Partners in Progress 2020 | Page 6

CUSTOMER SERVICE IS PARAMOUNT FOR LAW FIRM F red Poisson Jr. moved to Wadesboro in 1976 to begin the practice of law. In 1986, his father, Fred Poisson Sr., retired as legal counsel for Carolina Power & Light and joined his son to start Poisson & Poisson. The firm later became Poisson, Poisson & Bower when George C. Bower, Jr. joined the firm in 1994. Mr. Bower recently retired after 41 years of practicing law. Stewart Poisson and Davis Poisson both graduated from law school with honors and joined the firm in 2004 and 2014 respectively. Poisson, Poisson & Bower is rated as AV by Martindale Hubbell, meaning that the assists clients with unfair debt collection and consumer protection cases. The Poissons are respected throughout the legal community as fierce protectors of their clients’ rights and are known as pillars of the legal community. Stewart and Davis have both served on the North Carolina Advocates for Justice’s Board of Governors. The NCAJ is a nonpartisan association of legal professionals dedicated to protecting people’s rights through community, education, and advocacy. Stewart has served as the Chairperson of the NCAJ’s Workers’ Rights Section, and Davis has twice served as the Chairperson of the NCAJ’s Consumer The attorneys and staff at Poisson, Poisson & Bower focus their attention on helping clients with injuries, recognizing that injuries can be physical, emotional or financial. The firm prides itself on providing top representation to their clients with a personal touch that allows the client to feel as if he or she is part of the family. firm is preeminent in skill and ethics. This rating signifies that a large number of the firm’s peers rank it at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal knowledge, communication skills and ethical standards. Fred Poisson Sr. passed away in 2009. Prior to that, Stewart Poisson, Fred Poisson, Jr.’s daughter, tried multiple jury trials with her grandfather prior to his retirement. Stewart’s brother Davis joined the firm in 2014. Davis is licensed to practice law in both North and South Carolina and handles injury cases in both states. All three Poissons handle personal injury, wrongful death and trucking cases in North Carolina. Davis also 6 • PROGRESS 2020 Protection Section. Stewart also serves on the North Carolina State Bar’s Ethics Committee and on its Workers’ Compensation Specialization Committee. She is a frequent lecturer on workers’ compensation law, presenting for organizations of attorneys including the NCAJ, the North Carolina Bar Association and the North Carolina Industrial Commission. Davis has also presented on various topics including the use of exhibits in deposition. Fred Poisson, Jr. and his daughter Stewart are both board-certified specialists in Workers’ Compensation law. A lawyer who is certified as a specialist by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization has satisfied a number of rigorous standards for certification in the lawyer’s specialty field including a minimum of 6 hours of workers’ compensation continuing education classes each year, an average of 500 hours of workers’ compensation practice each year for the preceding 5 years, confirmation by the lawyer’s peers that the lawyer has the qualifications to be board certified in the specialty and passage of a 6 hour exam in the specialty field. The Poissons are dedicated to protecting the rights of North and South Carolina’s citizens. Five generations of Poissons have practiced law in southeastern North Carolina since 1857. Louis Poisson, who practiced in Wilmington, was a founding member of the North Carolina State Bar in 1933 and was its president in 1951. Fred, Sr. was a State Bar Councilor for nine years as was Fred, Jr. In recognition of this rich history, Poisson, Poisson & Bower opened a second office in Wilmington, North Carolina in 2006 in order to better serve the needs of the citizens of throughout Southeastern North Carolina. The Poissons work with a caring and knowledgeable group of staff members, including Catherine T. Wyatt who is a non- attorney who represents the firm’s clients in Social Security Disability cases. Catherine is a nationally certified non-attorney advocate for Social Security Disability cases and has a remarkable win record. She joined the firm in 1993 as a paralegal and now limits her work to representing clients in Social Security and Medicaid Disability cases. The attorneys and staff at Poisson, Poisson & Bower focus their attention on helping clients with injuries, recognizing that injuries can be physical, emotional or financial. The firm prides itself on providing top representation to their clients with a personal touch that allows the client to feel as if he or she is part of the family.