Page 11 - NC Triangle Vol 6 No 5
P. 11

Respect and Dignity
Growing up in Raleigh, Sherlin was imbued by his parents with the ideals of looking out for and taking care of oth- ers.
His father, Walt, served as a princi- pal at several schools including, Daniels Middle School and Athens Drive High School before becoming an associate su- perintendent of the Wake County Public School System.
His mother, Mary Penn Sherlin, assisted adult patients with intellectual and devel- opmental disabilities.  en she became a stay-at-home mom until returning to work in pharmaceutical sales.
Sherlin graduated from UNC with a de- gree in English in 1998. He then went to Capitol Hill where he worked for Sena- tor Edwards. His  rst day on the job was working in the mail room, but he soon was promoted and focused on issues related to health care and Medicare. In August of 2001, he le  Washington and returned to North Carolina to attend law school at NCCU.
Sherlin joined the Wake County DA’s of-  ce as an assistant in 2005. Working under DA Colon Willoughby, he prosecuted ev- erything from drunk driving to  rst-degree murder.
Sherlin said Willoughby remains one of his mentors. “ e  rst time I saw Colon do a cross-examination was such a teach- ing moment for me. He didn’t yell at or be- little the defendant. But he always found ways to advance his case while treating de-
fendants and their attorneys with respect and dignity.”
“When I was an assistant DA, I had the chance to prosecute a lot of drunk driving cases where people had become victims to- tally at random. My current job allows me to continue that prosecutorial mindset and apply it to helping my clients in personal injury cases,” said Sherlin. He le  the DA’s o ce in 2011 to practice personal injury law at Kirby & Holt. He, along with his law partner Mark Holt, launched Holt Sherlin in 2013.
David Sherlin is soft-spoken with a humble sincerity, attributes that are vital when discussing ligation strategy with clients.
“I do enjoy going to court,” said Sherlin, “but one of the most important parts of my job is advising clients about the risk of a settlement versus a trial. I o en tell them ‘with anything you do in life, there’s some risk.  e question becomes how much risk are you willing to take?’”
“In some cases, the risk is more sig- nificant because my clients are relying on settlement funds to help them the rest of their life with medical treat- ment, physical therapy and medication they couldn’t otherwise afford. In cases where a client has finished treatment, there may not be as much of a risk of what they can afford, but they have to look at the next six to eight months of their lives and ask themselves if they are willing to go through the litigation pro- cess,” explained Sherlin.
David Sherlin and Mark Holt | Photo by Headshots and Corporate
“Why Not?”
David Sherlin will be sworn in as Presi- dent of the Wake County Bar Association in January succeeding Judge Ned Mangum.  e two have been working together to in- crease membership. Of the 5,700 attorneys in the 1oth judicial district, about 2,500 are members of the WCBA.
Part of the membership focus has been aimed at mid-size to larger  rms with a high number of attorneys who aren’t members of the WCBA. “We are asking the question, ‘why not?’ Is there some- thing we can do to communicate the value to your attorneys better or is there some- thing else we need to o er your attorneys,” said Sherlin.
“Forty percent of our members are under age 40. We want to see that number grow as the WCBA is a great way for young at- torneys to get connected to our legal com- munity. Our dues are $155 which is a very fair price for all of the CLE’s, social events, family activities, bar lunches, the Holiday Party and a host of other things the WCBA o ers.”
Sherlin says he will be apolitical as WCBA President as the membership in- cludes a spectrum of political views.  at said, he did express concerns with recent attacks on the bench. “ e lack of respect
Austin Sherlin, David Sherlin, Gray Veit and Baker York at Camp Sea Gull in the summer of 2018. | Photo by Kyle Nadler
Robert Filcsik Photography


































































































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