Erik Zimmerman, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A. Photo

Overview

Erik Zimmerman helps clients navigate high-stakes appeals and complex disputes. He often joins cases for the first time on appeal and helps his clients overturn unfavorable rulings from the lower courts. Erik also helps his clients develop winning appellate strategies during trial-court litigation.

Erik is certified by the North Carolina State Bar as a specialist in appellate practice. He has argued appeals in the Fourth Circuit and the North Carolina appellate courts. He has also filed numerous briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court and appellate courts nationwide.

Erik co-chairs the firm’s Appeals Practice Group and serves on the North Carolina Bar Association’s Appellate Rules Committee.

Before joining Robinson Bradshaw, Erik clerked for Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the Fourth Circuit.

Experience

Appeals

  • Successfully represented the plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court in Moore v. Harper, a case about the constitutional standards for congressional redistricting.
  • As appellate counsel, persuaded the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to affirm a decision that set aside an $8 million judgment.
  • Secured discretionary review from the North Carolina Supreme Court in a high-stakes appeal on the application of medical malpractice statutes to medical practice groups.
  • Won an appeal in the North Carolina Supreme Court for a technology company on personal jurisdiction in a business dispute.
  • Handles key appeals and constitutional litigation for a statewide health system and a major liability insurer.
  • Submits amicus briefs in appellate courts nationwide in cases of importance to the business community.

Antitrust, Competition & Class Actions

  • Represented the largest health care provider in the Carolinas in securing denial of preliminary injunctive relief in an action brought by a public company related to a $100 million anesthesiology contract.
  • Successfully argued a motion to dismiss a proposed class action against a large financial institution over its account fees.
  • Defended a leading research university in a class action in North Carolina federal court involving an alleged no-hire agreement.
  • Defended a large drywall company in multidistrict class action litigation involving antitrust claims brought by direct and indirect purchasers.

Complex Commercial Litigation

  • Served as trial counsel for a major health insurer in a multibillion-dollar bid protest.
  • Defended a leading research university in the North Carolina Business Court against claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.
  • Defended a leading research university in the North Carolina Business Court against claims of research misconduct.
  • Represented the plaintiffs in a North Carolina Business Court case involving claims of misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of corporate opportunity in the used textile recycling industry. Successfully argued against the defendants' motions to dismiss.

Accolades

Honors & Recognitions

Affiliations

Professional Affiliations

  • North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialist, Appellate Practice
  • U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Class Actions & Arbitration Litigation Advisory Committee, 2020-present
  • North Carolina Bar Association, Appellate Practice Section Council, 2018-24; CLE Chair, 2019-21
  • North Carolina Bar Association, Appellate Rules Committee, 2017-present
  • North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission, Triangle Pro Bono Legal Council, 2017-present
  • Law360, North Carolina Editorial Advisory Board, 2024

News & Events

News

Insights

Education

Stanford University, J.D., with distinction, 2007, Order of the Coif; Articles Editor, Stanford Law Review, 2006-07

Harvard College, B.A., summa cum laude, 2004, Phi Beta Kappa; Detur Prize; John Harvard Scholarship

Bar Admissions

  • North Carolina 

Clerkships

  • Law Clerk, The Honorable John G. Roberts Jr., Chief Justice, Supreme Court of the United States, 2009-10
  • Law Clerk, The Honorable J. Harvie Wilkinson III, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 2008-09
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