Fifteen Bell, Davis & Pitt attorneys have been named to the 2019 class of Business North Carolina's Legal Elite, which recognizes the state's top lawyers in business-related categories. Attorney Jason James is honored in both litigation and construction.
Winners are selected not by Business North Carolina magazine, but by attorneys in the state. Business North Carolina sends ballots to every member of the North Carolina State Bar living in the state asking whom would they rate among the current best in select categories. Votes for oneself are not allowed, and attorneys can vote for a member of their own firm only if they vote for an attorney not within their firm as well (the latter is weighted more heavily).
Bell Davis & Pitt attorneys and their areas of practice included in the 2019 Legal Elite are:
Honorees & Recognition Area
Daniel C. Bruton — Bankruptcy
D. Anderson Carmen — Construction
Galen G. Craun, III — Business
Arthur J. DeBaugh — Intellectual Property
Andrew A. Freeman — Young Guns
Bradley Friesen — Litigation
Marc E. Gustafson — Employment
Jason B. James — Litigation & Construction
Mark A. Jones — Criminal
Mallory M. Oates — Real Estate
Walter W. Pitt, Jr. — Bankruptcy
Alan M. Ruley — Litigation
Amy K. Smith — Tax/Estate Planning
Robin J. Stinson — Family
Kevin G. Williams — Litigation
Legal Elite Hall of Fame Honorees
The top vote-getter in a given category each year becomes a member of Business North Carolina's Legal Elite Hall of Fame. The winner is ineligible to win again in the future. The following Bell, Davis & Pitt attorneys are Hall of Fame members:
Frank M. Bell, Jr. — The state's top real estate attorney in 2010.
Ward Davis — The state's top litigation attorney in 2018.
William K. (Bill) Davis — The state's top litigation attorney in 2006.