Philip Hinson

Managing Partner

Philip.Hinson@lewisbrisbois.com

Phil Hinson is the Managing Partner of the Charlotte office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Labor & Employment, Employment Advice & Counseling, and Complex Business & Commercial Litigation Practices.  He is also a Vice-Chair of the ADA Compliance & Defense Practice.

Phil is a creative litigator, problem solver, and strategic thinker focused on understanding the goals of each client and developing constructive solutions.  He has extensive experience litigating in Federal Courts and has handled oral argument at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  Phil is well-versed in litigation and business practices involving employment disputes, civil rights, complex commercial and trade concepts, and business transactions.  He enjoys using his diverse litigation and life experience to fashion counseling strategies that avoid time consuming litigiousness so clients can constructively focus on workforce development and core enterprise missions.  However, he also enjoys challenging litigation and appreciates when litigation is appropriate.

Phil’s overall practice encompasses litigation, administrative agency proceedings, internal investigations, counseling, and proactive strategic planning.  He handles matters regarding discrimination, harassment, retaliation, reasonable accommodation, wage and hour issues, accessibility, restrictive covenants, trade secrets, commercially valuable information, corporate practices, tax concepts, intellectual property, antitrust, and anti-competitive and unfair trade and business practices.  His practice is recognized in several of these areas by Best Lawyers, by North Carolina Super Lawyers, and by Business North Carolina Legal Elite.

Phil is grateful that he grew up as a second-generation lawyer surrounded by all facets of the legal profession.  Beginning with his first high school summer break, he has worked at all levels of small, regional, national, and international law practices while based in offices located in Charlotte and Washington, D.C.  He is particularly grateful for his first opportunity after law school graduation serving as Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Graham C. Mullen, United States Senior District Judge for the Western District of North Carolina.

Phil is a native Charlottean who is proud of the Charlotte community.  He particularly appreciates that his sons play spring and fall baseball in the South Park Youth Association and he hopes the boys at least consider becoming third generation Hinson lawyers whenever their baseball careers end.  Phil also expects that all Hinson Golden Retrievers continue their contribution to a squirrel-free work environment and will mirror their workplace conduct while at home.  He wants the Wake Forest Demon Deacons to win consistently.

Primary Area(s) of Practice

  • Labor & Employment
  • ADA Compliance & Defense
  • Employment Advice & Counseling
  • COVID-19: Labor & Employment

Additional Experience

Admissions

North Carolina

United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina

Associations

  • North Carolina State Bar
  • North Carolina Bar Association
  • Mecklenburg County Bar

Awards & Honors

  • Super Lawyers® Rising Star, Employment & Labor 2014-2022
  • “Best Lawyers in America,” Employment Law - Management, 2022-2024

Professional Presentations

Phil provides training seminars to clients on a variety of employment-related topics such as:

  • The ADA’s reasonable accommodation duty and interactive process;
  • Intersection of the ADA and FMLA;
  • Retaliation avoidance strategies; and
  • Effective anti-harassment policies and procedures.

Education

Campbell University School of Law

Juris Doctor, 2011

Wake Forest University

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, 2004

Representative Matters

  • Successfully defended employers against administrative charges alleging various wage and hour violations
  • Successfully obtained injunctions on behalf of employers in non-compete and restrictive covenant claims
  • Successfully obtained dismissal with prejudice of disparate pay, disparate discipline, failure to promote, hostile work environment, retaliation, and FMLA claims on behalf of employer in federal court
  • Successfully obtained dismissal with prejudice of all claims, including Title VII and state law claims, on behalf of employer in federal court
  • Successfully obtained pre-filing injunction on behalf of employer against litigant who repeatedly filed meritless and repetitive employment discrimination and Employee Retirement Income Security Act “ERISA” actions in federal and state courts
  • Successfully obtained dismissal with prejudice of all Title VII claims brought against employer by former employee in federal court
  • Successfully defended employers in litigation involving Title VII and FMLA claims in federal court
  • Successfully defended employers in litigation involving wrongful discharge claims in state court
  • Successfully defended employers against charges of discrimination pending before U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission