Best Lawyers in North Carolina, United States for Labor and Employment Law - Management
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Cities
Phillip J. Strach is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Phillip J., who practices law in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2009. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Phillip J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Forrest G. Read IV is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Forrest G., 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 Forrest G. 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...
Connie Elder Carrigan is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Labor Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Connie Elder, 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 Connie Elder is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Brandon M. Shelton is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Brandon M., who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Brandon M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Michael D. Ray is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Michael D., who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Michael D. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Tricia Goodson counsels clients on all aspects of the employer relationship. Her years of experience in providing guidance to employers and litigating on their behalf when necessary allows her to provide innovative, timely counsel to employers. Tricia counsels management clients on a variety of employment-related issues, including federal and state discrimination and harassment laws; wage and hour compliance; employment policies and handbooks; employment agreements; restructuring; severance p...
Joshua R. Adams is a principal in the Charlotte, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He exclusively represents employers in a broad range of employment-related litigation in both federal and state courts, as well before administrative agencies. In addition to providing employers with advice and counsel, Josh focuses his litigation practice on collective/class action wage and hour litigation and complex, single-plaintiff wage disputes across the country. He regularly advises employers...
Justin S. Coffey is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management. Justin S., 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 Justin S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Wood Lay's diverse practice focuses on representing and advising employers in matters involving the full range of labor and employment law issues with an emphasis on employment, ERISA, non-competition, and trade secret litigation. His significant litigation experience also includes the handling of complex business tort claims for a number of Fortune 500 companies. With over 30 years of experience, Wood focuses his practice on advising national employers on addressing the employment law challe...
Whitney Brownlow is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management. Whitney, 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 Whitney is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
William S. Cherry III is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Employment Law - Management, Insurance Law, Litigation - Insurance, Litigation - Labor and Employment and Litigation - Real Estate. William S., who practices law in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2018. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which William S. is held by other top lawyers i...
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...
Kelly Hughes has spent her career advising and supporting employers across multiple industries and in various forums. Ms. Hughes assists executives and management at all levels in crafting employment policies and agreements that not only comply with federal, state, and local laws but also complement the unique needs of the particular client and promote its financial and business objectives. Ms. Hughes is a nationally recognized authority on workplace flexibility and guides clients in creating...
Ken Carlson is a senior litigator who has successfully defended companies in virtually every aspect of employment law. He also has a strong practice in drafting employment contracts, independent contractor agreements, and noncompetition agreements, combined with a significant amount of work involving trade secret and noncompetition law. In addition to his litigation practice, Ken regularly advises employers on how to avoid problems before they occur, and helps companies protect their intellec...
Devon is one of the firm's Managing Directors. Her practice encompasses a wide range of labor and employment issues, including wage and hour matters, federal contractor compliance, employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims, employee discipline and termination decisions, personnel policies and practices, restrictive covenants, and background checks. Devon regularly counsels HR executives and C-suite officers, navigating them through the many state and federal requirements f...
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.