Ruth Sheehan has been fighting for the little guy her entire professional life — first as a newspaper journalist and now as an attorney representing people who have been injured by the negligence of others. Ruth is a native of Milwaukee and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with honors. She moved to North Carolina a week after graduation, married a Wilmington boy, and now considers North Carolina home.

After a career as a reporter and metro columnist for The News & Observer in Raleigh, Ruth decided to become a lawyer. She graduated from Carolina Law and has had a diverse and interesting practice, representing individuals who have been injured in motor vehicle accidents, dog bite incidents, bicycle accidents and as the result of nursing home negligence. She has also taken on some significant workplace harassment and wrongful termination cases, and she loves to represent landowners whose property is being taken by the government. Ruth has her own independent practice in Raleigh, but also works “of counsel” with the Rhine Law Firm in Wilmington, NC on mass torts as well as negligence cases.

Ruth splits her time between the Triangle and coast. She and her husband, former Labor Commissioner Harry E. Payne Jr., have three sons.