Candidate Biography (submitted by campaign):

I grew up in Laurinburg, a small town in Southeastern North Carolina.

Dad worked in textiles; Mom was a school teacher.  They gave me, my brother and sister a lot of love.  They worked hard to give their children good values and an opportunity to succeed in life. 

I went to work on the farms of Scotland County at the age of twelve.  Over the next ten years, my summers included detasseling corn, hoeing peppers, cropping tobacco, and scouting cotton.

I was blessed with good teachers in the public schools of Scotland County.  With scholarships and the support of my parents, I was able to attend and graduate from Wake Forest University.

With the encouragement of James Mason (a prominent local attorney), I attended and graduated from Wake Forest University School of Law.  I paid for law school through a scholarship, loans, and work at a Winston-Salem restaurant.

For the past 22 years, I have worked as an attorney, with a focus on employment law.  My experience has included work in a large firm (Womble Carlyle), a mid-sized firm, and now as a solo practitioner. My practice has given me the opportunity to represent individuals, businesses and local governments. 

I have tried cases all across North Carolina, and have achieved recognition as one of the state's leading employment lawyers.

I have also been active in my community, as a County Commissioner, Chairman of the Davie Hospital Board of Trustees, and on various charitable and civic boards.

In 2004, I ran for governor.  As part of that campaign, I walked 582 miles across North Carolina. I met many wonderful people and experienced the beauty of our state.

My home is in Davie County. My wife, Kathleen, and I have been blessed with two children, a son (15), and a daughter (10). 

My 582 mile walk across North Carolina was a remarkable experience.  I was awed by the beauty of our state, and deeply enriched by the good people I met along the way.

Our citizens deserve a government as good as they are.  They deserve a court system that is as fair and impartial, and that provides justice tempered by mercy.

I have a conservative judicial philosophy.  I will not legislate from the bench. You can trust that I will be fair and impartial.  And I will work to bring needed reforms to the court system.

My legal qualifications will allow me to contribute immediately to the fair interpretation and application of the law.  In addition to extensive trial and appellate experience, I have authored North Carolina Employment Law, the only comprehensive guide to employment law issues in the state; chaired the Labor & Employment Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association; and have received an "AV" rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest legal rating given.

But legal qualifications are not enough; judges need to understand how their decisions impact people's lives. Life experiences, and what you learn from those experiences, allow you to go beyond reading the law to understanding how the law impacts those who appear before you.

My life experiences give me the needed perspective to understand the issues that affect our citizens. I am no stranger to struggles and hard work. I have served as a public servant in my capacity as a county commissioner and hospital trustee. I will not be isolated from the citizens whose cases I hear. 

If elected, I will give those who appear before the Court of Appeals the respect and fairness they deserve.