Guilty Pleasure Browsing bookshops.

Vita 46; Concord; bachelor’s from Davidson College and law degree from UNC Chapel Hill.

Why he chose to specialize in this field I love working with businesspeople and enjoy their creativity and passion as well as their common sense and practicality.

Memorable case Early on in my career, an adverse deponent, in describing his own negligence, unleashed a string of profanity so eye-popping and yet heartfelt that we had to pause the deposition so that every person in the room could finally stop laughing.

What he’d be if not a lawyer I’d like being a gardener in the morning and an editor in the afternoon.

Best advice received Keep your overhead low.

Favorite place I love the Blue Ridge Mountains the most. I associate the area strongly with my family on both sides and have spent many happy times there. There’s nothing quite like a mountaintop experience.

Recent reading My favorite thing to do each week is to read The New Yorker. I think it helps me understand the world a bit better, and it also reminds me that, despite bad news, there’s a lot of enjoyment in it.

Favorite TV show Homeland. I love the combination of spy stuff and global politics. It’s escapist, except that the writers are sometimes terrifyingly prescient.

Passions Broadly, I’m passionate about advancing civil rights and building community. Personally, enjoying good food and drink with close friends; traveling; being outdoors; hiking; and, always, reading.