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“There is a structure in place in
from the very beginning of the con-
tract that you want to build upon,”
she says. “You have a map in terms
of the contract and there are expec-
tations and rules from which every-
body is supposed to abide by, and
when one veers off that path, it’s an
opportunity to put them back on
that right path.”
As a women working in con-
struction law, Carson has had
plenty of opportunities to demon-
strate to fellow lawyers, contrac-
tors, and other members of the
industry, that women in general
should be taken seriously, and that
Carson in particular should be re-
garded as an expert who gets re-
sults. She mentions her first trial
where opposing counsel took a
look at her and told his client that a
woman meant a slam-dunk victory.
He, of course, was wrong.
“When you’re already being un-
derestimated, you’re going to work
twice as hard to prove them wrong.
And from that point forward, they
develop a new respect and a new
understanding of female attorneys
and of my abilities.”
Carson says she’s even encoun-
tered situations where people on
the opposite sides of cases she has
tried have approached her after
seeing her skills in the courtroom
and asked her to work for them.
After taking them on as clients, she
successfully gets results their male
lawyers couldn’t.
The respect she has earned from
her work in court has been far
reaching, as lawyers from across
the nation have called upon her for
consultation or advice after hearing
one of her closings or reading re-
ports of one of her arguments.
Carson also shares her expertise
with law students, and has taught
construction law at both the gradu-
ate and undergraduate level. She
also publishes articles and opin-
ions, and has articles published in
engineering and law journals.
As a member of the North Car-
olina Bar Association’s Legislation
Committee, she has a deep familiar-
ity with changes to the law and
what those changes mean for her
clients. Next year, for example, gen-
eral contractors will be required to
have a set-number of continuing ed-
ucation hours, and Carson is able to
explain exactly what that means
and how to best accomplish the re-
quirement. Having worked with a vast range
of clients, from those involved in
casino projects, mixed-use develop-
ments, and even overseas (includ-
ing Afghanistan) and local military
bases, Carson has a level of first-
hand knowledge that clients appre-
ciate. “I have the experience and as-
sertiveness to understand what
these clients are experiencing in
the construction industry. I’ve had
boots on the ground to see the hur-
dles. “I’ve got experience from draft-
ing the contract to litigation and
mediation and every step of the
way, I can help a client succeed in
terms of delivering a project on
time, on budget and for maximum
profitability with the minimum of
claim,” she says.
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The North Carolina Construction News — AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 — 11