You were made to make more than a living. You were made to make a difference. — Ann Voskamp
Allison Mullins is a seasoned trial lawyer who invests deeply in her cases and the outcomes for her clients. With a sophisticated and diverse litigation practice, Allison demonstrates that effective advocacy begins not only with intricate understanding of the issues, but with meaningful knowledge of those she represents. Allison not only cares about the case, she truly cares for the client.
Seeking to experience the process through the client’s eyes, Allison’s goal is to add value to every effort. Allison has learned that truly excellent litigators must be excellent listeners—so Allison listens attentively. She seeks to make a positive difference in legal matters but also in her clients’ lives.
A highly experienced lawyer, Allison enjoys applying her skills to help clients with a variety of legal claims, business disputes and challenges. Allison works with all types of people and entities—from representing John Edwards in his criminal campaign finance trial to working with Fortune 100 companies on “bet the company” cases to helping an injured young woman in a persistent vegetative state. In 2013, Allison represented the plaintiffs in the first bellwether case in a medical device multi-district litigation (MDL), trying the case to a two million dollar verdict. Allison’s litigation experience is rich and vibrant with experience in North Carolina state courts, the North Carolina Business Court and the federal courts. She also has experience litigating cases before the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (commonly known as the Vaccine Court). She enjoys having a positive impact in matters that are important to her clients—whether large business or individual. And since every case is important to each client, she reaches for that positive impact in every matter on every day.
Allison also values the role of “counselor at law” to assist clients seeking to avoid litigation, to analyze legal options, and to determine best practices. She has conducted independent investigations and been engaged to respond to a variety of client needs outside of a direct litigation context.
Beyond her legal work, Allison invests in our profession and world, seeking to understand and respond to challenges in each. Investing in education and the next generation, Allison serves on the Guilford Technical Community College Board of Trustees. She is a member of the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism, and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Allison is active in the North Carolina Bar Association, having served on the Board of Governors and the Appellate Rules Committee as well as having chaired the Litigation Section Council and the Appellate Practice Section. With a desire for the firm to make a positive difference in the world beyond our walls, Allison designed Turning Point Litigation’s service program for the firm to volunteer in community projects as well as our student program to provide advanced hands-on practical skills training to students interested in the law.
Education & Academic Honors
Education
J.D., cum laude, Wake Forest University School of Law, 1996
B.A., cum laude, Wake Forest University, 1993
Academic Honors
Hankins Scholar (undergraduate)
Law Alumni Scholar
Order of the Coif
Articles Editor, Wake Forest Law Review
Wake Forest Moot Court Board
Admissions
North Carolina, 1996
United States Supreme Court, 2006
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, 1998
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 1997
United States District Court, Middle District of North Carolina, 1996
United States District Court, Western District of North Carolina, 1998
United States District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina, 1998
United States District Court, Southern District of West Virginia, 2013
United States Court of Claims, 2017
Judicial Clerkship
Law Clerk to the Honorable N. Carlton Tilley, Jr, United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina (1996-1997)
Law Clerk to the Honorable Susan H. Black, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (1997-1998)
Professional Memberships & Leadership
Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission, State Bar appointee (2018-present)
Chief Justice Commission on Professionalism (2019-present)
International Society of Barristers (2018-present)
North Carolina Bar Association (1998-2019)
N.C. Bar Association Board of Governors (2016-2019)
Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, 2007-2013
Federal Bar Association, Middle District of North Carolina Chapter
Middle District of North Carolina, Local Rules Committee
Appellate Rules Committee, North Carolina Bar Association
North Carolina Advocates for Justice (current member)
The American Association for Justice (current member)
Fellow, American Bar Association Foundation
Joseph Branch Inn of Court, 2008-present
Guilford Inn of Court (2000-2006)
American Bar Association Council of Appellate Lawyers (prior member)
DRI Appellate Advocacy Committee (prior member)
NCBA Appellate Practice Section Council Chairperson (2013-2014)
NCBA Litigation Section Council Chairperson, (2009-2010)
Achievements
Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
Top 250 Women in Litigation, Benchmark Litigation (2017, 2018, 2019)
Triad Business Journal, Outstanding Women in Business (2017)
Martindale-Hubbell’s top (“AV Preeminent”) Peer Review Rating *
Chambers and Partners, “Band 2” Rating for General Commercial Litigation in North Carolina, 2020
The Best Lawyers in America (2021), Lawyer of the Year for Litigation – First Amendment in the Triad
The Best Lawyers in America (2023), recognized for Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – First Amendment, Litigation – Intellectual Property, Litigation – Patent, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, and Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiff
Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Litigators in America for 2023
The Best Lawyers in America (2021), recognized for Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – First Amendment, Litigation – Intellectual Property, Litigation – Patent, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, and Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs
North Carolina Super Lawyers “Top 50 Women” attorneys in North Carolina (multiple years beginning in 2007)
Best Lawyers in America® (Woodward/White, Inc.), 2019 Appellate Practice in the Triad “Lawyer of the Year.”
Best Lawyers in America® (Woodward/White, Inc.), 2018 Greensboro Product Liability Litigation-Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year.”
Best Lawyers in America® (Woodward/White, Inc.), 2017 Greensboro Appellate Practice “Lawyer of the Year.”
Best Lawyers in America® (Woodward/White, Inc.), 2016 Greensboro Personal Injury—Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year.”
Best Lawyers in America® (Woodward/White, Inc.), 2015 Greensboro Appellate Practice “Lawyer of the Year.”
Best Lawyers in America® (Woodward/White, Inc.) (2009-2019), including recognition in multiple practice areas in various years beginning in 2009: Appellate Law, Commercial Litigation, First Amendment Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation-Defendants, Product Liability Litigation—Defendants, Product Liability Litigation—Plaintiffs, Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs, Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Litigation
North Carolina Super Lawyers, Civil Litigation Defense (2006-2009), General Litigation (2010-2020)
Business North Carolina magazine’s Legal Elite (2014-19)
Business North Carolina magazine’s Legal Elite “Best Women Lawyers in the State” (multiple years beginning in 2014)
Andrew C. Hecker Award (2008), given by the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel for the year’s most outstanding FDCC Quarterly article
Triad Business Journal’s 40 Leaders Under Forty (2005), awarded to the Triad’s outstanding young business and community leaders
Past Vice Chairperson of Constitutional Rights and Responsibilities Section Council, North Carolina Bar Association
Past Chairperson of Appellate Law Section, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel
Past Chairperson of North Carolina State Bar’s Liaison Committee to the Administrative Offices of the Courts
Chairperson, Amicus Committee, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (2011-2013)
* CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedure’s standards and policies.
Civic & Community Service
Trustee, Guilford Technical Community College (2018-present)
Prayer4Unity, Founder and Board Member (2016-2019)
Chairperson (2002-2004) and past chairperson and Steering Committee member (2004-2007), SynerG (a group dedicated to inspiring Greensboro’s future by connecting the next generation of leaders and encouraging creation of a city environment attractive to young talent)
Wake Forest University Board of Trustees (1991-1992)
Presentations & Publications
Civil Law Update, North Carolina Bar Association CLE, February 2019
E-Discovery Primer (co-presenter), Superior Court Judges Conference, June 2017
Sex, Lies & Backup Tapes: A Discussion of Ethics from an Out-of-the-Box Practice, Greensboro Bar Association, CLE Speaker, January 2015
Legal Malpractice and the Civil Defense Lawyer, Vol. 59, No. 4, FDCC Quarterly 325 (2009)
The Anatomy of an Appeal, North Carolina Bar Association CLE, October 2013
Presentation on Civil Litigation, to Clerk of Court and staff, United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, September 2016
Damages in Defamation Per Se Actions: Presumptions Are Not What They Used To Be, The Constitutionalist, the official Publication of the Constitutional Rights & Responsibilities Section, Volume II Number 4 (April 2006)
The Trap of Motions in Limine (or Why You Should Not Believe Everything You Read, Even in the Rules of Evidence), The Litigator, the official publication of the Litigation Section, Vol. 29, No. 1 (September 2008)
Civil Law Update, Mecklenburg County Bar Association CLE, January 2019
E-Discovery, Experts, and Ethics, North Carolina Bar Association Litigation Section CLE, February 2016
Superseding and Staying Judgments in North Carolina (published in Superseding and Staying Judgments: A National Compendium (Roger D. Townsend, ed. 2007))
A Day in the Courtroom: Observation of a Trade Secrets Mock Trial, North Carolina Bar Association CLE, June 2014
Ethics on Trial: The John Edwards Case, Greensboro Bar Association CLE, February 2014
Defending John Edwards: Professional Ethics in the Public Eye, West Virginia Association for Justice, January 2014
Navigating in the Brave New World of E-Discovery: Ethics, Sanctions and Spoliation, Vol. 57, No. 4, FDCC Quarterly 327 (Summer 2007)
NCBA 2013 Annual Review; Civil Law Update, North Carolina Bar Association CLE, October 2013
Clients with Unique Challenges, Annual Meeting of North Carolina Bar Association, Litigation Section’s CLE, June 2013
The John Edwards Trial: A View from the Inside, North Carolina Bar Association CLE, May 2013
Ethics In Pre-Trial Procedure, North Carolina Bar Association CLE, February 2013
The Brave New World of E-Discovery, Litigating Complex Commercial Disputes in North Carolina CLE, February 2013
Preserving Issues for Appeal, North Carolina Advocates for Justice CLE, January 2013
The John Edwards Trial and More, Charlotte Bar Association CLE, January 2013
Issues in Medical Malpractice, Wake Forest University, presentation to law and medical students, January 2013
Co-author, Fourth Circuit section of “MLRC 50-State Survey: Media Privacy and Related Law” (2003 – 2009)
Cobb v. Sports Illustrated: Actual Malice Requires More Than Negligence (March 13, 2002)
“Sour Grape Lawsuits: Defamation in Political Advertisements” (January 1, 2001)
Co-author, Insurance Regulation of Providers That Bear Risk, American Journal of Law & Medicine, Vol. 22
Inside the John Edwards Trial, Greensboro Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys CLE, November 2012
The Importance of Advocacy, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, presentation to nursing students, 2012
Key Elements of Effective Appellate Brief Writing, Appellate Practice for Young Lawyers CLE, November 2011
