Sterling spainhour

Sterling A. Spainhour is a senior legal executive with over thirty-seven years of legal and management experience in the banking industry.  He is recognized as a trusted leader and advisor by business and legal executives because of his ability to develop, manage, and contribute to strategic corporative initiatives.
Sterling has in-depth experience in handling complex domestic and international initiatives in the areas of corporate technology and information security, intellectual property, global outsourcing, supply chain management, mergers and acquisitions, and real estate transactions.  

Sterling also has extensive experience in developing and implementing specific intellectual property strategies to protect key proprietary processes and technologies and the negotiation of licensing arrangements and other related contractual agreements.  

Sterling began his career with Wachovia Corporation as Vice President and Senior Staff Counsel in 1970 and progressed to Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel reporting directly to the General Counsel.
As a senior member of Wachovia’s legal department, he was responsible for providing strategic direction and oversight of the day-to-day operations of the Legal Division of Wachovia, which consisted of approximately 400 legal professionals with an annual budget of $100m.   He managed all corporate real estate transactions domestically and internationally and all related acquisitions, leasing, zoning and environmental matters of corporate real estate transactions.   

Following Wachovia’s $15 billion merger with First Union Corporation, Sterling developed the practice group within the legal division of Wachovia Corporation, recruiting, hiring, and managing a staff of senior level attorneys, paralegals, and administrative personnel. 

Sterling has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law for 16 years at Wake Forest School of Law and Charlotte School of Law.  He teaches upper level courses in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Advanced Contract Drafting, Business Associations and Predatory Lending.  He is respected as a mentor to law students and young attorneys.

Sterling received his J.D. degree from Notre Dame School of Law and is a member of North Carolina Bar, the North Carolina Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.