Profile
Attorney Wade E. Byrd has been providing injured persons and grieving families in North Carolina and several other southern states with responsive personal attention and outstanding legal representation for more than 30 years. Mr. Byrd has extensive litigation, trial and appellate experience in both state and federal courts, and a law practice that is focused on cases involving serious medical malpractice, personal injury, and other complex tort litigation. Mr. Byrd's experience, skills and tenacious advocacy have resulted in dozens of significant verdicts and settlements in these cases over the last three-plus decades.
Professionally, Mr. Byrd is an active member of several organizations, including the American Association of Justice. He has received several peer-voted awards, has published numerous articles on civil litigation, and is frequently asked to lecture on civil litigation and personal injury topics as well. In 2001, Mr. Byrd was honored with the Walter Clark Award from the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is also listed in "The Best Lawyers in America" and the "Bar Register of Pre-eminent Lawyers."
About Wade Byrd
Law School: Wake Forest University School of Law
Admitted: 1973, North Carolina
Professional Webpage: www.wadebyrdlaw.com/Attorney-Bio/Wade-E-Byrd.shtml
Honors and Awards:
- Supporting Fellow, The Roscoe Pound Foundation
- Outstanding President, Fayetteville Kiwanis Club
- Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers
- The Best Lawyers in America
- American Board of Trial Advocates
- International Society of Barristers
- Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
- Methodist College Outstanding Alumnus of the Year, 2001
Bar/Professional Activity:
- Member, AAJ List Advisory Committee, American Association for Justice, 1998 - 1999
- Member, Wake Forest University Deacon Club
- Member, Wake Forest University President's Club
- President-Elect, Wake Forest University Law Alumni Council, 2002 - 2003
- Member, Wake Forest University Law Alumni Council, 1998 - Present
- Chair, Lawyers Division, United Way-Cumberland County, 1997 - 1998
- Honorary Member, Key Club, International
- Honorary Member, Key Club, International
- Outstanding President, Fayetteville Kiwanis Club, 1984 - 1985
- Member, Fayetteville Kiwanis Club
- Member, Board of Directors, Fayetteville Academy, 1986 - 1988
- Chairman, Board of Directors, Fayetteville Academy, 1988 - 1991
- Member, Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
- Member, North Carolina State Bar
- Trustee, Committee on Political Action, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers
- Co-Chair, Committee on Political Action, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1992 - 1994
- Legislative Vice-President, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1992 - 1995
- President Elect, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1995 - 1996
- President, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1996 - 1997
- Immediate Past President, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1997 - 1998
- Member, Legislative Committee, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1998 - 1999
- Member, Board of Governors, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1999 - 2000
- Chair, Committee on Political Action, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1999 - 2000
- Chair, Committee on Endowment, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1999 - 2000
- Member, International Society of Barristers
- Member, Cumberland County Bar Association
- Member, Board of Trustees, Civil Justice Foundation, 1997 - 2000
- Member, Council of Presidents, American Association for Justice, 1996 - 1997
- Member, Committee on Bar Liaison, American Association for Justice, 1996 - 1999
- Member, Committee on Elections, American Association for Justice, 1997 - 1999
- Member, PAC Task Force, American Association for Justice, 1998 - 1999
- Member, Committee on Key Persons, American Association for Justice, 1998 - 1999
- State Delegate, American Association for Justice, 1999 - 2000
- Sustaining Member, American Association for Justice
- Member, American Board of Trial Advocates
- Member, American Bar Association
- North Carolina, 1973
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of North Carolina, 1978
- U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 1982
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1999
Scholarly Lectures and Writings:
- Civil Procedure Seminar: Trial and Judgment, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 2003
- Medicine on Trial: Experts, The Bar & The Bench on Hot Topics In Medical Evidence, Autopsies as Evidence: Cross-Examining the Medical Examiner, North Carolina Bar Foundation, May 26, 1999
- Legal Issues: 1998 Update, ECU School of Medicine 20th Annual Health Law Forum (CME), September 16, 1998
- Seminar Speaker: Summation by the Masters, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1997
- Seminar Speaker - Jury Selection Demonstration: Picking the Jury, Hillsboro/Wilmington, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1997
- 33rd Annual Convention: Send-Off Address as Outgoing President, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1997
- National College of Advocacy: Dynamic Demonstrative Evidence, Association of Trail Lawyers of America, February 7, 1997
- 32nd Annual Convention: Jury Selection Demonstration; Send-Off Address as Incoming President, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1996
- The People's Choice Seminar: Winning Wrongful Death Closing Arguments, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1996
- Medical Malpractice: Pre-Screening and Case Selections: Which Frogs are Really Princes?, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1996
- Seminar Speaker: All-Star Trial of a Civil Case, North Carolina Bar Foundation, March 29, 1996
- National College of Advocacy: Dynamic Demonstrative Evidence, American Association for Justice, February 9, 1996
- In the Wake of Haslip: Punitive Damage Jury Instructions and Post-Verdict Reviews of Awards in North Carolina, Vol. 24 Trial Briefs No. 3
- Dealing With Juries: To Use or Not To Use an Expert and Alternatives to Hiring an Expert, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1989
- Professional Negligence: Discovery and Proof of the Applicable Standard of Care, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1990
- Practical Trial Skills: Making the Most of Exhibits in Civil and Criminal Cases, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1990
- Advanced Personal Injury Law: Demonstrative Evidence, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1990
- Program Chair, Insurance Law, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1990
- Damages: Economics of Catastrophic Injuries, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1991
- Practical Trial Skills, Making the Most of Exhibits in Civil and Criminal Cases, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1991
- Trial Advocacy Clinic: GENERAL SESSION: Exhibits and Demonstrative Evidence, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1992
- Practical Trial Skills: Making the Most of Exhibits in Civil and Criminal Cases, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1992
- Personal Injury Law: THE SLAM DUNK: Winning Opening Statements, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1992
- Expert Witnesses: Medical Witnesses in Medical Malpractice Cases, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1993
- Practical Trial Skills: Making the Most of Exhibits in Civil and Criminal Cases, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1993
- Program Chair, Two Hot Topics: Punitive Damages in NC and Winning at Mediation, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1993
- Litigating and Recovering Punitive Damages: Shouldering the New Burdens of Proof to Obtain Punitives, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1995
- Wrongful Death: Closing Argument: For the Plaintiff, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1995
- Alternative Dispute Resolution: Simulated Mediation of a Products Liability Case, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1995
- Medical Negligence: Examination of the Medical Expert: For the Plaintiff, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1997
- Personal Injury Case: Jury Selection, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1998
- Effectively Handling Wrongful Death Cases: Opening Statements & Closing Arguments, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1999
- Mediation and Settlement: Conducting the Mediation, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 2003
- Overcoming Juror Bias: Overcoming Juror Biases in Jury Selection, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, 2003
Verdicts and Settlements:
- Wade E. Byrd has settled dozens of other cases in excess of $1 million
- Macon County: $800,000 wrongful death verdict in case involving throat cancer
- Cumberland County: $1.5 million settlement in a car accident involving a 31 year-old wife and mother of 2 children which resulted in a closed-head injury and permanent brain damage
- Confidential settlement in 2002: $2.3 million for the wrongful death of a 38 year-old, wife and mother of 2 children who died following a routine thyroidectomy
- Confidential settlement in 2001: $3.25 million for the wrongful death of a 46 year-old husband and father of 4 children who died due to a failure to see and appreciate a brain aneurysm by a radiologist performing an MRA (Magnetic Resonance Angiogram)
- Cumberland County: $3.5 million verdict involving an infant that had suffered permanent brain injuries
- Confidential settlement in 2001: $4.5 million involving a child who suffered significant brain injury as a result of the medical treatment received for a heart condition
- $7 million in damages awarded to the family of a Chocowinity woman who died in June 1997 from blood clots that arose shortly after she switched from shots to pills for her birth control
- Guilford County: $7.1 million verdict represented the first medical malpractice verdict ever in Guilford County, the highest medical malpractice verdict in North Carolina, at the time, and the second highest punitive damages verdict in the state
- Mecklenburg County: $8.1 million wrongful death verdict in case involving an outpatient suicide. This represents the highest verdict in the United States in a suicide case
- Gaston County: $10.75 million settlement with physicians and hospital in case involving an infant that had suffered permanent brain injuries at birth
- Confidential settlement in 1996: $12.5 million involving a suicide
- Confidential settlement in 2001: $15.0 million involving a 38 year-old African American male who was left a ventilator dependant quadriplegic as a result of his neck being broken during an intubation
Educational Background:
- Methodist College, Fayetteville, North Carolina, B.A. Major: Political Science, 1970
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