Ryli Leader

With decades of experience representing Fortune 500 companies, professional sports organizations, and large employers relocating corporate headquarters and operations, Billy Moore provides a full range of services in the areas of federal, state and local taxation. He has negotiated state and local incentive packages, solved tax controversies, and managed sales and purchases of companies and assets including tax-free reorganizations with respect to Fortune 500 companies. He heads the firm&rsqu...

S. Luke Largess is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Civil Rights Law, Employment Law - Individuals and Litigation - Labor and Employment. S. Luke, who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2014. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which S. Luke is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jitty Malik is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Patent and Patent Law. Jitty, 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 Jitty is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Ryan Smith is co-head of the Investment Team and a member of the Management Committee. For over 20 years, he has built a practice that represents clients on a variety of complex leveraged financings, senior and junior capital lending transactions, private equity and other equity investments, and corporate transactions. Ryan’s primary focus is in finance and equity investment transactions. As counselor to lenders and passive and controlling stakeholders, he represents a variety of financ...

Caitlin Horne is a member of Moore & Van Allen’s Wealth Transfer group. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in estate planning and probate law, and holds an advanced degree in Taxation with a Certificate in Estate Planning from Georgetown University Law Center. Caitlin’s practice is focused on providing high-net-worth individuals and multigenerational families with sophisticated estate, tax, and busin...

Chris Fowler practices in a broad range of finance-related areas, focusing on the representation of institutional investors, hedge funds, business development companies (BDCs), small business investment companies (SBICs), private equity groups and sponsors in their investment, buy-out and finance transactions. Chris’ primary focus is in debt and equity finance transactions as counsel to agents, lenders and passive and controlling stakeholders. Chris represents a variety of finance compa...

John C. Gilson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Banking and Finance Law, Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law and Venture Capital Law. John C., 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 John C. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jon Ferry brings his substantial experience as a federal prosecutor to assisting clients in False Claims Act litigation, government investigations and other enforcement actions, internal risk analysis and internal investigations. Jon served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina for over seven years. As the head of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) program and the Healthcare Fraud Coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Jon led and supervised num...

Ryan is a partner in the Construction and Litigation Practice Groups in the Charlotte office. His primary focus is large public and private commercial construction practice disputes. Ryan has extensive experience in representing contractors, subcontractors, and sureties in various state and federal courts, as well as private arbitrations. He also assists clients in drafting and negotiating their construction contracts to meet the client’s specific needs on each project. Ryan has taught ...

Mike Connor is a partner in the firm’s IP Litigation Group. He is a recent co-chair of the firm’s national Intellectual Property Practice and a past chair of the national IP Litigation Group. He handles patent infringement and other IP disputes and counseling. Mike has experience in technologies such as cardiovascular implants and other medical devices, mobile telephony, high speed computer networks, financial services, diagnostic imaging, music downloads, robotics, textile machin...