Gary has practiced law for over twenty-eight years, the last thirteen of which have been devoted exclusively to representing plaintiffs. After clerking for a federal judge in California, he became a litigation associate with the world's largest law firm, Baker & Mackenzie. In 1986, Gary returned to North Carolina, where he was a partner with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice. In 1995, he left "big firm" practice to begin representing individuals and small business owners, primarily against large corporate entities.

Gary holds leadership positions in several national and state legal organizations, such as the American Association for Justice, the Southern Trial Lawyers Association and the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers. Gary frequently speaks throughout the country at educational programs for lawyers, and writes articles addressing current legal trends and developments. Recent recognition includes Gary's selection to Business North Carolina's "Legal Elite", "Outstanding Lawyers of America", Litigation Counsel of America and "North Carolina Superlawyers".

PRACTICE AREAS

• Products Liability
• Class Actions
• Business Torts
• Construction Defects
• Serious Personal Injury
• Wrongful Death
• Professional Negligence

EDUCATION

CLERKSHIPS AND TEACHING EXPERIENCE

• Law Clerk, U.S. District Judge Robert P. Aguilar (N.D. Ca.) (1980-81)
• Senior Lecturing Fellow, Duke University School of Law (2002)
  

HONORS

• Business North Carolina's "Legal Elite" (2003, 2004, 2008)
• Outstanding Lawyers of America
• North Carolina "Super Lawyers" (2006, 2007, 2008) (Class Actions/Mass Torts)
• Litigation Counsel of America (Charter Fellow)
• Martindale-Hubbell AV Rating
• Who's Who in American Law

BAR ADMISSIONS

• North Carolina (1987)
• New York (1985)
• California (1979)
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th and 4th Circuits
• U.S. District Courts (Eastern, Northern, Central and Southern Districts of California; Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of North Carolina)
• International Trade Commission (1994)

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

• American Association for Justice 
   Co-Chair, Construction Defects Litigation Group 
   Member, Public Affairs Committee 
   Member, Publications Committee 
   Toxic, Environmental, and Pharmaceutical Torts   Litigation Section 
   Products Liability Section 
   Nursing Home Litigation Group
• North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers 
   Vice President - Education (2007 - present) 
   Board of Governors (2006 - present) 
   Chair, Consumer Areas of Practice Litigation Group (2003-2006) 
   President's Club 
   Professional Negligence, Nursing Home Litigation, and Products Liability Sections
• Southern Trial Lawyers Association 
   Board of Governors (2006 - present)
• North Carolina Bar Association 
   Chair, Litigation Section (2002-03) 
   Chair, International Section (1994-95) 
   Tort Reform Task Force, Member (2003-present), Co-Chair (2005-2007)
• American Bar Association 
   Litigation Section 
   Torts and Insurance Practice Section
• Mecklenburg County Bar Association
• National Association of Consumer Advocates
• Master, William Bobbitt Inn of Court (Program Chair, 2003-05)
• American Arbitration Association, Commercial Panel of Arbitrators (1985-present)

PUBLICATIONS

• "Do Business Courts Really Mean Business?" Trial (June 2006)
• "The Economic Loss Principle in Construction Defect Litigation," The Litigator (June 2005) 
• "Home, bitter sweet home," Trial (February 2005)
• "Mold Liablility - Mixed Signals," Realtor Magazine (December, 2004)
• "Arbitration of Business Disputes: Friend or Foe?" Business North Carolina (June 2004)
• "Synthetic Stucco: Litigation Alert,"  Realtor Magazine (January 2004)
• "Business Plaintiffs: Not an Oxymoron," Business North Carolina (July 2003)
• "When Bad Houses Make Good Cases," Trial (November 2002)
• "Immediate Appeal of Class Certification Orders--Should North Carolina Follow the Federal Lead?", North Carolina Sate Bar Journal (Winter 2001)
• "Evaluating and Prosecuting the 'Bad House' Case," Mealey's Construction Defects Litigation Report (September 2001)
• "North Carolina's New International Arbitration Act," Campbell Law Observer (February 1992 )
• Monthly Editorial Guest Columnist, The Charlotte Observer (1998)
• CLE Manuscripts (see programs below)

CLASSES/SEMINARS TAUGHT

• "Incivility: I know it When I See it - Double Standards that Plaintiff Lawyers Face," AAJ Convention, January 2008 (San Juan, Puerto Rico, Speaker)
• "A Steep Uphill Battle: Representing Homeowners, Consumers, and Policyholders in North Carolina," NCATL Annual Convention, June 2007 (Speaker)
• "Litigation Incivility: I Think I Know It When I See It," Litigation Counsel of America Annual Meeting, June 2007 (New York, NY) (Speaker)
• All-Star Panel, "Litigating Complex Cases in the NC Business Court," NCBA Antitrust Annual Meeting, May 2007 (Panelist)
• "Litigating Construction Defect Cases," PESI Absolute Business Torts, Litigation Conference, March 2007 (Las Vegas, NV) (Speaker)
• "Prosecuting Class Actions in Arbitration," Litigation at Sunrise, ATLA Annual Convention, July 2006 (Seattle, WA) (Speaker)
• "North Carolina's Predatory Lending Laws: An Introduction," NCATL Annual Convention, June 2006 (Moderator)
• "If You Build It They Will Come: Litigating Construction and Mold Cases," STLA Annual Conference, February 2006 (New Orleans, LA) (Speaker)
• "Construction Defects in a Nutshell," Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers Workhorse Seminar, February 2006 (Orlando, FL) (Speaker)
• "How to Spot the Sick Building Case: A Primer in Contamination and Defect," ATLA Mid-Year Convention, February 2004 (Orlando, FL) (Speaker)
• " Evaluating Toxic Mold Cases: A Primer," NCATL Mountain Magic, October 2003 (Speaker)
• "Professionalism, Civility and the Practice of Law: Are They Related?," ATLA Annual Convention, July 2003 (San Francisco, CA) (Speaker)
• "Bad Buildings and Mold -- Tying It All Together," ATLA's Litigating Toxic Mold Cases, June 2003 (Chicago, IL) (Speaker)
• "Construction Defects in 2002," Mealey's Conference, October 2002. (Atlanta, GA) (Speaker)
• "Roundtable Discussion with Superior Court Judges," NCBA Annual Meeting, June 2002 (Program Planner)
• "Analyzing and Proving Construction Damages in North Carolina," Lorman Education Series, May 2002 (Speaker)
• "The Nuts and Bolts of Products Liability Litigation," NCATL, May 2002 (Speaker)
• "Toxic Mold: A Legal Primer," Community Associations Institute's National Conference, May 2002 (Dallas, TX) (Speaker)
• "Toxic Mold and Construction Defects," NCATL, March 2002 (Program Planner and Speaker)
• "Alternative Dispute Resolution," NCATL, March 2002 (Speaker)
• "When Bad Houses Make Good Cases," Litigation at Sunrise, ATLA Mid-year Convention, February 2002 (Miami, FL) (Speaker)
• "Synthetic Stucco Litigation," Litigation at Sunrise ATLA Annual Convention, July 1999 (San Francisco, CA) (Speaker)
• "Advanced Synthetic Stucco: Trial and Beyond," NCBA, May 1999 (Speaker)
• "Synthetic Stucco Litigation from the Plaintiff's Perspective," NCBA, April 1998 (Speaker)
• "Synthetic Stucco Class Action: Opt in or Opt Out," NCATL, September 1997 (Speaker)
• "The Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments," NCBA, February 1993 (Speaker)

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLISHED OPINIONS

• Pitts v. American Security Insurance 569 S.E.2d 647 (N.C., 2002)
• Gaynoe v. First Union Corporation 571 S.E.2d 24 (N.C. App., 2002)
• Lienhart v. Dryvit Systems, Inc., 255 F.3d 138 (4th cir. 2001)
  

CIVIC ACTIVITIES

• Chair, YMCA Board of Directors (Winston-Salem) (1993-95)
• Chair, Forsyth County Democratic Party (1991-93)
• Member, East Winston-Community Development Corporation Board of Directors (1993-95)
• Fellow, North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership (1990)
• Member, YMCA of Greater Charlotte Public Policy Committee (1996-98)

Hobbies: Cajun cooking, politics, Southern fiction
Born: Center, Texas, November 9, 1954