Poyner Spruill’s litigation attorneys focus on both the creative resolution and trial of complex business, professional and personal disputes. We have extensive experience representing individuals, local businesses, national and international corporations, professionals and financial institutions in all kinds of litigation that can impact a business, such as consumer class actions, trademark, trade dress and copyright infringement litigation, disputes between buyers and sellers of businesses, disputes among owners of businesses, disputes involving banking, securities and accounting issues, the defense of class actions, employment disputes, and environmental, zoning and land use issues. We also have extensive white collar criminal defense, professional liability, and insurance defense and tort practices.
We regularly appear on behalf of clients in North Carolina state and federal trial and appellate courts. Our attorneys regularly try cases in all three districts of federal court in North Carolina and in North Carolina’s state courts. We have tried cases in a majority of the 100 counties in the North Carolina state court system.
In partnership with our Technology Department we utilize the latest technology to efficiently and cost-effectively meet the litigation needs and challenges of our clients. Our communication, document management, collaboration, time and billing (including task-based and e-billing), automated litigation support (including E-Discovery tools), search and research tools, and other knowledge management services and systems are state-of-the-art. Our technology systems ensure that we are available to clients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Poyner Spruill’s litigation attorneys are recognized by their peers as some of the best litigators in North Carolina. Thirteen members of our litigation section were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2012 ranking of North Carolina “Super Lawyers,” based on surveys of active lawyers across the state. The 2012 list includes:
Dan Cahill (Business Litigation), David Dreifus (Business Litigation), Nick Ellis (Business Litigation), Steve Epstein (Civil Litigation Defense),Keith Johnson (Environmental),David Long (Business Litigation – Top 100 Super Lawyers), Jerry Parnell (Professional Liability Defense), John Shaw (Construction – Top 100 Super Lawyers), and Joe Zeszotarski (White Collar Criminal Defense – Top 100 Super Lawyers). Karen Chapman (Construction Litigation), Sarah DiFranco (General Litigation), Julie Hampton (Business Litigation), and Jason James (Business Litigation) were named among the North Carolina Rising Stars for 2012.
In addition, seven members of the litigation section were also ranked among Business North Carolina magazine’s 2012 “Legal Elite,” based on a survey sent to nearly 20,000 active members of the State Bar living in North Carolina. The Poyner Spruill litigators named to the 2012 “Legal Elite” are: Keith Johnson (Environmental), Rick Kane (Environmental), David Long (Criminal Litigation), and Joe Zeszotarski (Criminal Litigation). John Shaw (Construction) is listed in the “Legal Elite Hall of Fame,” and Jason James and Court Young are listed in the Young Guns category.
We also routinely represent our clients in litigation throughout the Eastern United States and beyond. Our attorneys have tried cases from Florida to New Hampshire, as far west as Texas and Missouri, and as far north as Wisconsin. We have litigation attorneys in the firm who are licensed in South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Michigan, New York, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, Oklahoma and California.
Where appropriate, we partner with local counsel in jurisdictions outside of North Carolina to get the best possible results for our clients. Poyner Spruill is a member of the USLAW Network, a national organization composed of 65 independent member firms in 45 states with over 4,000 attorneys. The Network is comprised of AV-rated law firms throughout the United States, providing Poyner Spruill and our clients with access to many of the best trial lawyers in the country when needed for the litigation and trial of complex, difficult issues and cases in markets outside of our region.
We also belong to the State Capital Group, an association of independent law firms with member firms located in all 50 U.S. state capitals and in capital cities, business markets and financial centers around the world. Member firm attorneys bring a broad range of skills and experience from markets outside of North Carolina that we can access, depending on the needs of our clients. Firms based in U.S. state capitals offer a unique knowledge of state legislatures and regulatory agencies. Those based outside the United States offer similar perspectives and abilities in their jurisdictions.
These resources offer our clients a legal presence and trusted partner in all 50 states and many countries worldwide. While not engaged in the joint practice of law, the firm’s memberships in both the USLAW Network and the State Capital Group provide effective, trustworthy resources to assist clients with multi-jurisdictional legal services for standard business matters and complex transactions.
For a fuller description of our litigation practice and the attorneys who practice in each area, click on any of the following links.
Appellate
Business Litigation
Class Action Defense
Condemnation (Eminent Domain)
Construction Law
Employment and ERISA Litigation
Environmental Litigation
Financial Transactions Litigation
Intellectual Property Law
Insurance and Tort Litigation
Professional Liability Litigation
Plaintiff's Personal Injury and Wrongful Death
White-Collar Criminal Defense
Zoning and Land Use Litigation