Eric Spengler

Eric leads the Labor & Employment and Civil Litigation practices at Spengler & Agans, PLLC. He represents plaintiffs and defendants in employment disputes and other civil litigation matters, ranging from whistleblower claims to fiduciary litigation and contract disputes. Eric’s breadth of experience allows him to advise clients from a holistic perspective, and he takes pride in helping individual and organizational clients navigate our complex legal system.

Eric has tried cases in state and federal court and in private proceedings before the American Arbitration Association. He also has appeared before the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Eric has been recognized as a talented attorney by his peers, consistently appearing on the lists of “Legal Elite” and “Super Lawyers” in North Carolina. Opposing counsel recognize Eric as a thorough litigator who exhausts the civil-discovery toolkit to get to the truth of a matter.

Eric also leverages his strong legal research skills and his courtroom experience as an advocate in legal briefs and hearings. While not averse to trying a case when necessary, Eric embraces his role as a counselor at law—recognizing when negotiating a settlement is the best option. Above all else, Eric strives to be a conscientious advocate for his clients.

Before cofounding Spengler + Agans, Eric attended law school at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington, Indiana, where he interned for the Hon. David F. Hamilton on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Born in upstate New York, Eric spent most of his childhood in Muncie, Indiana, known by sociologists as “Middletown America.”

In his free time, Eric enjoys live music, cooking, sports, travel, and renovating his 1910-era Craftsman-style house in Villa Heights. While Eric has traveled to five continents, his “happy place” remains the Adirondack Mountains of New York.

In the community, Eric is an advocate for parks and the environment. In 2019, he formed a non-profit, Friends of Queens Park, dedicated to bringing a “Central Park” to Charlotte, for all of the city’s residents to enjoy.

Eric has handled a number of Civil Litigation matters for the firm, both in the Labor & Employment space and otherwise. Recent representative engagements include:

• Represented a former special forces soldier in a claim for breach of contract brought in federal district court by a Hollywood filmmaker over the rights to his life story;

• Represented whistleblower-relators in a qui tam (False Claims Act) suit alleging fraudulent Medicare billing to the United States government;

• Represented a group of homeowners alleging fraud and unfair trade practices against a national homebuilder in federal district court;

• Represented a campaign worker who brought claims against a presidential campaign for vicarious liability after an alleged assaulted with a deadly weapon by the campaign’s state director, in an appeal before the N.C. Court of Appeals;

• Represented an engineer who reported alleged fraud by his supervisor in a contract involving Amazon, in a claim brought in federal district court under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; and

• Represented an employee-defendant against claims brought by the former employer for alleged misappropriation of trade secrets, in a case tried before a jury in the superior court of North Carolina.

Eric regularly writes on Labor & Employment and Civil Litigation issues, and on business operations issues more generally. Recent news and insights from Eric include the following:

• Important Considerations for Laying Off or Furloughing Workers During COVID-19

• COVID-19 Crisis and North Carolina Small Businesses: Top 10 Steps to Take Advantage of Emergency Financial Aid

• The Families First Coronavirus Relief Act Provides Tax Relief to Small Businesses in Exchange for COVID-19 Paid Leave.

Eric has embraced the Spengler + Agans commitment to giving back, and he is an active participant in various professional and civic organizations. Eric’s recent projects and commitments include:

• Friends of Queens Park, Inc., Executive Director (2019-present)

• Mecklenburg County Bar Association, Civil Litigation Section, President (2018-2019) and Vice President (2017-2018)

• Mecklenburg County Soil and Water Conservation District, Supervisor (2016-2019)

• Charlotte City Council Task Force (Stormwater), Citizen Representative (2015-2016)

Areas of Practice

• Labor & Employment

• Civil Litigation

• Government & Internal Investigations

Bar Admissions

• State of North Carolina

• United States District Courts for the Western and Middle Districts of North Carolina

Education

• Indiana University—Bloomington Michael Maurer School of Law (J.D. 2012, magna cum laude)

• Indiana University School of Public Affairs (M.P.A., 2012)

• University of Denver (B.A. 2008, magna cum laude)

Awards & Recognition

• North Carolina Super Lawyers Rising Stars—Employment & Labor (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)

• Business North Carolina Legal Elite—Litigation/Young Guns (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)