Clint S. Morse

Honors & Recognitions

Recognized as one of the Triad Business Journal's "40 Leaders Under 40" (2021)

Selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in Litigation - Bankruptcy (2020-2025)

Selected for Benchmark Litigation's "40 & Under Hot List" (2017-2021)

Selected by his peers for inclusion in Business North Carolina's "Legal Elite" in Bankruptcy Law (2020-2022, 2024-2025) and in the Young Guns category (2018-2019)

Recognized in North Carolina Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters) as a “Rising Star” in Business Litigation (2013-2022)

Herb Falk Society Pro Bono Award (Greensboro Bar Association)

Recognized in Benchmark Litigation on their “40 & Under List” (2023)

Recognized by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business for Bankruptcy/Restructuring Law (2023-2024)

Education

Admissions

North Carolina

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Western, Middle, and Eastern Districts of North Carolina

Professional & Civic Activities

Member, North Carolina Bar Association

Member, American Bar Association

Member, Board of Directors, Horsepower Therapeutic Learning Center (2018-present)

Member, Board of Directors, Seven Homes Foster Care & Adoption Agency (2013-2017)

Member, Future Fund Grant-Making Committee and Steering Committee (2012-2017)

Member, Guilford County Inns of Court (2013-2015)

My earliest childhood memories are of my dad throwing batting practice in a batting cage he built in our backyard. My dad worked long and hard hours, but he still found the time for practice with my brother and I every day. I was never the biggest (except in cross-country where this was not a virtue), the fastest, or the strongest, but I did the best I could every day. Dad always said: “I will be proud of you as long as you do the best you can, but I will love you no matter what.” I cannot wait to pass these teachings on to my young sons when they are old enough to compete.

Sports trained me to be who I am today: a driven, self-disciplined professional who understands that preparation and teamwork are the keys to success. Success, however, is secondary to a loving family.

Sports also provided an outlet for my defining characteristic: I thoroughly enjoy competition of any shape or form. While I did not play baseball in high school to my dad’s dismay, I played soccer, tennis, and ran track and cross-country. I even kicked for the football team until the cross-country coach told me to quit (pretty lame but true). I graduated with fifteen varsity letters. Most importantly, I graduated with lifelong friends. While I have lost touch with some over the years, I want all of my teammates and classmates to know that I still have your back.

I played Division I tennis at James Madison University (Go Dukes!). I grew up in the mountains and I always look forward to going back to visit my coach and teammates. I just need to find a new place since Dave’s Tavern closed.

While my accomplishments on the tennis court were few and far between (the only thing similar between high school and college is the height of the net), I began to fuel my competitiveness with schoolwork. My senior year, I was the scholar-athlete of the year first-runner up. I graduated with degrees in mathematics and computer science while balancing a Division I athletic schedule.

I went to graduate school to study mathematics. Faced with the reality that teaching is the only real prospect for employment for someone with a pure math degree, I knew I needed to do something else. I woke up one morning and there was an episode of “Law & Order” on the USA Network. I thought “I can do that.” I signed up for the L-SATs and the rest is history.

The professor taught the first law school class I ever attended with the Socratic Method. Unlike the students in the “Paper Chase,” I loved the competition of being called upon and having to defend your answers while the professor tries to undercut everything you are arguing. I literally lived in the library to the point where my classmates designated me as the “most likely to live in a library” in my third-year superlative. I survived law school only with the help of my classmates. My classmates became my new teammates after I was no longer a competitive athlete. Unless one of my Wake Forest classmates is representing an adverse party (in which case he or she will be pounded into submission), I will still do everything I can to help my classmates succeed.

I am glad I turned on “Law & Order” instead of “Top Chef,” my other favorite show. The law has been the perfect fit for me. I am a litigator who generally enjoys the law. Mostly though, I thoroughly enjoy the competition, and I have litigated cases in wide-ranging contexts: bankruptcy, intellectual property, general business litigation, corporate governance, real estate, defamation, unfair competition, environmental law, trade secrets, employment law, non-competes, patents, family disputes, etc. Simply put, I learn the law applicable to my client’s cases. Further, my understanding of widely differing fields gives me a competitive advantage in the fast-paced environment of the courtroom.

Even when I have been awake for three days straight at trial or preparing a complicated summary judgment brief in North Carolina Business Court or Federal Court, I enjoy the time I spend preparing to win. I enjoy discussing matters with my Brooks Pierce colleagues, who constitute a large network of highly skilled teammates who want to help me succeed.  My other teammates are my clients. Until I drop from exhaustion (which only my seven and four-year-old can cause), I will do everything in my power to help my clients succeed.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted lives across the world. As I do when faced with any novel problem, I actively researched what I could do to help. Ultimately, I volunteered for a COVID-19 vaccine trial. My experience is explained in this article.

It is a badge of honor to do the best that you can in everything you do every day. I enjoy every day that I work for Brooks Pierce and every day that I get to work for my clients.