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Stephen V. Carey

Partner
Appellate Group Leader
Raleigh | 919.835.4011
Fax | 919.834.4564

Steve Carey's practice focuses on complex litigation and appeals. He represents companies, financial institutions, local governments, health care providers, and universities in high-stakes litigation and regulatory actions. He leads Parker Poe’s Appellate Practice.

Steve’s litigation experience includes cases involving breach of contract, unfair and deceptive trade practices, breach of fiduciary duty, trade secrets theft, securities fraud, and various federal statutes, including the Administrative Procedure Act, ERISA, Dodd-Frank, and the False Claims Act. He is experienced at the trial and appellate levels of federal and state courts, including North Carolina’s Business Court, Court of Appeals, and Supreme Court, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Federal Circuit, and District of Columbia Circuit. 

Steve has particular experience with class action litigation at the trial and appellate levels, where he has represented clients with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake. That experience allows him to help clients navigate the unique procedural and substantive issues that class actions present. 

Steve’s litigation practice is also informed by his experience advising clients in connection with government investigations and enforcement. His clients have included financial institutions, business associations, automobile lenders, and major universities. He has represented them before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Education, and state regulators and attorneys general. 

Steve serves as a member of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Appellate Rules Committee. The committee examines issues arising from the rules of appellate procedure in North Carolina and recommend revisions for the state Supreme Court. Steve also received valuable appellate experience serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Harris Hartz of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. In addition, he oversees Parker Poe’s appellate cases in North Carolina advocating for abused and neglected children through the Guardian ad Litem program. 

Before joining Parker Poe, Steve spent more than five years with WilmerHale in its Washington, DC, office. That experience makes him an effective collaborator with out-of-state counsel in large, complex cases in North Carolina’s state and federal courts.

Steve graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and served on the editorial board of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. In addition to his clerkship on the Tenth Circuit, he clerked for the Honorable Mary McLaughlin of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

Representative Experience

  • Represented a global life sciences company in multiple putative class actions, including before the Fourth Circuit and in federal courts across the country. 
  • Represented a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company in multiple litigations in both state and federal court and on issues ranging from alleged trade secrets misappropriation, patent infringement, and breach of contract.
  • Secured favorable settlement for a leading international media company in a putative class action in New York federal court in first-of-its-kind litigation involving automatic renewal subscriptions. 
  • Defended a broker-dealer and Fortune 500 insurance company in NC Business Court facing over 120 claims relating to an alleged Ponzi scheme, including obtaining summary judgment in certain cases and successfully resolving other cases. 
  • Secured favorable Fourth Circuit decision affirming a trial court’s grant of summary judgment in a multi-year case involving novel interpretation of the NC Building Code.
  • Defended a convention authority in a fast-paced arbitration involving a multimillion-dollar landlord-tenant dispute.  
  • Secured summary judgment for a medical practice in a multimillion-dollar arbitration involving physician compensation.
  • Represented national coalition of credit unions in amicus brief before the Fourth Circuit, defending a district court order striking class allegations in a putative disparate impact discrimination case. 
  • Represented several NC business associations in amicus brief before NC Court of Appeals in a case involving a challenge to the NC legislature’s authority to enact statutory damages caps.
  • Defended municipalities before the NC Supreme Court and Court of Appeals in litigation, including class actions, concerning the assessment of water and sewer fees.
  • Secured summary judgment and an order denying class certification in a putative class action challenging the staffing practices of a senior care provider with assisted living facilities.   

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Memberships

  • North Carolina Bar Association, Appellate Rules Committee, 2021-present
  • North Carolina Bar Association Appellate Practice Section
  • Federal Bar Association