Ragsdale Liggett PLLC

The North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) and North Carolina Bar Foundation (NCBF) held its Annual Leadership Orientation at the Bar Center in Cary on August 29, 2024. Ragsdale Liggett lawyers Amie Sivon and John Cella, and paralegal Sarah White, attended the all-day program that included an organizational overview, membership trend discussion, legislative update, and planning goals for the current Bar year. Amie is Chair of the NCBA Appellate Practice Section; John is a member of the NCBF Board of Directors; and Sarah is Vice-Chair of the NCBA Paralegal Division.

William Rudowich has joined Ragsdale Liggett as an associate in our growing Jacksonville, Florida office where his civil litigation practice is focused on personal injury defense, insurance defense and trucking and transportation. His previous experience as a law clerk and attorney in private practice includes premises liability and insurance defense. William earned his JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and his BS from the University of North Florida.

Ragsdale Liggett is proud to announce 95% of our North Carolina lawyers have been named as top-rated attorneys in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, one of the nation's most respected legal publications. 20 of 21 lawyers are named in the annual Best Lawyer's guide, and two more are listed in its "Ones to Watch" edition. Best Lawyers accolades recognize the top 5% of legal talent in private practice throughout the country. It is based entirely on a peer review process designed to capture the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the talent and professional abilities of colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area. Our firm was highly rated in 21 practice areas. David Liggett - Corporate Law, Insurance Law, Reinsurance Law and Mergers & Acquisitions Law Ashleigh Black - Real Estate Law Richard Bolton - Real Estate Law Melissa Brumback - Construction Litigation, Construction Law and Insurance Litigation Dottie Burch - Corporate Law, Real Estate Law and Mergers & Acquisitions Law John Cella - Trusts and Estates Ed Coleman - Insurance Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation Defendants Lee Evans - Health Care Litigation and Medical Malpractice Litigation Defendants Stephen Gambill - ”Ones to Watch” - Real Estate Law Michael Hutcherson - “Ones to Watch” - Insurance Litigation Defendants, Construction Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation Defendants Ben Kuhn - Real Estate Law, Real Estate Litigation and Land Use & Zoning Skye MacLeod - Insurance Litigation John Nunnally - Transportation Law, Commercial Litigation, Construction Litigation and Construction Law Elizabeth Overmann - Personal Injury Litigation Defendants, Commercial Litigation and Insurance Litigation Bill Pollock - Commercial Litigation, Construction Litigation, Insurance Litigation and Product Liability Litigation Defendants Bob Ramseur - Real Estate Law Ashley Ray - Real Estate Law Sandy Schilder - Construction Litigation, Insurance Litigation and Professional Malpractice Law Defendants Amie Sivon - Appellate Practice, Construction Litigation and Insurance Litigation Eric Spence - Real Estate Law Bo Walker - Construction Litigation, Insurance Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation Defendants Mary Webb - Insurance Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation Defendants

Paralegal Sarah White has been appointed Vice-Chair of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys (NCADA) Paralegal Division where she will assist with providing educational resources and opportunities for the advancement of defense paralegals. Sarah is a strong advocate of her profession and was recently elected to the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) Certifying Board. Additionally, she is an active participant serving in numerous leadership positions including Vice-Chair of the NC Bar Association Paralegal Division. Sarah has earned advanced paralegal certifications and her work is focused on civil litigation and insurance defense, where she handles cases in North Carolina’s state and federal trial court divisions and appellate courts.

Elizabeth Overmann was sworn in this week as Allied Chair of the North Carolina Trucking Association (NCTA) at the Annual Management Conference. Elizabeth has been a devoted member of the NCTA since 2013, currently serving on the Board of Directors and in other leadership positions including the Women in Trucking Council Advisory Board. Since 1929, the North Carolina Trucking Association is the largest statewide trucking organization dedicated to promoting advocacy, safety, compliance, and leadership, serving as the voice of the industry. Elizabeth is humbled by the opportunity to continue to serve the NCTA and its members through service.

Paralegal Sarah White has been appointed Vice-Chair to the North Carolina Bar Association Paralegal Division. As an officer of the Executive Council, she will assist with communications, planning and execution of the Division’s mission of promoting and advancing the profession. She also serves as Co-Chair of its Bylaws and Long-Range Planning Committees and previously held other leadership positions as a member of the Council since 2019. Sarah is a highly involved proponent in her profession and was recently elected to the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) Certifying Board and appointed Vice Chair to the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys (NCADA) Paralegal Division. She has earned several paralegal certifications, and her work is focused on civil litigation and insurance defense, where she handles cases in North Carolina’s state and federal trial court divisions and appellate courts.

In May, litigation attorneys Ed Coleman and Tahlia Cypress secured a defense verdict in Johnston County Superior Court. The plaintiff was seeking compensatory and punitive damages for serious injuries sustained in a shooting. The unanimous jury found no negligence.

North Carolina Bar Association President Kimberly Stogner has appointed Amie C. Sivon as Chair of the Appellate Practice Section for 2024-25. Last year, Amie was the Vice-Chair of the Section. As Chair, she will lead the Appellate Practice Section, chair the Appellate Council, name members to committee appointments, and oversee the activities of the section including the annual CLE, special programs, and social events. A partner of the firm, Amie is a seasoned civil litigator with extensive trial and appellate experience. Many of the appeals Amie has been involved in have resulted in positive outcomes in both published and unpublished opinions. Amie was recently recognized as a Board Certified Specialist in Appellate Practice by the North Carolina State Bar. She is a leader in the firm’s Appellate Practice group, an area which has been recognized in the top tier lists in Best Law Firms in America editions, and has been named by Best Lawyers in America®, North Carolina Super Lawyers, and Legal Elite by Business North Carolina magazine in its Appellate Law lists. Amie is an honors graduate of UNC at Chapel Hill School of Law and Wake Forest University.

Last week the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) held its annual meeting in Charlotte, where the North Carolina Bar Foundation (NCBF) Board of Directors elected John Cella as an at-large director of the Foundation for a three-year term. The philanthropic arm of the Bar Association, the Foundation sponsors civic education and pro bono programs that serve all North Carolinians and are made possible through the generous support of NCBA members, law firms, and others statewide. John has served on the NCBA Strategic Planning & Emerging Trends Committee and the NCBF Development Committee, and he currently chairs the Pro Bono Committee of the NCBA Estate Planning & Fiduciary Law Section. A North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law, John has practiced in trusts and estates, tax, and ERISA for over twenty years.

Elizabeth Overmann has been accepted into the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). ABOTA is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the Seventh Amendment which guarantees the right to civil jury trials. Membership in this prestigious invitation-only group is limited to lawyers who have tried a minimum of 10 civil jury trials to conclusion. More than 7,600 lawyers and judges are involved in ABOTA chapters in all 50 states and Elizabeth is one of less than 100 lawyers in North Carolina who hold membership in this organization. Elizabeth is an experienced civil defense litigator whose practice for the past twenty years has focused on transportation with an emphasis on trucking, personal injury, and catastrophic injuries. She manages complex litigation pre-suit through trial and is admitted to practice before all federal and state courts in North Carolina and South Carolina as well as the state courts in Virginia. In addition to Elizabeth’s induction into ABOTA, she is a juried member of International Association of Defense Counsel and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America in Personal Injury Defense. She earned her BA from Appalachian State University and JD from Campbell University School of Law.