James B. Gillespie, Jr.

James B. Gillespie, Jr. was born and raised in Wilmington, North Carolina, graduated from New Hanover High School and attended Davidson College and Cornell Law School where he was awarded his Juris Doctorate.

Mr. Gillespie has been practicing in the Wilmington area for over 30 years, with emphasis on the representation of injured and disabled people. In the late 1980’s he wrote extensively for a national legal publisher on the representation of disabled people before the Social Security Administration. He has lectured for the North Carolina Bar Association and the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers. On a national level he has presented training material to the National Organization of Social Security Claimant’s Representatives, an organization in which he has been a significant participant for more than 25 years.

The North Carolina State Bar has recognized certain members of the Bar who have “committed excellence in their practice areas, have passed a rigorous examination, continue to educate themselves about the latest developments in their field, and have received high praise from their peers”. Mr. Gillespie is one of 27 lawyers in North Carolina recognized by the State Bar as a specialist in the area of Social Security Disability representation, and is one of 83 lawyers in the State of North Carolina having a Board Specialization in North Carolina Workers’ Compensation. He is one of only two lawyers in the State of North Carolina out of 37,205 practicing attorneys in 2007 Board Specialized in both Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability claims.

In addition to Social Security disability and workers’ compensation the firm also represents individuals in the area of short and long term disability programs stemming from employment. Significant litigation experience includes favorable opinions in the areas of Workers’ Compensation, ERISA long term disability benefits, and Social Security Disability from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, United States District Court of the Eastern District of North Carolina, North Carolina Industrial Commission, North Carolina Court of Appeals, and North Carolina Supreme Court. Professional organizations include more than 20 years as a patron with the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, membership in the North Carolina Bar Association, the North Carolina State Bar, the Academy of Trial Lawyers of America, and the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives.

On a personal level Mr. Gillespie is married to Carolyn Bass Gillespie, who works in the office assisting their clients. He is a Rotarian of 30 years standing, has coached the Cape Fear Foils, the Hoggard High School Fencing Club for the past 18 years, and spends his free time enjoying his family, hunting, fishing, and the activities of Southeastern North Carolina.

Mr. Gillespie continues to be interested in the advancement of the same legal principles that brought him back to Southeastern North Carolina in the mid 1970’s to organize and run the Legal Services program for the eight Southeastern most counties of the State of North Carolina.