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Horton & Mendez: Hungry, Humble & Smart

“Trials are emphasized within our practice,” said Nicholas Mendez, an attorney in Wilmington, NC-based personal injury firm Horton & Mendez. “We want our lawyers to try cases because it benefits their development and the firm’s reputation. We want people in our practice who enjoy that aspect of practicing law more than reading and writing briefs and doing research. We like trials. We think they’re fun.”

“We are aggressive and quick on the trigger. Cases get better in litigation,” said Devlin Horton. “There is more pressure on the insurance carrier. You gotta have their backs against the wall so they can feel the heat.”

Mendez said the firm’s “bread and butter” are trucking and motor vehicle accidents, construction injuries, workers’ comp, and premises liability cases. “We love slip and fall cases,” said Mendez.

Also, Vacation Rental Act cases are a growing practice area with the abundance of rental properties on the coast. “They are strict liability cases for code violations and accidents like railing and deck collapses, and uneven stairs.”

Money on the Table

Nicholas Mendez was born in Puerto Rico where Spanish was his first language. He received his undergraduate degree at UNC Chapel Hill and his Juris Doctor from the Richmond School of Law. Devlin Horton was born in Greenville, NC. He received his undergraduate degree at UNC Charlotte, his MBA at UNC Wilmington, and his Juris Doctor at UNC School of Law.

Horton and Mendez met while practicing at a large insurance defense firm. They developed a close friendship and shared the goal of opening a law firm.

Horton & Mendez opened in 2021. They are two sides of the same coin. Horton jokes that Mendez is “the mayor” because he “shakes hands and kisses babies,” serves as the high-profile face of the firm. Horton is more “put up your dukes and let’s get down to it.”

Their litigation strategy is an outgrowth of the “belly of the beast” perspective gained as insurance defense attorneys.

Take No Prisoners

“We have a take-no-prisoners philosophy and approach to handling cases. We’re cordial and collegial with our opposing counsel, but we have an agenda for the case,” said Mendez.

“The defense thinks they control the case because they’ve got the purse strings. We’re not going to just sit back and let the trial date come. We’ve got the hammer if they don’t pay what we want on the case, we’ll just try it. That’s not every case, but when it’s the right case and we know that we have the cards, we play’em.”

Mendez and Harvey

Chick-fil-A of Law Firms

Jessica Cornette Faulk, Nick Mendez, Devlin Horton, Telana Poe and Alan Castro 88

On a shelf in Mendez’s office is a framed Chick-fil-A sandwich wrapper with handwritten notes from one of the firm’s first referrals. It’s a paean to the early days when they took anything that came in the front door.

“We want to be the Chick-fil-A of law firms,” said Mendez. “At Chick-fil-A, you’re through the drive-through in five minutes. They give you your food and say, “My pleasure” with a smile. What you asked for is in the bag, and it tastes just the same every time. We want to offer that same consistency, high quality, and great service. We want to be like high-quality fast food.”

“I’m not turn anyone away that needs our help,” said Horton. “I want to help everyone I can because even that guy who has a small case, if we do a good job for him, he’s going to tell his friends and maybe next time he has an issue, he’s gonna come to us.”

‘It’s Snowball’

Devlin Horton and Nicholas Mendez

From day one, the firm has pursued an aggressive growth strategy, adding new lawyers and opening new offices. They have a ‘if you build it, they will come’ mentality, eschewing the traditional organic growth approach.

The firm has main offices in Wilmington and Charlotte, and local offices in Jacksonville, Apex, and Winston-Salem, and is eyeing Asheville.

“We want to keep growing to get a statewide presence. Our view is that if we grow into a bigger firm, we’ll attract more high-value claims and be able to help more people. Have more lawyers out there and raise the firm’s profile. It’s snowball,” said Horton.

“We want to build a hit-squad with five or six really talented trial lawyers handling seven and eight-figure cases, traveling around the region in our plane, taking depositions and trying cases.”

The firm is actively recruiting litigation and pre-litigation attorneys. “One of our core values is that if you are humble, hungry and smart, then you’re going to be a good team player. We are team-based. We have our pre-lit team, a lit team, and our workmans’ comp team,” said Mendez. To that end, “We Grow Together” is painted in floor-to-ceiling letters on a wall in the Wilmington office.

“We want scrappy people with a blue-collar mindset. We have found that those types of people make much better plaintiff lawyers,” said Horton. “We want people who are tenacious, have a relentless spirit, and a drive to go out and get it. On the litigation side, we want gunslingers.

“They need to be aggressive advocates, but they also need to be professional and cordial because it’s a small bar and we’re going to work with the same defense lawyers over and over. We’re not a firm that burns bridges and lights the fields on fire.”

We’re in this Together

Bobby and Nicholas Mendez in 2023 (Photo courtesy Horton and Mendez)

Horton and Mendez acknowledge the revolving-door nature of the legal industry, having gone through it themselves. They want to flip the script for new lawyers.

“We want people who want a home, someplace to be and spend their career and not move around anymore.”

“We don’t have associates and partners. We’re all in this together. We want people to have a sense of ownership within the firm. It makes them want to help us build it like they own it, and they’ll only do that if they know they’ll get a cut of it.

“We provide a platform for lawyers to practice law here. They don’t have to deal with advertising, administration, payroll, HR or accounting,” said Mendez. “We do the marketing, we provide the cases, the staff, the software, and nice offices, so that they can just stay focused on practicing law.”

$38 Million Verdict

Devlin Horton’s office is about all things duck … decoys, photos and trophies

In early 2025, a Pitt County jury awarded $38,239,292 to a 48-year-old woman who was the victim of a catastrophic motor vehicle accident that left her paralyzed. This marked the second-largest personal injury award in North Carolina history and the largest in 2024.

The 2021 accident was the result of a driver’s negligence and poor road design. The mishap occurred on a busy crosswalk on Charles Boulevard in Pitt County in front of the athletic complex at East Carolina University.

 “The jury concluded that the NC DOT failed to uphold its duty to maintain safe road conditions, which directly contributed to the accident,” said Horton, who led the litigation team.

“We found out that NC DOT didn’t do a lot of the things that we contend they needed to do. They didn’t do an engineering study when this crosswalk was constructed or during multiple opportunities where some portion of this crosswalk was modified in the many years since it was constructed.”

“This decision highlights the necessity for better infrastructure planning and accountability in transportation safety,” said Horton.

The case has generated calls from other law firms with road design-related accidents, as well as referrals and co-counsel opportunities from other personal injury law firms. “We can fund any case,” said Mendez.

‘We Love Animals’

It’s not unusual to see Sam Horton and Harvey Mendez, both goldens wandering the office hallways. “We love animals,” said Mendez.

The firm is very involved with Canines for Service, which provides service dogs to civilian and veteran clients in North Carolina with physical and emotional needs. “North Carolina has a lot of veterans. We appreciate what they’ve sacrificed for our country, and supporting Canines for Service is one small way we can give back to those who’ve given so much,” said Mendez. “These dogs truly change lives, helping veterans regain independence, confidence, and connection.”

In 2022, the firm created a scholarship to assist students pursuing a college education who have been impacted by a traumatic brain injury. It’s in honor of Nick’s father, Bobby, who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury when he slipped on a patch of ice outside his home. After a long, difficult recovery, he returned to regular life.

The firm has also worked with North Carolina Advocates for Justice Mock Trial, Cape Fear Community College’s Litigation Program, and the Children’s Museum of Wilmington.

“We think it’s important to be ingrained in the community. It’s one of the perks of the kind of work we do,” said Mendez.

“We want our lawyers and our staff to say, ‘I’m making an impact on these clients. I’m making an impact for people in my community, and I’m helping people who are our neighbors.’”

Mendez (right) with volunteers from Canines for Service. (Photo courtesy Horton and Mendez)

AT A GLANCE

HORTON & MENDEZ INJURY ATTORNEYS
6105 Oleander Drive Suite 102
Wilmington, NC 28403
(910) 999-1111
Hortonmendez.com

Practice Areas

  • Personal Injury
  • Workers’ Compensation
  • Wrongful Death
  • Premises Liability
  • Slip & Fall
  • Auto Accidents

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

  • New Hanover & Wake County Bar Association
  • Southern Trial Lawyers Association
  • American Association for Justice
  • North Carolina Association for Justice

HONORS

  • Rising Stars, Super Lawyers
  • Top 40 Under 40 & Top 100 Trial Lawyers, The National Trial Lawyers
  • Million Dollar Advocates Forum
  • Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum

NONPROFIT & COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

  • Horton & Mendez Cares
  • Bobby Mendez Traumatic Brain Injury Scholarship
  • Cape Fear Community College Paralegal Program & Scholarship Fund
  • Best of NC Teachers & Heroes Competition
  • North Carolina Mock Trial Program
  • Paws4People
  • Caines for Service
  • Children’s Museum of Wilmington
  • i9 Sports
  • Good Shepherd Center

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