Tamara Van Pala Skrobacki is an associate in the Raleigh office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the General Liability and Workers' Compensation Practices. As a litigator with extensive trial and mediation experience, Tamara handles a broad range of civil matters. She works with clients throughout all stages of litigation, from the pre-litigation phase through and including trial. By tailoring her services to meet her clients’ unique and varied needs, she consistently achieves their business objectives.

Tamara has extensive experience litigating an array of general liability matters in North Carolina’s Superior Court, including those involving wrongful death, medical malpractice, negligence, breach of contract, and subrogation. She also has secured victories in the North Carolina Court of Appeals, has defended matters before the North Carolina Supreme Court, and has served as lead counsel in a class action lawsuit for breach of contract. Tamara's recent successes include, among others, resolving a high-exposure, multimillion dollar insurance bad faith lawsuit for a fraction of the plaintiff’s demand. 

In addition, Tamara has significant experience handling administrative hearings on a variety of issues in the healthcare space. These include health plan benefit and enrollment disputes, provider and payment matters, and issues involving the application of statutes and regulations including Medicare, ACA, COBRA, and FMLA.

Prior to joining Lewis Brisbois, Tamara spent almost six years with the North Carolina Department of Justice where she served as litigation counsel to the North Carolina State Health Plan – the largest consumer of healthcare in the state – and also represented all state agencies in workers’ compensation matters before the Industrial Commission. Serving as lead attorney during all stages of the litigation she handled, Tamara regularly brought her cases to swift and efficient resolutions.

Moreover, early in her career, Tamara gained valuable jury trial experience as an assistant public defender in Charleston, South Carolina. She also worked as a judicial clerk in both North Carolina and South Carolina. Tamara has represented both individuals and institutional clients and has appeared in state courts throughout North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as before various administrative tribunals.

Published Opinions

Publications

Admissions

• State Bar Admissions
  • District of Columbia
  • North Carolina
  • South Carolina
• United States District Courts
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
  • United States District Court for the District of South Carolina
• United States Courts of Appeals
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• United States Supreme Court

Associations

Tamara is an active Councilmember in the North Carolina Bar Association Health Law Section Council.

Awards & Honors

In law school, Tamara won first place in the J. Woodrow Lewis Moot Court Competition and was awarded the G.G. Dowling Student Award, which is presented to well-rounded students with notable achievements in law school.

Education

University of South Carolina School of Law

Juris Doctor, 2013

• Dean's List
• Senior Articles Editor, South Carolina Law Review

South Carolina Honors College, University of South Carolina

Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, 2012

• President's List
• Dean's List
• Phi Beta Kappa Academic Honors Society