Schaeffer v. Singlecare

Jennifer Diane Spyker has been working to protect employee rights since 2013.  Her career is exclusively dedicated to representing employees from all walks of life, ranging from hourly employees to corporate executives.  

Jennifer is experienced in handling employment disputes against private and public employers ranging from discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower, wage and hour, severance negotiations, non-compete, trade secret, and confidentiality disputes, executive compensation, and First Amendment and due process violations which arise in public employment.

In addition to litigating on behalf of employees in state and federal courts in North Carolina, Jennifer provides swift and effective guidance to those navigating complex separations, reasonable accommodation and medical leave requests, disciplinary actions, and other concerns where state and federal employment rights are at stake.  

Jennifer is known in the employment law community for being very thorough and prepared, and ready and willing to take on challenging cases.  The results are demonstrated in successful rulings in state and federal courts in North Carolina.  Other attorneys have called upon Jennifer to help with legal research, writing, and trial assistance.

Jennifer volunteered as CLE Co-Chair for the North Carolina Advocates for Justice Employment Law Section from 2016-2020 where she helped organize continuing legal education programs for plaintiffs’ employment lawyers.  She also provides pro bono representation through the Western District of North Carolina’s Pro Se Settlement Assistance Program.  Jennifer has been included in Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” since 2017 and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America since 2021.

Over the years, Jennifer and her husband have fostered rescues in their home through the Charlotte Humane Society and other rescue organizations.

Lauren O. Newton has been fighting on behalf of the injured for more than 12 years. Right out of law school, Lauren worked as a defense attorney representing employers and insurance companies. This background as a defense attorney gives her special insight during negotiations with insurance companies and while fighting for her injured clients. Lauren handles a wide array of cases, including car wrecks, workers’ compensation, premises liability, sexual assault, police misconduct, and medical malpractice cases. 

Lauren is a fierce advocate for her clients and is not afraid of a fight. In addition to success for her clients in jury trials, she has had success at the North Carolina Court of Appeals for two workers’ compensation clients in Myers v. Ben Mynatt Chevrolet Cadillac and Campbell v. Garda USA, Inc. 

Lauren graduated from Elon University and worked as a political consultant prior to law school. Lauren graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law and is licensed to practice law in both North and South Carolina. In addition, Lauren is an active member of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice in which she currently serves as the Secrtary of the Auto Torts & Premises Liability Section. Lauren is also the founder and former President of the NCAJ Women’s Caucus and serves as the North Carolina Revitalization Governor on the Board of Governors for the American Association for Justice. Lauren is also an active member of the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys and has previously served as that organization’s Nominations Chair in addition to serving as the Secretary for the local Charlotte Women’s Bar. 

Lauren is a proud wife and mother who enjoys spending her time reading, trying new foods, running, and doing Crossfit. 

Melissa N. Abrams is an associate at Abrams & Abrams, P.A. in Raleigh, NC. Melissa holds a BA from the University of Georgia in Honor’s Interdisciplinary Studies, with a focus on international agricultural policy and natural resource issues. She earned her JD from the University of North Carolina School of Law in December of 2011, and became a member of the North Carolina State Bar in March of 2012. Melissa then joined her in-laws, Doug and Peggy Abrams, and her husband, Noah Abrams, at Abrams & Abrams, P.A., where she represents plaintiffs in catastrophic personal injury cases arising from commercial motor vehicle wrecks, workplace accidents, explosions and fires, and defective vehicles and other products. Melissa is an active member of the North Carolina Advocates of Justice, serving as a Division Officer for its New Lawyers’ Division. Melissa is also a member of the Wake County Bar Association, the North Carolina Bar Association, and the American Association for Justice. Melissa lives in Raleigh with her husband and their two children, and is actively involved in the Junior League of Raleigh, as well as with her children’s school and sports teams.

Sam McGee is a civil trial lawyer at Wilder Pantazis Law Group. He is a graduate of Yale Law School, Wake Forest University and Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyers College.

Early in his career, Sam worked for both the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the Supreme Court of North Carolina. Since beginning law practice in 1998, Sam has recovered over $100 million for his clients, including multiple seven figure verdicts, and recoveries of at least seven figures in North Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, Georgia and New Jersey. Sam is frequently called upon to assist colleagues for both trials and appeals.

For the majority of his career, Sam has been active in the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ), serving two terms on the Board of Directors, two terms as a Section Chair, and multiple terms on the Legal Affairs Committee. He has also written multiple amicus briefs for NCAJ. Sam has served on the Amicus Committee of the American Association for Justice (AAJ), is on the Board of Directors of the Southern Trial Lawyers Association (STLA), and has taught CLEs and written published articles for all three of these organizations.