J. Gregory Hatcher

Managing Partner & Board Certified Specialist in Family Law

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 704-375-3911

Fax: 704-927-3672

Education:

JD, Wake Forest University School of Law, 1993

BA, Vanderbilt University, 1990

Bar Admissions:

North Carolina, 1993
South Carolina, 1995 (inactive)

“When I was asked to describe my practice philosophy I sat down and wrote, and then rewrote, my answer. Over and over again. I struggled to put into words why I am a family law attorney and how I approach family law cases. No matter how eloquently I tried to put it, I kept coming back to these simple words: I really care about my clients and I want to help them. It sounds corny even as I write it now. But, it really does come down to that. There is no magical formula or high browed reasoning behind it. Quite the opposite, I think people either like what they do for a living or they don’t. I do.

You see, I really never chose to be a family law attorney, family law chose me. When I graduated from law school I was not sure what type of law I wanted to practice, but I knew it was not family law. I could not imagine being embroiled every day with squabbling husbands and wives airing their dirty laundry in the courts. There was more power and prestige in other areas of law, I thought. This was my jaded and uninformed opinion for the first years of my professional life as I dabbled in these supposedly more attractive areas of the law. It was not until I was forced to take over a few family law cases for another attorney in my firm who went out on leave that my prejudices collided with the realities of the needs of my clients. For the first time in my legal career, someone actually needed my help and I could make a difference in that person’s life.

As I grow older and have gained a family of my own, I believe I have developed a greater sense of what my clients must go through when faced with Divorce and Custody problems. We are taught to work hard in this country to build a life for ourselves, to give to our community, to have a family, and to plan for our future. However, no one tells us what to do when that American dream falls apart. Before I was married, and even after I became married but had no children, I could sympathize with my clients and their struggles but there was a limit to my understanding. Now that I am a father of two small children trying to make smart financial plans for my family’s future and have been practicing for twenty years, I empathize with my clients because I understand what they are going through and can imagine the loss I would feel if someone told me that all I had worked for and dreamed of could be taken from me because of separation and divorce.

So two decades later, my practice philosophy has deepened and expanded. Not only do I help my clients and care for them but I can better relate to their loss and help them find their way through this mess while focusing on what I know is most important to them. My life experiences combined with the opportunity to help hundreds of clients lets me be the lawyer I want to be and who I would want to hire if I was in the midst of a separation or custody dispute.”

  • Named to The Best Lawyers in America© for Family Law and Family Law Arbitration, 2017-2024
  • North Carolina Super Lawyers, 2010-2024
  • Named Charlotte Top 25 Attorneys published by Charlotte Magazine, 2022
  • American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Fellow, 2015
  • Business North Carolina magazine’s Legal Elite in Family Law, 2007, 2009- 2010, 2014-2017, 2019-2024
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating in Family Law, 2012-2022
  • Business Leader North Carolina, Mover and Shaker Honoree, 2012; Impact Law Leader, 2008
  • North Carolina State Bar
    • Family Law Council: Former Co-Chair Domestic Violence Sub-Committee
    • Young Lawyers Division: Former Judicial District Representative
  • North Carolina Bar Association
    • Family Law Section: Member
  • South Carolina Bar
  • Mecklenburg County Bar
    • Family Law Section: Member
    • Young Lawyers Division: Former Board Member
    • Ask A Lawyer Program Committee: Former Chair
    • Long Term Planning Committee: Former Member
    • Sports and Social Committee: Former Member
  • Mecklenburg County Courts
    • Family Law Committee: Member
    • Domestic Violence Court Committee: Former Member
  • Justice Bobbitt Inn of Court: Member
  • Association of Family and Conciliation Courts: Member
  • Charlotte Estate Planning Council: Member
  • Charlotte Collaborative Divorce Professionals: Member
  • North Carolina Advocates for Justice
  • Certified as a Parent Coordinator in 2008
  • Baby Bundles: Board Member
  • Wake Forest University School of Law Board of Visitors: Member
  • Rotary Club of Charlotte: Member
  • Mecklenburg County Women’s Commission: Family Law Clinic Guest Lecturer
  • Men For Change: Former Chair and Board Member
  • Business Leaders of Charlotte: Member
  • Charlotte Chamber of Commerce: Member
  • Morrocroft Homeowners Association: Former Board Chair
  • Myers Park Baptist Church, Through-The-Week Preschool: Former Board President & Board Member
  • Myers Park Country Club: Member; Legal Advisory Committee
  • Speaker: 2019 Family Law Specialists Conference, Kiawah, SC, August 15-17, 2019
  • Speaker: “You Have Got to Be Crazy to Do This: Working with Mental Health Professionals and Disordered Clients,” Benton Convention Center, Winston Salem, NC, November 30, 2018
  • Author: “Bye-bye Love, Hello Taxes: Alimony Tax Deduction Ends,” published in Business North Carolina’s 2018 Law Issue, August 31, 2018
  • Speaker: “A High Level Overview of the Divorce Process,” St. John’s Episcopal Church, Charlotte, NC, February 3, 2016
  • Speaker: “Child Custody Matters, the Rules of Evidence and the Process for Responding to Subpoenas,” Southeast Psych, Charlotte, NC, January 28, 2016
  • Speaker: 2014 Family Law Specialists Annual Meeting & CLE, Raleigh, NC, July 25-26, 2014
  • Program Moderator: “What Family Court Judges Want You to Know,” National Business Institute’s Judicial Forum, October 19, 2012
  • Speaker: “Cross Examination of Business Valuation Expert,” North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, “Family Law: Mastering the Experts,” August 28, 2004
  • Speaker: “Miscellaneous Evidentiary Issues,” Seventh Annual Food for the Mind and Body: Evidentiary Issues in Family Law, April 23, 2004
  • Speaker: “Family Law,” Mecklenburg County Bar Association Academic Internship Program, December 10, 2002
  • Speaker: “Practical Child Support Problems,” North Carolina Bar Association Seminar “What About the Children? Child Custody and Support in 2002,” September 13, 2002
  • Speaker/Moderator: “Trial Skills – Family Law 2001: Fourth Annual Food for the Mind and Body,” Mecklenburg County Bar Association Family Law Section, December 7, 2001
  • Speaker: “Managing Your Case,” North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers Family Law Seminar, September 7, 2001