Michael Drye entered private practice with an Asheville, NC firm in 1979 and became a partner in Brock, Begley & Drye in 1980. Between 1979 and 1993, he engaged in the general practice of law and handled matters pertaining to personal injury, products liability, business law, social security disability, workers’ compensation, minor criminal defense, wills and probate, and family law.
By 1993, he became board certified in family law in North Carolina and between 1993 and 2000, his practice was primarily devoted to family law cases. By 2001, Michael began mediating cases, primarily family law cases involving:
- Divorce
- Equitable distribution
- Alimony
- Child custody
- Child support
Michael became certified in Superior Court mediations by 2005, and has successfully mediated Superior Court cases, although the majority of cases he mediates have continued to be in the area of Family Law. He has been recertified as a Board Certified Family Law Specialist in North Carolina in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019.
Michael served on the North Carolina Family Law Specialist Committee from 2007 to 2013 and served on the North Carolina Continuing Legal Education committee from 2014 to 2017. From approximately 2003 until approximately 2014, his practice was fairly equally divided between mediating and litigating, although a substantial number of the litigation cases settled without trial.
Since 2000, Michael has successfully mediated approximately 1000 cases, with some involving complex issues regarding business valuations and multiple corporations with complicated financial issues. He has been continuously listed in Best Lawyers in America as a family law practitioner since 2007 and dually listed as both a family law practitioner and a family law mediator since 2008, being one of only a handful of North Carolina lawyers to have this latter distinction.
Areas of Focus
- Commercial/Business
- Contract Disputes
- Divorce (High Asset)
- Family Businesses
- Landlord/Tenant
- Partnership Disputes
- Personal Injury
- Probate
- Product Liability
- Real Estate
- Trusts / Estates
Education
- Wake Forest University School of Law, Doctor of Law (JD), Law, 1976
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Political Science and Government, 1973
Memberships & Affiliations
- North Carolina State Bar (Member, Family Law Specialty Committee, 2006 to 2012)
- North Carolina Bar Association (Member, Dispute Resolution Section, Family Law Section, Litigation Section, GP Small Firm Section)
- Twenty-Eighth Judicial District Bar (Member, Executive Committee, 2008 to 2013)
- American Bar Association, Member, Dispute Resolution Section