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Ballew Puryear: Help on the Way

By Bob Friedman

A fully functional mock courtroom, multiple conference rooms ready for multi-party mediations and depositions, and the Grateful Dead inspired logo that greets you when you enter the offices of Raleigh personal injury law firm Ballew Puryear are harbingers of what lies within.

“Why have a mock courtroom space in our front office? The answer is pretty easy. It’s because this is what we do. This is who we are,” said partner PJ Puryear. “We are not afraid to go to court. Whether that’s trying a case to a jury verdict or arguing a major case before the appellate courts. That’s an integral part of what we do here.”

Matt Ballew and Puryear launched the firm in 2024 to handle complex catastrophic personal injury cases, medical malpractice, wrongful death and civil rights cases. The firm has a strong litigation and appellate practice.

“We aim to be a small but powerful law firm,” said Ballew. “Small allows us to be nimble and respond quickly to any client or case demand that arises. But it also allows us as a team to bring a focused precision to complex cases. We pride ourselves on handling the most significant civil litigation cases, the type of case that regularly has us standing toe to toe with multiple defendants, corporations, and insurance companies with endless resources.”

“We see it as our mission to level the playing field for the individuals we represent. Our clients are people who have suffered severe damages that will last a lifetime. They only get one shot at seeking justice. It is an awesome privilege and responsibility to be their advocate and champion through the litigation journey that lies ahead in their legal case.”

A Shared Moral Conviction

The attorney team at Ballew Puryear includes associates Zack Kaplan, Trent Turk, and Katherine Copeland, as well as experienced litigators Sarah Ellerbe and George Podgorny, Jr. who serve in of counsel roles.

“All these attorneys could be practicing at any law firm they want to in the country. And they’re here because we all share a moral conviction about our practice, a professional drive to do what we do, and hopefully have our cases be an engine for positive change on a local, state, and even national level,” said Ballew.

Zack Kaplan’s practice includes state and federal constitutional claims, police and prison misconduct, and appellate litigation. He served as a judicial law clerk to Justice Robin E. Hudson on the Supreme Court of North Carolina and Judge James A. Wynn on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Trent Turk handles personal injury, premises liability, civil rights, police and prison misconduct, and innocence litigation. He interned on the North Carolina Court of Appeals for Judge Toby Hampson and Judge John Arrowood.

Katherine Copeland handles personal liability, complex civil matters and appellate advocacy. She clerked for nearly three years with Justice Allison Riggs at both the North Carolina Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. Before entering the legal field, Copeland managed large-scale healthcare and pharmaceutical projects as a mechanical engineer.

HELP ON THE WAY... WITHOUT LOVE IN A DREAM, IT'LL NEVER COME TRUE.”

Grateful Dead Ethos

“Help on the way . . . Without love in a dream, it’ll never come true.” – Help on the Way, The Grateful Dead

Ballew and Puryear were classmates at UNC School of Law. Before teaming up to launch the firm, Puryear practiced business litigation while Ballew focused primarily on catastrophic personal injury cases.

They share a deep love of music, and are huge fans of jam bands like Phish, Widespread Panic, Goose, and the Grateful Dead. The inspiration for the firm’s logo is drawn from the cover of the Dead’s seminal “Terrapin Station” album. So, when it came time to craft a vision for the firm, they found it echoed in the Dead’s lyrics for “Help On The Way.”

“We love the Dead. Being a guitar player, I idolize and study Jerry Garcia’s improvisational genius as a lead player. But to us, the Dead represents much more than their music. They are the most famous band of all time when it comes to their sense of inclusion and community,” said Ballew. “I think something that’s come out of our love of music is that atmosphere of community. When you go to a live show, especially a jam band show, everybody there treats each other with open arms and a welcoming sense of community. It may sound hokey, but I think that’s something that has translated over to the way we wanted to build and run this law firm, a sense of community and togetherness for our team.

“We believed that if we could foster a really wonderful and supportive place to work, that we would have wonderful people wanting to work here,” Ballew added. “That combination turns into a great law firm that can do special things for the people that we represent.”

“It would be hard to overstate the importance of finding joy where you work and who you work with,” said Kaplan. “I think we are a great example of this. It’s truly a worthwhile endeavor when you get to work with clients and a team of people you enjoy.”

Honing Our Skills

The firm’s mock courtroom was designed as a modular space so it can be configured for any type of moot court need. It’s used for practicing trial examinations of witnesses, closing arguments, moot appellate arguments, and focus groups.

“My dad would always say that practice doesn’t make perfect, practice makes permanence,” said Puryear. “This is a space for us to hone our skill. And if you’re not practicing, you’re not honing your skill. This space makes us the best we can possibly be.”

“Using our space to prepare to be in front of a jury, where you stand, the way you move and your physical use of the space can and does matter,” said Turk. “So having a space to practice is immensely helpful. Everybody is going to work together to make sure we are as prepared as we can be.”

They Need a Quarterback

One of the hallmarks of the firm is its appellate practice. All the attorneys at the firm worked with an appellate judge in some form or fashion.

“When people come in, they don’t just need a lawyer, they need a quarterback,” said Puryear. “Nobody needs to be worried about having to switch horses mid-stream if their trial lawyer can’t handle their appeal. From the moment a client calls or comes in, we’re already thinking about all the litigation angles that may come up, including trial and appellate issues.”

“The heart of a trial is proving the facts of the case to the jury,” said Copeland. “At the appellate level, it’s less about the facts and more about how the law is being applied in the case. For each case we handle, we’ve got an overall, in-depth knowledge of the law and potential appellate issues that may emerge as the case moves through pre-litigation and case investigation, then into litigation, and then through trial.”

Civil rights litigation is a special area of focus for the firm, as these cases represent the unique intersection of substantial personal harms with constitutional legal issues of far-reaching importance.

“In civil rights cases, in addition to clients needing justice to be made whole, they are often motivated by a sense of trying to make change, trying to ensure whatever happened to them doesn’t happen to someone else again in the future,” said Kaplan. “Oftentimes the appeal is where that can come into play because it can create appellate case law that could be applied in future cases.”

Our Business Model

The insurance companies, governmental bodies, and defense firms that Ballew Puryear litigates against have deep pockets. These cases often take years to litigate from start to finish and turn into a war of attrition.

“If you’re going to step in the complex case arena, the cases are big and the expenses are equally big, that’s part of the business model,” said Ballew. “Part of knowing how to navigate these huge and complex cases is knowing how to counsel the client through multiple years of a very expensive litigation and assessing risk the whole way through.”

In addition to the monetary component of a case, Puryear explained that the firm is skilled at guiding and standing with the clients through the emotional side of their case.

“Our clients experience a tremendous emotional toll when they have the courage to bring a legal case forward. There’s an emotional expense there that if you don’t educate a client about through every step of the journey, they’re going to crumble under the weight of it all,” said Puryear. “It’s making sure you’re communicating with a client, you’re keeping them informed and you’re forecasting for them what’s coming that allows them to be able to withstand the burden just as much as we are able to withstand the burdens for the firm.”

Relationships Matter

“People reach out to us because something catastrophic has happened in their lives,” said Ballew. “Our ethos is to help those in need. And it’s important that when we speak and meet with our clients, we convey our understanding of their need and that we do our best to help them in whatever way we can.

“But that drive to fight for our clients does not mean that we adopt a scorched earth policy with the other side,” Ballew added.

“One of our founding principles is that you can be a fierce advocate for your client and at the same time you could enjoy the practice of law with your opposing counsel,” said Puryear.

“We work hard to have great relationships with not just our brothers and sisters who are on the same side of the V as us, but also with our opposing counsel,” said Ballew. “Those relationships matter. We feel they not only help foster a more enjoyable law practice and professional life, but those relationships also help our clients better achieve justice in the end.

“We believe the practice of law can and should be fun. When we have an opposing counsel visit our office for the first time, one of the things we like doing the most is showing them our pinball room in the back,” said Ballew smiling. Yes, the firm does indeed have a pinball room, decked out with a top-rated Iron Maiden themed pinball machine that lets you select which song you want to listen to while you try and land a new high score.

“I’m pretty sure there’s no other firm out there that has both a mock courtroom and a pinball room. We work hard and we play hard. That’s something we believe in,” Ballew said. “Any time you want to reserve the mock courtroom, or to come over to just play a round of pinball, we want you to know you’re welcome any time. Whatever you need, help is on the way.”

At a Glance

Ballew Puryear PLLC
4000 Westchase Blvd.
Bldg. II, Ste. 300
Raleigh, NC 27607
984-370-3030
www.ballewlaw.com

Practice Areas

Bar Admissions

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Ballew Puryear: Help on the Way

A Shared Moral Conviction

Grateful Dead Ethos

Honing Our Skills

They Need a Quarterback

Our Business Model

Relationships Matter

At a Glance

Practice Areas

Bar Admissions

Professional Associations

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