Former Chief Justice Cheri Beasley To Join Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd

September 27, 2023
Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. is pleased to announce that Cheri Beasley, former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, will join the firm in January 2024 as a Shareholder. She will be based in the firm’s Raleigh office and focus her practice on commercial litigation and economic development, as well as mediation and arbitration work. Beasley is currently serving as a Fall 2023 Resident Fellow of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.

“I was drawn to the high quality of legal work at Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd as well as its commitment to the communities it serves. I am looking forward to growing the firm’s presence in North Carolina and working with colleagues to support our clients’ needs,” said Beasley. 

“Having Cheri Beasley join Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd is wonderful news,” said Nick Nicholson, Managing Director. “We are proud to feature Cheri, who, along with former South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Costa Pleicones, gives our firm unique legal insights and experience across the Carolinas. She will be an excellent mentor and advocate and can help advise our firm's clients on litigation, mediation, and arbitration options in a way few others could.”

Beasley’s distinguished judicial career spanned nearly 25 years, and she was the first African-American woman to serve as Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. First elected to the Court in 2012, she served as Chief Justice from March 2019 to December 2020. Before her election to the Supreme Court, Beasley served as an Associate Judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and a District Court Judge in the 12th Judicial District in Cumberland County. She was a public defender in Cumberland County before beginning her judicial career in 1999. In 2022, she was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate.

"Cheri Beasley brings remarkable and unique experience to Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd," said William McKinney, a Shareholder and lead office partner for the firm’s Raleigh office. “She has a well-earned reputation for her legal knowledge, her commitment to the courts, and her understanding of the key issues important to North Carolina. I am excited to work with Cheri as a colleague and collaborator.”

Beasley is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law and Douglass College of Rutgers University. She earned a Master of Laws in Judicial Studies from Duke University School of Law.

Beasley holds memberships in many professional and civic organizations, including the American Bar Association/Appellate Judicial Division, the North Carolina Bar Association, the Cumberland County Bar Association and the Wake County Bar Association. She is the recipient of the highest alumni awards bestowed by Douglass College, Rutgers University and the University of Tennessee Knoxville.