Nicole Slaughter provides strategic legal guidance to construction industry stakeholders, insurance claims professionals, and business and government leaders in the areas of commercial law, construction law, and product liability law. Nicole has extensive experience helping clients navigate complex, multiparty commercial litigation, arbitration, and licensing claims. With her deep knowledge of construction law, Nicole assists construction industry professionals with payment and performance bond claims, mechanics’ liens, and contract drafting and analysis.
Nicole has a proven track record of guiding clients to favorable settlements and outcomes in complex, multiparty lawsuits. She successfully steered her general contractor client to an early mediation and favorable settlement in a complex, multi-million dollar construction defect lawsuit with more than twenty parties involving the remodeling of a historic hotel that sustained hurricane damage. She obtained a favorable settlement on behalf of her general contractor client in a multi-million dollar residential construction defect lawsuit involving window failures during a hurricane. Nicole obtained summary judgment on behalf of a general contractor client in a lawsuit brought by a homebuyer involving the unpermitted construction of a stormwater outlet, headwall, and large swale prior to closing. She proactively pursued and favorably resolved for her land clearing and grading contractor client lien litigation involving numerous properties when the general contractor owed millions of dollars to other contractors throughout two metropolitan areas. With her seasoned expertise, Nicole understands the economic impact of protracted litigation and provides her clients with practical solutions to complex disputes.
- Does the Statute of Repose Bar Long Term Express Warranty Claims, THE RESOURCE, North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys, April 2014
- Loss Rule, Defining “Other Property” in Construction Claims, THE CHANGE ORDER, Vol. 28, No. 1, North Carolina Bar Association Construction Law Section, July 201
- Damages and Strategic Options for Dispute Resolution: A Practice-Oriented Approach. North Carolina Bar Association Construction Law Section Winter Program, 2022
- You’ve Been Invited . . . Considerations in Defending a Construction Defect Claim, North Carolina Bar Association Construction Law Section Annual Meeting, 2018
- Introduction to Collaborative Law: Another Tool in Your Toolbox, North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys Winter Workshop, 2017
Admissions
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia
Memberships
- North Carolina State Bar
- Construction and Litigation Sections
- North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys
- Defense Research Institute
- North Carolina Civil Collaborative Law Association
- New Hanover County Bar Association
- Tennessee Bar Association
- State Bar of Georgia
Community Involvement
- North Carolina Association of Defense Attorney, Secretary
- North Carolina Civil Collaborative Law Association, Director and Secretary
- North Carolina Bar Association, Construction Section, Member Construction Deskbook Committee
Education
- J.D., cum laude, University of Tennessee College of Law, 1994
- B.B.A, magna cum laude, University of Memphis, 1991
Honors
- North Carolina Legal Elite “Construction” by Business North Carolina Magazine, 2019, 2023-2025
- North Carolina Super Lawyers, Construction Litigation, 2021-2025