It feels cool to be named one of the Top 25 attorneys in Charlotte (of any kind), and oen of the Top 100 attorneys in all of North Carolina of (of any kind) by Super Lawyers.
I have written this before, but what I like about the Charlotte legal community is that it is a merit-based town.  If you’re good, you prosper.  There are other towns in the Southeast where it matters more what your name or pedigree is.
In 1994, when I decided to hang my own shingle and try to be a criminal defense lawyer, I called the prominent defense lawyers in town and asked to pick their brains.  Every single one of them — Eben Rawls, Theo Nixon, Jim Cooney, Harold Bender, Jim Gronquist and others — graciously met with me and answered all my basic questions.
So nowadays I am trying to be a good mentor to the younger crop of criminal defense lawyers in Charlotte, who are tackling the task of defending the Constitution one client at a time.
And here’s the legalese we have to post when we are named:
Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.
Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.
The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country. Super Lawyers Magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law. For more information about Super Lawyers, visit SuperLawyers.com.)