Mr. Marc E. Gustafson

Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Gustafson joined the law firm of Alston & Bird, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia. Alston & Bird is a national law firm with more than 900 lawyers and is recognized as one of the top law firms in the country. At Alston & Bird, Mr. Gustafson was a member of the Securities Litigation Group and specialized in litigating class actions involving claims of securities fraud, commercial disputes between businesses, and representing officers and directors.

In 2005, Mr. Gustafson returned to his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina and joined Kennedy, Covington, Lobdell & Hickman, LLP (now K&L Gates). There, Mr. Gustafson specialized in financial services litigation, public company board representation, and credit and lending disputes.Mr. Gustafson was recruited to join the legal team of LendingTree, LLC in Charlotte, NC. At LendingTree, Mr. Gustafson managed the company's litigation portfolio. He also managed the company's mergers and acquisitions activity and negotiated numerous contracts on behalf of LendingTree.

Mr. Gustafson is licensed to practice law in the states of North Carolina and Georgia and is admitted to the following courts: North Carolina state courts; the Western District of North Carolina; the Eastern District of North Carolina; Georgia state courts; the United States District Court for Northern District of Georgia; and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

In addition to his successful legal career, has been an active member of the Charlotte community. Mr. Gustafson was elected to the University of North Carolina Board of Visitors, following a successful stint as the chairperson of the UNC Young Alumni Club. He is an active volunteer with the Charlotte Arts & Science Council, as a basic Operating Grant Panelist, a 2008 graduate of Cultural Leadership Training, a former chairperson of the Young Donors Society, a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, chair of the Public Art Commission and a member of the ASC's board of directors. He also served as a board member for the McColl Center for Visual Art and was the founding chairperson of the Contemporaries. In November 2009, Mr. Gustafson was named Young Benefactor of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.He has been very active with, and raised thousands of dollars for, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program. He is a member of the board of The Spokes Group, which distributes almost 2,000 bicycles a year through the Salvation Army Christmas Bureau. He is also Executive Director of Charlotte Viewpoint. In 2012, Mr. Gustafson ran for Mecklenburg County Commission at Large.

At Essex Richards, Mr. Gustafson's practice focuses on general litigation and commercial disputes related to breaches of contracts, trade secrets, breaches of fiduciary duty and all types of employment matters. Mr. Gustafson advises business owners on contract negotiations and drafting and employment matters. He also represents both the employers and employees with regard to non-compete disputes, severance agreements and discrimination and wage and hour claims. Member: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Bar Association.