“I love helping people resolve issues that are holding them back, and working toward helping them move forward with their lives. I am a good listener with a lot of life experience that helps me relate to people and understand their needs.”

- Susan Vanderweert

Susan.Vanderweert@farrin.com

919-328-5878

North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialist – Workers’ Compensation Law

Received Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating,³ 2021

Named to “Best Lawyers”⁴ list for Workers’ Compensation by Best Lawyers, 2021-2023

Attorney Susan Vanderweert (Partner)

Susan Vanderweert joined the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin in 2015 handling Workers’ Compensation cases, and is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation law. She is also a Partner of the firm.

Prior to joining the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin, she represented the other side – insurance companies and employers – for more than 10 years.

Susan earned her J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law at Chapel Hill, where she was Editor-in-Chief for the North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation. She earned an M.A. in Liberal Studies from Duke University and a B.A. from the University of Minnesota Duluth, where she double majored in Political Science and Communication.

I love helping people resolve issues that are holding them back, and working toward helping them move forward with their lives. I am a good listener with a lot of life experience that helps me relate to people and understand their needs.

Throughout Susan’s career she has practiced in the areas of Appellate Advocacy, Insurance Regulatory Matters, and Workers’ Compensation. While she has worked in a variety of capacities – journalism, public relations, and managing a variety of nonprofit professional associations and trade groups – nothing comes close to the satisfaction she gets from helping injured workers.

“I remember one case that is particularly near and dear to my heart. I was able to help a 60-year-old injured worker obtain enough compensation so that he could buy a house straight out. This enabled him to finally relax without ever having to worry about having a roof over his head.” ¹

Susan authored “Seeking Justice for ‘Comfort’ Women: Without an International Criminal Court, Suits Brought by World War II Sex Slaves of the Japanese Army May Find Their Best Hope of Success in U.S. Federal Courts,” Volume 27, Issue 1 of the North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation.

Licensed In

North Carolina

Practice Area

Workers' Compensation

Honors/Awards/
Accomplishments

1999 Gressman-Pollitt Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy – Best Appellee
Martindale-Hubbell AV Pre-eminent Rating,⁴2021
Best Lawyers® “Best Lawyers in America”⁴ list, 2021 – 2024
Wake County Bar Association – Endowment Scholarship Committee

Memberships

North Carolina State Bar
North Carolina Bar Association
Wake County Bar Association
Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialist, Board of Legal Specialization of the North Carolina State Bar (original certification 2015, recertified 2020)
North Carolina Advocates for Justice
North Carolina Bar Workers’ Compensation Section Council, 2021-2022

Community & Civic Involvement

Best Friend Pet Adoption – Legal Advisor
Campbell Law Connections Mentorship Program

Law School

University of North Carolina School of Law
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
2002 J.D.

Graduate School

Duke University
Durham, North Carolina
1999 M.A. in Liberal Studies

Attended Exeter College, Oxford University, July 1995. Summer Programme in English Literature

College

University of Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
1979 B.A. in Political Science and Communication (double major)

News Director, UMD college radio station
Interned at CBS-affiliate radio-television station; hired as weekend radio news director

Former Workers’ Compensation Client Online Facebook Review

Susan Vanderweert was my attorney

Susan Vanderweert was my attorney, and she was phenomenal! She made my mediation painless, and she worked really hard for me to get the best possible settlement … I would recommend James Scott Farrin if you need representation. They are awesome! ¹

Former Workers’ Compensation Client, Online Google Review

I want to thank everybody who worked on my case at James Scott Farrin.

I want [to] thank everybody [who] worked on my case at James Scott Farrin. They did a very professional and great job. I would recommend them to anybody that was ever looking for a lawyer, and I definitely would use them again. ¹

For legal reasons and client confidentiality, reviews have been slightly edited to remove identifying information and correct typos.