CLASS ACTS.

Jocks, nerds, hoods and other groups make up the woodwork of every high school, including those attended by the best lawyers in North Carolina. We asked this year's winners of Business North Carolina's Legal Elite to recall their favorite friends' group, or an enjoyable high school activity. The answers to those and other questions provide insight into this talented crew.

It's the 22nd class of Legal Elite, which honors lawyers chosen by their peers. Business North Carolina contracted Datajoe Research to facilitate an online peer-voting and internet research process. About 1,000 lawyers received votes, with those receiving the most getting recognition in 16 specialties as Hall of Fame members.

The responses have been edited for length and clarity. Previous Hall of Fame members are listed by their firm at the time of selection, unless otherwise noted.

Datajoe Research is a Boulder, Colo.-based software and research company specializing in data collection and verification, and conducts various nominations across the nation on behalf of publishers. Datajoe confirmed that each published winner had, at time of review, a current, active license status with the appropriate state regulatory board. If unable to find evidence of a lawyers active registration with the state regulatory board, that lawyer was excluded from the list. In addition, we checked available public sources to identify lawyers disciplined for an infraction by the state regulatory board. They were excluded from the list. Datajoe presented the tallied results to Business North Carolina for its final review and adjustments.

Datajoe and Business North Carolina recognize that there are many talented lawyers who are not listed. This is a subset of talented professionals across the state. Inclusion in the list is based on the opinions of responding lawyers in North Carolina. Datajoe thoroughly ensures fair voting but the company understands that the results of this survey nomination and internet research campaign are not an objective metric.

Disclaimers: Datajoe uses best practices and exercises great care in assembling content for this list. Datajoe does not warrant that the data contained within the list are complete or accurate. Datajoe does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions herein whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. All rights reserved. No commercial use of the information in this list may be made without written permission from Datajoe. For research/ methodology questions, contact the research team at surveys@datajoe.com.

ANTITRUST

DENISE M. GUNTER

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP,

Winston-Salem

Jenna F. Butler

Ward and Smith PA, Wilmington

E. Bradley Evans

Ward and Smith PA, Winterville

Jason Doughton Evans

Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders

LLP, Charlotte

Lisa F. Garrison

Garrison Law Group PLLC, Asheboro

Robert N. Hunter Jr.

Higgins Benjamin, Greensboro

M. Keith Kapp

Williams Mullen, Raleigh

Gregory Lee Skidmore

Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte

Mary K. Mandeville

Alexander Ricks PLLC, Charlotte

Larry S. McDevitt

The Van Winkle Law Firm, Asheville

Lawrence C. Moore III

Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte

Clinton R. Pinyan

Brooks Pierce McLendon Humphrey

& Leonard LLP, Greensboro

Alan M. Ruley

Bell Davis Pitt PA, Winston-Salem

HALL OF FAME: Matthew W. Sawchak, Ellis & Winters LLP, Cary (2002,2003); Rodrick J. Enns, Enns & Archer LLP, Winston-Salem (2004); Larry B. Sitton, Smith Moore LLP, Greensboro (2005); Everett J. Bowman, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte (2006); Douglas Wayne Kenyon, Hunton & Williams LLP, Raleigh (2007); Mark W. Merritt, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte (2008); Mark J. Horoschak, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, Charlotte (2009); Jennifer K. Van Zant, Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, Greensboro (2010); Catharine B. Arrowood, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, Raleigh (2011); Jonathan Heyl, Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP, Charlotte (2012); Noel L. Allen, Pinnix & Nichols PA, Raleigh (2013); John F. Graybeal, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, Raleigh (2014); Press Millen, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, Raleigh (2015); W. Andrew "Andy" Copenhaver, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, Winston-Salem (2016); Stephen Feldman, Ellis & Winters LLP, Raleigh

APPELLATE

ANGELA FARAG CRADDOCK

Young Moore and Henderson RA., Raleigh

Norris Arden Adams II

Essex Richards PA, Charlotte

Natasha Marie Barone

Jordan Price Wall Gray Jones & Carlton, PLLC, Raleigh

Chad Alan Archer

Blanco Tackabery & Matamoros PA, Winston-Salem

Jaye Elizabeth Bingham-Hinch

Batten Lee PLLC, Raleigh

Christopher Anderson

Brook, Patterson Harkavy LLP, Chapel Hill

Christopher C. Browning Jr.

Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders

LLV, Raleigh

Alexander Clay Dale

Ward and Smith PA, Wilmington

Robert H. Edmunds Jr.

Fox Rothschild LLP, Greensboro

Christopher Scott Edwards

Ward and Smith PA, Wilmington

Stephen Daniel Feldman

Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Raleigh

Narendra Kumar Ghosh

Patterson Harkavy LLP, Chapel Hill

Robert Daniel Gibson

Stam Law Firm PLLC ,Apex

Bonnie Lynn Keith Green

The Green Firm PLLC, Charlotte

Harvey M. Hamlet

Hamlet & Associates PLLC, Wilmington

L Cooper Harrell

Mullins Duncan Harrell Russell

PLLC, Greensboro

Samuel Batiste Hartzell

Womble Bond Dickinson LLP, Raleigh

Noah H. Huffstetler III

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough

LLP, Raleigh

Patrick Michael Kane

Fox Rothschild LLP, Greensboro

John Joseph Korzen

Wake Forest Law, Winston-Salem

Bradley R. Kutrow

McGuireWoods LLP, Charlotte

Lorin J. Lapidus

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, Winston-Salem

Michael T. Medford

Manning Fulton & Skinner PA, Raleigh

Allison Overbay Mullins

Turning Point Litigation, Greensboro

Kip David Nelson

Fox Rothschild LLP, Greensboro

Preston O. Odom III

James McElroy Diehl PA, Charlotte

David S. Pokela

Nexsen Pruet PLLC, Greensboro

Deborah Sandlin

Sandlin Family Law Group, Raleigh

Matthew W. Sawchak

Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Raleigh

Troy Shelton

Fox Rothschild LLP, Raleigh

Mark Russell Sigmon

Sigmon Law PLLC, Raleigh

Amie Carol Sivon

Ragsdale Liggett PLLC, Raleigh

Paul K. Sun Jr.

Ellis & Winters LLP, Raleigh

D Martin Warf

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough

LLP, Raleigh

Rebecca K. Watts

Collins Family Law Group, Monroe

John R. Wester

Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte

Barbara B. Weyher

Yates Mclamb & Weyher LLP, Raleigh

Erik Randall Zimmerman

Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson PA,

Chapel Hill

HALL OF FAME: MatthewNis Leerberg, Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP, Raleigh (2018); Toby Hampson, Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP / N.C. Court of Appeals, Raleigh (2019); Drew Erteschik, Poyner Spruill LLP, Raleigh (2020); Beth Brooks Scherer, Fox Rothschild LLP, Raleigh (2021); Michelle D. Connell, Fox Rothschild LLP, Raleigh (2022)

BANKRUPTCY

MATT TOMSIC

Rayburn Cooper & Durham PA, Charlotte

Rayford K. Adams III

Spilman Thomas & Battle PLLC, Winston-Salem

Brian Richard Anderson

Fox Rothschild LLP, Greensboro

Charles N. Anderson Jr.

Ellis & Winters LLP, Raleigh

Ronald A. Anderson Jr.

Anderson Law Firm, Arch dale

James B. Angell

Howard Stallings, Raleigh

David R. Badger

David R Badger PA, Charlotte

Paul Rudd Baynard

Offit Kurman Attorneys At Law, Charlotte

Stephen L. Beaman

Beaman Bennington PLLC, Wilson

John C. Bircher III

Davis Hartman Wright Attorneys LLP, New Bern

Joseph A. Bledsoe III

Joseph A Bledsoe III, New Bern

Samantha K. Brumbaugh

Ivey McClellan Siegmund Brumbaugh

& McDonough LLP, Eden

Daniel C. Bruton

Bell Davis Pitt PA, Winston-Salem

Algernon L. Butler III

Buder & Buder LLP, Wilmington

Clyde R. Cash

Craige Brawley Lupfert & Walker

LLP, Winston-Salem

Garland S. Cassada

Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte

Richard Preston Cook

Cape Fear Debt Relief, Wilmington

Stacy C. Cordes

Cordes Law PLLC, Charlotte

John Paul Hughes Cournoyer

Northen Blue LLP, Chapel Hill

Damon Terry Duncan

Duncan Law PLLC, Greensboro

Albert F. Durham

Rayburn Cooper & Durham PA, Charlotte

David L. Eades

Moore 6c Van Allen, Charlotte

Benjamin Robert Eisner

The Law Offices of Oliver & Cheek

PLLC, Wilson

Paul A. Fanning

Ward and Smith PA, Winterville

Joseph Zachary Frost

Buckmiller Boyette Frost PLLC, Raleigh

Joseph W. Grier III

Grier Wright Martinez PA, Charlotte

Edward C. Hay Jr.

Pitts Hay & Hugenschmidt, Asheville

Cole Hayes

Hayes Law, Charlotte

Jason L. Hendren

Hendren Redwine & Malone PLLC, Raleigh

Ashley Lee Hogewood III

K L Gates LLP, Raleigh

Andrew Thomas Houston

Moon Wright Houston PLLC, Charlotte

Charles M. Ivey III

Ivey McClellan Siegmund Brumbaugh

& McDonough LLP, Greensboro

Luis Manuel Lluberas

Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte

Michael Leon Martinez

Grier Wright Martinez PA, Charlotte

Robert Ashley Mays

Mays Johnson Law Firm, Asheville

Jack Miller

Rayburn Cooper & Durham PA, Charlotte

John R. Miller Jr.

Rayburn Cooper & Durham PA, Charlotte

Dennis M. Odea

Sfs Law Group, Charlotte

Jeffrey E. Oleynik

Brooks Pierce McLendon Humphrey

& Leonard LLP, Greensboro

George M. Oliver

The Law Offices of Oliver & Cheek

PLLC, New Bern

Felton E. Parrish

Alexander Ricks PLLC, Charlotte

Benson Thomas Pitts

Pitts Hay & Hugenschmidt, Asheville

Alan W. Pope

Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte

Melanie Dawn Johnson

Raubach

Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin

PLLC, Charlotte

Charles Richard Rayburn III

Rayburn Cooper & Durham PA, Charlotte

Travis P. Sasser

Sasser Law Firm, Cary

Philip M. Sasser

Sasser Law Firm, Cary

David M.Schilli

Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte

Dirk W. Siegmund

Ivey McClellan Siegmund Brumbaugh

& McDonough LLP, Greensboro

Kevin L. Sink

Kevin Sink Law, Raleigh

John H. Small

Brooks Pierce McLendon Humphrey

& Leonard LLP, Greensboro

Zachary H. Smith

Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte

William C. Smith Jr.

Manning Fulton & Skinner Pa, Raleigh

Andrew William James Tarr

Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte

Glenn Clark Thompson

Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin

PLLC, Charlotte

Scott P. Vaughn

McGuireWoods LLP...