News Article
Rachel Daly Honored as 2013 40 Leaders Under Forty Award Winner
February 12, 2013
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Womble Carlyle attorney Rachel Daly combines a thriving litigation practice (which often involves out-of-state trials) with a dedication to community and pro bono service.
The Triad Business Journal has named Daly one of 40 Leaders Under Forty for 2013. Daly joins a group that includes business executives, government officials and accomplished educators.
The 2013 Triad Business Journal 40 Leaders Under Forty class will be honored at a February 28 awards ceremony to be held at the Elliot University Center on the UNC-Greensboro campus.
Previous Womble Carlyle winners of the Triad Business Journal’s 40 Leaders Under Forty award include Liz Arias, Alison Ashe-Card and Chris Douglas.
Rachel Daly is an experienced litigator, with a broad range of courtroom litigation experience. She has tried a number of cases as lead counsel, managing teams of attorneys and paralegals both in trial preparation and at trial. Daly has represented clients in both state and federal courts and has successfully argued appeals in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Specific successes include:
- Daly served as lead counsel in a two-week federal trial defending a sheriff and four deputies in an excessive force trial. The plaintiff led law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase through both North Carolina and Virginia, then sued the sheriff’s office following his arrest. Daly earned a complete defense verdict for the law enforcement officers.
- She also led the defense team of a national retail chain in three-week state court trial in North Carolina. The plaintiffs sought $13 million for a personal injury. Daly and her team won a complete defense verdict for the client.
- Daly won an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit for the Randolph County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Office in a wrongful death lawsuit. The highly publicized case was brought by the family of a motorcyclist who died during a chase. The verdict marked the first time that a particular U.S. Supreme Court ruling was applied to a low-speed pursuit case, making it a precedent-setting outcome that has been cited in subsequent cases around the country.
In addition, Daly is the Chair and helped launch Family Blueprints of North Carolina. This organization addresses the root causes of chronic, intergenerational poverty and teen pregnancy by providing programs and services to economically disadvantaged families that strengthen the entire family unit, empower youth and families to create pathways out of poverty and the blueprints for better future. Daly took Family Blueprints from the idea stage to reality, helping build the organization from the ground up.
Working through the Domestic Violence Advocacy Center, Daly has secured protective orders for domestic violence victims. She also has served as a guardian ad litem courtroom advocate for three children since 2005. Volunteers in the guardian ad litem program advocate for the rights of children who are involved in legal proceedings, including abuse and neglect cases.
Daly practices in Womble Carlyle’s Winston-Salem office.
