Don is a commercial litigation and construction litigation attorney who represents businesses, financial institutions, contractors, developers, and project participants in high-stakes disputes throughout North Carolina, Virginia, and the eastern United States. He helps clients resolve complex business disputes, construction disputes, banking litigation, creditor rights matters, secured lending disputes, and other commercial conflicts through practical strategy, disciplined advocacy, and a clear focus on business outcomes.
Don works closely with executives, in-house counsel, business owners, lenders, contractors, and developers to understand their objectives, assess risk, and develop strategies that fit the dispute and the business realities behind it. Whether a matter calls for early resolution, arbitration, trial, or appeal, he helps clients evaluate options, protect leverage, and pursue outcomes that align with their legal and commercial goals.
Clients turn to Don when litigation presents meaningful financial exposure, operational disruption, project risk, or reputational concern. He brings extensive experience in state and federal courts, appellate courts, mediation, and arbitration, and he is known for translating complex disputes into practical, client-centered litigation strategies.
His commercial litigation practice includes contract disputes, business torts, shareholder disputes, trade secret litigation, employment non-competition disputes, class action defense, commercial fraud claims, and other complex business conflicts in state and federal courts.
In construction litigation, Don represents general contractors, subcontractors, developers, owners, sureties, lenders, and other project participants in disputes involving payment, contract interpretation, project delays, performance claims, design defects, defective construction, lien and bond claims, and project risk.
Don also represents banks, non-bank financial institutions, lenders, and special servicers in financial services litigation and secured lending disputes, including commercial loan enforcement, consumer lending claims, asset recovery, lien avoidance actions, fraudulent transfer claims, and creditor rights litigation.
He has appeared in courts across the eastern United States and before leading arbitration forums, and he has handled appeals before the North Carolina Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of North Carolina, the Supreme Court of Virginia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
While maintaining a busy regional litigation practice, Don taught trial advocacy at Wake Forest University School of Law for many years and coached law student trial teams in national competitions. He frequently writes and speaks on issues affecting state and federal civil practice and has served in leadership positions at the state and national levels through the North Carolina Bar Association and the American Bar Association.