Meredith L. Silliman

A former Managing Chariman of the firm, Ben Hawfield provides senior leadership and brings decades of experience to client matters related to workouts and bankruptcy proceedings. Ben Hawfield advises Moore & Van Allen corporate clients in acquisitions and financing transactions, particularly those involving a compromise or restructure of debt. He has significant experience in representing corporations, individuals and lenders in workouts and bankruptcy proceedings.

Ben Pleune is a partner in Alston & Bird’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group, with extensive experience litigating patents in U.S. district courts, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and before the International Trade Commission. Ben has also been involved with numerous patent validity challenges before the Patent Trial & Appeal Board. Ben’s practice has focused on a variety of industries, including bar code scanners, image sensors, pharmaceuticals, telecomm...

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...

Scott Syfert focuses on international and national transactions and general corporate matters. Foreign and domestic clients rely on Scott Syfert to handle their complex corporate transactions, general corporate and commercial law matters -- whether in Europe, Asia, South America or the United States. He has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, international joint ventures and international transactions.

Bill Zimmern provides strategic leadership and practical, business-oriented advice on a broad range of mergers and acquisitions transactions, with substantial experience involving financial sponsors, large corporations, and the representation of founders and long-time owners. He also assists clients with securities and general corporate matters. Bill serves as Co-head of the firm's Corporate practice. Bill has worked for sophisticated clients across a number of industries, including in the he...

John Beltz represents foreign and domestic, public and private business entities, majority and minority equity holders, financial sponsors, founders, and governing boards. With over two decades of experience, John’s clients trust his extensive legal experience, business acumen, sophistication, calm demeanor, and creativity to achieve positive outcomes. John advises corporations and other business entities on a broad array of transactions, including cross-border transactions, mergers, ac...

Chris Douglas is active in Alston & Bird’s pre-grant and post-grant patent practice areas. Chris represents both petitioners and patent owners in post-grant proceedings and is recognized as one of the more active post-grant practitioners nationwide. Chris remains one of the few practitioners to tout confirmation of all claims in an inter partes review in a final written decision on behalf of a patent owner. In addition, he maintains a robust pre-grant patent prosecution practice. Hi...

John T. Maheras is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Real Estate Law. John T., 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 John T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Micheal L. Littlejohn Jr. founded Littlejohn Law, PLLC , based in Charlotte, North Carolina. He primarily deals with civil rights and employment law issues, assisting clients throughout North Carolina. Mr. Littlejohn became licensed to practice in North Carolina in 2015 and handles cases in the federal district courts, including the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, and Eastern District of North Carolina. Mr. Littlejohn has expe...

Guy Gosnell leads the Intellectual Property Patents – Electrical & Computer Science Group and its efforts to counsel clients in regard to patent matters in the electrical, computer software and business method arts. Guy has more than 20 years’ experience in the intellectual property field and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Guy has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America , the Top Attorneys in North Carolina and in Super Lawyers magazi...