Candidate Biography (submitted by candidate):

In 2002, I was elected to the Court of Appeals by more than a million North Carolina citizens.  In 2004, the American Association on Mental Retardation gave me its highest honor, the Dybwad Humanitarian Award.  In 2005, I received the Outstanding Appellate Judge Award from the N.C. Advocates for Justice.  In 2007, Chief Justice Parker appointed me to serve on the Family Court Advisory Council.  I also served for nine years on the N.C. Bar Association's Appellate Rules Committee, a committee making recommendations to the N.C. Supreme Court regarding rules of appellate procedure. 

Prior to my election, I worked in private practice for 19 years, representing both individuals and businesses in their complex civil disputes in the state and federal courts, both at trial and on appeal.  I first practiced with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, a nationally recognized commercial litigation firm in New York.  From 1986 through 1991, I was an attorney with Smith, Patterson, Follin, Curtis, James, Harkavy & Lawrence in Greensboro and Raleigh.  I helped found Patterson, Harkavy & Lawrence, LLP, in 1991 and served as a member of its management committee. 

I was included in The Best Lawyers in America in 2002 and was named as one of the top 200 lawyers in North Carolina by Business North Carolina in 2002 and 2003.  Throughout my career, both as a judge and as a lawyer, I have regularly been asked to teach on appellate and trial practice at continuing legal education seminars attended not only by lawyers, but also judges.  

I received my law degree with high honors in 1983 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where I attended on a full scholarship as a Morehead Fellow.  For my undergraduate degree, I graduated summa cum laude from Bryn Mawr College in 1980.

I want to thank the N.C. Center for Voter Education and UNC-TV for their commitment to providing North Carolina's citizens with the information necessary to make an informed choice when voting for appellate judges.  And, thank you to everyone reading this statement for taking the time to learn more about the judicial candidates.  These are such important races.

Since joining the Court of Appeals, I have participated in deciding over 2,000 appeals.  Of the more than 700 opinions that I have personally authored, which decided the appeal, the Supreme Court has disagreed with my decision less than 2% of the time.  I am committed to taking the time to fully understand the details of each appeal before writing a quality, impartial decision.  It is my goal to ensure that all parties are fully heard and that my opinions are a clear and concise expression of the law.

Throughout my career, I have strived to bring to my work enthusiasm, energy, and a dedication to quality, both during my years as a civil and business litigator and now on the Court of Appeals.  I have received the endorsements of, among others, former Chief Justices James G. Exum, Jr., Henry E. Frye, and Burley B. Mitchell, Jr., former Chief Judge Sidney S. Eagles, Jr., other former appellate judges, the Police Benevolent Association, the N.C. Troopers Association, the North Carolina Association of Educators, and the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys.

Because of my experience, I am one of only a few judges on the North Carolina Supreme Court and the North Carolina Court of Appeals who has the knowledge and experience to handle both appeals deciding individual citizens' rights and also appeals addressing complex disputes involving businesses critical to our state's economy.  I ask for your support and your vote.