H. Lee Davis, Jr.

For more than forty years, Lee has litigated a wide variety of matters, including medical and professional malpractice, products liability, municipal liability, asbestos defense, insurance coverage, and employment matters. He has put a special emphasis on litigating matters involving technical matters and catastrophic commercial trucking litigation, where his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering has served him well. Lee is the senior member of the Firm’s Rapid Response Team, available 24/7 for catastrophic accident investigation.

Lee has tried over two hundred cases to verdict in North Carolina state and federal courts. In addition to representing his clients at trial, Lee has argued numerous cases before the North Carolina Court of Appeals, North Carolina Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. In 1988, Lee argued the landmark case of Patterson v. McLean Credit Union before the United States Supreme Court.

Lee was certified in 1994 as a Mediator for proceedings in North Carolina Superior Court and has extensive experience in mediating many types of complex cases. Lee also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Wake Forest University, where he taught Advanced Trial Practice from 1995 to 2013 and has participated as a faculty member of the Southeastern Section of The National Institute of Trial Advocacy. Lee has organized and presented at many CLE seminars and has also given presentations to non-profit organizations, municipal agencies, law enforcement agencies and insurance carriers on current legal and claims issues.

Lee is an AV rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating that can be attained, and a North Carolina Super Lawyer from 2011 through 2019. Lee is an active member of the NC Association of Defense attorneys and the Trucking Industry Defense Association. Additionally, Lee is a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, an invitation-only, international organization composed of recognized leaders in the legal community who have achieved professional distinction.

He has served as a Member of the Wake Forest University School of Law Board of Visitors and as Chairman of that group. Lee is happily married to Patsy, Executive Director of a non profit community action agency, and is father to Trey and Chrissy and a proud Big Daddy to his five beautiful granddaughters.

Professional Associations

• Defense Research Institute
• Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel
• Forsyth County Bar Association
• North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys
• North Carolina Bar Association (Litigation Committee; Trial Practice Curriculum Committee)
• North Carolina Trucking Association
• Transportation Lawyers Association
• Trucking Industry Defense Association

Professional and Community Activities

• Adjunct Professor, Wake Forest University School of Law (1995-2013)
• Faculty, National Institute of Trial Advocacy (Southeast Region, 2001-Present)
• North Carolina Bar Association, Trial Practice Curriculum (Chairman, 2001-2002)
• Board of Visitors, Wake Forest University School of Law (2003-2013; Chairman, 2012-2013)
• Former Member, Board of Trustees, Baptist Children's Homes of North Carolina (1987-2005; Chairman 1991, 1995)
• Member, Knollwood Baptist Church (Deacon, Sunday School Teacher, Men's Choir)
• Volunteer: Habitat for Humanity, Samaritan Inn, Crisis Control Ministries

• Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, 485 U.S. 617 (1988) ; re-argued, 491 U.S. 164 (1989); 42 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 659 (M.D.N.C. 1985), aff’d, 805 F.2d 1143 (4th Cir. 1986); on remand from Sup. Ct., 887 F.2d 484 (4th Cir. 1989), on remand from 4th Cir., 729 F. Supp. 35 (M.D.N.C. 1990); denial of motion to re-open state-law claims, 130 F.R.D. 617 (M.D.N.C. 1990), remanded for further proceedings, 1991 U.S. App. LEXIS 8274 (4th Cir. 1991); on remand, summary judgment granted 784 F. Supp. 268 (M.D.N.C. 1992), summary judgment aff’d, 29 F.3d 515 (4th Cir. 1994).
• Fowler v. Hutchings, 18 Fed. Appx. 182, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 20397 (4th Cir. 2001)
• Freeze v. VA, 20 Fed. Appx. 137, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 21030 (4th Cir. 2001)
• Denny v. Combs, 1994 U.S. App. LEXIS 27754 (4th Cir. 1994)
• Campbell v. McLean Trucking Co., Civ. No. 86-3956, 862 F.2d 313 (4th Cir. Nov. 3, 1988)
• Williford v. Armstrong World Indus., 715 F.2d 124 (4th Cir. 1983)
• Appling v. Alleghany County, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44740 (W.D.N.C. 2013)
• Johnson v. Triad Design Grp., P.A., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91995 (W.D.N.C. 2012)
• QBE Spec. Ins. Co. v. FSI, Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47042 (W.D.N.C. 2011)
• Eberhart v. Gettys, 215 F. Supp. 2d 666 (M.D.N.C. 2002); for attorney’s fees and costs, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9334 (M.D.N.C. 2003)
• Hanks v. Coan, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16910 (M.D.N.C. 1999)
• Halter v. J.C. Penny Life Ins. Co., 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21386 (M.D.N.C. 1999)
• Darling v. Savers Life Ins. Co., 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 35094 (4th Cir. 1997) (oral argument), cert. denied 524 U.S. 927 (1998).
• Mashburn v. 2001 Enterprises, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19657 (M.D.N.C. 1995)
• Therrell v. Cameron, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20294 (M.D.N.C. 1997)
• Boudreau v. Baughman, 322 N.C. 331, 368 S.E.2d 849, CCH Prod. Liab. Rep. P11, 895, 6 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (Callaghan) 1393 (1988)
• Nowlin v. Moravian Church in Am., ____N.C. App. ___, 745 S.E.2d 51, 2013 N.C. App. LEXIS 760 (2013)
• Creed v. Smith, ___N.C. App. ___, 732 S.E.2d 162, 2012 N.C. App. LEXIS 1018 (2012)
• Parker v. C.C. Mangum Co. (In re Estate of Bullock), 188 N.C. App. 518, 655 S.E.2d 869 (2007)
• McDaniel v. McBrayer, 164 N.C. App. 379, 595 S.E.2d 784 (2004)
• Barnes v. Erie Ins. Exch., 156 N.C. App. 270, 576 S.E.2d 681 (2003)
• Pierce v. Johnson, 154 N.C. App. 34, 571 S.E.2d 661 (2003)
• Mims v. Wright, 157 N.C. App. 339, 578 S.E.2d 606 (2003)
• Hulse v. Arrow Trucking Co., 161 N.C. App. 306, 587 S.E.2d 898 (2003)
• Fulcher v. Willard’s Cab Co., 132 N.C. App. 74, 511 S.E.2d 9 (1999)
• Bledsoe v. Wilkes County, 135 N.C. App. 124, 519 S.E.2d 316 (1999)
• Forsyth Memorial Hosp. v. Armstrong World Indus., 107 N.C. App. 110, 418 S.E.2d 529 (1992); rev’d in part and granted in part, 336 N.C. 438, 444 S.E.2d 423 (1994); appeal after remand, 122 N.C. App. 413, 470 S.E.2d 826 (1996).
• Scales v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 119 N.C. App. 787, 460 S.E.2d 201 (1995)
• Enns v. Zayre Corp., 116 N.C. App. 687, 449 S.E.2d 478 (1994)
• Robinson v. General Mills Restaurants, 110 N.C. App. 633, 430 S.E.2d 696 (1993)
• Lusk v. Crawford Paint Co., 106 N.C. App. 292, 416 S.E.2d 207 (1992)
• Crews v. W.A. Brown & Son, Inc., 106 N.C. App. 324, 416 S.E.2d 924 (1992)
• Williams v. Hillhaven Corp., 91 N.C. App. 35, 370 S.E.2d 423 (1988)
• B.B. Walker v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., 84 N.C. App. 552, 353 S.E.2d 425 (1987)
• Hill v. Pack, 66 N.C. App. 708, 311 S.E.2d 697 (1984)
• McNair Construction v. Fogle Bros., 64 N.C. App. 282, 307 S.E.2d 200 (1983)
• Gentry v. Hill, 57 N.C. App. 151, 290 S.E.2d 777 (1982)

• North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys Continuing Legal Education, Advanced Interrogation Techniques: Getting the Most Out of the Deponent; Feb. 21, 2013.
• North Carolina Bar Association Foundation Continuing Legal Education, Mentally Jousting with a Fully Armed Opponent: Cross-Examination of Expert Witnesses; Feb. 2, 2002 and Nov. 1, 2004.
• North Carolina Bar Association Foundation Continuing Legal Education, An Apple a Day: Good Medicine for Lawyers, Nov. 1, 2002 (program planner and speaker).
• North Carolina Bar Association Foundation Continuing Legal Education, Medicine on Trial: Experts, the Bar, and the Bench on Hot Topics in Medical Evidence, Topic: Fibromyalgia Evidence, Mar. 26, 1999
• North Carolina Bar Association Foundation Continuing Legal Education, The Auto Insurance Policy: The ABCs to the UIMs, Feb. 25, 2000 (program planner).

Martindale-Hubbell® AV-Preeminent® Peer Review Rating™ of 5 out of 5

Member, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel

Faculty Member, National Institute of Trial Advocacy (Southeast Region 2001-Present)

North Carolina Super Lawyer, 2011-2013, 2015-2023