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Education

Mr. Sumner graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A. 1979) and Wake Forest University Law School (J.D. 1982). Mr. Sumner is a member of the Gaston County, North Carolina and American Bar Associations and the North Carolina State Bar.

Role at MHC

Mr. Sumner is a shareholder at MHC, has been with the firm since 1987, and currently serves as its President. He practices primarily in the area of defense of workers’ compensation and he is a certified mediator with the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission.

Professional Bio

Mr. Sumner has been awarded the highest professional rating of “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell. He has received the Gaston County Volunteer Lawyer Distinguished Service award and the NC Bar Association’s Volunteer Service award for six years. He also received the State of North Carolina Pro Bono Service Award in 1996. Mr. Sumner has been named Top Worker’s Compensation Lawyer in the Charlotte Area by ­­­­Best Lawyers and he has also been honored in the area of workers’ compensation as a Top 100 North Carolina Super Lawyer, a member of North Carolina Business Magazine’s Legal Elite and a LexisNexis Preeminent Lawyer. He is also a past president of the Gaston County Bar and Boys and Girls club.

Mr. Sumner has lectured extensively on workers’ compensation issues to legal, employer, and insurance groups. He has served as a member of the North Carolina State Bar Committee on workers’ compensation, along with addressing numerous seminars on “Advanced Workers’ Compensation.” He also serves as a mediator for the N.C. Workers’ Compensation Board.

Personal Bio

In addition to his professional activities, Mr. Sumner has been an elder and a deacon of the First Presbyterian Church and is a Mason. He has served on numerous boards of community civic organizations, including the boards of the West Gastonia Boys and Girls Club, Rotary Adolescent Treatment Centers, the Gastonia Historic Zoning Commission, the Gaston County YMCA “PALS” program and Gastonia Community Action. He previously served as President of the West Gastonia Boys and Girls Club. Mr. Sumner has two children and is married to Elizabeth Neisler Sumner, who is of counsel at the firm.

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