Attorney Biography
David Gantt is an Asheville-based Board Certified Workers’ Compensation Legal Specialist serving western North Carolina and Chair of the Buncombe County Commission. In addition to Workers’ Compensation, David practices in the areas of Social Security Disability and Personal Injury law. He graduated with a BA in Economics from University of North Carolina at Chapel hill in 1978 before moving on to earn his Juris Doctor from Campbell University Law School in 1981.
David was admitted to bar for North Carolina and U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina in 1981. In 1984, he was admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, and U.S. District Court, Middle District of North Carolina. Since 1985, he has been admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Active in the legal community, David holds membership to the 28th Judicial Bar, North Carolina, and America Bar Associations. He has served as a sustaining patron and in the President’s Club for North Carolina Advocates for Justice. David is also a member of the National Association of Social Security Disability Claimant’s Representatives.
In addition to his legal involvement, David strives to consistently take part in his local community. He currently holds board membership with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee; life membership to NAACP; Governor Appointment for Mountain Resources Commission (2010); and March of Dimes Babies Walk (Chairman, 2012).
David was elected to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners in 10 elections since 1996. He is currently serving his 8th year as elected Chairman of that Board.
In the past, David has been directly involved with United Way, Eblen Charities Foundation, Asheville Airport Authority, Metropolitan Sewage District Board, NC Employment Security Commission (Governor, 2008-2012), and the Asheville Buncombe Community Relations Council. He served on the Board of Governors for NC Advocates for Justice and as Chair for Disability Advocate Section of NC Advocates for Justice. David has been on the Parents Council for University of North Carolina, served on the board of Pack Square Park Conservancy, and was Dean at People’s Law School for NC Academy of Trial Lawyers.
David has been recognized for his community involvement, legal career, and leadership efforts and is proud and grateful for the honors he has been awarded. In 2004, he received the Charles Campbell Regional Leadership Award. He was honored in 2005 with the Circle of Excellence Award for Community Leadership and the NC State Bar Association Centennial Award for Community Service. He received the RiverWise Award for French Broad River preservation in 2006 and the Friends of the River Award in 2007. In 2007, David was granted the Citizen Lawyer Award by NC State Bar Association. He was listed as a Super Lawyer from 2009-10 and named one of Top 100 Lawyers in NC by the American Trial Lawyers Association for 2009-10. David was awarded the WENOA Sierra Club Leadership Award in 2010, Asheville Greenworks’ Environmental Excellence Award in 2011, Stepp Labor Leader Award from the WNC Central Labor Council in 2012, and WNC Elected Official of the Year in 2015 by Mountain True. In 2013, he was named as Top 100 Litigation Lawyers in NC by the American Society of Legal Advocates. David was listed in Best Lawyers in America in 2015.
David has been married to his beautiful wife, Charise, for 37 years. The Gantts are proud of their 2 children, Brett (PhD, employed at EPA in Research Triangle) and Carrie (admitted to New York and Massachusetts Bars and currently working as a lawyer for New York City).
