Practice Areas
Bar Admissions
North Carolina
Education
Stanford University, J.D., with distinction, 2007, Order of the Coif; Articles Editor, Stanford Law Review, 2006-07
Harvard College, B.A., summa cum laude, 2004, Phi Beta Kappa; Detur Prize; John Harvard Scholarship
Profile
Erik Zimmerman guides clients through complex litigation and appeals. He helps companies, universities and individuals navigate class actions, antitrust lawsuits, constitutional cases and other high-stakes disputes.
Erik has particular experience in appellate litigation. He often joins cases for the first time on appeal and helps his clients overturn unfavorable rulings from the lower courts.
Erik is certified by the North Carolina State Bar as a specialist in appellate practice. He has argued appeals in the Fourth Circuit and the North Carolina appellate courts. He has also filed numerous briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court and appellate courts nationwide.
Erik co-chairs the firm’s Appeals Practice Group and serves on the North Carolina Bar Association’s Appellate Rules Committee.
Before joining Robinson Bradshaw, Erik clerked for Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the Fourth Circuit.
Honors & Awards
- The Best Lawyers in America, commercial litigation, 2021-25; appellate practice, 2023-25; litigation - labor and employment, 2024-25
- Business North Carolina, Legal Elite, appellate, 2019-21, 2023-24; antitrust, 2021
- North Carolina Super Lawyers, appellate, 2021-24; Rising Star, 2018
- North Carolina Bar Association, William Thorp Pro Bono Service Award, 2023
- Benchmark Litigation, 40 & Under List, 2018-23; Future Star, 2024-25
- Mecklenburg Access to Justice Pro Bono Partners Program, Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2021, 2023
- North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society, 2016-22
Clerkships
- Law Clerk, The Honorable John G. Roberts Jr., Chief Justice, Supreme Court of the United States, 2009-10
- Law Clerk, The Honorable J. Harvie Wilkinson III, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 2008-09
Experience
Experience
Appellate and Constitutional
Successfully represented the plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court in Moore v. Harper, a case about the constitutional standards for congressional redistricting.
Secured discretionary review from the North Carolina Supreme Court on the scope of a COVID-related immunity statute for health care providers.
Won an appeal in the North Carolina Supreme Court for a technology company on personal jurisdiction in a business dispute.
Won an appeal in the North Carolina Supreme Court on the rights of tenants under the federal public housing program.
Represented North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper in litigation over ballot language on proposed amendments to the North Carolina Constitution. Successfully argued a motion for preliminary injunction before a three-judge panel.
Submitted amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court, federal appellate courts and state appellate courts on various issues, including class-certification standards and questions of constitutional law.
Antitrust, Competition and Class Actions
Represented the largest health care provider in the Carolinas in securing denial of preliminary injunctive relief in an action brought by a public company related to a $100 million anesthesiology contract.
Successfully argued a motion to dismiss a proposed class action against a large financial institution over its account fees.
Defended a leading research university in a class action in North Carolina federal court involving an alleged no-hire agreement.
Defended a large drywall company in multidistrict class action litigation involving antitrust claims brought by direct and indirect purchasers.
Defended a large poultry company in class action litigation involving antitrust claims brought in North Carolina federal court.
Complex Commercial Litigation
Served as trial counsel for a national industrial gas company in a contract case in Tennessee state court seeking tens of millions of dollars from a former customer. After discovery uncovered fraudulent behavior on the part of the customer, the case settled on very favorable terms on the eve of trial.
Served as trial counsel for a North Carolina health care entity in government litigation.
Defended a leading research university in the North Carolina Business Court against claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.
Defended a leading research university in the North Carolina Business Court against claims of research misconduct.
Represented the plaintiffs in a North Carolina Business Court case involving claims of misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of corporate opportunity in the used textile recycling industry. Successfully argued against the defendants' motions to dismiss.
News & Events
News
- Nov. 6, 2024
- Oct. 22, 2024
- Aug. 15, 2024
- May 31, 2024
- March 25, 2024
- Jan. 10, 2024
- Jan. 8, 2024
- Dec. 14, 2023
- Aug. 17, 2023
- June 29, 2023
- June 27, 2023
- June 26, 2023
- June 7, 2023
- Jan. 20, 2023
- Jan. 12, 2023
- Dec. 10, 2022
- Oct. 27, 2022
- Oct. 21, 2022
- Aug. 23, 2022
- Aug. 4, 2022
- July 29, 2022
- May 17, 2022
- Jan. 14, 2022
- Oct. 12, 2021
- Aug. 26, 2021
- June 24, 2021
- May 11, 2021
- April 9, 2021
- April 5, 2021
- March 15, 2021
- March 3, 2021
- Feb. 3, 2021
- Jan. 15, 2021
- Jan. 4, 2021
- Dec. 16, 2020
- Dec. 9, 2020
- Dec. 3, 2020
- Nov. 19, 2020
- Nov. 5, 2020
- Robinson Bradshaw Challenges Exclusion of Low-Income Families from State Coronavirus Relief PaymentsOct. 29, 2020
- Sept. 11, 2020
- Aug. 28, 2020
- Aug. 20, 2020
- July 23, 2020
- June 12, 2020
- June 3, 2020
- May 20, 2020
- May 5, 2020
- Jan. 3, 2020
- Oct. 23, 2019
- Oct. 17, 2019
- Sept. 4, 2019
- Sept. 3, 2019
- Aug. 7, 2019
- Aug. 5, 2019
- July 17, 2019
- April 23, 2019
- March 12, 2019
- March 1, 2019
- Jan. 2, 2019
- Nov. 16, 2018
- Aug. 23, 2018
- July 9, 2018
- July 9, 2018
- July 6, 2018
- May 7, 2018
- Jan. 30, 2018
- Jan. 9, 2018
- Sept. 18, 2017
- May 31, 2017
Events
Charlotte, NC
Sept. 17, 2024The Umstead
100 Woodland Pond Drive
Cary, NC 27513March 19, 2024North Carolina Bar Center
8000 Weston Parkway
Cary, NC 27513March 31, 2023The Umstead
100 Woodland Pond Drive
Cary, NC 27513Jan. 26, 2023North Carolina Bar Center
8000 Weston Parkway
Cary, NC 27513Sept. 15, 2022Via webinar and in person at the North Carolina Bar Center
8000 Weston Parkway
Cary, NC 27513June 3-4, 2021Sitti
137 S. Wilmington St.
Raleigh, NC 27601Nov. 15, 2018The Umstead Hotel
100 Woodland Pond Drive
Cary, NC 27513April 16, 2018Mecklenburg County Bar and Foundation Center
2850 Zebulon Ave.
Charlotte, NC 28208Jan. 10, 2018Bar and Foundation Center
2850 Zebulon Ave.
Charlotte, NC 28208Oct. 2, 2017North Carolina Bar Center
8000 Weston Parkway
Cary, NC 27513Sept. 15, 2017
Insights
- April 1, 2024Class Actions Brief Blog
- Dec. 5, 2022Class Actions Brief Blog
- July 6, 2021Class Actions Brief Blog
- March 29, 2018Robinson Bradshaw Publication
- March 2016Per Curiam, NCBA Appellate Section Newsletter
- Fall 2015The Appellate Quarterly
- 2015109 Northwestern University Law Review 285
Affiliations
Professional Affiliations
- North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialist, Appellate Practice
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Class Actions & Arbitration Litigation Advisory Committee, 2020-present
- North Carolina Bar Association, Appellate Practice Section Council, 2018-24; CLE Chair, 2019-21
- North Carolina Bar Association, Appellate Rules Committee, 2017-present
- North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission, Triangle Pro Bono Legal Council, 2017-present
- Law360, North Carolina Editorial Advisory Board, 2024