Paul D. Coates

John Small has more than 35 years of experience representing both creditors and debtors in business bankruptcies, and was a Board Certified Specialist in Business and Consumer Bankruptcy Law from 1988 to 2023. He also counsels small businesses and religious organizations on a variety of legal issues. He thrives on solving clients’ most complex problems. John represents secured creditors in bankruptcies for business and real estate loans. He also has experience working with landlords, eq...

John Babcock has extensive experience in corporate and tax law matters, mergers and acquisitions and general business transactions, as well as commercial loan transactions where he represents both borrowers and lenders. John represents clients regarding all aspects of entity formation, debt and private equity financing, corporate governance, shareholder disputes, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and commercial business and loan transactions. He also devotes a significant portion of h...

Patrick Haywood is sought after by clients and other attorneys for his insight into complex and novel issues. At his core, Patrick solves problems, though he is no stranger to the courtroom. He has tried over 70 cases to juries in his career and has appeared in nearly all of North Carolina’s 100 counties. To further advance his clients’ interest, Patrick utilizes a deep bench of litigation and transactional talent at Carruthers & Roth. Whether your issue involves business matt...

Bill McNairy advises businesses on structuring private equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, and going private transactions. Bill is a CPA who uses his accounting experience to counsel family-owned businesses on issues related to tax law, trusts and estates, and tax saving strategies. Bill has an active private equity practice. He regularly assists funds with their portfolio company investments, acquisitions and fund formation matters. Bill has worked with a wide va...

Jim Lanik is a partner at Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey PLLC. Prior to joining the firm, he was a partner at Waldrep LLP and an associate and then member at Roberson, Haworth & Reese, PLLC focusing on business bankruptcy and municipal law. Jim is Board Certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the North Carolina State Bar and by the American Board of Certification. He has represented trustees, creditors, and debtors in all aspects of business bankruptcy cases. Jim is currently on the pa...

John Cross is a corporate attorney and business adviser, often serving as the outside general counsel for companies not large enough to have an in-house legal department. He assists clients in general business and transactional matters, contracts, mergers and acquisitions, securities, franchises, and real estate. John works with individuals and businesses on various corporate and transactional matters, including formation, organization and choice of entities, shareholder agreements, LLC agree...

Bill Cary works with a variety of public and private entities in the emerging area of Climate Resilience planning and strategies. His extensive litigation experience includes commercial and environmental disputes. Bill helps the Firm’s clients address the risks and opportunities that climate change and extreme weather bring. His recent work with U. S. Department of Defense and several NGOs working together to identify ways to strengthen the resilience of coastal DoD facilities has led t...

Mr. Calkins, a registered patent attorney, has over 20 years of experience in client counseling and portfolio management in patent procurement, licensing and enforcement, primarily in the life sciences, chemical, medical and computer software arts. His current practice also focuses on the corporate and transactional aspects of intellectual property, including licensing, merger, acquisition and/or equity investment due diligence. Mr. Calkins' experiences allow him to understand the business va...

John Flynn supports a variety of commercial clients in the finance sector, including national and state banks, insurance companies and institutional lenders. His practice regularly handles matters involving debtor and creditor rights, loan workouts and other loan transactions. He is especially focused on bankruptcy preference actions and asset-based lending and factoring for secured commercial loans. In addition, John is our firm’s chief counsel on environmental matters – helping ...

Julie Barker Pape is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law. Julie Barker, who practices law in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2018. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Julie Barker is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.