Raquel Macgregor Pearkes

Raquel practices in commercial litigation involving complex contractual disputes, internal business feuds and business break-ups, ponzi schemes, investor litigation, and antitrust violations.  She is experienced in contract interpretation, fraud and other business torts, securities fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty litigation.  Raquel additionally works in corporate investigations, both internal and in response to regulatory inquiry.  She represents members, shareholders, and directors as well as insurers, banks, businesses, and investment firms in the North Carolina business court, federal courts, and nationally.

Raquel has extensive experience in amotion practice, the process where public officials may be removed from office for misconduct.  Playing a critical role researching and drafting detailed reports ultimately adoped by governmental clients, Raquel assisted in overseeing multiple proceedings on whether just cause existed to remove public officials from office. 

Raquel has made pro bono matters an important part of her litigation practice. Her experience includes representing prisoners in innocence-based appeals in the Fourth and Fifth Circuits and representing tenants living in substandard conditions in landlord-tenant disputes.  Most recently, Raquel and her team secured early release of a prisoner by using a rare argument based on disparity in sentencing. 

Representative Experience

Raquel assisted her team in achieving major victories in several complex litigation matters in federal and state court including:

• Winning a preliminary injunction to secure approximately $2.8 million in funds on behalf of a large insurance company
• Obtaining a jury verdict awarding the client the digital royalties of a platinum recording artists’ entire music catalog
• Securing a court order mandating a special shareholder meeting, allowing ousted client to regain control of the corporation he founded
• Serving in a quasi-judicial role overseeing a proceeding on whether to remove a City Council member from office due to misconduct, with findings fully adopted by City Council in removing the councilmember from office

Notable

• North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society, 2019-2022

• Co-Recipient of 22nd Annual Sally & Bill Van Allen Public Service Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Team Project

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