Hedrick Gardner is pleased to announce that 32 of our attorneys have been included in the 2025 Best Lawyers® lists. 30 of the firm’s attorneys have been included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and two have been included in the 2025 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America list.
Additionally, Mel Garofalo is included as the Charlotte, NC “Lawyer of the Year” in Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants and Product Liability Litigation – Defendants.
The attorneys included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America are:
Charlotte, NC
Neil P. Andrews – Insurance Law
Mel J. Garofalo – Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
Matthew D. Glidewell – Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Melissa H. Grimes – Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Michael F. Hedgepeth – Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Jeffrey A. Kadis – Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Ryan W. Keevan – Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Paul C. Lawrence – Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
David L. Levy – Construction Law
Amanda Brookie McDonald – Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Shannon P. Metcalf – Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Jennifer I. Mitchell – Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Thomas W. Page – Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Allen C. Smith – Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
Gerald A. Stein II – Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
Rebecca L. Zoller – Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Raleigh, NC
Anna Baird Choi – Administrative / Regulatory Law
Tonya Davis – Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Jeffrey A. Doyle – Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants and Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Catherine E. Lee – Employment Law – Individuals
M. Jackson Nichols – Administrative / Regulatory Law
Patricia P. Shields – Appellate Practice, Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law, and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
Joel K. Turner – Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Brian M. Williams – Construction Law
C. Rob Wilson – Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Insurance, and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
Asheville, NC
Kristie L. Hedrick – Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
Columbia, SC
Lee E. Dixon – Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
Marcy J. Lamar – Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
Jonathan G. Roquemore – Commercial Litigation and Construction Law
Joshua D. Shaw – Construction Law and Insurance Law
The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America list includes attorneys who are earlier in their careers and have demonstrated outstanding professional excellence in private practice. The attorneys included in the 2025 list are:
Charlotte, NC
Salvatore Popolillo III – Litigation – Trusts and Estates
Raleigh, NC
Grant Simpkins – Administrative / Regulatory Law
About Best Lawyers
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. More than 123,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and Best Lawyers has received more than 20 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore, inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America is considered a singular honor.
Lawyers included in the Best Lawyers lists are divided by geographic region and practice area. They are reviewed by their peers and undergo an authentication process to ensure they are in current practice and in good standing.