Carolyn Pearce Small

Carolyn Pearce Small is an experienced litigator and trial lawyer.  Her practice has encompassed a broad range of business disputes and complex commercial litigation, including false claims litigation, consumer products litigation, and class actions.

Carolyn received her B.A. in political science and history, with distinction, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2004.  She graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 2008, where she was the Executive Comments Editor of the North Carolina Law Review.

After law school, Carolyn clerked for the Honorable William L. Osteen, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. She also served as a volunteer attorney in the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she worked on behalf of a defendant in a high-profile federal death penalty case.

In 2010, Carolyn joined the Washington, D.C. office of Arnold & Porter, where she primarily focused on defending dozens of consumer fraud class actions on behalf of a major consumer products company. In 2013, Carolyn moved to Arnold & Porter’s growing San Francisco office. There, she played an integral role in successfully defending a company in two consecutive jury trials brought under the California False Claims Act. She also represented a major consumer products company, a global energy company, a leading consumer electronics company, a large software company, a convenience store franchisor, and an international aviation company, defending these clients against various complex litigation actions brought in state and federal courts around the country. Over her nine-year career with Arnold & Porter, Carolyn took and defended dozens of depositions, prepared multiple cases for trial, drafted dispositive motions, managed massive discovery efforts and document productions, and counseled multiple high-profile clients on various litigation and regulatory matters.

Carolyn and her family relocated to Asheville in 2019. She is admitted to practice law in California and Washington, D.C., and was recently admitted to North Carolina.

Clerkships:

• US District Court, Middle District of North Carolina, The Honorable William L. Osteen, Jr.