"A highly specialized boutique litigation and ADR firm." - chambers

We Offer Representation 

Across the Full Project Lifecycle

*

Our  corporate client base spans every key stakeholder group in the construction industry: 

• Front-End Risk Management: Drafting and negotiating highly complex commercial contracts to build out proper risk-allocation profiles before ground is ever broken.
• Project Closeouts & Transitions: Guiding developers and contractors through project delivery, contract compliance reviews, and structural handoffs.

High-Stakes Defect 

and Delay Litigation

*

When projects derail, the firm handles aggressive courtroom litigation across the North Carolina Superior Court, the North Carolina Business Court, and federal dockets: 

• Design & Engineering Defects: Counseling architects, engineers, and design professionals facing professional liability claims regarding faulty plans, structural calculations, or blueprint specifications. 
• Defective Construction: Defending and prosecuting claims against general contractors and subcontractors for building failures, material shortfalls, and structural deviations. 
• Delay & Inefficiency Claims: Resolving multi-million dollar scheduling disruptions, supply chain bottlenecks, force majeure gridlocks, and wrongful termination actions.
• Lien & Bond Claims: Executing rapid prosecution and defense of mechanics’ liens and payment bonds to protect corporate cash flow and secure financial interests. 
• Contract Drafts & Disputes: Bulletproof risk management for owners, general contractors, and subs.

We Operate A High Stakes 

Commercial  Litigation Practice

*

Ranked as a Tier 1 Commercial Litigation provider in Metropolitan Charlotte by Best Law Firms.

Our commercial docket operates on both defensive risk-mitigation fronts and aggressive courtroom advocacy across state, federal, and appellate levels: 

• Intense Corporate "Divorces" & Shareholder Gridlocks: JDL frequently steps in to manage internal corporate warfare, resolving high-conflict partnership fractures, member exits, and shareholder squeeze-out disputes for closely held companies.
• Business Tort Prosecution: We routinely litigate complex multi-million dollar business tort claims, with specialized focus on Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act (UDTPA) violations, trade secrets theft, and high-exposure breaches of contract. 

Business Disputes: Resolving high-stakes partnership fractures, breach of contract, and unfair trade practices.

Risk Mitigation: Proactive structural advice to neutralize liabilities before they reach a courtroom.

Appellate Practice: Proven capability to handle complex legal appeals across state and federal courts.

JDL's  real estate segment seamlessly bridges the gap between high-volume commercial real property transactions and aggressive courtroom property enforcement.

*

• Commercial Transactions & Infrastructure Development: Our team guides national retailers, developers, and wholesale suppliers through the dense legal architectures of land acquisitions, commercial leasing strategies, and large-scale land development projects. 
• Zoning, Land Use, & Regulatory Approvals: Securing vital municipal approvals, navigating complex regulatory variances, and clearing municipal roadblocks to ensure development projects remain compliant and on schedule. 
• High-Exposure Real Estate Litigation: We regularly prosecute and defend high-stakes title defects, commercial property line/easement conflicts, and volatile commercial landlord-tenant lease disputes representing national commercial landlords and retail tenants. 

Commercial Transactions: Seamless navigation of acquisitions, commercial leasing, and land development.

Title & Boundary Disputes: 

Resolving title defects, easements, and commercial property line conflicts.

JDL operates  as a high-stakes Trust and Estate Litigation practice, focusing entirely on resolving intense, adversarial fiduciary and inheritance disputes.

*

• Breach of Fiduciary Duty: Holding trustees, executors, and personal representatives accountable for mismanagement of estate assets or self-dealing.
• Will and Trust Contests: Litigating high-conflict claims involving lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, fraud, or ambiguous document language.
• Asset Allocation & Valuation Disputes: Resolving intense family deadlocks regarding the division of closely held corporate shares, complex business assets, and high-value real estate within an estate.