel, who served as chairman of the firm for 15 years, brings to his blue-chip domestic and international corporate clients sophisticated counsel on mergers and acquisitions, as well as other business matters. For over three decades of practice, Ernie has represented both public and private companies in a wide range of transactions, including, most recently, the sale of a publicly held company to a foreign buyer and the purchase of the U.S. division of a Japanese-owned public company ...

Danny Johnson represents large and mid-size businesses and professional service firms regarding the implementation and administration of their employee benefit plans and compensation arrangements. Danny has more than 35 years of experience with a wide range of employee benefit and executive employment matters, including public company clients in connection with their executive compensation programs and dealing with golden parachute severance issues that arise in merger, acquisition, divestitu...

Wayne McKinzie is co-head of the firm’s Financial Services group, leveraging his years of experience to provide sophisticated, business-oriented counsel to client transactions. Wayne McKinzie is co-head of the firm's 100+ attorney Financial Services practice group. In his more than 25 years at the firm he has developed a broad base of experience representing financial institutions, investment firms, insurance companies and other institutional investors and corporate clients on complex f...

Mr. Ellsworth counsels clients to procure, protect, license and enforce intellectual property rights. Mr. Ellsworth works diligently to understand his client’s business and to leverage that understanding to achieve his client’s intellectual property goals in a turn-key and cost-efficient manner. Mr. Ellsworth manages extensive domestic and international patent portfolios for several publicly traded companies and provides strategic counseling to a variety of smaller business concer...

John D. Cole is a litigator with broad experience across the spectrum of employment law and labor law. For more than 20 years, John has represented employers of all sizes in cases throughout the eastern United States. He has handled numerous cases involving virtually all aspects of employment law before various federal courts, federal and state administrative agencies, and the state courts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. He has also handled employment arbitration cases before A...

Bradley Kline is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Workers' Compensation Law - Employers. Bradley, who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Bradley is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jerry H. Walters, Jr. is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management and Labor Law - Management. Jerry H., who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2018. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jerry H. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.