Zachary Anstett

Zack Anstett joined the Cranfill Sumner LLP team after serving as a judicial law clerk for one year where he worked directly with North Carolina’s trial court judges on complex and nuanced issues. As an associate attorney in the Raleigh office, Zack works with the employment law, business law, and municipalities & public entities sections and serves on the Cranfill Sumner COVID-19 Response Team.  Zack received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland in 2015 and his law degree from Campbell University School of Law where he graduated cum laude in 2018.

While attending Campbell, Zack was the recipient of the Janette Soles Nelson Public Service Scholarship, the president of the Christian Legal Society, a member of Campbell’s mock trial team, and a member of Campbell’s nationally recognized client counseling team. Zack honed his legal research and writing at the Supreme Court of North Carolina as a judicial extern for Senior Associate Justice Paul Martin Newby and sharpened his advocacy at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Upon graduation, he was inducted into the Order of Old Kivett and received the Howard Memorial Christian Citizenship Award, a faculty-selected award given to one student who exemplifies outstanding Christian values and principles.

Zack and his wife, Tara, have one daughter, Isabelle.  Zack and Tara live together in Raleigh and enjoy spending time with family and friends, volunteering with their church, and doing just about anything outdoors.

Representative Matters

Cases or matters referenced do not represent the attorney’s entire record. Each case is unique and must be evaluated on its own merits. The outcome of a particular case cannot be predicated upon a lawyer’s or a law firm’s past results.

• James Thornton (Raleigh) and Zack Anstett (Raleigh) successfully* defended a North Carolina county and an employee for the county in a multi-day jury trial.  The Plaintiff was rear-ended in her vehicle and alleged that the car had essentially been totaled.  This was a damages-only case where liability had already been admitted.  One of the first jury trials in North Carolina post-pandemic, Thornton and Anstett were able to successfully* argue that the Plaintiff’s damages were not as high as alleged.  The jury returned a verdict with the damages nearly cut in half.

*Cases or matters referenced do not represent the attorney’s entire record. Each case is unique and must be evaluated on its own merits. The outcome of a particular case cannot be predicated upon a lawyer’s or a law firm’s past results.

Articles, Presentations, And Publications

• Timing may not be everything, but it’s definitely something with Title VII claims, NCBARblog.com
• 4th Circuit: Alleged Sexist Remarks Insufficient to Support Employee’s Title VII Claims, NCBARblog.com
• SCOTUS Interprets the ADEA to Apply to State Entities Regardless of Size, NCBARblog.com
• Procedure Matters: Fourth Circuit Holds 180-Day Waiting Period for Federal Employees to File Suit is Not Jurisdictional, NCBARblog.com
• Court Decision Highlights Importance of ADA ‘Interactive Process’, NCBARblog.com