Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan, LLP

Chairman: Gerald F Roach

Managing Partner: Byron B Kirkland

Number of partners: 80

Number of lawyers: 154

Languages: French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish

Firm Overview: 

Smith Anderson is a full-service business and litigation law firm serving regional, national and global companies. More than one-third of our attorneys have joined us from national and international firms, providing clients with a highly experienced and deep bench of support at favorable local market rates. It is our client-focused culture and forward-thinking insights that have shaped Smith Anderson for more than a century as we help guide our clients toward success.

Main Areas of Practice:

Corporate, Securities, Mergers & Acquisitions:

The firm has one of the state’s leading public company practices as measured by number and size of transactions and public company clients. It provides a broad range of general corporate, mergers and acquisitions, finance, securities, joint venture, venture capital, private equity, employee benefits, intellectual property and technology advice to clients ranging from established public companies to venture capital backed start-ups and venture funds.

Contact: Amy M Batten

Tel: 919 821 6677

Email: [email protected]

Commercial Transactions: 

The firm has significant experience in secured and unsecured bank lending, joint ventures, venture and mezzanine investments, leveraged buyouts and acquisition financing, mergers and acquisitions, derivatives, workouts and reorganizations, conduit financing, securitizations and other asset-based financings, divestitures, licensing and franchising. The firm also has an extensive tax practice providing planning and advice, as well as representation of clients in tax controversies.

Contact: Bart A Norman

Tel: 919 821 6752

Email: [email protected]

Commercial Litigation: 

The firm is adept at handling large multi-party and multi-jurisdiction litigation projects and mission critical matters for clients. The group’s lawyers have extensive experience in counseling and representing client disputes between buyers and sellers of goods and services, commercial real estate disputes, banking litigation, intellectual property, insurance matters and class action and derivative shareholder litigation.

Contact: Christopher G Smith

Tel: 919 821 6745

Email: [email protected]

General Litigation: 

The firm’s products liability group regularly advises manufacturers as well as large and small product retailers, distributors and insurance carriers on their risk-management programs and issues. This group covers all aspects of product liability and major tort matters, including preventive counseling, product literature review, liability audits and claims management, as well as root-cause analysis, trials and appeals. The firm’s medical malpractice group assists health care providers through pre-litigation claims, discovery, depositions, medical records analysis and trials and appellate advocacy.

Contact: Kirk G Warner

Tel: 919 821 6617

Email: [email protected]

Employment, Labor & Human Resources: 

The firm has extensive experience with complex and challenging employment issues and litigation, including FLSA/state wage and hour compliance and class litigation; systemic discrimination risk management and litigation; workplace harassment, training and investigation; workforce restructuring; merger and acquisition integration; non-competition agreements; executive employment and severance agreements; human resources audits; affirmative action plans and OFCCP audits; policies and procedures development; drug and alcohol testing; workplace violence; and flexible staffing matters.

Contact: J Travis Hockaday

Tel: 919 821 6757

Email: [email protected]

Real Estate Development: 

The firm has been heavily involved in many of the state’s largest real estate developments – both public and private projects – including major mixed-use, office, manufacturing, multi-family, retail, natural resource, infrastructure and public utility projects. It represents developers, investors, lenders, sureties, contractors, landlords and tenants in local and multistate transactions. The firm also counsels owners, general contractors and large subcontractors during all stages of construction, including bidding and contracting, contract administration and claim avoidance. Additionally, when litigation is threatened, the firm routinely advises clients in the areas of risk identification and evaluation, risk avoidance and pre-litigation planning.

Contact: Wayne K Maiorano

Tel: 919 821 6684

Email: [email protected]

Additional Practice Areas: 

AgTech

Appellate Advocacy

Asbestos & Toxic Torts

Closely-Held & Family-Owned Businesses

Commercial Contracts

Complex Contract Disputes

Corporate & Syndicated Finance

Corporate Governance

Corporate Relocation, Expansion & Incentives

Data Use, Privacy & Security

Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation

Energy

Environmental

Financial Institutions

Government Contracts

Government Relations

Health Care

Higher Education

Information Technology

Insurance Regulation

Intellectual Property

Land Use & Zoning

Life Sciences

Mass Tort & Catastrophic Loss

Medical Malpractice Defense

Mezzanine Finance

Non-Compete & Trade Secrets

OSHA & Workplace Safety

Patent Litigation

Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Litigation

Private Equity

Product Liability

Sponsor Finance

Start-Ups

Tax

Technology Transactions

Trademark & Copyright

Trusts & Estates

Value-Based Care

Venture Capital

Venture Debt & Technology Finance