Erica is a partner of Hedrick Gardner’s Wilmington office. Her practice focuses on appellate advocacy, employment law and workers’ compensation. She has represented clients in all types of workers’ compensation claims, including litigation of injury by accident cases, occupational disease claims, workplace assault claims, fraud claims, death claims, policy cancellation disputes, and coverage disputes. She has extensive appellate experience, handling appeals before the North Carolina Full Commission, North Carolina Court of Appeals and North Carolina Supreme Court. Erica collaborates on the strategy and defense of each individual case with her clients in order to achieve the best possible outcome. She represents businesses and organizations throughout the Southeast, including private and public sector employers.
She is an active member of the North Carolina State Bar and the New Hanover County Bar Association. She served on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys (NCADA), is a former Chair of the Worker’s Compensation Committee and is involved in the Defense Research Institute (DRI). She has been invited as a guest speaker at the NCADA Annual Conference, NC PRIMA Annual Conference, NC Bar Association, and also at the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys. Erica holds an AV rating with Martindale-Hubbell, the most prestigious peer review rating that recognizes attorneys who have reached the highest levels of skill and integrity. She was honored to be named as a North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Leader in the Law in 2012 and North Carolina Legal Elite in 2006. Erica was selected to the North Carolina Super Lawyers® list from 2011-2019 in Workers’ Compensation and was recognized in the 2014 listing in The Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers.
Erica was put in the spotlight alongside other women in business in an article published by the Greater Wilmington Business Journal.
Erica exemplifies work-life balance and values the time she spends with her husband, Scott Lewis, and their three children. She also enjoys reading at the beach, traveling in the United States and abroad, and running half marathons.
PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC INVOLVEMENT:
- North Carolina State Bar
- North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys
- Board of Directors (2007-2010)
- Committee Chair (2006-2007)
- Young Lawyers Division (2006-2007)
- New Hanover County Bar Association
- Defense Research Institute
PRESENTATIONS:
- Handling COVID-19 Workers’ Compensation Claims in North Carolina, 2021 North Carolina Public Risk Management Association (NCPRIMA) Educational Conference (September 2021)
- The Intersection of Employment Law and Workers’ Compensation, 2020 Workers’ Compensation Section Annual Meeting (February 2020)
HONORS:
- Holds an AV rating with Martindale-Hubbell
- Named as North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Leader in the Law in 2012
- Named North Carolina Legal Elite by Business North Carolina Magazine in 2006
- Selected to the North Carolina Super Lawyers list, published nationwide in Super Lawyers® Magazine, from 2011-2019 in Workers’ Compensation
- Recognized in the 2014 listing in The Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers
- Put in the spotlight alongside other women in business in an article published by the Greater Wilmington Business Journal