Phelps Expands Litigation and Business Support for Clients in the Carolinas
This announcement was covered by Law.com and Law360.com.
RALEIGH — August 29, 2024 — As leading businesses continue to make North Carolina their home because of its robust economy, strategic location and tax advantages, Phelps welcomes six lawyers to its Raleigh office to support the business and litigation needs of companies in the region.
Phelps opened in North Carolina’s capital city in September 2011 to support the growing economy and businesses in the region, by assisting insurers, underwriters, claims professionals and brokers in North and South Carolina. The Firm’s lawyers are attuned to the state’s changing laws and regulatory environment and provide counseling, dispute resolution and litigation services to help Carolina-based businesses to help them successfully establish their foothold, expand their operations and protect their interests.
With these new Raleigh office additions, Phelps has moved beyond its insurance roots and now has nearly 20 local lawyers advising clients in its six core practice areas of admiralty, business, health care, insurance, labor and employment and litigation. This strategic growth continues to strengthen Phelps’ ability to meet clients’ regional business and litigation needs and has enabled the Raleigh office to maximize its interconnection with offices throughout the Firm’s footprint. This growth leads to the office’s planned end-of-the-year move into a bigger office that will accommodate the Firm’s future growth plans.
Speaking about the growing Phelps team, the Firm’s Managing Partner, Marshall Redmon, said, “Listening to the needs of our clients is what drives our growth, and the addition of these six lawyers in the Carolinas expands our employment, business counseling, and litigation services provided to insurance and other industry clients.”
About the New Phelps Lawyers
Patrick M. Meacham (partner) is a key addition to Phelps’ litigation team in North Carolina and offers trial support and litigation experience to clients throughout the region. As a trial lawyer, Pat manages a diverse litigation practice that supports clients in areas such as professional negligence, products and premises liability, catastrophic personal injury and mass torts. He has been practicing in Raleigh for more than 25 years and brings deep local knowledge.
Hospitals and health care providers rely on Pat when they face professional malpractice and negligence suits and administrative actions before state regulators. Drawing from his knowledge of the state’s health care industry, he helps hospitals manage costly risks, maintain their credentials, strengthen their policies and procedures and train their workforce.
Pat also provides guidance to clients seeking assistance after catastrophic injury events such as plant explosions, industrial accidents, building collapses, fires, natural gas and electrical incidents. He represents multiple Fortune 500 clients in industries such as manufacturing, utilities, food and beverage, construction and consumer products.
Tyler C. Radtke (associate) defends clients in commercial litigation, products liability and premises liability suits. Tyler handles civil litigation from pre-suit through trial. With more than a decade of practice in Raleigh, he is experienced in navigating the state courts at the trial and appellate levels.
He supports clients though his pre-trial preparation, which includes conducting depositions of plaintiffs, fact witnesses and expert witnesses, preparing briefs and delivering oral arguments as part of his motions practice. Tyler has represented clients in industries such as food and beverage, insurance, intellectual property and transportation.
Maeve Healy (associate) represents clients in disputes arising from professional negligence, premises liability and products liability. Before joining Phelps, Maeve served as an assistant district attorney with the Johnston County District Attorney’s Office in North Carolina, where she prosecuted criminal misdemeanor cases. She represented the district attorney’s office in 15 bench trials. Maeve recently served as head coach of Campbell University Law School’s International Arbitration Program. She is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
Tyler, Maeve and Pat are building a robust regional litigation team with Jonathan E. Hall (partner), who has practiced with Pat previously. Jonathan is a trial lawyer who came to Phelps in October 2023 to focus on complex commercial disputes and products liability. In addition to trial work, he provides risk management guidance to corporate and insurance clients and pre-market advice to product manufacturers.
Jonathan represents clients in state and federal courts throughout the Carolinas and Virginia and across the country. He assists businesses with their litigation needs in higher education, construction, clean energy, electric utilities, hazardous chemicals and health care. Jonathan has been practicing in Raleigh since 1993.
Sarah Covey Blount (counsel) expands Phelps’ construction practice to North Carolina. Clients occupying every position of a construction team — from owner to supplier — rely on Sarah for her experience and knowledge of the intricacies of construction law. She adds value to clients as an advisor through her big-picture perspective on business operations.
Her practice is a unique blend of transactional work and litigation. It extends across construction and contract law, business counseling and asset recovery through commercial collections, foreclosures and liens. Sarah works with small, mid-size and national project owners, developers, engineers, architects and design professionals, general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers and rental equipment companies and lenders.
Matthew S. Perez (associate) brings to North Carolina his Phelps experience, having served for years as a key member of the Firm’s labor and employment group in Tampa, Fla. Matthew regularly represents major employers in the largest markets in the Southeast in employment litigation matters. He graduated from Duke University School of Law in 2016.
He represents clients in all aspects of litigation and administrative proceedings, including claims and discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, family and medical leave, union-management relations, and wages and hour disputes. Matthew has litigated claims brought against employers under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act, and the analogous state statutes.
He has defended employers in various industries, including financial services, health care, transportation, construction, retail, hospitality and energy.
Drew Patty (partner) is an intellectual property lawyer, who divides his time between Phelps’ Baton Rouge and Raleigh offices. Drew provides more than 25 years of experience advising clients in the medical, energy, insurance, financial and manufacturing on patent, trademark and copyright matters. His clients are based in the Carolinas and throughout the Gulf Coast.
Drew’s background in biochemistry enables him to understand scientific nomenclature, research endeavors, chemists’ work processes, and the relationships between experiments, results, patent applications, product manufacturing, distribution and service. He began practicing law in North Carolina in 1990 as a bankruptcy attorney before switching his focus to intellectual property law.
Nash P. Joyner (associate) is a business attorney who focuses on real estate, finance and commercial transactions. He joined Phelps after graduation in 2023 from the University of North Carolina School of Law. While at UNC, Nash served as a student lawyer in the Startup NC Law Clinic, where he worked with entrepreneurs on a myriad of issues affecting startup businesses.