FIRM HISTORY
Our law firm was founded in 1932 by H. I. McDougle and Paul R. Ervin. Mr. McDougle and Mr. Ervin were friends and classmates at Duke University School of Law. Upon graduation, they opened a new Charlotte law firm with an office in the Law Building on East Trade Street near the old courthouse. McDougle & Ervin began as a general practice law firm that specialized in residential and commercial real estate.
Ben Horack joined McDougle & Ervin shortly after World War II and the firm name was changed to McDougle, Ervin & Horack. McDougle passed away in 1961, Ervin in 1970.
In the mid-1960s, Jim Talley, Henry Pharr, and Bill Lowndes came to work for the firm, and in the 1970s the firm’s name was changed to Horack, Talley, Pharr & Lowndes, P.A to reflect the new leadership and direction brought by these attorneys. In 2005, the firm’s name was shortened to Horack Talley.
Over the years, Horack Talley has developed a number of select practice groups to focus on particular areas of the law, many of which are related to real estate law. Our practice groups include commercial and residential real estate, commercial litigation with an emphasis on real estate litigation, community association law, bankruptcy law, tax and estate law, and family law. Horack Talley’s vision has long been to grow specialized practice groups with focused expertise in these core areas of the law.
Horack Talley also has a history of service in pro bono and community work. We donate time and money by charitable giving, taking leadership roles in community, business, and professional groups, and our attorneys actively participate in pro bono legal service groups.
Last year, in honor of the firm’s seventy-fifth anniversary, we funded the construction of a Habitat for Humanity house in Charlotte. Our attorneys, paralegals, and administrative staff, along with our spouses, donated countless hours of labor to its construction. This year, two of our attorneys were honored with pro bono awards at the Power of Justice luncheon sponsored by Business Leader magazine.
Also this year, Horack Talley completed the Law Firm Climate Challenge, becoming a partner in the WasteWise, Energy Star, Best Paper Practices, and Green Power programs. Our firm is considered a Green Power leader for our purchase of alternative-energy credits totaling 101% of our yearly energy usage. The estimated yearly environmental benefit of Horack Talley’s participation offsets the amount of carbon dioxide that planting 2,229 trees would accomplish, or that would be saved by not driving 590,000 miles.
Our attorneys actively participate in the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the National Association of Office & Industrial Properties (NAIOP), and other groups.
Our attorneys and alumni have served and continue to serve the community in leadership roles as well. Horack Talley alumni include two judges, four legislators, two city attorneys, one county school-board attorney, two federal district attorneys, several law professors, and attorneys for public libraries and local universities.
Horack Talley attorneys have also served as presidents of the Mecklenburg County Bar and the North Carolina Bar Association, as well as members of the Charlotte city council and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board.
Recently, Mr. Jim Talley was elected to the board of directors of Legal Aid of North Carolina, a cause that he has proudly supported for a number of years. Mr. Talley was also recently named as a Sustaining Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Horack Talley is proud of its distinguished history of service in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region, and we remain committed to this tradition of service in the new century.