Robert A. Ponton, Jr.

Matthew Duncan is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Matthew, who practices law in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Matthew is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Thurston Debnam is one of the founding partners of Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers, L.L.P. Thurston is the Section Head of the Business Law practice group and served as the firm’s managing partner from 1992 through 1997. He concentrates his practice in the areas of business and corporate planning and real estate law, including land use planning and zoning. For more than thirty years, Thurston has maintained a broad-based business practice, assisting clients with business...

Ryan Shuirman is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. Ryan, who practices law in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2022. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ryan is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Joseph B. Bass is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Real Estate Law. Joseph B., who practices law in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Joseph B. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

John Alan Jones is the founding member and managing partner of Martin & Jones, where he has worked since he began practicing law in 1982. John Alan was born and raised in Pine Level, North Carolina. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honorary society. After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1979, he entered law school at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Holderness Moot Court. Upon graduating from l...

Mary Aiken Barrow is a Board Certified Specialist in Family Law. Ms. Barrow earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2006 and subsequently received her law degree from the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University in 2012. During her time at Campbell Law School, Ms. Barrow served as a member and as submissions co-editor of the Law Review. Additionally, she was a family law research assistant for Professor Jean Cary ...

Maria P. Wood is the Managing Partner in our Raleigh office and specializes in medical malpractice, aging services, correctional health care, professional malpractice and ethics, appellate, and general liability matters. In her more than twenty year legal career, she has gained significant litigation and trial experience. Maria has devoted her career to the representation of health care providers. These providers include hospital systems, long-term care facilities (skilled nursing and assiste...

Judson A. Welborn, a member of Manning Fulton's litigation section, concentrates his practice in the areas of real property litigation, construction litigation and business litigation. He has extensive experience representing clients in the state and federal courts of North Carolina, as well as administrative agencies and arbitration forums, in a variety of litigation matters involving real property and title insurance disputes, construction disputes, franchise, taxation and other business di...

M. Robin Davis is the office managing principal of both the Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina, offices of Jackson Lewis P.C. Robin handles individual and multi-plaintiff litigation in state and federal courts, and before various state, federal and local agencies, as well as provides counseling and advice to employers of all sizes in various employment related matters including discrimination claims, harassment claims, wage and hour claims, unemployment claims, workplace violence claims, a...

R. Sterling Perkinson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law. R. Sterling, who practices law in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which R. Sterling is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.