Mark D. Riopel

Herbert W. Auger has been helping injury victims in the Carolinas since 1995. Throughout his career, Herb has built a reputation as a relentless advocate for his clients and a trusted leader within the legal community. Herb focuses his practice on personal injury and catastrophic injury cases, including motor vehicle accidents, wrongful death, and complex injury claims. He is known for his thorough case preparation, strategic approach to litigation, and ability to secure meaningful results th...

Kimberly Zirkle focuses her practice on corporate finance and acquisition transactions. She regularly represents a variety of lenders, private equity portfolio companies, and private companies in corporate finance and acquisition transactions. Kimberly’s experience involves a wide variety of debt structures including: unitranche, ABL, first lien, split lien, second lien, and mezzanine (secured or unsecured). Kimberly primarily represents SBICs, BDCs, lenders and institutional investors ...

Scott Tyler has more than two decades of experience successfully representing some of the nation’s largest financial services, manufacturing, real estate, and other companies in a range of complex disputes. He provides his clients with a practical approach to achieving a balance between business considerations and zealous advocacy. Scott focuses his time—and his clients’ resources—on a strategic path to success by creating a road map for each case, from pleadings to mo...

Kelly Hughes has spent her career advising and supporting employers across multiple industries and in various forums. Ms. Hughes assists executives and management at all levels in crafting employment policies and agreements that not only comply with federal, state, and local laws but also complement the unique needs of the particular client and promote its financial and business objectives. Ms. Hughes is a nationally recognized authority on workplace flexibility and guides clients in creating...

Paul R. Dickinson, Jr. is a trial attorney with the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin, representing injured individuals in Charlotte, North Carolina. His practice focuses on Mass Tort Litigation and Class Actions for plaintiffs, as well as Personal Injury Litigation for plaintiffs. Paul is committed to helping clients navigate the legal process after serious injuries and pursue accountability through the civil justice system. “Many of my clients have said they didn’t know who to t...

Elizabeth Murphy advises institutional and nonbank lenders on the origination and servicing of conduit and portfolio real estate loans. She is active in the firm’s Women’s Initiative and has been honored by the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy with its 2021 Pro Bono Award. Elizabeth represents senior and mezzanine lenders and borrowers in the origination and servicing of conduit and portfolio loans. She concentrates in originating loans secured by complex collateral structures ...

Brett Weber maintains a comprehensive financial services practice that focuses primarily on representing banks and other financial institutions in secured financing transactions, with a focus on credit facility providers and underwriters in tax-exempt financings. Brett’s practice includes extensive experience in commercial real estate financings, working capital financings, asset-based lending and other related finance transactions.

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...

Christian Buhrer practices in the area of corporate taxation. He primarily focuses on assisting corporate clients with cost segregation, mergers and acquisitions, federal, international and state tax planning, sales and use tax, property tax and state tax incentive consulting. Christian's experience includes representing taxpayers in audit, settlement, protest and/or appeal with state tax agencies, advising clients with respect to restructurings, state and local taxation of corporations, part...

C. Melissa Owen is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: General Practice and Criminal Defense: White-Collar. C. Melissa, 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 C. Melissa is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.