10 Best Mesothelioma Lawyers in North Carolina

This guide covers 10 law firms that represent North Carolina residents diagnosed with mesothelioma, whether the exposure happened at a Carolina power plant, shipyard, textile mill, or military base. Firms were compared on four things: how much of their practice is dedicated to asbestos and mesothelioma rather than general injury work, documented trial and settlement results, familiarity with North Carolina exposure sites and the state’s workers’ compensation and civil courts, and whether they have an in-state presence or work through local co-counsel.

When comparing firms, three practical questions matter most. Does the firm know where asbestos was used in North Carolina, so it can identify the companies responsible for a specific work history? Can it pursue every available source of recovery, including lawsuits, asbestos bankruptcy trust claims, North Carolina Industrial Commission workers’ compensation claims, and VA benefits for veterans? And will the attorneys travel to meet a patient at home, since many mesothelioma patients are too ill to make office visits?

Here is the complete list of North Carolina mesothelioma lawyers:

1. Wallace & Graham, P.A.

• Attorneys/Key Figures: Mona Lisa Wallace and William M. “Bill” Graham, firm namesakes
• Headquarters: 525 N. Main Street, Salisbury, NC 28144
• Phone: 704-633-5244 (toll free 800-849-5291)
• Website: usmesotheliomalaw.com
• Practice Areas: Mesothelioma and asbestos (pleural, peritoneal, pericardial, sarcomatoid), asbestosis, secondhand asbestos exposure, Navy asbestos exposure, mesothelioma workers’ compensation, cosmetic talc, PVC exposure, engineered stone silicosis, Camp Lejeune water contamination, Roundup, Zantac, premises and product liability, wrongful death
• Firm Size: Mid-size plaintiffs’ firm; FindLaw lists eleven attorneys and LinkedIn lists 51 to 200 employees

About the firm: Wallace & Graham is a plaintiffs’ litigation firm in Salisbury that represents people across the United States, with mesothelioma, asbestosis, and asbestos-related lung cancer as a primary focus. Attorneys Mona Lisa Wallace and Bill Graham each have decades of asbestos litigation experience, and the firm has helped shape the law: after a five-year fight it won before the Tennessee Supreme Court for the family of a woman who died of mesothelioma at age 20 after being exposed from infancy to asbestos her father carried home on his work clothes.

The firm pairs that national reach with detailed knowledge of local exposure sites. Its Salisbury page names worksites tied to past client claims, including ABEX, the Buck Power Plant, the Duke Steam Station, Hoechst Celanese, Owens Illinois, and the Veterans’ Administration Hospital. It handles the full range of mesothelioma recovery paths, including North Carolina workers’ compensation claims, works on a contingency fee basis, and can guide patients to specialists for a confirmed diagnosis and treatment options.

2. Martin & Jones, PLLC

• Attorneys/Key Figures: J. Michael “Mike” Riley, Attorney; H. Forest Horne, Partner
• Headquarters: 4140 Parklake Avenue, Suite 400, Raleigh, NC 27612 (additional offices in Durham and Wilmington)
• Phone: 919-821-0005 (toll free 800-662-1234)
• Website: martinandjones.com
• Practice Areas: Asbestos and mesothelioma, workers’ compensation, product liability, environmental and toxic tort, personal injury, wrongful death, and related injury claims
• Firm Size: Mid-size North Carolina personal injury firm with three offices; has represented clients in more than 30 states

About the firm: Mike Riley has spent his career at Martin & Jones focused on people with malignant mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, and asbestosis. His cases include products liability and wrongful death actions in federal and state courts, plus workers’ compensation occupational disease claims before the North Carolina Industrial Commission, against asbestos manufacturers, contractors, distributors, and employers. He holds Martindale-Hubbell’s AV rating, has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America, and appears on the 2026 North Carolina Super Lawyers list.

Riley also pursues claims against asbestos bankruptcy trusts and serves as an arbitrator and member of the trust advisory committee for several of them, which gives him a view of how those trusts value claims from the inside. Published results include $1.9 million for a chemical plant and paper mill worker and $2 million for a railroad worker. The trade-off is breadth: Martin & Jones is a general injury firm, so mesothelioma is one of many practice areas rather than the firm’s only focus.

3. Law Offices of Thomas J. Lamb, P.A.

• Attorney/Key Figure: Thomas J. Lamb, Founder
• Headquarters: 1908 Eastwood Road, Suite 225, Wilmington, NC 28403
• Phone: 910-256-2971 (toll free 800-426-9535)
• Website: lamblawoffice.com and asbestos-mesothelioma.com
• Practice Areas: Asbestos and mesothelioma lawsuits, asbestos lung cancer, North Carolina asbestos workers’ compensation claims, benzene diseases, chemical exposure, drug injury, wrongful death
• Firm Size: Solo practice with a national docket

About the firm: Tom Lamb founded his Wilmington firm in 1996 after working at Ness Motley Loadholt Richardson & Poole in Charleston, South Carolina, then one of the country’s largest plaintiffs’ firms, where he handled asbestos and mesothelioma cases for people nationwide. He has been licensed in North Carolina since 1992 and holds Martindale-Hubbell’s AV peer rating. His Avvo profile lists his work on the Ingalls Shipyard asbestos state court consolidation, which it credits with more than $100 million for plaintiffs.

The firm takes an individual-case approach and does not place clients in class actions, and it handles both civil lawsuits against asbestos companies and North Carolina workers’ compensation claims for mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis. Because it is a one-attorney office, clients get direct access to Lamb, though the practice has less bench depth than a multi-attorney firm when several cases need attention at once.

4. Meirowitz & Wasserberg, LLP

• Attorneys/Key Figures: Samuel Meirowitz and Daniel Wasserberg, Founding Partners
• North Carolina Office: 105 N. 6th Street, Wilmington, NC 28401
• Phone: 844-446-9529
• Website: samndan.com
• Practice Areas: Mesothelioma and asbestos litigation, personal injury, wrongful death, construction and vehicle accidents, medical malpractice
• Firm Size: Large multi-office firm with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Florida, Texas, California, South Carolina, and North Carolina

About the firm: Meirowitz & Wasserberg has represented mesothelioma patients for more than 15 years and serves North Carolina clients through its Wilmington office, backed by the resources of its national team. The firm reports more than $500 million recovered for asbestos clients and has handled more than 650 asbestos-related cases. Its highest asbestos settlement exceeded $10 million, and its best trial verdict exceeded $30 million.

Both Samuel Meirowitz and Daniel Wasserberg are trial attorneys with Super Lawyers recognition, and the firm has taken on large asbestos defendants in courts across the country, including complex multi-district litigation. It also co-counsels with Connecticut-based Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney & Meisenkothen on North Carolina cases. Because the Wilmington location is a satellite of a New York firm, the local team leans on colleagues elsewhere for major litigation work.

5. Simmons Hanly Conroy

• Attorneys/Key Figures: Gary DiMuzio, Partner (Asbestos Department); Jim Kramer; Jennifer Alesio
• Headquarters: One Court Street, Alton, IL 62002 (offices in St. Louis, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco)
• Phone: (800) 326-8900
• Website: simmonsfirm.com
• Practice Areas: Mesothelioma and asbestos, opioid litigation, dangerous drugs and devices, class actions, sexual abuse, environmental litigation, personal injury
• Firm Size: Large national firm; reports more than 60 attorneys focused solely on mesothelioma

About the firm: Simmons Hanly Conroy reports more than $10.6 billion recovered for mesothelioma clients nationwide, including over $244 million for North Carolina families, and cites the highest mesothelioma verdict against a single defendant at $250 million. Its North Carolina page lists past results for workers in places such as Monroe, New Bern, Wilson, Cary, Concord, and Greensboro, and describes an evidence library built on thousands of North Carolina job sites where asbestos was used. Partner Gary DiMuzio brings 25 years of experience with mesothelioma and other environmental and workplace exposure cases.

Each senior attorney works with a team that includes registered nurses, and the firm pursues lawsuits, asbestos trust fund claims, and veterans benefits in parallel. It travels to clients’ homes, so patients do not need to leave their area. The firm has no North Carolina office, so North Carolina clients work with a team based out of state.

6. Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney & Meisenkothen (ELSM Law)

• Attorneys/Key Figures: Jennifer Lucarelli, Partner; Kyle Navin, Attorney; Ethan Early, Partner
• Headquarters: One Century Tower, 11th Floor, 265 Church Street, New Haven, CT 06510 (additional offices in New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, St. Louis area, New Orleans, Orlando, and Edwardsville, IL)
• Phone: 800-336-0086
• Website: elslaw.com
• Practice Areas: Mesothelioma and asbestos litigation, asbestos trust fund claims, workers’ compensation, VA benefits, secondary exposure claims
• Firm Size: Large national firm focused exclusively on asbestos-related litigation

About the firm: ELSM is a nationally recognized mesothelioma firm whose attorneys focus on asbestos-related litigation, and it holds a Best Law Firms National Tier 1 ranking for 2026 along with Super Lawyers and Martindale-Hubbell AV recognition. It has represented clients in 93 North Carolina cities and towns, from Asheville to Wilmington, with the largest concentration in Charlotte. Its North Carolina page lists client recoveries ranging from roughly $4.7 million to $11.5 million, including for veterans, engineers, and a cosmetic talc user.

Attorney Kyle Navin specializes in asbestos bankruptcy claims and arbitration and is accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to help veterans pursue VA claims. ELSM works with North Carolina co-counsel, including Meirowitz & Wasserberg in Wilmington and Motley Rice, and its lawyers will meet patients at home. The firm does not list a North Carolina office of its own, so local representation runs through those partnerships.

7. Motley Rice LLC

• Attorneys/Key Figures: John E. Herrick, Member; Anne McGinness Kearse, Member
• Headquarters: Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (offices in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, West Virginia, Washington DC, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and California)
• Phone: 1.800.768.4026
• Website: motleyrice.com
• Practice Areas: Asbestos and mesothelioma, toxic exposure, medical drugs and devices, nursing home abuse, securities class actions, whistleblower, consumer fraud, human rights, and more
• Firm Size: Large national firm with roughly 136 attorneys

About the firm: Motley Rice traces its asbestos work to co-founder Ron Motley, who began representing injured asbestos workers in the 1970s and led a sustained discovery effort against asbestos defendants. Co-founder Joe Rice began his career alongside Motley and became involved in developing many asbestos trusts. Just across the state line from North Carolina, the firm works with a nationwide network of co-counsel to file asbestos cases wherever exposure occurred.

Attorney John Herrick has spent more than 30 years representing mesothelioma victims and won the first affirmed jury verdict in the United States for a domestic, asbestos-exposed mesothelioma victim in the Granski case. He also achieved the first verdict against SCAPA US, a former manufacturer of asbestos-containing dryer felts. As a very large firm with many unrelated practice areas, Motley Rice is a better fit for patients who value national resources over a small-firm, single-attorney relationship, and it is not based in North Carolina.

8. Dean Omar Branham Shirley, LLP

• Attorneys/Key Figures: Jessica Dean and Amin Omar, Name Partners; Trey Branham, Managing Partner; Lisa Shirley, Partner (heads motion and appellate practice)
• Headquarters: 1801 N. Lamar Street, Suite 300, Dallas, TX 75202
• Phone: 1-800-559-4534
• Website: dobslegal.com
• Practice Areas: Mesothelioma and asbestos, product liability, catastrophic injury, wrongful death
• Firm Size: National plaintiffs’ trial firm with multiple partners across several cities

About the firm: Dean Omar Branham Shirley (DOBS) is a Dallas trial firm that takes mesothelioma cases to juries around the country. In 2025 it reported mesothelioma verdicts of $1.5 billion, $966 million, $65.5 million, $42 million, $10.25 million, and $6 million. The $966 million verdict, which included $950 million in punitive damages, came against Johnson & Johnson in Los Angeles County in the case of a woman who died of mesothelioma linked to talc. The firm was named to the 2026 Best Law Firms list for the first time.

Partner Jessica Dean has appeared on Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers list for five years and secured a $45 million mesothelioma verdict against Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue. Lisa Shirley leads the firm’s appellate work, which has produced precedent for mesothelioma victims. DOBS is a Dallas-based national trial firm rather than a North Carolina practice, so it is best suited to patients who want a nationally proven trial team.

9. Rogers, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman, LLC (RPWB)

• Attorneys/Key Figures: Kenneth J. Wilson, Attorney; Edward J. Westbrook, Founding Member and Of Counsel
• Headquarters: 1037 Chuck Dawley Boulevard, Building A, Mount Pleasant, SC 29465 (offices in Charleston, Aiken, and Columbia, SC)
• Phone: 843-727-6500 (toll free 888-293-6883)
• Website: rpwb.com
• Practice Areas: Mesothelioma and asbestos, toxic torts, drugs and medical devices, personal injury, consumer protection, criminal defense, worker health
• Firm Size: Boutique to mid-size firm with four South Carolina offices

About the firm: RPWB has more than 40 years of experience, and its lawyers helped pioneer asbestos litigation for workers with mesothelioma and related occupational diseases. Founding member Edward Westbrook is well known for his work for asbestos victims, and attorney Kenneth Wilson has nearly 40 years of experience litigating against negligent asbestos manufacturers and large employers, having represented thousands of asbestos-disease clients in individual and consolidated cases. The firm’s attorneys have been selected to the 2026 South Carolina Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.

The firm describes itself as a national asbestos and multi-district litigation boutique built for high-stakes trials, and it notes that South Carolina’s coordinated asbestos docket gives it efficiencies similar to an MDL. Its base just across the border makes it a practical option for clients in the Charlotte area and along the South Carolina line. As a South Carolina firm with additional criminal defense and personal injury practices, it is not a dedicated mesothelioma boutique.

10. Sokolove Law

• Attorneys/Key Figures: Ricky A. LeBlanc, Managing Attorney (directs the asbestos practice); Jim Sokolove, Founder
• Headquarters: 1330 Boylston Street, Suite 400, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
• Phone: 800-568-2108
• Website: sokolovelaw.com
• Practice Areas: Mesothelioma and asbestos, birth injuries, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, product liability, dangerous drugs and devices
• Firm Size: Large national firm with offices in nearly all 50 states

About the firm: Jim Sokolove founded the firm in Boston in 1979, and it is known primarily for asbestos and mesothelioma litigation. The firm states that it has recovered more than $5.5 billion for mesothelioma clients and that 98 percent of its asbestos cases result in compensation. Its North Carolina page highlights registered nurses on staff who help clients understand a diagnosis and treatment options, and a 4.8 Google rating for local reviews.

Managing Attorney Ricky LeBlanc directs the asbestos practice and oversees the firm’s other areas, including birth injuries and product liability. One point to weigh: the firm’s own advertising disclosures state that most cases of this type are referred to other attorneys, so the lawyer who ultimately handles a North Carolina case may be at a partner firm rather than at Sokolove Law itself.

North Carolina Mesothelioma Resources

• Duke Cancer Center (Durham): Nationally recognized NCI-designated comprehensive center offering advanced thoracic surgery, immunotherapy, and clinical trials.
• UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (Chapel Hill): Provides specialized multidisciplinary oncology teams, cutting-edge radiation therapies, and supportive patient programs.
• Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist (Winston-Salem): Features leading surgical oncologists and personalized treatment regimens for asbestos-related cancers.
• NC Health Hazards Control Unit: State division overseeing asbestos abatement compliance, permits, and safety regulations for renovations and demolitions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to file a mesothelioma lawsuit in North Carolina?

North Carolina mesothelioma personal injury claims generally carry a three-year statute of limitations under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(16), and the clock typically starts at diagnosis rather than at the time of exposure. Wrongful death claims are generally subject to a two-year deadline running from the date of death. Because mesothelioma cases involve evidence gathering that can take months, firms such as Simmons Hanly Conroy and ELSM Law encourage patients and families to make contact soon after diagnosis.

Can I file my case in another state if I live in North Carolina?

Often, yes. A mesothelioma lawsuit is not necessarily limited to the state where a patient lives today. Depending on the facts, it may be filed where the asbestos exposure occurred, where the person worked or served in the military, or where a responsible company is located. This is one reason national firms like Motley Rice, Dean Omar Branham Shirley, and Meirowitz & Wasserberg work with co-counsel across many states.

What kinds of compensation are available for North Carolina mesothelioma patients?

There are several parallel paths. A lawsuit against the companies responsible for exposure is one, and claims against asbestos bankruptcy trusts are another; Simmons Hanly Conroy estimates more than $30 billion remains available in these trusts. Workers with occupational exposure may also file North Carolina workers’ compensation claims before the Industrial Commission, which Martin & Jones and the Law Offices of Thomas J. Lamb both handle. Veterans may qualify for VA benefits, and veterans account for about a third of mesothelioma cases according to Simmons Hanly Conroy.

Where were North Carolinians exposed to asbestos?

Exposure sites span the state’s industrial and military history. Documented examples include the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company and Sutton Steam Plant in Wilmington, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco in Winston-Salem, power plants such as Buck and Duke Steam Station near Salisbury, chemical and textile plants in Shelby and Greensboro, and the Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg military installations. Secondhand exposure also occurs when workers carry fibers home on their clothing, a scenario Wallace & Graham has litigated to a state supreme court decision.

How much does it cost to hire a mesothelioma lawyer in North Carolina?

Mesothelioma firms typically work on a contingency fee basis, meaning no fee is charged unless the case results in compensation. Wallace & Graham, the Law Offices of Thomas J. Lamb, and Simmons Hanly Conroy all describe this arrangement, and the consultation itself is free at these firms. Several firms, including ELSM Law and Simmons Hanly Conroy, will also travel to meet a patient at home.

Should I choose a North Carolina firm or a national firm?

Each has advantages. In-state firms such as Wallace & Graham in Salisbury, Martin & Jones in Raleigh, and Thomas J. Lamb in Wilmington know North Carolina worksites and the Industrial Commission process firsthand. National firms such as Simmons Hanly Conroy, Dean Omar Branham Shirley, and Sokolove Law bring larger teams and multi-state trial experience, and some, like ELSM Law and Meirowitz & Wasserberg, combine national resources with a North Carolina presence or local co-counsel. Patients often weigh how much they value direct access to a single attorney against the depth of a large team.

Disclaimer: For informational purposes only-not legal advice. Mesothelioma claims in North Carolina are subject to strict legal deadlines. Attorney availability, experience, and office locations change over time; verify all credentials directly with the firm and the North Carolina State Bar before hiring counsel.