Chris S. Edwards
Federal and North Carolina Appellate Attorney
T 910.794.4867
F 910.794.4877
E csedwards@wardandsmith.com
O Wilmington, NC, Raleigh, NC
Practice Areas:
Administrative and Regulatory Law, Appellate, Artificial Intelligence, Derivatives Litigation, Energy and Utilities, Family Law Appeals, Government and Internal Investigations, Intellectual Property Litigation, Litigation, Local Counsel, NC Business Court
Chris Edwards is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Appellate Practice and co-chair of the Appellate Practice at Ward and Smith, P.A. Based in Wilmington and Raleigh, North Carolina, he handles appeals in the Supreme Court of the United States, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, the Supreme Court of North Carolina, and the North Carolina Court of Appeals. A former law clerk at both the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Chris brings direct knowledge of how judges read briefs, weigh arguments, and reach decisions.
If your company is facing a bet-the-company appeal, a regulatory challenge, or a verdict you need to protect or overturn, Chris can help you understand what happened below, what the appellate court will care about, and what it will take to get the result you need. He works with businesses, trial lawyers, and in-house counsel across North Carolina and nationally.
Chris focuses exclusively on appellate work. He does not try cases. When trial counsel or clients bring him in, whether during trial to preserve issues or after judgment to chart the path forward, he brings a singular focus: how does this record, this argument, and this court get the client to the right outcome on appeal?
How Chris Works with Clients and Trial Teams
A successful appeal starts before the notice of appeal is filed. Chris partners with trial counsel during litigation to identify and preserve the issues that matter most on appeal. That means advising on motions, objections, and jury instructions with an eye toward what the appellate court will need to see in the record.
Once a case reaches the appellate stage, Chris handles every phase: evaluating the strength of potential issues, developing the appellate strategy, writing the brief, and arguing before the court. He has written more than 100 appellate briefs and argued consequential cases before the Supreme Court of North Carolina, the Fourth Circuit, the Federal Circuit, and other appellate courts.
Chris also works as co-counsel with other firms on appeal. Ward and Smith has no “origination” system, which means there is no territorial instinct about client relationships. Trial attorneys who bring Chris in as appellate counsel can expect a straightforward, collaborative working relationship focused entirely on the client’s result.
Chris’ Approach
“Most appeals are decided on the briefs alone. In the Fourth Circuit, oral argument is held in only about 13% of cases. That means every sentence in the brief has to count. I understand how judges read briefs and write in a way that highlights the strongest arguments and provides reasons to rule in my client’s favor. If the brief does not make the case clearly and early, the chance to persuade may already be gone.”
Chris has written about this dynamic in published articles on Fourth Circuit practice, including detailed analysis of how the Court selects cases for oral argument and how practitioners can improve their briefing to account for modern reading patterns.
Honors and Distinctions
- “Legal Elite,” Business North Carolina, Appellate, 2023-2026
- “40 Under 40,” Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, 2024
- The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch, Best Lawyers®, 2020-2025
- “40 & Under List,” Benchmark Litigation, 2022 – 2025
- “Legal Elite,” Young Guns, Business North Carolina, 2022
- Leadership Wilmington, Class of 2020
- Boy Scouts of America, Eagle Scout
- NC Attorney Pro Bono Honor Society Inductee, NC Pro Bono Resource Center, 2021, 2020
- North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Appellate Practice
Please see the following websites for an explanation of the membership standards for the following recognitions: www.bestlawyers.com; businessnc.com/special-sections/legal-elite/; and www.superlawyers.com/north-carolina.
- J.D., magna cum laude, Wake Forest University School of Law, 2014; Order of the Coif; Wake Forest Law Review
- B.A., magna cum laude, Wake Forest University, 2011
- Federal Bar Association
- Fourth Circuit’s Criminal Justice Act Appellate Panel
- North Carolina Bar Association—Appellate Section, Legislative Committee Chair, Appellate Rules Committee; Litigation Section, Section Council Member
- North Carolina Guardian ad Litem Program
- Member, North Carolina Supreme Court Historical Society
- Supreme Court of the United States, 2024
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2017
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, 2025
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2024
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 2021
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of North Carolina, 2018
- North Carolina, 2014
Representative Experience
Federal Appellate Experience
Chris has briefed and argued appeals in multiple federal circuits, including matters before the Supreme Court of the United States. A sample of his federal appellate work includes:
- Petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for certiorari on behalf of a North Carolina county in a Fair Labor Standards Act case, challenging the application of Skidmore SCOTUSBlog featured the petition as a Petition of the Week for July 3, 2022.
- Filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting certiorari in a Section 1983 action, arguing that limiting absolute prosecutorial immunity would chill the work of conviction review units and create inconsistent liability standards across circuits.
- Successfully defended a North Carolina county in the Fourth Circuit, arguing that legislative changes rendered a local economic incentive agreement unenforceable under state law.
- Briefed and argued an appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to the Federal Circuit appeal case on behalf of the patentee, contending that the Board misinterpreted technical disclosures related to a vehicle telematics system.
- Successfully argued that the Federal Circuit had jurisdiction over an appeal from the dismissal of a commercial dispute involving breach of contract and fiduciary duty claims arising from agreements governing the use and licensing of biomedical intellectual property.
- Challenged denial of class certification in the Ninth Circuit in a consumer fraud case, arguing that the district court misapplied California law on common exposure and likelihood of deception.
- Challenged denial of class certification in the Seventh Circuit in a consumer fraud case, arguing that the district court had misapplied Supreme Court precedent to reject an expert’s damages analysis.
- Successfully overturned a district court decision vacating a favorable FINRA arbitration award in the Fourth Circuit, representing a financial adviser wrongfully terminated without cause.
- As part of a Criminal Justice Act appointment, challenged a sentencing enhancement under the Armed Career Criminal Act in the Fourth Circuit.
North Carolina Appellate Experience
Chris has argued multiple cases before the North Carolina Supreme Court and has handled appeals in the North Carolina Court of Appeals across a range of subject areas:
- Argued before the North Carolina Supreme Court that elderly plaintiffs could pursue an ordinary negligence claim against a home healthcare agency that knowingly returned a dishonest aide, resulting in a violent home invasion.
- Argued on behalf of a large American company in the North Carolina Supreme Court that a statutory cap in a tax credit statute limited only how much credit could be claimed, not how much could be generated, relying on text, structure, and legislative history.
- Defended the timeliness of a medical malpractice claim before the North Carolina Supreme Court, arguing that the continuing course of treatment doctrine delayed accrual of the cause of action.
- Prosecuted an appeal in the North Carolina Supreme Court arguing in favor of liberal pleading standards, urging the Court to reaffirm North Carolina’s notice pleading doctrine under Rule 12(b)(6).
- Authored an amicus brief in the North Carolina Supreme Court on behalf of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, arguing that a credit union’s arbitration amendment was unenforceable due to illusory terms and lack of mutual consideration.
Amicus Curiae Practice
Chris is regularly retained by advocacy organizations and trade groups to file amicus curiae briefs in high-stakes appeals. His amicus work includes briefs filed in both the Supreme Court of the United States and the North Carolina Supreme Court on issues ranging from prosecutorial immunity to pleading standards to arbitration enforceability.
Filing an effective amicus brief requires understanding what the court needs to hear beyond the parties’ arguments. Chris identifies the policy implications, industry concerns, or legal principles that the amicus client is best positioned to raise, and frames them in a way that adds value to the court’s analysis
Articles + Insights
