Essex Richards is pleased to announce that longtime media lawyer and business litigator Jon Buchan has joined our firm. For more than three decades, Buchan has specialized in business litigation with an emphasis on media and intellectual property law.
Buchan began practicing law in Charlotte in 1978, joining the law firm Helms, Mulliss & Johnston after his graduation from Duke Law School. During his thirty-seven years practicing with Helms Mulliss (and its successor firms, including McGuireWoods), Buchan has represented The Charlotte Observer and other national and North Carolina news media organizations in First Amendment, newsroom and business-related litigation. He has represented corporate clients in business litigation, including contract, trade secrets, copyright, and trademark matters. He is also certified as a North Carolina Superior Court Mediator.
“I started my law practice with a well-established firm much like this one – 15 or so attorneys with outstanding legal skills, a fierce commitment to their clients, and a long tradition of Bar and community leadership. For me, this feels like coming home,” Buchan said about his move to Essex Richards.
“Essex Richards has a nimble practice on a human scale, perfectly suited to representing a range of clients, from individuals to significant corporate clients, with a fee structure that reflects the firm’s efficiency and no-nonsense approach to providing legal solutions,” he added.
“We are excited to have Jon join us as a partner,” said Steve Morris, Managing Partner of Essex Richards. “He has long been a leader in the Mecklenburg County Bar and the Charlotte community and is nationally recognized as a go-to First Amendment and media lawyer.”
Essex Richards Partner Woody Connette commented, “I’ve known Jon since I first moved to Charlotte in the 1980s. He has a broad range of litigation experience and sound, practical judgment. I’m excited about collaborating with him in representing our clients.”
Buchan is a past-President of the Mecklenburg County Bar and currently serves as Board Chair of WFAE 90.7 and on the board of the North Carolina Humanities Council. He has served on the board of Legal Services of the Southern Piedmont and the Board of Governors of the North Carolina Bar Association and is a past-president and board member of Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region. In 2000, he received the William A. Lassiter First Amendment award from the North Carolina Press Association for his role in advocating for public access to government records and courtrooms in North Carolina.
Buchan is also the author of the award-winning novel, Code of the Forest, a legal and political mystery set in the South Carolina Lowcountry.