MEMBERS OF FIRM
J. David James (Member) born Louisville, Kentucky, 1944; admitted to bar, 1971, North Carolina; 1974, U.S. Supreme Court. Education: Davidson College (B.A., 1966); University of North Carolina (J.D., with honors, 1971). Order of the Coif. Member, Board of Editors and Business Manager, North Carolina Law Review, 1970-1971. Listed in the Best Lawyers of America, Labor and Employment Law Section. Member: North Carolina Bar Association; North Carolina Advocates for Justice. [U.S. Army, active duty, 1966-1968]. Reported Cases: Chauffeurs, Teamsters and Helpers, Local No. 391 v. Terry, 494 U.S. 558 (1990); Middleton v. Russell Group, Ltd., 132 N.C.App. 792 (1999). Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Labor Law; Employment Law; Constitutional Rights.
Margaret F. Rowlett (Member) born Abingdon, Virginia; admitted to bar, 1990, North Carolina. Education: Emory & Henry College (B.A., summa cum laude, 1986); Duke University (M.A., Public-Policy Sciences, 1990; J.D., 1990). NCDRC Certified Superior Court Mediator. Listed in Best Lawyers in America, 2010 edition, in the specialty of Workers' Compensation Law. Board Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation, North Carolina State Board of Legal Specialization. Member: North Carolina Advocates for Justice; North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Workers Compensation; Negligence; Employment Law.
Seth R. Cohen (Member) born Atlanta, Georgia, 1957; admitted to bar, 1991, North Carolina; 1997, U.S. Supreme Court. Education: University of Georgia (B.A., magna cum laude, 1978; A.B.J., Journalism, 1979 ); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (J.D., with highest honors, 1991). Phi Beta Kappa; Phi Kappa Phi; Order of the Coif; Order of the Barristers; Carolyn B. Davis Society. Adjunct Professor, Wake Forest University School of Law, 1999. General Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina. Member: Greensboro and North Carolina Bar Associations; North Carolina Advocates for Justice; Greensboro Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; State and Federal Criminal Defense; Civil and Constitutional Rights; Labor and Employment Law; Capital Litigation.
OF COUNSEL
Norman B. Smith (Of Counsel) born Iron Mountain, Michigan, 1938; admitted to bar, 1965, North Carolina; 1969, U.S. Supreme Court. Education: University of North Carolina (A.B., 1960); Harvard University (LL.B., cum laude, 1965). Phi Beta Kappa. Listed in the Best Lawyers of America, first amendment law and labor and employment law sections. Recipient: Norman B. Smith Award, The North Carolina Civil Liberties Union, January, 1993; Frank Porter Graham Award, The North Carolina Civil Liberties Union, 1978. Author: "A Plea for the Total Ban of Land Mines by International Treaty," 17 Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Journal 507, 1995; "Constitutional Rights of Students, Their Families and Teachers in the Public Schools," 10 Campbell Law Review 353, 1988; "The Death Penalty as an Unconstitutional Deprivation of Life and the Right to Privacy," 25 Boston College Law Review 743, 1984; "Age Discrimination," 29 Am. Jur. Trials, 1982; "...Shall Make No Law Abridging...: An Analysis of the Neglected, But Nearly Absolute, Right of Petition," 54 University of Cincinnati Law Review 1153, 1985. Co-Author: with Smith and Gebala, "Job Security for Public Employees," 31 Washington & Lee Law Review 545, 1974; with Smith and Singer, "Limitations on Federal Judicial Power," 14 Wake Forest Law Review 711, 1978; with Sith and Leggette, "Recent Issues in Litigation Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act," 41 Ohio State Law Journal 349, 1980; Domestic Relations, N.C. Law Practice System, 1984; Collections, N.C. Law Practice System, 1984; with William A. Carroll, "American Constitutional Rights," University Press of America, 1991. Visiting Lecturer, University of North Carolina School of Law, 1979. Extern Professor, Vermont Law School, 1985. Member: Greensboro, North Carolina (Chair, Antitrust and Trade Regulation Section, 1997-1998) and American Bar Associations. [U.S. Navy, active duty, 1960-1962]. Reported Cases: Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S. 543 (1968); Bishop v. Wood, 426 U.S. 341 (1976); Re Little, 404 U.S. 553 (1972); Jones v. North Carolina Prisoners Labor Union, Inc., 433 U.S. 119 (1977); Lorillard v. Pons, 434 U.S. 575 (1978); Springer v. Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co., 510 F.2d 468 (4th Cir. 1975); U.S. v. Snider, 502 F.2d 645 (4th Cir. 1974); In Re Hennis, 276 N.C. 571, 173 S.E.2d 785 (1970); Woodson v. Rowland, 329 N.C. 330, 407 S.E.2d 222 (1991). Practice Areas: Civil Trials; Antitrust; Employment; Constitutional; Environmental; Shareholder and Investor Rights; Negligence; Product Liability.
All attorneys of the firm are licensed by the North Carolina State Bar.