Little and Lattimore, P.A.

Steve Little

Stephen R. Little, senior attorney at Little and Lattimore, has practiced law for over 30 years. A 1977 graduate of Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, NC, he spent many years building a practice focused on the people of McDowell County and the surrounding areas. In addition to many awards and citations, Steve continues to further his education in law and develop skills that allow him to focus on real estate, business issues, personal injury, estates, wills, trusts, and civil lawsuits. Steve's belief's and ideals continue to demonstrate his fair and honest work ethic as well as his leadership in the community of Marion and McDowell County.

Below is a list of Steve's credentials, along with his involvement in our community.

Position: Senior Attorney

Admitted to Practice Law: North Carolina, 1977; U. S. Supreme Court, 2004

Education: Wake Forest University School of Law, Winston-Salem, NC

1977 graduate with J.D. degree. Recipient of Trial Advocacy Award

Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC

1973 cum laude graduate with B.A. degree. Major in History.

Undergraduate honors and activities include Dean’s list, elected class officer, elected student government representative, marching & pep band, Old Gold & Black (student newspaper) staff writer. Delta Kappa Epsilon social fraternity.

Areas of Legal Practice:

Civil Litigation in District and Superior Court

Estate Planning / Elder Law

Wills & Trusts

Estate Administration

Real Estate Law

Serious Personal Injury

Business & Commercial Law

Professional Affiliations:

Member, North Carolina State Bar

Member, North Carolina State Bar Association

Member & former President of McDowell County Bar Association

Member, North Carolina Advocates for Justice

Member, National Association of Elder Law Attorneys

Professional Activities::

Frequent speaker at seminars, especially on estate planning.

Author/Speaker for National Business Institute (NBI) at continuing legal education seminars for North Carolina attorneys and CPAs, including:

2003: Civil Litigation

2004: Special Needs Trusts; Estate Planning in N.C.

2005: Probating Estates; Estate, Financial & Health Care

2006: Probate Beyond the Basics

2007: Fundamental Probate Procedures & Practice

2008: Drafting Effective Wills & Trusts; Advanced Principles of Will Drafting

North Carolina and Community Involvement:

City of Marion, NC: Mayor of Marion, NC, from December 2009 to present. Elected City Council member from 1985–2009; Member of Public Safety & Crime Prevention policy committee of National League of Cities, 1995–2005; Member of Information Technology & Communications policy committee of National League of Cities, 2006–2007; Various committees of the North Carolina League of Municipalities in 1990s.

First Baptist Church of Marion, NC: Deacon since 1978 (chairman several times); Sunday School teacher (senior high school class from1982–2007; 4–6 grade class from 2007–present); choir and handbell choir member; various committees; member of mission groups to Alaska (2004) and to the poor interior of Belize (2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011).

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina: State Moderator, March 2010–March 2011; Member of Coordinating Council, 2005 - 2009.

North Carolina Baptist Hospital of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC: Trustee, 2001–2006, 2008–2011.

The McDowell Hospital: Trustee, 1979–1993, with several terms as chairman, including for the groundbreaking in 1982 of the present facility.

Baptist Children's Homes of North Carolina, Inc.: Trustee, 1993–1996 and 1997–2001, elected by Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

Wingate University in Wingate, NC: Trustee, 1988–1992, elected by Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

McDowell County Historical Society: Member, many years.

McDowell County Habitat for Humanity, Inc: pro-bono legal counsel from 1984 creation–present.

Marion Kiwanis Club: Member, 1977–1985. President in 1982.

Marion Rotary Club: Member, 2001–2002.

McDowell County Chapter of American Red Cross: Member of Directors, 2007–2009

Various Other Continuing Memberships:

McDowell County Historical Society,

Marion-McDowell County Chamber of Commerce,

Marion Downtown Business Association,

Camp Ridgecrest for Boys Alumni Association (taught survival camping at Camp Ridgecrest in the late 1960s and early 1970s).

Published Works::

Tunnels, Nitro and Convicts: Building the Railroad That Couldn't Be Built. Condensed history of the construction of the Mountain Division of the Western North Carolina Railroad from 1875–1879, climbing up the eastern continental divide between Old Fort and Ridgecrest, using primarily convict labor. Six tunnels, each 15 feet tall, were forced through the mountain. Includes many photos by Steve Little, taken from 1971 through 2010. History copyrighted in 2010, and published in 2010 by AuthorHouse. See www.BooksBySteveLittle.com.

The Home Tree. Composed as a bed-time story by Steve Little when his daughters Mary and Sally were toddlers. Put in written form in 2000 and copyrighted in 2005. Beautiful custom illustrations by Rhett Golsan added in 2010, copyrighted with illustrations in 2010 and published commercially in 2011 by AuthorHouse. See www.BooksBySteveLittle.com.

History of the Mountain Division of the Western North Carolina Railroad. Written by Steve Little as his history major thesis as a junior at Wake Forest University in 1972, copyrighted 1976 and published in installments in The Old Fort Dispatch (Old Fort, NC) in 1978. The research for this 1972 thesis was the stimulus for Tunnels, Nitro and Convicts.

Andrews Geyser: Symbol of New Life. Researched from 1974–1976 and written in 1976, copyrighted 1977. Andrews Geyser is a man-made fountain (”geyser”) constructed in 1910–1911 near the site of the fountain for the 5-story Round Knob Lodge built in 1885 in the center of the largest loop of tracks of the Mountain Division of the Western North Carolina Railroad in western McDowell County, N.C. The lodge was destroyed by fire in 1903. The restored fountain looks like a geyser. It was named in honor of Col. Alexander Boyd Andrews, a wealthy railroad advocate from eastern North Carolina. This history was published in installments in The Old Fort Dispatch (Old Fort, NC) in 1978.

Two short stories, based upon Steve Little’s experiences as a camper in the early 1960s at Camp Ridgecrest in Ridgecrest, NC. Both were published and distributed in 1977 as supplemental Sunday School literature by the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Personal information:

Born January 6, 1951 and grew up in Smithfield, NC.

Married with two children.

Hobbies include hiking, and especially tree, leaf, plant study.