Edward F. Roche

Ed Roche helps businesses navigate complex disputes. Ed regularly handles employment and intellectual property cases and a wide range of other business disputes, including claims for breach of contract, unfair trade practices, breach of fiduciary duty and violations of securities laws.

Ed enjoys working for clients of all shapes and sizes and in all sectors. He handles disputes at the administrative, trial and appellate levels, in state and federal courts across the country. Before litigation arises, Ed works with clients to optimize their positions and evaluate their litigation risk. Ed partners with clients to understand their businesses and goals, allowing him to advise them on how disputes will affect their overall business interests.

Before joining Smith Anderson in 2019, Ed was an attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of a global law firm and clerked for a federal appeals court judge.

Recognition

• Best Lawyers®, "Ones to Watch," Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Intellectual Property (2022-2023), Litigation – Labor and Employment (2023)
• Editor in Chief, North Carolina Law Review
• North Carolina Super Lawyers, Rising Star (2022-2023)

Clerkships

• Law Clerk to The Honorable Julia S. Gibbons, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Education

• University of North Carolina, J.D., with high honors, 2014
  • Order of the Coif
• University of Oxford, Worcester College, B.A., Law, 2007

Bar & Court Admissions

• Executive Committee Member, British-American Business Council, Triangle Chapter (2023-present)

• Kiwanis Midtown Raleigh (2019-Present)

• Represent a California software company in contract disputes in California and Minnesota.
• Enforced a local business’s intellectual property rights against an international retailer.
• Represented a bank in emergency proceedings to prevent harm to customers due to technology vendor’s actions.
• Represent a technology company in a breach of contract action concerning royalty payments.
• Defended a construction company in a copyright dispute, prevailing after a two-day arbitration.
• Defended a government contractor against a whistleblower complaint, involving administrative proceedings in the Department of State and an appeal to a federal appeals court.
• Represented an insurance company in securing dismissal of employee’s wrongful dismissal claims.
• Represented various employers in enforcing employee non-compete provisions.
• Helped online retailers secure takedowns of websites infringing retailer’s intellectual property rights.
• Represented various clients in trademark proceedings at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”).
• Helped clients respond to third-party subpoena requests.

Litigation experience Ed gained prior to joining Smith Anderson:

• Defended directors against shareholder derivative actions alleging securities violations, breaches of fiduciary duties and various related claims in state and federal courts.
• Represented mutual fund advisors against claims of excessive fees.
• Advised a university on potential antitrust dispute concerning the competitive opportunities open to the university’s athletic program.
• Represented multinational technology companies responding to regulators’ allegations of antitrust violations.
• Provided advice on First Amendment arguments for a news website to raise in appealing trial verdicts obtained by a public figure based on the website’s news report.
• Represented a major pharmaceutical company in an investigation launched in response to a federal government subpoena seeking information on compliance with Anti-Kickback Statute.
• Served as counsel to the American Bar Association and individual plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Department of Education, challenging the department’s conduct in relation to the Public Interest Loan Forgiveness Program.
• Wrote briefs and delivered arguments to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on behalf of a federal habeas petitioner.
• Represented a voting rights organization litigating constitutional and statutory civil rights claims in federal court to stop a state preventing access to public voter registration records.
• Coordinated nationwide litigation efforts to assist detained immigrants.