North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Largest Law Firms 2022

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L ARGEST L AW FIRMS

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N O R T H C A R O L I N A L A W Y E R S W E E K LY

LARGESTLAW FIRMS

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A pril 19, 2019

Largest Law Firms 2022: Headcount up, Moore & Van Allen tops list

BY TERI SAYLOR

N

orth Carolina Lawyers Weekly’s annual ranking of the Largest Law Firms in North Carolina shows a small but steady growth in the population of attorneys in the state’s 40 largest law firms over the past two years.

The report shows 3,474 attorneys are working at these firms in 2022, compared to 3,346 working at the 40 largest law firms in 2021.

These headcounts show a growing number of attorneys at the largest law firms even after the COVID-19 pandemic sent the workforce into quarantine and caused major business disruptions.

In 2020, our report showed there were 2,991 North Carolina licensed attorneys working at the state’s largest law firms— although our 2021 list also included eight more law firms than had been included the previous year.

This report is a snapshot of a moment in time, tabulating the number of North Carolina licensed lawyers as of January 1 each year. Despite the difficulties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the state’s law firms remain healthy and growing.

Although there was some movement

elsewhere in our list, there was not much change from last year in our top ten.

With 315 attorneys, Moore & Van Allen continues to grow and hold the top spot in our roster of the largest law firms in the state. In 2020, the firm’s headcount was 271, rising to 299 last year and passing Womble Bond Dickinson in our rankings for the first time in several years.

Still in the second spot, Womble Bond Dickinson reported 256 attorneys, down from 271 in 2021.

Legal Aid of North Carolina, with 255 attorneys, also experienced a significant growth of seven attorneys over last year, maintaining its third-place ranking.

With 213 attorneys, McGuire Woods grew by 11 and continues to rank fourth.

Taking the fifth spot was Parker Poe with 158 attorneys.

Rounding out the top ten were Robinson Bradshaw (152), Smith Anderson (140), Alston & Bird (110), K&L Gates (106), and Brooks Pierce (105). Brooks Pierce was the only new firm to enter the top ten.

Two new firms joined the list for the first time. Michael Best merged with the

Forrest Law Firm last year enters the list in place of the latter. Bradley Arant Boult Cummings was also a new addition to our rankings.

Thirty-one of the state’s 40 largest law firms reported growth over the past year, adding 147 attorneys to their collective rosters. At the same time, six firms reported small losses, leaving an overall increase of 116 attorney positions among the state’s largest law firms.

The annual survey of North Carolina’s Largest Law firms is based on the self-reported number of North Carolina licensed lawyers practicing in firms across the state. In compiling the 2022 list, we have made every effort to provide complete and accurate information. If we have inadvertently left out a firm or incorrectly reported information, or if you would like for your firm to be tabulated for the 2023 list, please contact us at editor@nclawyersweekly.com.

Lawyers Weekly would like to thank all of the firms that agreed to participate in our report. We will begin collecting data for the 2023 issue of North Carolina’s Largest Law Firms next January.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Moore & Van Allen ..............................................3

Poyner Spruill .........................................................4

Bell, Davis & Pitt .....................................................6

Womble Bond Dickinson .................................3

Nelson Mullins .......................................................4

James, McElroy & Diehl ......................................6

Legal Aid of North Carolina.............................3

Fox Rothschild........................................................4

McGuireWoods.....................................................3

Cranfıll Sumner ......................................................4

Parker Poe ................................................................3

MGC ...........................................................................5

Robinson Bradshaw ............................................3

Nexsen Pruet ..........................................................5

Smith Anderson ....................................................3

Troutman Pepper..................................................5

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings .....................7

Alston & Bird ...........................................................3

Law Offıces of James Scott Farrin .................6

Teague Campbell Dennis & Gorham ..........7

K&L Gates ................................................................3

Katten ........................................................................6

Brooks Pierce ........................................................4

Ogletree Deakins .................................................6

Kilpatrick Townsend ...........................................4

Johnston Allison Hord ........................................6

Hedrick Gardner ...................................................4

Young Moore .........................................................6

Wyrick Robbins .....................................................4

Manning Fulton ....................................................6

Ragsdale Liggett ...................................................7

Ward and Smith.....................................................4

Williams Mullen .....................................................6

Jackson Lewis .........................................................7

Tharrington Smith ................................................7 Shumaker .................................................................7 Ellis & Winters ........................................................7

King & Spalding .....................................................7 Michael Best............................................................7 Smith Debnam .......................................................7

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100 N. Tryon Street, Suite 4700

Fifth Third Center 201 N. Tryon Street, Suite 3000 Charlotte, NC 28202 (704) 343-2000 www.mcguirewoods.com

(Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan) Wells Fargo Capital Center 150 Fayetteville St. #2300 Building Raleigh, NC 27601 (919) 821-1220 https://www.smithlaw.com/

Moore & Van Allen

Charlotte, NC 28202 (704) 331-1000 www.mvalaw.com 315 attorneys Members: 162 Associates: 104 Of counsel: 40 Other attorneys: 9 North Carolina offices: Charlotte (315)

McGuireWoods

213 attorneys Partners: 86 Associates: 79 Of counsel: 48 North Carolina offices: Charlotte (169), Raleigh (44)

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5

One West Fourth Street

(Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein) Bank of America Tower 620 S. Tryon Street, Suite 800 Charlotte, NC 28202 (704) 372-9000 www.parkerpoe.com

Womble Bond Dickinson Winston-Salem, NC 27101 (336) 721-3600 www.womblebonddickinson.com/us 256 attorneys

Parker Poe

Smith Anderson

140 attorneys Partners: 80 Associates: 36 Of counsel: 17 Counsel: 3 Staff attorneys: 4 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (140)

8

Alston & Bird 101 S. Tryon St., Suite 4000 Charlotte, NC 28280 (704) 444-1000 https://www.alston.com/en/offices/ charlotte

Partners: 131 Associates: 53 Of counsel: 22 Other attorneys: 50 North Carolina offices: Winston-Salem (98), Raleigh (67), Charlotte (56), Research Triangle Park (22), Greensboro (13)

158 attorneys

110 attorneys

Partners: 91 Associates: 47 Of counsel: 20 North Carolina offices: Charlotte (93), Raleigh (65)

Partners: 41 Associates: 60 Of counsel: 8 Senior counsel: 1 North Carolina offices: Charlotte (97), Raleigh (13)

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6

224 S. Dawson St.

(Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson) 101 N. Tryon St., Suite 1900 Charlotte, NC 28246 (704) 377-2536 www.robinsonbradshaw.com

Legal Aid of North Carolina Raleigh, NC 27601 (866) 219-5262 http://www.legalaidnc.org 255 attorneys Managing attorneys: 36 Supervising attorneys/Staff attorneys: 219 North Carolina offices: Ahoskie (8), Asheville (6), Boone (6), Charlotte (22), Concord (3), Durham (42), Fayetteville (8), Gastonia (4), Greensboro (23), Greenville (8), Morganton (6), Pembroke (9), Pittsboro (8), Raleigh (63), Sylva (8), Wilmington (10), Wilson (15), Winston-Salem (6)

Robinson Bradshaw

152 attorneys Partners: 90 Associates: 47 Of counsel: 15 North Carolina offices: Charlotte (128), Chapel Hill (21), Raleigh (3)

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K&L Gates 300 South Tryon St., Suite 1000 Charlotte, NC 28202 (704) 331-7400 www.klgates.com 106 attorneys Partners: 52 Associates: 45 Of counsel: 8 Counsel: 1 North Carolina offices: Charlotte (51), Raleigh (33), Research Triangle Park (22)

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(Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard) 2000 Renaissance Plaza, 230 N. Elm St. Greensboro, NC 27401 (336) 373-8850 www.brookspierce.com

(Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton) 4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 300 Raleigh, NC 27607 (919) 781-4000 www.wyrick.com

(Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough)

95 attorneys

79 attorneys

Partners: 55 Associates: 28 Of counsel: 12 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (95)

Partners: 51 Associates: 20 Of counsel: 8 North Carolina offices: Charlotte (39), Raleigh (30), Winston-Salem (10)

Brooks Pierce

105 attorneys Partners: 76 Associates: 25 Of counsel: 3 Other: 1 North Carolina offices: Greensboro (58), Raleigh (43), Wilmington (4)

11 (tie) Kilpatrick Townsend (Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton) 1001 West Fourth Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 (404) 815-6500 www.kilpatricktownsend.com 99 attorneys Partners: 45 Associates: 24 Of counsel: 4 Other attorneys: 26 North Carolina offices: Winston-Salem (61), Raleigh (32), Charlotte (6)

11 (tie) Hedrick Gardner

(Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe & Garofalo) 6000 Fairview Rd. Suite 1000 Charlotte, NC 28210 (704) 366-1101 www.hedrickgardner.com 99 attorneys Partners: 40 Associates: 50 Of counsel: 2 Special counsel: 7 North Carolina offices: Charlotte (58), Raleigh (22), Wilmington (15), Asheville (4)

Wyrick Robbins

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Ward and Smith 1001 College Ct. P.O. Box 867 New Bern, NC 28563 800-998-1102 www.wardandsmith.com

Nelson Mullins 100 N. Tryon St., 42nd floor Charlotte, NC 28202 (704) 417-3000 803-799-2000 http://www.nelsonmullins.com

17 (tie) Fox Rothschild

230 N. Elm St., Suite 1200 Greensboro, NC 27401 (336) 378-5200 www.foxrothschild.com

94 attorneys

73 attorneys

Partners: 48 Associates: 28 Of counsel: 17 Staff attorneys: 1 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (29), New Bern (22), Wilmington (21), Greenville (12), Asheville (10)

Partners: 51 Associates: 15 Of counsel: 7 North Carolina offices: Greensboro (39), Raleigh (25), Charlotte (9)

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Poyner Spruill 301 Fayetteville St., Suite 1900 Raleigh, NC 27601 (919) 783-6400 www.poynerspruill.com 91 attorneys Partners: 65 Associates: 21 Of counsel: 5 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (59), Charlotte (18), Rocky Mount (13), Southern Pines (1)

17(tie) Cranfill Sumner

5420 Wade Park Blvd., Suite 300 Raleigh, NC 27607 (919) 828-5100 www.cshlaw.com 73 attorneys Partners: 42 Associates: 16 Of counsel: 13 Staff attorneys: 2 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (34), Charlotte (21), Wilmington (18)

5 / L ARGEST L AW FIRMS 2022

17 (tie)

N O R T H C A R O L I N A L A W Y E R S W E E K LY

(McAngus Goudelock & Courie) 6302 Fairview Rd., Suite 700 Charlotte, NC 28210 (704) 643-6303

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4141 Parklake Ave., Suite 200 Raleigh, NC 27612 (919) 755-1800 www.nexsenpruet.com

(Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders) 301 S. College St., 34th Floor Charlotte, NC 28202 704-998-4050 https://www.troutman.com/

Troutman Pepper

71 attorneys

www.mgclaw.com 73 attorneys Partners: 38 Associates: 35 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (28), Charlotte (27), Asheville (9), Wilmington (9)

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Nexsen Pruet

MGC

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Members: 46 Associates: 11 Of counsel: 2 Counsel: 4 Special counsel: 4 Senior counsel: 4 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (31), Greensboro (21), Charlotte (19)

67 attorneys Partners: 27 Associates: 34 Of Counsel: 1 Emerge attorneys: 2 Staff attorneys: 3 North Carolina offices: Charlotte (57), Raleigh (10)

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Apri l 21, 2022

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Law Offices of James Scott Farrin 280 S. Mangum St., Suite 400 Durham, NC 27701 (866) 900-7078 http://www.farrin.com 62 attorneys Partners: 24 Associates: 38 North Carolina offices: Durham (44), Raleigh (7), Greensboro (5), Charlotte (3), Asheville (1), Morganton (1), Wilson (1)

23 Katten

(Katten Muchin Rosenman) 550 S. Tryon St., Suite 2900 Charlotte, NC 28202 (704) 444-2000 Katten.com 59 attorneys Partners: 19 Associates: 22 Of counsel: 9 Other: 9 North Carolina offices: Charlotte (59)

24

Ogletree Deakins (Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart) 8529 Six Forks Rd., Forum IV, Suite 600 Raleigh, NC 27615 (919) 787-9700 www.ogletree.com 58 attorneys Shareholders: 18 Associates: 24 Of counsel: 6 Counsel: 10 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (48), Charlotte (10)

L ARGEST L AW FIRMS 2022

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28 (tie)

1065 E. Morehead St. Charlotte, NC 28204 (704) 332-1181 www.jahlaw.com

(Williams Mullen Clark & Dobbins) 301 Fayetteville St., Suite 1700 Raleigh, NC 27601 (919) 981-4000 www.williamsmullen.com

Johnston, Allison & Hord

47 attorneys Partners: 31 Associates: 15 Of counsel: 1 North Carolina offices: Charlotte (47)

26

Young Moore (Young Moore and Henderson) 3101 Glenwood Avenue, Suite 200 Raleigh, NC 27612 (919) 782-6860 www.youngmoorelaw.com

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Williams Mullen

41 attorneys Partners: 30 Associates: 10 Of counsel: 1 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (41)

28 (tie) Bell Davis Pitt

100 N. Cherry St., Suite 600 Winston-Salem, NC 27101 336-722-3700 www.belldavispitt.com

44 attorneys

41 attorneys

Shareholders: 25 Associates: 11 Of counsel: 8 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (44)

(The firm does not differentiate between partners and other categories.)

North Carolina offices: Winston-Salem (34), Charlotte (7)

27

Manning Fulton

30

(Manning Fulton & Skinner) 3605 Glenwood Ave., Suite 500 Raleigh, NC 27612 919-787-8880 www.manningfulton.com

525 N. Tryon St. Suite 700 Charlotte, NC 28202 704-372-9870 www.jmdlaw.com

42 attorneys

40 attorneys

Partners: 29 Associates: 6 Of counsel: 7 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (36), Durham (6)

Partners: 19 Associates: 11 Of counsel: 2 Income partners: 8 North Carolina offices: Charlotte (40)

James McElroy & Diehl

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Tharrington Smith Wells Fargo Building 150 Fayetteville St., Suite 1800 Raleigh, NC 27601 (919) 821-4711 www.tharringtonsmith.com 38 attorneys Partners: 28 Associates: 9 Partner/of counsel: 1 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (38)

32

Shumaker (Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick) 101 S. Tryon St., Suite 2200 Charlotte, NC 28280 704-375-0057 www.shumaker.com 37 attorneys Partners: 26 Associates: 9 Of counsel: 2 North Carolina offices: Charlotte (37)

33 (tie) Ellis & Winters

4131 Parklake Ave., Suite 400 Raleigh, NC 27612

N O R T H C A R O L I N A L A W Y E R S W E E K LY

33 (tie) Bradley Arant Boult Cummings

Truist Center, 214 North Tryon St. Suite 3700 Charlotte, NC 28202 704-338-6600 www.bradley.com 36 attorneys Partners: 22 Associates: 8 Senior attorneys: 3 Counsel: 2 Staff attorneys: 1 North Carolina offices: Charlotte (36)

36 attorneys Partners: 23 Associates: 11 Of counsel: 2 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (23) Greensboro (13)

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36 (tie) Michael Best

(Michael Best & Friedrich) 2501 Blue Ridge Rd. Suite 390 Raleigh, NC 27607 984-220-8750 31 attorneys Partners: 17 Associates: 7 Of counsel: 2 Senior counsel: 5 North Carolina offices: Raleigh [Blue Ridge] (11), Raleigh [Glenwood] (9), Wilmington (4), Greensboro (4), Charlotte (3)

38

Smith Debnam

35

Teague Campbell Dennis & Gorham 4700 Falls of Neuse Rd., Suite 450 Raleigh, NC 27609 (919) 873-0166 www.teaguecampbell.com 34 attorneys Partners: 22 Associates: 8 Of counsel: 4 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (28), Asheville (6)

36 (tie) King & Spalding

(919) 865-7000 www.elliswinters.com

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300 S. Tryon Street, Suite 1700 Charlotte, NC 28202 (704) 503-2600 www.kslaw.com 31 attorneys Partners: 14 Associates: 16 Of Counsel: 1 North Carolina offices: Charlotte (31)

(Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers) 4601 Six Forks Road, Suite 400 Raleigh NC 27609 (919) 250-2000 www.smithdebnamlaw.com 29 attorneys Partners: 19 Associates: 6 Of counsel: 4 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (29)

39

Ragsdale Liggett 2840 Plaza Place, Suite 400 Raleigh, NC 27612 (919)787-5200 www.rl-law.com 24 attorneys Partners: 15 Associates: 5 Of counsel: 4 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (24)

40

Jackson Lewis 3737 Glenwood Avenue, Suite 450 Raleigh, NC 27612 919-760-6460 www.jacksonlewis.com 20 attorneys Partners: 8 Associates: 10 Of counsel: 2 North Carolina offices: Raleigh (13), Charlotte (7)

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