Mr. McGrath has been rated by Martindale-Hubbell as well. That organization rated Mr. McGrath’s ethics as “Very High” and his legal ability as “High to Very High”.
LICENSURE
Mr. McGrath is licensed in North Carolina, his native state of Florida, in Tennessee, and in Federal Court.
AREAS OF PRACTICE
Mr. McGrath provides services in numerous areas of the law. This includes, but is not limited to: business law, business formation, business litigation, trademarks, and contracts; mortgage matters such as mortgage loan modification and relief, mortgage foreclosures, and mortgage disputes; debt, credit, collections and FDCPA; employment law; wills; and general practice.
EXPERIENCE
Mr. McGrath has been practicing law continuously since 1996. He spent five (5) years as an “assistant DA”, and was consistently near the top with regard to the number of trials completed and the percentage of trials won. After being recruited into a highly rated private firm, Mr. McGrath was promoted and named managing partner of one of the firm’s offices. In 2009, he started his own firm.
Mr. McGrath has tried over 100 cases to completion, has prepared over 10,000 legal documents for clients, has participated in thousands of depositions (including hundreds of expert depositions), and has represented the public, private individuals, and businesses.
EDUCATION
Mr. McGrath has a Doctorate of Jurisprudence (law degree) from Florida State University, class of 1996. From 1989 through 1993, he attended Florida State as an undergrad, earning a bachelor’s in Political Science, a bachelor’s in International Affairs, and a minor in Spanish.
In law school, Mr. McGrath was part of a two person Moot Court team which won a National Moot Court Competition in Beverly Hills, California. During his undergraduate years, he was a member and officer in the Sigma Chi fraternity. Mr. McGrath was admitted into Florida State University’s Honors Program and attended Florida State on various scholarships, including a National Merit Scholarship.
PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS, ACTIVITIES, AND PUBLICATIONS
Mr. McGrath is on the Board of Directors for the Mecklenburg County Bar, an agency of the State which has approximately 5,500 members. He is also a member of the Continuing Legal Education task force and the Member Inclusion and Engagement sub-committee. He is a past Chair of the Mecklenburg County Bar’s Social and Networking Committee and past Chair and Vice-Chair of the Mecklenburg County Bar’s Sole Practitioner and Small Firm Section. In 2013, Mr. McGrath served on the Mecklenburg County Bar’s nominating committee and has served on various other panels.
Mr. McGrath received Outstanding Trial Performance medals from a national corporate client multiple times over the course of multiple years, having won verdicts in multimillion dollar cases.
Mr. McGrath is a member in good standing of the American Bar Association, the Florida Bar, the North Carolina State Bar, the North Carolina Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar, the Mecklenburg County Bar, and several Federal Bars. He is also a member of various sections of these Bars
An avid reader and writer, Mr. McGrath has had a number of writings published by professional publications, including the American Bar Association, North Carolina Bar Association Real Property Section, the North Carolina Bar Journal, The Defense Speaks (a civil litigation defense manual), the Trial Advocate Quarterly (Florida), and the Mecklenburg County Bar Newsletter, among others. He also regularly produces blog articles and videos.
Mr. McGrath has provided free legal information to the public, teaches Certified Legal Education classes to other lawyers, presents to new lawyers as part of their professional orientation process, and has served as a speaker/panelist for various professional groups. The topics he has published or presented on include the following:
• Ethics and ethical compliance;
• Professionalism and the practice of law;
• Preparing witnesses for testimony;
• Arbitration and mediation;
• Whether Atticus Finch committed legal malpractice (yes!);
• Partitions of real property;
• Foreclosures when the loan note is missing;
• Dealing with loan servicers and lenders in situations involving inherited real property and loan delinquencies;
• Statutory privileges for certain information related to healthcare providers and their quality of care and risk management;
• Initial client consultations;
• Expanding a law firm; and
• Lawyers’ use of technology to better and more efficiently serve clients.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Mr. McGrath was voted Chairperson of the City of Charlotte’s Civil Service Board in 2012, after being voted onto that Board in 2011. His time on the Board ended in late 2017 due to term limits. The Civil Service Board has jurisdiction over certain employment matters such as hirings, firings, promotions, demotions, etc. for the Charlotte – Mecklenburg Police Department and Charlotte Fire Department and has certain quasi-judicial and administrative powers. For example, Mr. McGrath occasionally presideds over quasi-judicial hearings (typically lasting 2 – 3 days) during which he would serve in a role similar to both judge and jury foreperson.
Starting in 1996, Mr. McGrath has been invited to present to schools, community groups, government agencies, medical professionals and to other lawyers on various topics.
