Dawn M. Dillon is the managing partner of Young Moore and Henderson in Raleigh, with 30 years of practice concentrating in employment and workers’ compensation defense.

Dillon has argued before both the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the North Carolina Supreme Court — experiences she said are among the most stimulating of her career, as they require becoming a deep expert in a narrow, specific area of law. She serves on the North Carolina Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section Council.

Beyond litigation, she said she particularly enjoys working with employers to develop policies and practices that avoid disputes before they arise.

When asked what makes her a leader in her field, she said simply: “Age! Ha ha.” — before adding that what has served her most over three decades is being a people person who gets along with both clients and opposing counsel and does what she says she will do.

Tracey Jones is a partner at Teague Campbell Dennis & Gorham in Raleigh, with 29 years of practice concentrating in workers’ compensation defense. She co-chairs the firm’s Workers’ Compensation Practice Group and specializes in the trucking industry, municipal law, healthcare and occupational disease cases.

Jones began her legal career clerking for Chief Judge Eagles at the North Carolina Court of Appeals, where she developed a passion for workers’ compensation cases before joining Teague Campbell in 1999. She was involved in Sims v. Charmes/Arby’s Roast Beef and contributed to the Sturdivant amicus brief.

She currently serves on the board of the North Carolina Trucking Association and as legal advisor for the North Carolina Association of Self-Insured. She previously served on the NCBA Workers’ Compensation Section Council and the NCADA board.

She is a frequent statewide speaker on workers’ compensation topics — and, she noted, is also known for having great glasses.

Doug Maynard Jr. is an attorney at the Law Offices of C. Douglas Maynard Jr. in Winston-Salem, with 33 years of practice in insurance coverage disputes, bad faith claims, personal injury and workers’ compensation.

Maynard began his career as an adjuster for the nation’s largest automobile insurance company before switching to plaintiff-side work. He has appeared before the North Carolina Supreme Court three times on insurance coverage matters, including Hairston v. Harward — an eight-year effort producing a unanimous ruling establishing underinsured motorist coverage as a collateral source. He edited the first two editions of Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Insurance in North Carolina and has been involved in every major rewrite of the state’s UIM statutes since 2008.

His bar leadership includes serving as president of the Forsyth County Bar Association and chair of the NCBA Litigation Section.

Ali Overby is a partner at the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin in Durham, with 11 years of practice concentrating in workers’ compensation on behalf of injured workers. She is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law.

Overby joined the firm in 2015 after working as a paralegal at a small workers’ compensation firm while attending Campbell University School of Law — an experience that showed her firsthand how attorneys can help injured workers regain a sense of normalcy after on-the-job injuries.

She is an active member of the North Carolina Bar Association, the Wake County Bar Association and the North Carolina Advocates for Justice.

Overby said it is especially meaningful to secure justice for workers who have been treated poorly by their employers or insurance companies — the underdogs of the workers’ compensation system.

Audrey Snyder is a co-owner at Ward Black Law in Greensboro, with nearly nine years of practice concentrating in personal injury, defective products, occupational diseases and workers’ compensation. She and her husband Gabriel Snyder purchased the firm in January 2025, continuing the legacy of founder Janet Ward Black.

Snyder served as president of the North Carolina Association for Women Attorneys in 2023 and as chair of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice Women’s Caucus in 2024. She has also served as chair of the NCAJ Products Liability, Class Actions and Mass Torts Section and currently serves on the North Carolina Bar Association’s Litigation Section Council.

She earned her Juris Doctor from Campbell University School of Law, where she received the Order of Old Kivett for excellence in advocacy and ethics.

She said the firm’s clients can expect “the same dedicated attorneys, the same caring staff, and the same mission that has guided Ward Black Law for decades.”