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Caitlin A. Mitchell

Senior Counsel

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Appellate lawyer and federal litigator, Caitlin Mitchell, is highly skilled in the procedural nuances of North Carolina’s federal and appellate courts. She primarily handles complex civil matters, involving businesses and employees—everything from professional and product liability to unfair trade practices, contract, and employment disputes.

Her defense strategy focuses on securing dismissals of claims on legal or procedural grounds as early as possible. As an experienced trial lawyer, however, she’s eager to go to trial whenever necessary. If there is any chance a matter may require an appeal, Caitlin’s appellate knowledge is vital from the moment a matter arises to ensure that issues are properly preserved at the trial level and later argued before the appropriate appellate court.

Judicial Experiences

During law school and after graduating summa cum laude (ranked 2nd in a class of 111), Caitlin had the unique experience of working with judges from every level of North Carolina’s court system, including:

  • Chief Justice Mark Martin of the Supreme Court of North Carolina,
  • Judge Phil Berger, Jr., of the North Carolina Court of Appeals,
  • Chief Judge James L. Gale of the North Carolina Business Court, and
  • Chief Judge Glen E. Conrad of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.

North Carolina Appellate Practice

Caitlin is the editor of the North Carolina Appellate Style Manual. Published by the North Carolina Bar Association, the Style Manual is a free, 150+ page reference guide for preparing and filing documents in appeals pending before North Carolina’s Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.
Caitlin is also an active member of the North Carolina Appellate Rules Committee (ARC). ARC is a peer-nominated group of top appellate lawyers within the state, who are primarily tasked with recommending revisions to the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure to the Supreme Court of North Carolina for review and potential adoption.

A few years ago, Caitlin also served as a research and editing assistant for Lexis’ NC Appellate Practice & Procedure, which is the first published treatise about North Carolina appellate practice and authored by Matthew Leerberg and Elizabeth Scherer.

Healthcare Litigation & Medical Malpractice

More than 15 years ago, Caitlin started her legal career working as a paralegal for a medical malpractice defense firm. After falling in love with the profession, she became a licensed attorney, in part, so she could continue to defend hardworking healthcare professionals. Caitlin has assisted during several medical malpractice trials and has years of experience combing through mountains of medical records and working closely with treating providers and related experts. She strives to minimize the impact that lawsuits have on the healthcare system and its professionals.

U.S. Army Experiences

While her wife served as a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, Caitlin served nearly three years as a civilian attorney for the U.S. Department of Defense. In this role, Caitlin represented hundreds of U.S. Army Soldiers, who were seriously ill or injured and being medically discharged from the Army. Throughout their appellate process and administrative hearings, Caitlin zealously advocated for these Soldiers to receive the best benefits available from the U.S. Army and the Department of Veteran Affairs.

For her outstanding work, Caitlin received one of the U.S. Army’s top recognitions awarded to civilian attorneys, the Civilian Service Achievement Medal. In 2024, Caitlin also received the top prize among dozens of her peers, the ICE (Interactive Customer Evaluation) Award, for receiving the most and highest-rated, voluntary client reviews.

  • Independently prepared and won an appeal, which resulted in a published opinion by the North Carolina Court of Appeals, D.V. Shah Corp. v. Vroombrands, LLC, COA22-104.
  • Served as second chair at five-day, federal jury trial, where Caitlin argued and won most evidentiary motions and led examinations of all expert witnesses and treating physicians.
  • Won summary judgment, dismissing entire high-stakes case, based on a complex secured transaction argument arising under U.S. Virgin Island law.

  • Lecturer, The Latest in North Carolina Appellate Practice: Recent Amendments to the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure and Case Law, N.C. Bar Association’s Annual Appellate Practice Section CLE Program, Cary, NC, April 27, 2022
    • Additional lecturers of this day-long CLE included Former Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, North Carolina’s Current Solicitor General Ryan Park, and North Carolina’s Former Solicitor General Matthew Sawchak.
  • Moderator, Mentoring Law Clerks and Young Lawyers, American Bar Association’s Judicial Division Live Webinar, January 12, 2022
    • Panelists included Chief Justice Paul Newby of the Supreme Court of North Carolina and Professor Frank Sullivan, former Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court.
  • Panelist, Judicial Isolation: Before and During the Pandemic and How to Find Balance, American Bar Association’s Judicial Division Live Webinar, December 8, 2021
    • Panelist alongside Chief Judge Donna Stroud of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, Justice Steven David of Indiana’s Supreme Court, and U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Judge J. Michelle Childs of the U.S. District Court of the District of South Carolina.
  • Lecturer, The New Appellate Style Manual and Universal Citations, North Carolina Advocates for Justice’s Annual Skills Academy: New Developments in Legal Writing and Appellate Advocacy Live Webinar, November 5, 2021
    • Additional lecturers during this day-long CLE included Justice Anita Earls of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, as well as N.C. Court of Appeals’ Chief Judge Donna Stroud and Judge Richard Dietz.

Admissions

  • North Carolina
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of North Carolina
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

Memberships

  • North Carolina Bar Association, Appellate Practice Section
  • North Carolina Appellate Rules Committee

Community Involvement

  • Regular attorney volunteer for Wills for Heroes, a program responsible for drafting wills and power of attorney documents for first responders

Education

  • J.D., summa cum laude, Elon University School of Law, 2017
    • Class Rank: 2nd out of 111 graduates
    • Business Editor of Elon Law Review
    • First Place and Best Oral Advocate in Moot Court Competition
    • Presidential Scholar
  • B.A., magna cum laude, English, Roanoke College, 2013
  • Additional Intensive Training Courses:
    • National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA)’s Building Trial Skills & Advocacy Course, 2023
    • The Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Legal Center & School’s Administrative Law for Military Organizations Course (ALMO), 2024

Honors

  • U.S. Army’s Civilian Service Achievement Medal, 2024
    • For outstanding representation of hundreds of seriously ill and injured U.S. Army Soldiers
  • ICE (Interactive Customer Evaluation) Award, 2024
    • Top prize among dozens of her attorney peers for receiving the most and highest-rated, voluntary client reviews
  • Business North Carolina, N.C. Legal Elite – “Young Guns,” 2021
  • North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, Rising Star Award, 2019