36 Ward and Smith Attorneys Honored in Business North Carolina's 2024 Legal Elite

Ward and Smith proudly announced that 36 attorneys have been honored in Business North Carolina’s 2024 Legal Elite.

Five legal luminaries stand out as shining stars, having previously been inducted into the Legal Elite Hall of Fame.

Since 2002, Business North Carolina has honored the most outstanding legal minds in the state. These winners are not chosen by editors or panels but by their peers. This recognition is highly selective, with only approximately four percent of North Carolina’s attorneys being chosen each year. Even fewer attain the distinguished status of Hall of Fame inductee.

The 31 attorneys recognized as Legal Elites are:

Asheville


Bill Durr Construction	Zac Lamb Tax and Estate Planning	Lance Martin Bankruptcy	Hayley Wells Employment

Greenville


Paul Fanning Bankruptcy	Merrill Jones Business	John Martin Family	Jane Francis Nowell Young Guns

New Bern


Angela Doughty Intellectual	Lee Hodge Business	Juliana Inman Family


Michael Parrish Litigation	Lauren Quinn Family

Raleigh


Payton Collier Bullard Young Guns	Justin Hill Young Guns	X. Lightfoot Employment	Emily Massey Employment


Evan Musselwhite Construction	Erica Rogers Intellectual	Tyler Russell Bankruptcy	Devon Williams Employment	Cameron Winfrey Real Estate

Wilmington


Al Clyburn Family Law	Edward “Trip” Coyne Business	Alex Dale Appellate	Chris Edwards Appellate	Sam Franck Real Estate Law


Paige Inman Family	Will Oden Employment	John Sloan Tax and Estate Planning	Jeremy Wilson Litigation

Legal Elite Hall of Fame

The five attorneys in Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite Hall of Fame include Joanne Badr, Jim Creekman (retired), Brad Evans, Amy Wang, and David Ward (Counsel Emeritus). According to the publication’s rules, they are no longer eligible to win in the same category but are acknowledged annually in the Legal Elite list.

Legal Elite Hall of Fame