Best Lawyers in North Carolina, United States for Commercial Litigation
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J. Heydt Philbeck concentrates his practice on complex civil litigation in the areas of civil rights, employment law, commercial litigation, contract disputes, unfair business practices, state and federal personnel law, constitutional law, and occupational licensing. Mr. Philbeck is an experienced trial advocate who has tried over 100 jury and bench trials to verdict. He has successfully represented clients before the North Carolina Supreme Court, the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the U...
Raboteau T. Wilder, Jr. is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Health Care Law and Litigation - Health Care. Raboteau T., who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2003. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Raboteau T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
“Chris is just really willing to get in and get the job done. He understands the need to balance costs against trial preparation. He’s also willing to say, this isn’t my area, let me refer you to somebody else.” The above quote, from a national construction client with outside counsel in nearly every state, was shared with Thomson Reuters, the company behind Westlaw, during its global research with senior in-house counsel to identify top-performing lawyers in private p...
An experienced trial and appellate attorney, Reid Phillips represents companies and their owners in complex business disputes, including defense of class action lawsuits, malpractice claims, and serious personal injury and death claims. Reid represents businesses and business owners before federal and state courts in lawsuits involving contracts, securities, antitrust, unfair competition, copyright and trademark infringement, and non-compete agreements. His recent experience includes the succ...
Ben Norman is a litigator who represents clients in state and federal trial and appellate courts, with substantial experience in the North Carolina Business Court. While the parties and industries have varied over the last twenty years, nearly all of his cases involve working to find the best resolution for clients navigating a failed business relationship. Ben has significant experience handling disputes involving complex legal and procedural issues, high stakes, high volumes of documents, c...
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...
Shana Fulton represents businesses and individuals in criminal and civil litigation, under government investigation or in conducting internal investigations. As a defense attorney and former Assistant U.S. Attorney, she has experience litigating and investigating high-profile and complex matters at all levels of federal and state trial courts. She loves using her deep experience as a defense attorney and federal prosecutor on complex matters that feature a mix of criminal, civil and regulator...
Luther D. (Lew) Starling, Jr. is a life-long resident of Clinton, North Carolina. He attended Clinton High School where he served as President of his senior class and President of the Future Farmers of America. He graduated from Campbell University in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. While at Campbell, Lew served as President of the Adam Smith Club, the university's second largest student organization. 1n 1990, he earned his Juris Doctor degree from Wake Forest Univer...
Robert H. Merritt, Jr. is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation and Tax Law. Robert H., who practices law in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2012. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Robert H. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Dan Smith focuses his law practice on matters involving environmental, commercial, education, and state constitutional law. A former educator and environmental scientist, Dan represents businesses, boards of education, and individuals in state, federal, administrative, and appellate courts. Dan uses his scientific training and background to help clients solve complex problems related to environmental laws, frequently working as part of a larger Brooks Pierce team. Dan has represented and advi...
Brad leads the Agribusiness Practice Group and his practice experience encompasses various areas of civil litigation in both the federal and state courts. He has experience in all aspects of civil litigation, including depositions, hearings, mediations, arbitrations, jury trials, and appeals. Brad advises clients and litigates cases involving all forms of commercial, business, estate, and intellectual property disputes. He regularly represents contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers in con...
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...
Daniel Adams represents individuals, small businesses, and large corporations facing white-collar criminal prosecution, government investigations, and complex business litigation. Having litigated for years in New York, he brings significant trial experience to bear when confronting clients' most pressing legal challenges. Daniel represents individual and corporate clients facing white-collar criminal prosecution in state and federal court, as well as regulatory investigations pursued by the ...
Kelly A. Cameron is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Intellectual Property and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Kelly A., who practices law in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Kelly A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Richard Vanore is a litigator experienced in professional malpractice, health law, personal injury, commercial disputes and other areas of civil litigation. As a core member of the Carruthers & Roth Healthcare and Litigation practice teams, he works closely with insurance companies, physicians, dentists, hospitals, individuals, real estate developers and property owners. Much of Richard’s practice involves healthcare providers. He has served as lead defense counsel in hundreds of me...
James T. Johnson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Consumer Law and Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. James T., 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 James T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.