Alexander, Sandy

Rodney Alexander has over 20 years of experience in complex commercial litigation and has tried over 100 civil and criminal cases to verdict.  He is experienced in managing all aspects of complex commercial litigation, including significant experience with electronic discovery in very large commercial cases.  Mr. Alexander is Of Counsel to Jackson Gilmour & Dobbs, PC.  He is based in Charlotte, North Carolina and is the founder of AlexanderRicks, PLLC.

Practice Areas/Expertise

Rodney Alexander has extensive litigation experience in trial and appellate-level courts from Texas to North Carolina.  He tried more than 40 felony jury trials in Mecklenburg County Superior Court, North Carolina, while serving as an Assistant District Attorney.  Moreover, both before and after serving in the District Attorney's office, Mr. Alexander amassed broad civil litigation experience, working on a wide variety of significant commercial, contract and fraud matters, including:

• Representing numerous automobile dealerships in litigation and regulatory matters and civil investigations
• Representing national finance company in state and federal court in several litigation matters
• Representing wholesale clothing distributor in litigation over international purchase agreements 
• Representing a NASCAR race team in federal court on claims against its former sponsor for breach of sponsorship agreement.
• Defending a multi-million dollar federal court claim for breach of contract and specific performance for the sale of land; the case was disposed of in favor of the client on motion for summary judgment.
• Defending a complex ERISA matter, which was disposed of in favor of the client on motions to dismiss and for summary judgment (opinion published as Colin v. Marconi Commerce Systems Employees' Retirement Plan, 335 F. Supp. 2d 590 (M.D.N.D. 2004)).
• Successfully defending a major financial institution against claims of tortious interference and misappropriation of trade secrets in federal court action.
• Successfully defending a major manufacturer of industrial equipment against claims of trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract and fraud.
• Co-representing a commercial real estate owner in asserting claims against manufacturer of defective window units on 45 story office building, obtaining a jury verdict in excess of $18 million.
• Co-representing a military contractor/shipbuilder as a defendant/counter-plaintiff in contract dispute with its subcontractor; successfully defeating all of plaintiff's claims and prevailed on all liability aspects of client's counterclaims on motion for summary judgment.

 Professional Background

Rodney Alexander is a trial lawyer currently licensed to practice in all North Carolina state courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth and Fifth Circuits, and the United States District Court for the Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of North Carolina.  Mr. Alexander has also been admitted pro hac vice in various state and federal courts where he has actively litigated matters.

Immediately prior to associating with Jackson Gilmour & Dobbs, PC as Of Counsel, Rodney Alexander formed AlexanderRicks, PLLC, a trial firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Prior to forming AlexanderRicks, PLLC, Mr. Alexander practiced as an equity partner with Mayer Brown, LLP, where he was the Hiring Partner and Office Practice Leader for the Litigation Section of Mayer Brown, LLP’s Charlotte, North Carolina office.  Before joining Mayer Brown LLP in Charlotte, Mr. Alexander was an Assistant District Attorney for the 26th Prosecutorial District Charlotte, North Carolina, and an attorney with Golden & Associates, P.C. Houston, Texas.

Rodney Alexander received his law degree from the University of Houston Law Center in 1988, where he graduated cum laud, was a member of the Order of the Coif and the Order of the Barons, and was an Associate Editor of the Houston Law Review.  Mr. Alexander also won First Place in the Newell Blakely Moot Court Competition in 1987 and achieved the third highest score on the July 1988 Texas Bar Exam (of approximately 2000 examinees).  He received his Bachelor of Science in Political Science, cum laude, from Sam Houston State University in May 1984.
 
Professional Activities

Rodney Alexander is a member of the American and North Carolina Bar Associations.  He is currently serving on the Grievance Committee for the Mecklenburg County Bar Association (2009 – 2011 term).   Mr. Alexander is committed to service and has repeatedly taken on meaningful pro bono representations throughout his career, including:

• Representing a plaintiff in connection with Section 1983 claims against arresting officers for use of excessive force.
• Representing the North Carolina Coalition for Humane Euthanasia and the Humane Society of Union County, Inc. in claims against the Union County Sheriff’s office for use of inhumane euthanasia practices.
• Successfully represented the Humane Society of Union County, Inc. in a civil action to obtain possession of 256 dogs and to recover veterinary expenses from the operator of a puppy mill.
• Successfully representing a defendant convicted of drug trafficking on appeal to United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (opinion published as U.S. v. Pennington, 20 F.3d 593 (5th Cir. 1994)).
• Successfully representing a petitioner in a motion pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2255 (based upon ineffective assistance of appellate counsel).