Wall Esleeck Babcock LLP

Jim Wall and John Babcock named as Super Lawyers

Wall Esleeck Babcock LLP — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:16:40 +0000

Jim Wall and John Babcock, partners at the law firm of Wall Esleeck Babcock LLP in Winston-Salem, have been named as North Carolina’s 2012 “Super Lawyers” by their peers. This is the second time Wall has been included in Super Lawyers; Babcock has been listed every year since 2007.

Super Lawyers is an annual listing of outstanding attorneys who have received a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. To determine who is a Super Lawyer, Law & Politics magazine surveyed lawyers nationwide. The survey of peers ranked Wall, Babcock and others among the top five percent of attorneys in North Carolina. The magazine has been ranking the state’s Super Lawyers since 1990.

A certified mediator, Wall has been recognized as a Legal Elite by Business North Carolina magazine and is listed in Best Lawyers in America. He holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Wall was appointed to the Executive Council of the Health Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association in 2008. He has vast experience in counseling corporate and healthcare clients in significant contractual relationships, including relationships with employees (non-compete and confidentiality issues), independent contractors, and vendors. Wall is a 1986 graduate of the College of William and Mary, where he was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma, the national business honor society, and is a 1989 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.

Babcock, who also is listed in Best Lawyers in America, has extensive experience in corporate, tax and securities law matters, mergers and acquisitions and commercial business transactions. He serves as an adjunct professor of law at Wake Forest University, where he has taught courses in business planning, partnership taxation, and corporate taxation. Babcock serves as Treasurer of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Business Law Section and is a past Secretary and council member of the Business Law Section. He is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, in the tax, business law and sports & entertainment sections. Babcock graduated from the University of Michigan-Dearborn in 1982, with distinction, with a bachelor of science in administration. He received his J.D. in 1985 from the Wake Forest University School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude, and an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University in 1987.

James D. Wall Named the Best Lawyers’ 2012 Greensboro Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year

Wall Esleeck Babcock LLP — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:25:27 +0000

Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named James D. Wall as the “Greensboro Best Lawyers Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year” for 2012.

After more than a quarter of a century in publication, Best Lawyers is designating “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is being honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.”

Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The current, 18th edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2012) is based on more than 3.9 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.

The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” have received particularly high ratings in our surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity.

Steven Naifeh, President of Best Lawyers, says, “We continue to believe – as we have believed for more than 25 years – that recognition by one’s peers is the most meaningful form of praise in the legal profession. We would like to congratulate James D. Wall on being selected as the ‘Greensboro Best Lawyers Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year’ for 2012.”

McCarty Speaks at the International Trade and Business Symposium

Wall Esleeck Babcock LLP — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 19:34:35 +0000

Linda McCarty, a partner at the law firm of Wall Esleeck Babcock in Winston-Salem, will speak on the topic of cross border transactions at the International Trade and Business Symposium to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina on March 22, 2012. The conference will address business development topics for foreign businesses transacting business in the United States and for U.S. businesses wanting to expand or do business abroad. The conference is being organized by the Russian-American Business Council of North Carolina, the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce of the Carolinas, the German Language and Culture Foundation and the Federal Republic of Germany.

McCarty, a native of Sweden, joined Wall Esleeck Babcock in 2007 and represents foreign and domestic clients in a wide variety of corporate, tax and commercial matters, particularly at the international level. She has extensive experience representing European companies entering the U.S. market and offers a highly unique understanding of European culture and languages (McCarty is fluent in Swedish, Norwegian and Danish, and she is proficient in German).

Earlier in her career, she worked at Blanco Tackabery & Matamoros in Winston-Salem and at Vacovec Mayotte & Singer in Boston, where she focused her practice on international taxation and corporate law. McCarty received her LL.M in taxation from Boston University School of Law in 2002, and earned her Juris Doctorate degree from New England School of Law in 2001. McCarty received her Bachelor degree from San Diego State University in 1998.

McCarty Speaks at London Symposium

Wall Esleeck Babcock LLP — Tue, 31 May 2011 16:41:03 +0000

Linda McCarty, a partner at the law firm of Wall Esleeck Babcock in Winston-Salem, recently spoke on the topic of “Cross Border Deals: Getting it Done and Making it Work” at the Third Global Mergers and Acquisitions Symposium in London, England. The purpose of the symposium was to provide insight on trends in financial markets, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence in cross-border transactions as well as changes in regulatory environments.

Through her professional and volunteer efforts, Linda has worked tirelessly to enhance business and cultural relations between European countries and the United States. During 2008, she facilitated a rare visit by Swedish Ambassador Jonas Hafström to the Triad to foster better business, cultural and educational relationships.

Linda is a member of the Executive Committee of the Primerus International Transactional Service Practice Group, an international society of independent boutique law firms. Primerus, along with the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors, served as sponsor and host of the London symposium. Wall Esleeck Babcock is a member of Primerus.

Wall and Babcock Included in 2011 List of Super Lawyers

airtype — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 03:30:16 +0000

Jim Wall and John Babcock, partners at the law firm of Wall Esleeck Babcock LLP in Winston-Salem, has been named one of North Carolina’s 2011 “Super Lawyers” by their peers. This is the first time Wall has been included in Super Lawyers; Babcock has been listed every year since 2007.

A certified mediator, Wall has been recognized as a Legal Elite by Business North Carolina magazine and is listed in Best Lawyers in America. He holds an AV rating from Martindale- Hubbell. Wall was appointed to the Executive Council of the Health Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association in 2008. He has vast experience in counseling corporate and healthcare clients in significant contractual relationships, including relationships with employees (non-compete and confidentiality issues), independent contractors, and vendors. Wall is a 1986 graduate of the College of William and Mary, where he was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma, the national business honor society, and is a 1989 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.

Babcock, who also is listed in Best Lawyers in America, has extensive experience in corporate, tax and securities law matters, mergers and acquisitions and commercial business transactions. He has served as an adjunct professor of law at Wake Forest University for several years. Babcock also has served as secretary of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Business Law Section and as a council member of the Business Law Section. He is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, in both the tax and business law sections. Babcock graduated from the University of Michigan-Dearborn in 1982, with distinction, with a bachelor of science in administration. He received his J.D. in 1985 from the Wake Forest University School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude, and an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University in 1987.

Adamson Joins Wall Esleeck Babcock

airtype — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 03:28:53 +0000

Regan K. Adamson has joined the law firm of Wall Esleeck Babcock LLP as an associate.

Adamson is a 2010 magna cum laude graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law. While at Wake Forest, Regan was on the Scholastic Honors List and received CALI Awards in contracts, litigation drafting, business drafting and corporate taxation. He was on the staff and later became the business editor of the Law Review. Adamson also worked at the Wake Forest Community Law and Business Clinic, providing legal services to local businesses and non- profit organizations.

Most recently, Adamson was a legal intern in the Virginia Office of the Attorney General. He worked there with the Solicitor General on appellate work in federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition, Adamson was a law clerk for Gregory Kaplan, PLC in Richmond Virginia, where he gained experience working on corporate and real estate matters. Adamson also clerked for Crowley and Crowley, a Richmond employment law firm.

Having lived in Japan for two years, Adamson is fluent in Japanese. He earned an undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University, where he studied political science and Japanese. Prior to law school, Adamson worked for Nu Skin Enterprises as a Business Intelligence Analyst.

Wall Esleeck Babcock Joins The International Society of Primerus Law Firms

airtype — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 03:27:24 +0000

Wall Esleeck Babcock LLP has been chosen for membership by the International Society of Primerus Law Firms, a highly selective alliance of small to medium-size, independent law firms.

Based in Winston-Salem, Wall Esleeck Babcock LLP is a boutique law firm that combines extensive legal experience with personalized attention to clients. The firm focuses its practice in the areas of corporate law, including mergers and acquisitions, healthcare law, trusts and estate planning, taxation, mediation and commercial real estate.

Primerus is an international alliance of small and medium sized, top-rated, independent firms. With almost 160 member law firms located in the United States, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Mexico, the Netherlands and Switzerland, Primerus firms provide clients with responsive, high quality, partner-level service for much less than what large law firms charge.

All Primerus law firms are: AV- Rated using the Martindale-Hubbell peer review service; screened for excellence; audited annually for continued quality; and committed to excellence in six key areas – integrity, reasonable fees, continuing education, civility, community service and excellent work product. With more than 2,000 attorneys, Primerus is as large as some of the world’s largest law firms.

“We are proud to welcome Wall Esleeck Babcock to our organization,” John C. Buchanan, president of Primerus, said. “This firm has not only passed our rigorous screening process but has distinguished itself as a firm delivering legal services of the highest standards. Clients can be assured that Wall Esleeck Babcock offers trustworthy, experienced lawyers who uphold the highest standards of our profession.”

For a complete listing of Primerus member firms, visit www.primerus.com.

Five Attorneys from Wall Esleeck Babcock Listed in Best Lawyers

airtype — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 02:42:54 +0000

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (SEPTEMBER 21, 2010) – Five attorneys – John W. Babcock, Michael L. Drye, Robert E. Esleeck, James D. Wall and Karen Wilson – of the law firm of Wall Esleeck Babcock LLP were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2011 (Copyright 2010 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.). All five are partners at Wall Esleeck Babcock.

Since its inception in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer- review survey in which more than 39,000 leading attorneys cast almost 3.1 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

Babcock was listed in the corporate law and mergers & acquisitions categories; Drye was listed in the mergers & acquisitions section; Esleeck was listed in the corporate law and mergers & acquisitions categories; Wall was listed in the corporate law and health care sections; and Wilson was listed in the corporate law category.

Babcock has extensive experience in corporate, tax and securities law matters, mergers and acquisitions and commercial business transactions. He has served as an adjunct professor of law at Wake Forest University for several years. Babcock also has served as secretary of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Business Law Section and as a council member of the Business Law Section. He is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, in both the tax and business law sections. Babcock graduated from the University of Michigan-Dearborn in 1982, with distinction, with a bachelor of science in administration. He received his J.D. in 1985 from the Wake Forest University School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude, and an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University in 1987.Drye focuses his practice on the representation of companies of all sizes with respect to mergers, acquisitions and dispositions. He devotes a significant portion of his practice to advising clients on entity formation, debt and equity financing, and the structure and formation of joint ventures. Drye has advised both public and private companies on a wide range of issues related to corporate governance, including the fiduciary obligations of directors, director independence and the structures and compositions of their boards of directors. He holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, Business Law Section, and the Forsyth County Bar Association. Drye received a J.D. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1990 and a B.S. in Business Administration (concentration in accounting) degree from the University of Central Florida in 1978.

Esleeck has extensive experience in corporate law, mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and commercial transactions. As head of the corporate finance department in the Winston-Salem office of Kilpatrick Stockton, he managed bank, public and private debt and equity financings, asset and stock acquisitions and dispositions by public and private companies. Esleeck is a Certified Superior Court Mediator by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission. He was appointed to a three-year term on The Educational Foundation Board of Advisors of the University of North Carolina in 2008 and served as an executive-in-residence at Salem College from 2000-2006, where he taught business law, communications law and corporate finance. He is a certified mediator. Esleeck is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a B.S. in business administration in 1975, and a master’s in business administration and a J.D., both in 1979.

Wall has vast experience in counseling corporate and healthcare clients in significant contractual relationships, including relationships with employees (non-compete and confidentiality issues), independent contractors, and vendors. A certified mediator, Wall has been recognized as a Legal Elite by Business North Carolina magazine. He holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Wall was appointed to the Executive Council of the Health Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association in 2008. Wall is a 1986 graduate of the College of William and Mary, where he was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma, the national business honor society, and is a 1989 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.

Wilson’s practice focuses on estate planning, estate administration, corporate and tax law. She is a Certified Public Accountant. Wilson holds an AV rating from Martindale- Hubbell and has served on the board of trustees of the Winston-Salem Estate Planning Council. She also has served multiple terms on the Wake Forest University Planned Giving Council. Wilson received a J.D. degree cum laude from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1985 and a B.S. degree, also from Wake Forest University, in 1982. She has served as an Adjunct Professor at the Wake Forest University Babcock School of Management, where she taught “Federal Taxes and Management Decisions” to M.B.A. students.

Wall Esleeck Babcock Included in Best Law Firms Rankings

airtype — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 02:44:39 +0000

Washington D.C. – September 15, 2010 – U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers have released the 2010 Best Law Firms rankings, marking the inaugural publication of this highly- anticipated annual analysis. Wall Esleeck Babcock, LLP, based in Winston-Salem, was ranked among the first tier Winston-Salem/Greensboro firms in the areas of corporate, health care and mergers & acquisitions law.

The rankings, including 30,322 rankings of 8,782 law firms in 81 practice areas, are posted online at www.usnews.com/bestlawfirms; the national first-tier rankings will be featured in the October print issue of U.S.News & World Report, which will go on sale September 27.

These inaugural rankings, which are presented in tiers both nationally and by metropolitan area or by state, showcase 8,782 different law firms ranked in one or more of 81 major practice areas. Full data is available online for the law firms that received rankings, from the largest firms in the country to hundreds of one-person and two-person law firms, providing a comprehensive view of the U.S. legal profession that is unprecedented both in the range of firms represented and in the range of qualitative and quantitative data used to develop the rankings.

The mission of Best Law Firms from the start has been to help guide referring lawyers and clients – from the country’s largest companies needing corporate legal advice to individuals needing to get a divorce or write a will, along with referring lawyers everywhere, who need an especially high level of legal work because of the particularly difficult legal issues presented, or else legal issues of a particular magnitude – issues that have a bet-the-company implication for a corporation or a potentially life-changing result for an individual.

“U.S. News has more than two decades of experience in providing the public with the most accurate and in-depth rankings of a wide range of institutions, including our Best Law Schools rankings,” says Tim Smart, Executive Editor of U.S. News & World Report. “This experience, coupled with our growing reputation as a leading career information resource, makes these law firm rankings a logical next step.

―U.S. News is the world’s leading publisher of institutional rankings based on both objective data and peer evaluations,‖ says Steven Naifeh, President of Best Lawyers. ―We are combining this expertise with Best Lawyers’ experience of providing rankings of individual lawyers based on peer reviews for almost three decades. By combining hard data with peer reviews, and client assessments, we believe that we are providing users with the most thorough, accurate, and helpful rankings of law firms ever developed.‖We were very pleased with the level of response to national surveys, in which major clients and leading lawyers were asked to rate the law firms they consider best in their practice area. In the end, 9,514 clients – including every Fortune 100 company and 587 of the Fortune 1000 companies – provided 194,370 firm practice-area evaluations; 6,190 clients provided 11,181 comments about law firm practice areas and individual lawyers; and 8,842 lawyers provided 594,012 firm practice-area evaluations.

These reputational survey responses were combined with more than 3.1 million evaluations of individual lawyers in these firms in the most recent Best Lawyers survey of leading lawyers. Hard numbers were also used to develop the practice area rankings — data about numbers of lawyers and their previous experience, numbers of clients within different billing ranges, numbers of transactions and litigation matters at different dollar levels; pro-bono commitment, diversity, and other objective data.

Achieving a high ranking is a special distinction that signals a unique combination of excellence and breadth of expertise.

About the U.S. News Media Group

The U.S. News Media Group is a multi-platform digital publisher of news and analysis, which includes the monthly U.S. News & World Report magazine, the digital-only U.S. News Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com, and www.rankingsandreviews.com. Focusing on Health, Money & Business, Education, and Public Service/Opinion, the U.S. News Media Group has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. The U.S. News Media Group’s signature franchises include its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its “America’s Best” series of consumer guides that include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, health plans, and more.

About Best Lawyers

Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. For over a quarter century, the company has helped lawyers and clients find legal counsel in distant jurisdictions or unfamiliar specialties. The 2011 edition of The Best Lawyers in America includes 41,385 lawyers covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia and is based on more than 3.1 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers. At www.BestLawyers.com, Best Lawyers also publishes peer-reviewed listings of lawyers in most of the world’s major legal markets. Best Lawyers lists are excerpted in a wide range of general interest, business and legal publications worldwide, reaching an audience of more than 17 million readers.

About Wall Esleeck Babcock

York Joins Wall Esleeck Babcock

airtype — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 03:39:25 +0000

G. Mattern (Matt) York has joined Wall Esleeck Babcock LLP as a partner with a practice focused on commercial real estate. York has extensive experience representing developers, investors and business owners in a wide variety of commercial real estate matters, including development projects, joint ventures, real estate investments and dispositions, leasing, 1031 exchanges, and construction and permanent financing.

Prior to joining Wall Esleeck Babcock, York owned and operated a boutique commercial real estate firm with offices in Winston-Salem and Raleigh. Earlier in his career, he practiced with Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, Troutman Sanders LLP and Helms Mulliss & Wicker, PLLC (now McGuire Woods) in Raleigh. York has been recognized as a member of the “Legal Elite” in Real Estate by Business North Carolina magazine (2005) and has been a guest lecturer on real estate law at the Kenan- Flagler Business School Real Estate Program and the Duke Law School Community Economic Development Clinic. York was also nominated for a 2010 Triangle CREW Champion Award for Professional Commercial Real Estate Service, an honor based on industry knowledge, leadership ability, negotiating skills, work ethic and creativity.

York received a J.D. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law, where he served as a staff member on the North Carolina Law Review. He received an M.A. degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in English and a B.A. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in English and philosophy.

York serves as a member of the Real Property and Zoning, Planning & Land Use Sections of the North Carolina Bar Association and the Forsyth County Bar Association. He has provided pro bono real estate counsel for Passage Home Inc., a community development corporation that provides housing and support services to low-income and homeless families in Wake County, and for the Triangle Land Conservancy, a non-profit corporation dedicated to protecting open space in Chatham, Durham, Johnston, Lee, Orange and Wake counties.

York was a founding member of North Carolina Symphony Bravo! Group and has been active in Big Brothers/Big Sisters of United Way. He and his wife, Melanie, live in Winston-Salem and have a daughter.