
A total of 11 attorneys from Bell, Davis & Pitt have been included in the 2021 edition of Business North Carolina's "Legal Elite" and "Hall of Fame." This year’s Legal Elite class represents fewer than 4% of the state’s 28,000 active attorneys.
The annual directory of Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite, now in its 20th year, is based on the voting results of ballots distributed to every active member of the N.C. State Bar residing within the state. Attorneys are then asked whom they rate among the current best in business-related categories. Attorneys can’t vote for themselves, but they may select members within their firm as long as they vote for an out-of-firm attorney in the same category.
Bell, Davis & Pitt attorneys included in the 2021 Legal Elite are:
Galen G. Craun for Business
Arthur “Art” J. DeBaugh for Intellectual Property
Joshua “Josh” B. Durham for Appellate
Marc E. Gustafson for Employment
Jason B. James for Litigation
Alan M. Ruley for Litigation
Robin J. Stinson for Family
The Legal Elite Hall of Fame honors previous top vote-getters in a specific practice area. The winner is ineligible to win again in the same practice area in the future. Jason James, who was recognized as the 2020 Legal Elite winner in construction, is included for the first time in the Hall of Fame. Bell, Davis & Pitt attorneys in the Hall of Fame are:
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.
Jason James — The state’s top construction attorney in 2020.
The full Legal Elite directory can be found in the January 2021 issue of Business North Carolina.