The Continued Attack on Non-Competes
February 2, 2024
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Justin T. Hill
Labor and Employment Attorney
Justin focuses his practice on labor and employment matters. He works with businesses, employers, and human resources professionals across the state.
Additionally, Justin is a member of the firm's Professional Licensing group and defends licensed professionals before North Carolina's many professional and occupational licensing boards.
Justin is also a member of the firm's Name, Image, and Likeness Practice Group. Many employers contract with individuals, and more recently individual collegiate athletes, to license commercial use of their name, image, and likeness ("NIL") to the companies. The NIL Practice Group primarily assists businesses that work with these athletes to promote products or services, in addition to assisting NIL collectives, marketing agencies, software platform providers, and financial advisors. Justin is mindful of the changing laws and regulations regarding NIL agreements with college athletes, including issues related to the income provided by businesses to collegiate athletes and the employment status of collegiate athletes.
Before joining Ward and Smith full-time, Justin served as a summer associate in 2018, which marked a change for the firm's program that was historically focused on second-year law school students only. He returned to the program as a 2L in 2019.
Justin received his undergraduate degree from Davidson College and earned his J.D. from Campbell University School of Law, where he graduated in the top ten of his class. While in law school, Justin was part of a team of Campbell Law School advocates that made history by winning the national title at the Hofstra Medical-Legal Mock Trial Competition in the school's first appearance at that tournament.
Education
- J.D., Campbell University School of Law, 2020; Campbell Law Review, Articles Editor
- B.A., Davidson College, 2016
Honors and Distinctions*
- "Rising Star," North Carolina Super Lawyers, 2024
- "Legal Elite," Business North Carolina, Young Guns, 2024
- "Go-To Thought Leader," National Law Review, 2022
Professional and Community Affiliations
- Safety and Health Council of North Carolina, Board of Directors: Legal Counsel, 2021
Admitted to Practice
- North Carolina, 2020
- United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, 2021
* 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.
