Legal Elite; These members of the bar are top-shelf: the state's best lawyers, picked by their peers, in 14 categories.

Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier PLLC, Greensboro

Charles "Buddy" O. DuBose

Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman LLP, Charlotte

Paul H. Efird III

Horack, Talley, Pharr & Lowndes PA, Charlotte

Brian P. Evans

Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman LLP, Charlotte

Edgar B. Fisher Jr.

Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, Greensboro

Walter P. Fisher Jr.

Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman LLP, Charlotte

Claude Q. Freeman Jr. (died Aug. 28)

Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte

J. Richard Hazlett

Helms Mulliss & Wicker PLLC, Charlotte

Bobby D. Hinson

Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, Charlotte

Henry H. Isaacson

Isaacson Issacson & Sheridan LLP, Greensboro

Trent Jernigan

Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, Winston-Salem

Gary K. Joyner

Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, Raleigh

R. Bruce Laney

Wyatt Early Harris Wheeler LLP, High Point

C. Steven Mason

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

B. Palmer McArthur Jr.

Moore & Van Allen PLLC, Charlotte

Ralph R. McMillan

McMillan & Terry PA, Charlotte of counsel, Hedrick Eatman Gardner & Kincheloe LLP

E. Fred McPhail Jr.

Charlotte

Charles E. Melvin Jr.

Smith Moore LLP, Greensboro

Brent M. Milgrom Jr.

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, Charlotte

J. Christopher Oates

Moore & Van Allen PLLC, Charlotte

Bailey Patrick Jr.

Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman LLP, Charlotte

James K. Pendergrass Jr.

Pendergrass Law Firm PLLC, Raleigh

Tonya Bunn Powell

Granite Development LLC, Raleigh

Robert J. Ramseur Jr.

Ragsdale Liggett PLLC, Raleigh

S. Leigh "Bo" Rodenbough IV

Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, Greensboro

Robert W. Simmons

Helms Mulliss & Wicker PLLC, Charlotte

Cheryl P. Steele

Horack, Talley, Pharr & Lowndes PA, Charlotte

Gary W. Swindell

Swindell & Jones, Charlotte

Eric A. Vernon

Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, Raleigh

Elizabeth W. Voltz

Weatherspoon & Voltz LLP, Raleigh

Donald M. VonCannon

Allman Spry Leggett & Crumpler PA, Winston-Salem

E. Garrett Walker

Smith Moore LLP, Greensboro

Michael G. Winters

Ellis & Winters LLP, Raleigh

Gary R. Wolf

Sparrow Wolf & Sparrow PA, Greensboro

TAX, ESTATE PLANNING

James W. Narron

Narron, O'Hale & Whittington PA Smithfield

Michael R. Abel

Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston PLLC, Greensboro

Jean T. Adams

Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, Winston-Salem

John F. Baron

Alston & Bird LLP, Charlotte

R. Daniel Brady

Brady, Nordgren, Morton & Malone PLLC, Raleigh

Todd Christopher Brockmann

The Brockmann Law Firm PC, Charlotte

Carole W. Bruce

Smith Moore LLP, Greensboro

Madison E. Bullard Jr.

Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLC, Raleigh

Jean Gordon Carter

Hunton & Williams LLP, Raleigh

Cornelius W. "Neil" Coghill III

Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, Charlotte

C. Michael Crisp

Grier Furr & Crisp PA, Charlotte

William R. Culp Jr.

Culp Elliott & Carpenter PLLC, Charlotte

Jasper L. "Jack" Cummings Jr.

Alston & Bird LLP, Raleigh

Mark Davidson

Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, Greensboro

Ralph J. DiLeone

DiLeone and Associates PC, Raleigh

Stuart B. Dorsett

Ward & Smith PA, Raleigh

John C. Dorsey

Manning, Fulton & Skinner PA, Raleigh

Mark B. Edwards

Poyner & Spruill LLP, Charlotte

Debra L. Foster

Essex Richards PA, Charlotte

Michael H. Godwin

Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston PLLC, Greensboro

Meg D. Goldstein

Poyner & Spruill LLP, Charlotte

James N. Greene

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, Charlotte

Julie Zydron Griggs

Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte

Robert H. Haggard

Van Winkle, Buck, Wall, Starnes & Davis PA, Hendersonville

Gregory Herman-Giddens

TrustCounsel PA, Chapel Hill

Graham D. Holding Jr.

Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte

C. Gray Johnsey

White & Allen PA, Kinston

Ronald P. Johnson

Johnson, Peddrick & McDonald PLLC, Greensboro

Joseph D. Joyner Jr.

Moore & Van Allen PLLC, Morrisville

Lisa T. Kelly (died Nov. 5)

Foster Kelly PA, Charlotte

Amy H. Kincaid

Smith Moore LLP, Greensboro

David T. Lewis

Moore & Van Allen PLLC, Charlotte

Paul H. Livingston Jr.

Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston PLLC, Greensboro

Steven B. Long

Maupin Taylor PA, Raleigh

Maria M. Lynch

Lynch & Eatman LLP, Raleigh

Neill G. McBryde

Moore & Van Allen PLLC, Charlotte

R. Williford McCauley

McCoy Weaver Wiggins Cleveland Rose Ray PLLC, Fayetteville

E. Graham McGoogan Jr.

Helms Mulliss & Wicker PLLC, Charlotte

William G. McNairy

Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, Greensboro

Robert E. Monroe

Monroe Wyne & Wallace PA, Raleigh

Arthur E. Morehead IV

Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte

Marcus L. Moxley

Vaughn Perkinson Ehlinger Moxley & Stogner LLP, Winston-Salem

Charles B. Neely Jr.

Maupin Taylor PA, Raleigh

William W. Nelson

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

F. Timothy Nicholls

Nicholls & Crampton PA, Raleigh

Richard P. Nordan

Wallace, Nordan & Sarda LLP, Raleigh

R. Anthony Orsbon

Orsbon & Fenninger LLP, Charlotte

William S. Patterson

Hunton & Williams LLP, Raleigh

George A. Ragland

Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, Winston-Salem

Christy Eve Reid

Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte

Charles L. Steel IV

Maupin Taylor PA, Durham

Kimberly H. Stogner

Vaughn Perkinson Ehlinger Moxley & Stogner LLP, Winston-Salem

Neal E. Tackaberry

Blanco Tackaberry Combs & Matamoros PA, Winston-Salem

Craig B. Wheaton

Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, Raleigh

J. Michael Wilson

Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman LLP, Charlotte

YOUNG GUNS (Under 40)

James M. Roane III

Crumley & Associates, Greensboro

Derek J. Allen

Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, Greensboro

Bradley J. Bannon

Cheshire, Parker, Schneider, Bryan & Vitale, Raleigh

Laurie B. Biggs

Stubbs & Perdue PA, Raleigh

Robert C. Bowers

Moore & Van Allen PLLC, Charlotte

Susan H. Boyles

Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, Winston-Salem

Curtis C. Brewer IV

Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman LLP, Raleigh

Martin H. Brinkley

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

Algernon Lee Butler III

Butler & Butler LLP, Wilmington

Amie Flowers Carmack

Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman LLP, Charlotte

John A. Chilson

Comerford & Britt LLP, Winston-Salem

Christopher R. Clifton

Grace Holton Tisdale & Clifton PA, Winston-Salem

Kearns Davis

U.S. Attorney's Office, Greensboro

Melanie Black Dubis

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, Raleigh

Andrew L. Fitzgerald

Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, Winston-Salem

Richard S. Gottlieb

Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, Winston-Salem

Garland G. Graham

Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston PLLC, Greensboro

James N. Greene

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, Charlotte

Gene A. Jones Jr.

Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, Durham

Norman F. Klick Jr.

Carruthers & Roth PA, Greensboro

Michael V. Lee

Smith Moore LLP, Wilmington

Erica B. Lewis

Hedrick Eatman Gardner & Kincheloe LLP, Wilmington

J. Scott Lewis

Patterson, Dilthey, Clay, Bryson & Anderson LLP, Wilmington

John I. Malone Jr.

Pinto Coates Kyre & Brown PLLC, Greensboro

Jason D. Newton

Yates, McLamb & Weyher LLP, Raleigh

John T. O'Neal

O'Neal Law Office, Greensboro

Arlene M. Reardon

Wyatt Early Harris Wheeler LLP, High Point

Joshua Bryan Royster

U.S. Attorney's Office, Raleigh

Dana E. Simpson

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

George W. Sistrunk III

Hamilton Moon Stephens Steele & Martin PLLC, Charlotte

Aaron G. Spencer

Helms Mulliss & Wicker PLLC, Raleigh

Wyatt Shorter Stevens

Roberts & Stevens PA, Asheville

Noell P. Tin

Tin Fulton Greene & Owen PLLC, Charlotte

Charles Malcolm Viser

James McElroy & Diehl PA, Charlotte

Elizabeth W. Voltz

Weatherspoon & Voltz LLP, Raleigh

Judson A. Welborn

Manning, Fulton & Skinner PA, Raleigh

Woody White

White & Hearne LLP, Wilmington

David L. Wilke

Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, Raleigh

Michael L. Wilson

Johnston, Allison & Hord PA, Charlotte

Candice Sylvette Wooten

Constangy, Brooks & Smith LLC, Winston-Salem

Jeffrey M. Young

Moore & Van Allen PLLC, Morrisville

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE EXUM

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