Jerry is a Past President of the North Carolina State Bar, a Recipient of the Chief Justice's Professionalism Award, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary of the American Bar Association, and concentrates his practice in professional malpractice defense, white collar crime, government investigations, and municipal representation. In more than thirty-five years of practice he has been involved in a wide array of civil and criminal cases throughout the western half of North Carolina, in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and in the appellate courts of North Carolina.

After graduation from the University of North Carolina School of Law, Jerry served as law clerk to Chief Justice William H. Bobbitt of the North Carolina Supreme Court and as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. He was a founder and chairman of the North Carolina Federal Bar Advisory Council, a founder of the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism, he is a founding member of the North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission, and is a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, a member of the Southern Conference of Bar Presidents and the National Conference of Bar Presidents. He has served as a member of the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility of the American Bar Association, and currently serves on the Boards of  the Federal Defenders for the Western District of North Carolina, and The North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission.  Jerry represents North Carolina attorneys in the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association and serves on the ABA's Nominating Committee.

In addition to serving as President of the North Carolina State Bar, Jerry chaired its Ethics, Professionalism, Executive, Publications and Ethics 2000 Committees. He is a frequent writer and continuing education speaker in the fields of civil practice and professional responsibility.

Representative Experience

Belk v. Cheshire, 159 N.C. App. 325, 583 S.E.2d 700 (2003) - a case affirming summary judgment in favor of a lawyer establishing the elements of a legal malpractice action arising from criminal defense.

Mabry v. Huneycutt, 149 N.C. App. 630, 562 S.E.2d 292 (2002) - establishing an extension of the applicable statute of limitations.

Bolton v. Crone, 162 N.C. App. 171, 589 S.E.2d 915 (2004) - affirming summary judgment in favor of a lawyer in a real estate-transaction malpractice action.

In Re: Grand Jury Subpoena Under Seal, 175 F.3d 332 (4th Cir. 1999) - the first reported decision in the Fourth Circuit affirming the quashing of a Federal Grand Jury Subpoena.  

State v. Buckner, 351 N.C. 401, 527 S.E.2d 307 (2000) - a death penalty post-conviction case establishing the right to discovery orders in such cases.

United States v. Rudisill, 2000 U.S. App. LEXIS 10380 (4th Cir. 2000) - an appointed criminal case in which the trial court’s erroneous sentence following a guilty plea was reversed.

Publications
Co-author, “The Law of Attorney Professional Liability in North Carolina,” The Defender, Summer 2007
North Carolina State Bar Journal

• "Talking Past Each Other," Fall 2002
• "Tedium, More Tedium," Summer 2002
• "These Boring Rules," Spring 2002
• "An Interview with Our New President," Winter 2001
• "M.D.P., What If We Do Nothing?" Fall 2000
• "Want to Avoid a Grievance, No Problem," Fall 1998
• "What to Do with a Lying Client," Winter 1997
• "Technology and Young Trial Lawyers – A Contrary View," Spring 1997     

 

E. Fitzgerald "Jerry" Parnell, III

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Prior Legal Experience

Jerry served as the Assistant United States Attorney in Western District of North Carolina, from 1980 to 1982.