Elizabeth Strickland Desmond

Background

Elizabeth practices general litigation with an emphasis on medical malpractice defense, trucking and transportation; and nursing home/long term care litigation. She represents many regional and national clients in statewide matters, including trucking companies, insurance companies, hospitals, nursing homes, and healthcare providers.

Elizabeth joined Young Moore and Henderson as an associate in the fall of 2007. During a clerkship with the Honorable William L. Osteen, Sr., Elizabeth participated in federal criminal and civil court proceedings and drafted numerous court opinions. While in law school, Elizabeth served as a published staff member on the North Carolina Law Review and as a member and vice-president of the UNC Broun National trial team.

In her spare time, Elizabeth enjoys aerobics, photography, traveling, reading, and Wolfpack football.

Practice Areas

• Medical Malpractice Defense
• Trucking and Transportation
• Nursing Home/Long Term Care Litigation
• Insurance Defense

Education & Bar Admissions

• J.D., with Honors, University of North Carolina School of Law, 2006
• B.A., summa cum laude, North Carolina State University, 2003 

Admitted in

• North Carolina, 2007
• U.S. District Courts for North Carolina

Awards & Achievements

• Federal Clerkship, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, The Honorable William L. Osteen, Sr.
• North Carolina Law Review
• UNC Broun National Trial Team
• Gressman-Pollitt Award for Excellence in Oral Advocacy
• Phi Beta Kappa
• Undergraduate Research Award, Grant for Research in Child Development

Professional & Civic Activity

• Wake County Bar Association
• Young Lawyers Division, Board Member, 2007-2008
• North Carolina Bar Association
• North Carolina Associate of Defense Attorneys
• Defense Research Institute
   
• Junior League of Raleigh

Publications & Presentations

• Bryan G. Scott and Elizabeth S. Desmond, “Recent Developments in Federal Preemption of Pharmaceutical Drug and Medical Device Product Liability Claims,” The Defender, Fall 2009
• Course Planner and Presenter, Autumn Conference (October 2009)
• “Putting “Counselor” Back in the Lawyer’s Job Description: Why More States Should Adopt Collaborative Law Statutes,” Comment, 84 N.C. L. Rev. 979 (2006).
• “Making Waves in a Sea of Uncertainty: Howerton Muddies the Waters of Expert Testimony Admissibility Standards in North Carolina,” 83 N.C. L. Rev. 1613 (2005).

Milestones

Second-chair in arbitrating a nursing home action involving a sacral decubitus ulcer. The parties entered into a consent order for arbitration, allowing the parties to select a panel of three local arbitrators for the hearing. Two mediations, one on the morning of the arbitration hearing, were unsuccessful. The plaintiff dismissed the wrongful death claim after the resident’s treating physician testified that there was no connection between the sacral decubitus ulcer and the resident’s death many months later. After two days of testimony, arguments, and separate deliberation by the arbitration panel, the panel entered an award very favorable to the facility (and significantly lower than any settlement demands made by the plaintiff).

Disclaimer: The above information may not necessarily reflect the attorney’s entire record, and the outcome of any particular future matter cannot be predicated on the attorney’s or law firm’s past results.