Gary W. Jackson
E-mail:
Phone: 704.377.6680
Fax: 704.377.6690
Practice Areas
- Products Liability ; Class Actions ; Business Torts ; Construction Defects ; Serious Personal Injury ; Wrongful Death ; Professional Negligence
Education
- Duke University (A.B., History, magna cum laude, 1976)
- Duke University Law School (J.D. 1979)
- Staff and Editorial Board Member, Duke Law Journal (1977-1979)
- Visiting Researcher, Harvard Law School (1984-85)
Clerkships and Teaching Experience
- Law Clerk, U.S. District Judge Robert P. Aguilar (N.D. Ca.) (1980-81)
- Senior Lecturing Fellow, Duke University School of Law (2002)
Honors
- North Carolina "Super Lawyers" (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
- (Class Actions/Mass Torts)
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation (top 1/3 of 1% of lawyers in the United States)
- Outstanding Lawyers of America
- Business North Carolina's "Legal Elite" (2003, 2004, 2008)
- Litigation Counsel of America (Charter Fellow)
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Rating
- Who's Who in American Law
- North Carolina Advocates for Justice Ebbie Award (2009)
- North Carolina Advocates for Justice Kelly Crabtree Award (2011)
Bar Admissions
- North Carolina (1987)
- New York (1985)
- California (1979) (inactive)
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th and 4th Circuits
- U.S. District Courts (Eastern, Northern, Central and Southern Districts of California; Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of North Carolina)
- International Trade Commission (1994)
Professional Memberships
- American Association for Justice
- Co-Chair, Construction Defects Litigation Group
- Member, Public Affairs Committee (2006 – 2008)
- Member, Publications Committee (2007 – 2009)
- Toxic, Environmental, and Pharmaceutical Torts Litigation Section
- Business Torts Section
- North Carolina Advocates for Justice
- President (2011 - 2012)
- Executive Committee (2007 - present)
- Vice President At-Large (2010 – 2011)
- Vice President - Education (2007 - 2010)
- Board of Governors (2006 - present)
- Chair, Consumer Areas of Practice Litigation Group (2003-2005)
- President's Club (Charter Member)
- Professional Negligence, Nursing Home Litigation, and Products Liability Sections
- Southern Trial Lawyers Association
- Board of Governors (2006 - present)
- North Carolina Bar Association
- Chair, Litigation Section (2002-03)
- Chair, International Section (1994-95)
- Tort Reform Task Force, Member (2003-present), Co-Chair (2005-2007)
- American Bar Association
- Litigation Section
- Mecklenburg County Bar Association
- National Association of Consumer Advocates
- Master, William Bobbitt Inn of Court (Program Chair, 2003-05)
- American Arbitration Association, Commercial Panel of Arbitrators (1985-present)
Publications
- “Adapt or Perish,” Trial (October 2010)
- “Managing Co-Counsel Relationships,” Trial (October 2009)
- "Do Business Courts Really Mean Business?" Trial (June 2006)
- "The Economic Loss Principle in Construction Defect Litigation," The Litigator (June 2005)
- "Home, bitter sweet home," Trial (February 2005)
- "Mold Liablility - Mixed Signals," Realtor Magazine (December, 2004)
- "Arbitration of Business Disputes: Friend or Foe?" Business North Carolina (June 2004)
- "Synthetic Stucco: Litigation Alert," Realtor Magazine (January 2004)
- "Business Plaintiffs: Not an Oxymoron," Business North Carolina (July 2003)
- "When Bad Houses Make Good Cases," Trial (November 2002)
- "Immediate Appeal of Class Certification Orders--Should North Carolina Follow the Federal Lead?", North Carolina State Bar Journal (Winter 2001)
- "Evaluating and Prosecuting the 'Bad House' Case," Mealey's Construction Defects Litigation Report (September 2001)
- "North Carolina's New International Arbitration Act," Campbell Law Observer (February 1992 )
- Monthly Editorial Guest Columnist, The Charlotte Observer (1998)
Classes/Seminars Taught
- “Expert Witnesses: Competing Views from the Plaintiff and Defense Lawyers’ Perspectives,” NCBA Annual Meeting, June 2010 (Wilmington, NC, Speaker)
- Civil Masters Program, NCAJ Annual Convention, June 2010 (Wilmington, NC, Chair)
- “Business Court: A Primer for Trial Lawyers,” South Carolina Association of Trial Lawyers, August 2008 (Hilton Head, SC, Speaker)
- “Civility is not a One Way Street,” Ohio Association for Justice Annual Meeting, May 2008 (Columbus, Ohio, Speaker)
- "Incivility: I know it When I See it - Double Standards that Plaintiff Lawyers Face," AAJ Convention, January 2008 (San Juan, Puerto Rico, Speaker)
- "A Steep Uphill Battle: Representing Homeowners, Consumers, and Policyholders in North Carolina," NCATL Annual Convention, June 2007 (Speaker)
- "Litigation Incivility: I Think I Know It When I See It," Litigation Counsel of America Annual Meeting, June 2007 (New York, NY) (Speaker)
- All-Star Panel, "Litigating Complex Cases in the NC Business Court," NCBA Antitrust Annual Meeting, May 2007 (Panelist)
- "Litigating Construction Defect Cases," PESI Absolute Business Torts, Litigation Conference, March 2007 (Las Vegas, NV) (Speaker)
- “Successful Prosecution of Construction Defect Cases in the Age of Tort Reform,” AAJ Annual Convention, 2007 (Chicago, IL) (Speaker)
- "Prosecuting Class Actions in Arbitration," Litigation at Sunrise, ATLA Annual Convention, July 2006 (Seattle, WA) (Speaker)
- "North Carolina's Predatory Lending Laws: An Introduction," NCATL Annual Convention, June 2006 (Moderator)
- "If You Build It They Will Come: Litigating Construction and Mold Cases," STLA Annual Conference, February 2006 (New Orleans, LA) (Speaker)
- "Construction Defects in a Nutshell," Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers Workhorse Seminar, February 2006 (Orlando, FL) (Speaker)
- "How to Spot the Sick Building Case: A Primer in Contamination and Defect," ATLA Mid-Year Convention, February 2004 (Orlando, FL) (Speaker)
- " Evaluating Toxic Mold Cases: A Primer," NCATL Mountain Magic, October 2003 (Speaker)
- "Professionalism, Civility and the Practice of Law: Are They Related?," ATLA Annual Convention, July 2003 (San Francisco, CA) (Speaker)
- "Bad Buildings and Mold -- Tying It All Together," ATLA's Litigating Toxic Mold Cases, June 2003 (Chicago, IL) (Speaker)
- "Construction Defects in 2002," Mealey's Conference, October 2002. (Atlanta, GA) (Speaker)
- "Roundtable Discussion with Superior Court Judges," NCBA Annual Meeting, June 2002 (Program Planner)
- "Analyzing and Proving Construction Damages in North Carolina," Lorman Education Series, May 2002 (Speaker)
- "The Nuts and Bolts of Products Liability Litigation," NCATL, May 2002 (Speaker)
- "Toxic Mold: A Legal Primer," Community Associations Institute's National Conference, May 2002 (Dallas, TX) (Speaker)
- "Toxic Mold and Construction Defects," NCATL, March 2002 (Program Planner and Speaker)
- "Alternative Dispute Resolution," NCATL, March 2002 (Speaker)
- "When Bad Houses Make Good Cases," Litigation at Sunrise, ATLA Mid-year Convention, February 2002 (Miami, FL) (Speaker)
- "Synthetic Stucco Litigation," Litigation at Sunrise ATLA Annual Convention, July 1999 (San Francisco, CA) (Speaker)
- "Advanced Synthetic Stucco: Trial and Beyond," NCBA, May 1999 (Speaker)
- "Synthetic Stucco Litigation from the Plaintiff's Perspective," NCBA, April 1998 (Speaker)
- "Synthetic Stucco Class Action: Opt in or Opt Out," NCATL, September 1997 (Speaker)
- "The Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments," NCBA, February 1993 (Speaker)
Representative Published Opinions
- Pitts v. American Security Insurance 569 S.E.2d 647 (N.C., 2002)
- Gaynoe v. First Union Corporation 571 S.E.2d 24 (N.C. App., 2002)
- Lienhart v. Dryvit Systems, Inc., 255 F.3d 138 (4th cir. 2001)
Civic Activities
- Chair, YMCA Board of Directors (Winston-Salem) (1993-95)
- Chair, Forsyth County Democratic Party (1991-93)
- Member, East Winston-Community Development Corporation Board of Directors (1993-95)
- Fellow, North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership (1990)
- Member, YMCA of Greater Charlotte Public Policy Committee (1996-98)
Hobbies: Cajun cooking, politics, Southern fiction
Born: Center, Texas, November 9, 1954