Biography

A partner in Hedrick Gardner’s Charlotte office, Jeff is the Chair of the firm’s Workers’ Compensation Practice Group. Jeff’s practice focuses almost entirely on counseling employers in workers’ compensation matters, with an emphasis on defending occupational disease and chemical exposure claims.  He has extensive experience representing business clients at evidentiary and appellate Hearings before the North Carolina Industrial Commission, the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.

Jeff regularly presents Continuing Education courses on best practices and workplace policies adhering to North Carolina’s Workers’ Compensation Act.  He has been selected to the North Carolina Super Lawyers® list in Workers’ Compensation every year since 2008 and The Best Lawyers in America© every year since 2013 in the field of Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers. He also was named “Lawyer of the Year” for Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers in the 2023 publication of The Best Lawyers in America©.

In addition to being a member of the North Carolina State Bar and the Mecklenburg County Bar Association, Jeff served on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys (NCADA) from 2010 to 2013, and served as the Chair of the NCADA’s Workers’ Compensation Practice Group from 2003 to 2006.  He was a board member of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section from 2002 until 2005.

Experience and Involvement

PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC INVOLVEMENT:

  • North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys
    • Chair, Workers’ Compensation Practice Group (2003-2006)
    • Member, Board of Directors (2010-2013)
  • Mecklenburg County Bar Association
Representative Matters

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS:

  • Represented dozens of manufacturing and construction industry employers in hundreds of asbestos and chemical exposure claims.
  • Currently North Carolina Counsel for national and local retailers, manufacturers, and health services providers.
  • Regularly called on as a speaker for local, statewide, and national groups to train claims personnel and provide counsel in handling Workers’ Compensation claims in NC.
Honors

HONORS: