James D. Gillespie

James Davis Gillespie was born in Elkin, North Carolina on April 30, 1955. He is a 1973 graduate of Starmount High School, a 1977 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. in history, and of the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, graduating manga cum laude in 1980. While in law school he was an Associate Editor of the Cumberland Law Review, wrote for the American Journal of Trial Advocacy and was inducted into Curia Honoris, an academic honor society. James clerked for the Wininger Law Firm in Birmingham, a firm with a strong concentration in trial advocacy.

After passing the North Carolina Bar Examination in 1980, James began the private practice of law with Charles M. Neaves, Sr., a former District Attorney and Superior Court Judge, and practiced in various State and Federal Courts throughout the State. Neaves & Gillespie was formed in 1983. He is a member of the North Carolina State Bar, the North Carolina Bar Association, the Surry County Bar Association and the 17-B District Bar Association.

James was a member of the town council for the Town of Jonesville for two years and Mayor for eight years. He has served on numerous boards, including the Northwest Piedmont Council of Governments in Winston-Salem, being chairman for two years, for the Surry-Yadkin Mental Health Authority for ten years, also being chairman of that organization for two years, and the Elkin Jaycees, holding leadership positions in that organization.

James and Regina met in 1994 and married in 1998. He has one son, John, and two step-children, Neil and Linda. James and Regina reside in Jonesville, North Carolina. James manages the Elkin and Sparta offices while Regina manages the Dobson and Yadkinville offices, though they are available to meet their clients in any location.