Terry L. Wallace, a founding member of the Firm, practices in the areas of personal and workplace injury, employment discrimination, and business litigation. Terry is a native of Martin County, North Carolina, located about halfway between Raleigh and the Outer Banks. Terry graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. Following college, he attended North Carolina Central University School of Law, graduating with the degree of Juris Doctor in 1999. While in law school, Terry was a member of the law review and the moot court board.
Following admission to the North Carolina bar in 1999, Terry served a one-year judicial clerkship for the Honorable Henry E. Frye, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. After his clerkship, Terry joined a regional insurance defense firm in Charlotte, where he focused his practice on civil litigation and workers’ compensation defense. Terry later joined Parker Poe Adams and Bernstein, LLP, one of the 200 largest law firms in the country. There, he was a member of the litigation department and focused his practice on business litigation and tort defense.
Immediately prior to the formation of Wallace Law Firm, PLLC, Terry was Associate General Counsel for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the seventeenth largest school district in the country with over 140,000 students and over 18,000 employees. As Associate General Counsel, Terry’s primary focus included personnel and employment matters, school district governance, and general litigation.
Terry has diverse litigation experience in both the state and federal trial and appellate courts. He has tried cases in state court, before administrative agencies, and before arbitration panels. In addition, Terry has successfully handled appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the Supreme Court of North Carolina, and the Court of Appeals of North Carolina.
Terry has counseled and represented individuals, professionals, small businesses, governmental entities, and Fortune 500 companies on a wide range of legal issues including personal injury, wrongful death, and property damage claims; professional negligence claims; unfair and deceptive trade practices; fraud claims; dram shop claims; trade secret disputes; breach of contract claims; real property disputes; insurance coverage disputes; and general commercial disputes.
In addition to individual clients, Terry’s clients have included financial institutions, utility companies, manufacturers, schools systems, insurance companies, law enforcement officers, and clergy.
Terry has also written publications on insurance litigation and insurance coverage and has given presentations on a variety of issues, including those related to workers’ compensation, insurance, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the North Carolina Teacher Tenure Act.
In 2008, Terry was named to the Legal Elite “Young Guns (Best Under 40)” list by Business North Carolina magazine. In 2009, 2010, and 2011, Terry was recognized as a Rising Star by North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine, an honor bestowed upon less than 2.5% of all attorneys in the state under the age of 40.