news

Dawn M. Dillon
Managing Partner
Dawn serves as Young Moore’s Managing Partner and is the first woman to lead the firm since its inception in 1954. She also co-leads the Employment/Workers’ Compensation litigation team.
An employment lawyer with more than 25 years of experience, Dawn advises and represents clients on matters involving workers’ compensation claims and other employment issues such as non-compete agreements, harassment and retaliation claims, ADA, FMLA and FSLA issues, employment agreement drafting and enforcement. She pragmatically assists her clients in resolving problems associated with government, workforce, or legal and policy changes. Dawn enjoys her work with employers, particularly understanding individual client needs, cultures and business. She understands that some situations require education and negotiation, while others merit a court battle.
Dawn helps employers solve problems involving:
- Workers’ compensation claims
- Harassment and discrimination claims
- Wage and hour issues
- Handbook, policy and compliance
- Non-compete and trade secrets
- Employment agreements
Dawn regularly speaks at seminars for clients and other lawyers on workers’ compensation and employment law topics and has served in a variety of leadership roles in the legal and business communities. She is a former Chair of ALFA International’s Workers’ Compensation Practice Group and a Past President of the Board of Directors of the Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education. Dawn holds an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell and she is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© and Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite™.
Education & Bar Admissions
- J.D., Wake Forest University School of Law, 1995
- B.A., magna cum laude, Mary Washington College, 1992
Admitted in
- North Carolina, 1995
- U.S. District Courts for North Carolina
Achievements
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America © in the area of Workers’ Compensation Law -Employers (2018-2024), and in the area of Employment Law – Management (2022-2024)
- Listed among Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite™ in the category of Employment (2022, 2023)
- Listed in North Carolina Super Lawyers® in the “Rising Star” category, (2010)
- AV Preeminent Rating, Martindale Hubbell
- Graduate of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce Leadership Raleigh Program
- Associate chief justice, Moot Court Board, Wake Forest University School of Law
- Order of the Barristers, Wake Forest University School of Law
Activities
- Wake County Bar Association
- North Carolina Bar Association
- Workers’ compensation section council
- Secretary and pro-bono committee chair
- North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys (NCADA)
- Workers’ compensation section
- Young lawyers division, past member of executive council
- Past co-chair of education committee
- ALFA International
- Chair, Workers’ compensation practice group (2017-2019)
- Labor and employment practice group member
- Women’s Initiative group member
- Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education
- Board Member (2015-2018)
- President of Board of Directors (2016-2017)
- Montessori School Of Raleigh Annual Fund, Co-Chair (2009-2010)
- First Baptist Church Raleigh, Deacon
Publications & Presentations
- “HR Professionals’ Critical Role in Navigating the Legal Landscape in the Workplace,” Panelist, 2023 Raleigh Metro Society of Human Resource Management Monthly Program, May 16, 2023
- “Workers’ Compensation and Employees Working from Home,” North Carolina Association of Occupational Health Nurses (NCAOHN) Fall Conference, November 2021
- “Smooth Sailing – Navigating the Bermuda Triangle ADA, FMLA & Workers’ Compensation”, April 2017
- “Caught in the Web, Along came a Spyder,” speaker, Fall 2016
- “The Patent Wars: Big Pharma vs. Generics,” June 2013
- “The Best Workers’ Comp Claim You Never Had: The Value of Screening Employees for Potential Workers’ Compensation Problems Before Hiring Them,” Fall 2010
- “Empowering Employers: Controlling Workers’ Compensation Costs,” Fall 2009
- “Asbestosis and Silicosis: Defending the Occupational Exposure Claim,” North Carolina Bar Association, Spring 2008
- “The Basics of Occupational Disease Claims,” Fall 2008
- “The Bermuda Triangle: the Overlap of FMLA, ADA and Workers’ Compensation,” Summer 2007
- “North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Trends and Challenges,” 2006
Milestones
- Sharpe v. Rex Healthcare, 179 N.C. App. 365, 633 S.E.2d 702 (2006)
- Foster-Long v. Durham County, 177 N.C. App. 462, 628 S.E.2d 867 (2006)
- Ogle v. W & O Masonry, 602 S.E.2d 727 (2004)
- Johnson v. Southern Tire Sales and Service, 358 N.C. 701, 599 S.E.2d 508 (2004)
- Hodgin v. Hodgin, 159 N.C. App. 635, 583 S.E.2d 362 (2003)
- Fox v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 157 N.C. App. 572, 579 S.E.2d 520 (2003)
- Cialino v. Wal-Mart Stores, 156 N.C. App. 463, 577 S.E.2d 345 (2003)
- Walker v. Lake Rim Lawn and Garden, 155 N.C. App. 709, 575 S.E.2d 764 (2003)
- Howell v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 155 N.C. App. 220, 573 S.E.2d 772 (2002)
- Zimmerman v. Eagle Elec. Mfg. Co., 356 N.C. 425, 571 S.E.2d 587 (2002)
- Johnson v. Southern Tire Sales and Service, 152 N.C. App. 323, 567 S.E.2d 773 (2002)
- Ward v. Floors Perfect, 151 N.C. App. 752, 567 S.E.2d 465 (2002)
- Shoemaker v. Creative Builders, 150 N.C. App. 523, 563 S.E.2d 622 (2002)
- Effingham v. Kroger Co., 149 N.C. App. 105, 561 S.E.2d 287 (2002)
- Zimmerman v. Eagle Elec. Mfg. Co., 147 N.C. App. 748, 556 S.E.2d 678 (2001)
- Hawley v. Wayne Dale Const., 146 N.C. App. 423, 552 S.E.2d 269 (2001)
- Russos v. Wheaton Indus., 145 N.C. App. 164, 551 S.E.2d 456 (2001)
- Royce v. Rushco Food Stores, Inc., 139 N.C. App. 322, 533 S.E.2d 284 (2000)
- Hansen v. Crystal Ford-Mercury, Inc., 138 N.C. App. 369, 531 S.E.2d 867 (2000)
- Scurlock v. Durham County General Hosp., 136 N.C. App. 144, 523 S.E.2d 439 (1999)
- Station Associates, Inc. v. Dare County, 350 N.C. 367, 513 S.E.2d 789 (1999)
- State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Long, 350 N.C. 84, 511 S.E.2d 303 (1999)
- Howard v. Square-D Co., 349 N.C. 224, 504 S.E.2d 785 (1998)
- Howard v. Square-D Co., 128 N.C. App. 303, 494 S.E.2d 606 (1998)
- Strickland v. Carolina Classics Catfish, Inc., 127 N.C. App. 615, 492 S.E.2d 362 (1997)
- Grantham v. R. G. Barry Corp., 127 N.C. App. 529, 491 S.E.2d 678 (1997)
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.