Leadership

Immediate Past Chair of Labor and Employment Practice Group

Connie Elder Carrigan, a partner at Smith Debnam, joined the firm in 1996. Connie concentrates her practice in Business Law, assisting clients in the areas of employment law, business advice and litigation, construction law, equipment leasing and creditor bankruptcy. Connie’s practice emphasizes prompt and effective client communications, and efficient, assertive, and results-oriented representation of her clients’ interests in both state and federal courts and in matters involving mediation and arbitration.

Connie has been practicing in the field of small business representation since 1990, and she holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell®. She has lectured on topics ranging from employment law, bankruptcy, and equipment leasing to construction law, and is the author of manuscripts and materials prepared for attorneys and businesses seeking advice and counsel in these matters.

Education:

  • J.D., Campbell University School of Law, 1989
  • B.A., cum laude, North Carolina State University, 1983

Admissions:

  • North Carolina State Bar
  • U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, Western District of North Carolina
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Areas of Practice:

  • Business Litigation
  • Commercial Creditor Bankruptcy
  • Construction Law
  • Employment Law
  • Equipment Leasing & Finance

Professional Affiliations:

  • North Carolina Bar Association; Bankruptcy Law Section, Labor and Employment Law Section
  • Wake County Bar Association; Member, Board of Directors, 2003-04; Recipient, President's Award of Excellence, 2004; Member and Former Chair of Swearing-in Ceremony Committee
  • American Bankruptcy Institute
  • National Association of Credit Management; Member, Credit and Financial Development Division
  • Society for Human Resource Management
  • Raleigh-Wake Human Resource Management Association
  • Primerus Labor and Employment Law Group

Civic Involvement:

  • Trinity Presbyterian Church, Raleigh, North Carolina; Elder, Youth Advocate
  • Knightdale Chamber of Commerce; Board of Directors 

Articles & Publications:

  • Employers, Be Careful with Complainers,Legal Insights, Winter 2007
  • Co-Author, Revised Act Expands Protections to Service Members Called to Duty,News and Views, Journal of the Advertising Media Credit Executives Association , September 2004
  • Survival Guide for Lien and Bond Claims: What You Need to Know to Navigate Through the Jungle,National Association of Credit Management Annual Convention, June 2000
  • Co-Author, Equipment Leasing in North Carolina,Lorman Seminar, July 1999
  • Techniques to Maximize Recovery in a Bankruptcy Setting, Annual State Fraud Investigators' Training Conference, May 1999

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