WE FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS TO YOU
Your Vision, Value for Service, and First-Class Legal Knowledge
Understanding Your Goals
Our business is focusing on what matters to you. Our goal is to build lasting relationships with you and to know your business as well as you do. Our emphasis on clients and their objectives is not new. It has been part of our mission since the beginning of the firm more than 55 years ago.
Many of our lawyers have been at Manning Fulton for their entire careers. This dedication to the firm and to the clients of the firm creates a consistent and stable environment for building relationships with clients. These long-term and treasured relationships are the foundation of our firm.
Our loyal clients include public and private companies, REITs, insurance companies, franchisors, manufacturers, and numerous other businesses, including the largest privately-held company in North Carolina. We have helped executives preserve their wealth, and plan to ensure the financial safety of both their companies and their families.
As part of developing our relationship with you, we strive to understand your business and the industries in which you operate. From that knowledge, we can help you identify objectives and focus your vision. Once identified, your goals become ours, and your needs determine our direction.
We are guided not only by legal precedent and statutes, but also by your concerns and circumstances. Our strong ethics and commitment to professionalism have helped us earn our reputation as being “straight shooters” while we fulfill our commitment to crossing the finish line with our clients. Whether we represent you in connection with a transaction or litigation, we prioritize our negotiation to the issues most important to you and do not insist on debating every academic issue and point. We strive to achieve a balanced and practical approach that protects your interests, while not “over-lawyering” a case or transaction.
Manning Fulton was built on the principle that attorneys should be passionate advocates for their clients, demonstrated through extraordinary relationships. We’ve been doing it all along.
Value for Services Provided
At Manning Fulton, providing value to clients has always been a top priority, even before the current economic climate made it a necessity. We are continually identifying new and creative ways to add value to the services we provide to clients, from providing a free client-accessible webpage for client transaction documents to creating alternative fee options. We know that costs matter, and our attorneys keep their attention focused on your bottom line and what it means to you and your business.
Because it affects your bottom line, we constantly monitor and evaluate ours. When possible, expenses are reduced or eliminated, so long as the quality of our service is not compromised. Hourly rates are assessed and critically examined regularly and with an eye toward balancing overhead costs with client needs.
The average number of years of experience for a Manning Fulton lawyer is approximately 20 years. Having a deep bench means we can attend to your matter with the appropriate level of expertise to cost-effectively achieve your goals. Manning Fulton is a mid-size firm committed to keeping overhead costs low, and clients benefit from having open access to expertise comparable to that of larger firms while enjoying savings passed down in the form of lower fees and expenses.
Manning Fulton’s legacy of developing meaningful relationships with our clients and our attention to their goals, combined with our legal expertise, provides our clients with the ultimate value: we are the law firm to help you efficiently achieve your vision.
Other firms have recently adopted the “value” tagline. We’ve been doing it all along.
First-Class Legal Knowledge
Manning Fulton lawyers have received degrees from some of the best schools in the United States. Throughout their careers, our lawyers continue to expand their knowledge and skill by pursuing sophisticated coursework and training as both teachers and students. As a result of their expertise, our lawyers are frequently singled out as among the best in exclusive lists and national organizations, including:
American College of Mortgage Attorneys
American College of Real Estate Attorneys
American College of Tax Counsel
American College of Trust & Estate Counsel
Litigation Counsel of America
NC Center for Public Policy Research
Our firm is regularly recognized by Chambers USA as one of North Carolina’s Leading Law Firms and has numerous lawyers listed in The Best Lawyers in America©, North Carolina Super Lawyers, and in Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite. In 2010, Manning Fulton was ranked in the regional Top Tier of Best Law Firms in the U.S. News and World Report in the areas of Corporate Law, Eminent Domain & Condemnation, General Commercial Litigation, Government Relations, Real Estate, Tax, and Trusts & Estates, with individual lawyers named in “Bet-the-Company” Litigation, Government Relations, Commercial Litigation, Medical Malpractice Law, Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Eminent Domain & Condemnation Law, Tax Law, Franchise Law and Trusts & Estates.
Manning Fulton is frequently named locally as a MetroBravo Award winner in Metro Magazine, winning a “Standing Ovation” for General Law Firm Practice and Real Estate, and an “Honorable Mention” for Corporate Law in 2010. Finally, Best Lawyers in America has designated Manning Fulton as the Top Franchise Law Firm in North Carolina.
These accolades come as no surprise to our long time clients who are familiar with the standards with which Howard Manning, Charles Fulton and William Skinner imbued the firm. What is most remembered about these lawyers is not the name of the awards they received. Instead, it is that their clients benefited from their knowledge, expertise, and vision, which earned them high praise and recognition.
Lawyers at Manning Fulton are expected to continue the legacy of these three lawyers. While awards for superior legal expertise are greatly appreciated, they are no substitute for the recognition by our clients that our knowledge and skills are focused on their concerns. The stories told by our clients speak volumes about whether our lawyers are living up to the standards set by Mr. Manning, Mr. Fulton, and Mr. Skinner.
Our commitment to excellence in our education and our legal services is not just a sound byte. We’ve been doing it all along.