Dixie Wells practices in the area of litigation, with a special focus on complex litigation in federal court. Her experience includes civil and criminal cases in both state and federal courts. Ms. Wells’s expertise in engineering aided her in the representation of Anti-Hydro International, Inc. in the In re Pedestrian Walkway Failure litigation arising out of the collapse of the pedestrian bridge at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. She also represented Anti-Hydro during the Taylor v. Speedway Motorsports, et al. trial held in Charlotte. Other significant experience includes representing Honeywell International Inc. in environmental exposure cases, Philip Morris in an antitrust class action, Sulzer Orthopedics in hip implant cases and Ethicon, Inc. in suture cases. Much of Ms. Wells’s current practice is devoted to representing universities in claims involving student-athletes and advising universities regarding student affairs.

Ms. Wells has a peer review rating of AV® in Martindale-Hubbell.

Ms. Wells has been listed in Best Lawyers in America for bet-the-company litigation and commercial litigation each year since 2010. She has been listed in Business North Carolina magazine’s Legal Elite in Litigation since 2012. She was recognized as a North Carolina Super Lawyer in 2013.

Ms. Wells obtained her undergraduate degree in engineering from Duke University (B.S.E., magna cum laude, 1991) where she was a Benjamin N. Duke Scholar, her master’s degree from the University of Virginia (1993), and her J.D. from Wake Forest University (magna cum laude, 1999) where she was a Fletcher Scholar. Ms. Wells was a member of the Order of the Coif as well as the Moot Court, and she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Wake Forest Law Review.

Before attending law school, Ms. Wells was a research scientist with the Virginia Transportation Research Council from 1993-1996 where her research focused on the maintenance, repair, rehabilitation and replacement of bridges. She obtained her professional engineer license in North Carolina in 1996.

Ms. Wells has participated in the following presentations:

• Civil Law Update – Presenter at the 2012 Annual Review; sponsored by the North Carolina Bar Association; Greensboro, NC October 12, 2012
• Recent Decisions [of the North Carolina Appellate Courts] – Presenter; Meeting of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys; Hilton Head, SC, June 14, 2012.
• Recent Decisions [of the North Carolina Appellate Courts] — Presenter; Meeting of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys; Greensboro, NC, October 14, 2011
• Advanced Trial Evidence with Don Cowan and Dixie Wells — Program Planner and Session Moderator, sponsored by the North Carolina Bar Association; Greensboro, NC, December 10, 2010
• What do jurors know about your case…about you…and about the judge? — Program Planner and Co-Presenter; Chief Justice Joseph Branch Inn of Court; Winston-Salem, NC, November 8, 2010
• Civil Law Update — Presenter at the 2010 Annual Review; sponsored by the North Carolina Bar Association; Greensboro, NC, October 7, 2010
• Civil Law Update — Presenter at the 2009 Annual Review; sponsored by the North Carolina Bar Association; Greensboro, NC, October 8, 2009
• Recent Decisions [of the North Carolina Appellate Courts] — Presenter; Meeting of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys; Greensboro, NC, September 25, 2009
• Preserving the Attorney-Client Privilege: Protecting Communications, Avoiding Waiver, and Reducing Risks — Program Planner and Panel Moderator; Joint Meeting of the Chief Justice Joseph Branch Inn of Court and the Guilford Inn of Court; Greensboro, NC, February 27, 2008
• Advanced Trial Evidence with Don Cowan — Program Planner and Session Moderator; sponsored by the North Carolina Bar Association; Greensboro, NC, December 8, 2006
• Recent Decisions [of the North Carolina Appellate Courts] — Presenter; Meeting of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys; Greensboro, NC, November 4, 2005
• In re. Pedestrian Walkway Failure & Taylor v. Speedway Motorsports, Inc., Tindall Corporation, and Anti-Hydro International, Inc. — Program Planner and Presenter; Chief Justice Joseph Branch Inn of Court; Greensboro, NC, March 29, 2004

Publications

• Civil Law Update (North Carolina Bar Association; October 12, 2012)
• Recent Decisions [ of the North Carolina Appellate Courts] (North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys, June 14, 2012)
• Recent Decisions [of the North Carolina Appellate Courts] (North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys, Oct. 14, 2011)
• “Q&A with Don Cowan,” in The Litigator (North Carolina Bar Association’s Litigation Section’s Newsletter Vol. 28, No. 3, July 2008)
• Co-author, An Assessment of the Construction Advertisement Date Process Within the Virginia Department of Transportation (Virginia Transportation Research Council Report No. 96-R15, 1996)
• “Environmental Classification Scheme for Pontis,” in Proceedings of the Fourth International Bridge Engineering Conference 203 (Transportation Research Board ed., 1995)
• Maintenance, Repair and Rehabilitation Unit Costs for Pontis (Virginia Transportation Research Council Report No. 95-TAR10, 1995)
• Environmental Classification Scheme for Pontis (Virginia Transportation Research Council Report No. 94-R20, 1994)
• “The State of the Art of Bridge Management Systems,” in Infrastructure Planning and Management Proceedings 182 (American Society of Civil Engineers ed., 1993)
• “The Analysis and Design of a Bridge Management System for the State of Virginia,” in Infrastructure Planning and Management Proceedings 182 (1993) (unpublished M.S. thesis, University of Virginia)

Admissions

• North Carolina, 1999
• United States Supreme Court
• United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• All State and Federal Courts in North Carolina

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, Permanent Member
• Chief Justice Joseph Branch Inn of Court, member of the Board of Directors, 2011-present; Master, 2012–present; Senior Barrister, 2007-2012; Barrister, 1999-2002; Pupil, 1997-1999
• Duke University, Pratt School of Engineering, Engineering Alumni Council, 2009-present
• North Carolina Bar Association Litigation Section, Council Member, 2006-2009; Membership Chair, 2004-2006
• Guilford Inn of Court, 2003-2005
• Expert Technical Group on Maintenance, Repair and Rehabilitation Unit Costs for Bridge Management Systems sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration, 1994-1996
• National Cooperative Highway Research Program Panel, Project 20-5, Topic 25-06, “Collecting and Managing Cost Data for Bridge Management Systems,” 1994-1996
• Technical Advisory Group on Maintenance, Repair and Rehabilitation Unit Costs for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Pontis Task Force, 1993-1994
• Professional Engineer License, North Carolina, inactive

Prior legal experience

• Adjunct Professor of Trial Practice, Elon University School of Law, 2008
• Smith Moore LLP, 2002-2005, 2006-2008
• Smith, Helms, Mulliss, & Moore, LLP, 2000-2002
• Clerkship, United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, Hon. N. Carlton Tilley, Jr., 1999-2000

Other prior experience

• Research Scientist, Virginia Transportation Research Council, 1993-1996