Ronald Dean Payne II

Ron is the co-founder and managing partner of Apple Payne Law, PLLC. Prior to merging with attorney Willis "Bill" Apple to form Apple Payne Law, PLLC, he was the original founder and the Senior Managing Partner of Payne Law, PLLC. Since becoming an attorney, Mr. Payne has helped countless individuals with valuable legal services in the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina. His main areas of practice are business advising, family law, traffic citations and estate planning. Our firm is one of the few, if not only firms that accept payment plans as well as credit cards, and we work hard to provide outstanding service for all of our clients!

He graduated with his Juris Doctorate from the Wake Forest University School of Law in 2011, where he was a Research Assistant for Dean Morant and an Articles Editor for the Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law. Additionally, he also worked as a Research Assistant for professors Barbara Lentz & Chris Coughlin. During law school, Mr. Payne worked as an intern at the Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office, where he worked the docket under the supervision of various ADA’s, gaining valuable experience in misdemeanors, traffic, and juvenile cases. He also interned during law school at the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education, where he handled various legal matters including extensive experience in student discipline hearings.

While first setting up Payne Law, PLLC, Mr. Payne worked at the Wake Forest University School of Law where he served as a Dean’s Fellow, specializing in assisting the Dean’s Office with a wide variety of tasks. He hosted the Honorable Elizabeth B. Lacy, Senior Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court at the Journal of Law & Policy Colloquium, and designed presentations for (now former) Dean Blake Morant to present to various audiences from the University President to donors to new students. He also assisted then-Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Suzanne Reynolds (now current Dean) with a variety of projects, including family law, research and technology. 

Lastly, he is involved with a wide variety of other groups, including serving as the Cubmaster of his son's Cub Scout pack. He formerly worked with the Wake Forest Athletic Bands, where he volunteered as the Assistant Director for Operations/Administration. Mr. Payne also served as the President of the Board of Directors for Wake Forest Independent, Inc., a non-profit group dedicated to the percussion performance arts in Western North Carolina. WFI placed 5th at the 2011 World Championships (A Class) and 15th at the 2012 World Championships (Open Class), having won the silver medal in the Atlantic Indoor Circuit (Open Class). He also performed with the Piedmont Wind Symphony and served on the Board of Advisors at ECPI for their criminal justice program.

Prior to law school, Mr. Payne worked as a high school band director, where his bands consistently achieved high ratings in Jazz, Concert & Marching. He earned his Bachelors Degree in Music Education & Euphonium Performance at Appalachian State University, where he was a two-term Chapter President of Kappa Kappa Psi, the Honors Program, ROTC and multiple other student organizations.

Mr. Payne is also an avid technology buff, keeping up with the latest trends on computing and mobile devices. He has served as the music director at his church, and resides in Burlington, NC with his wife and two sons. When not spending his time in the law or volunteering, he likes to escape to the woods for a camping trip with his family.