Amy L. Pfeiffer is a partner practicing out of the Raleigh office of Cranfill Sumner. She focuses her practice on the representation of employers in the Workers’ Compensation defense Practice Group. Amy maintains an AV rating with Martindale-Hubbell, a prestigious peer review rating for attorneys. The AV rating is a designation that is reserved for attorneys who are recognized by their peers as having both high ethical standards and legal skill.
Following law school, Amy began her legal career in North Carolina by serving as a law clerk for the Honorable John B. Lewis, Jr. of the North Carolina Court of Appeals for the calendar year January through December 1992.
After a short stint as a legislative assistant for the NC Academy of Trial Lawyers, Amy became involved in NC workers’ compensation law in 1993 when she joined the North Carolina Industrial Commission as an Agency Legal Specialist. In 1995, Amy was made a Special Deputy Commissioner, and she was responsible for conducting administrative hearings. She also ruled on hundreds of medical motions, reviewed thousands of compromise settlement agreements, and traveled throughout the State to talk about the workers’ compensation system to various employers and schools. In 1997, she was named a Deputy Commissioner. Amy was a Deputy Commissioner for six years, through 2003, during which time she heard hundreds of cases and filed Opinions & Awards on these cases.
Amy left the Industrial Commission in 2003 and went to work for a year for a plaintiffs’ workers’ compensation firm. In 2004, she came to Cranfill Sumner where she now represents defendants in workers’ compensation cases. Amy’s practice is focused solely on workers’ compensation defense. In that capacity Amy represents various carriers and employers at all levels before the NC Industrial Commission. When she is not representing clients, Amy also acts a mediator for workers’ compensation claims on a frequent basis.
Articles, Presentations, and Publications
•“Slippin’, Trippin’, and Fallin’: What Constitutes an Injury by Accident?”, Cranfill Sumner LLP Risk Management & Workers’ Compensation Legal Summit 2025
•Amy was co-editor of the Cranfill Sumner’s Monthly Workers’ Comp E-Alert for distribution to Cranfill Sumner clients. In that capacity, she was responsible for ensuring that our clients were kept up-to-date on new IC happenings, recently filed appellate court opinions, and firm news.
•Participant in Southern Rehabilitation Network’s Panel Discussion on “Communication and Collaboration of Medical Case Managers and Vocational Case Managers for Return to Work” (2016)
•“2008 Changes to Commission Procedures and Forms,” N.C. Bar Association’s The Course and Scope, Feb. 2009 edition.
•“All Aboard: A Tour of the NC Industrial Commission,” Fall CSH Educational Legal Summit 2023.
•“New I.C. Forms and Procedures,” Fall CSH Educational Seminar 2008.
•Amy has spoken at a number of continuing legal education courses, seminars, and client conferences. Amy has presented a paper at the annual NC Academy of Trial Lawyers workers’ compensation CLE and was a yearly speaker at the NC Industrial Commission’s educational conference from 1996 until 2002. Amy was the co-planner of the Commission’s educational conference in 2002. Amy participated in a panel presentation at the educational conference in 2008 and again in 2022.
•In 2006, Amy was the co-planner of the NC Bar Association workers’ compensation section’s annual meeting and CLE.
Accomplishments
•Martindale-Hubbell, AV Rated
•Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in the field of Workers' Compensation Law - Employers (2018-2026)
•Selected for inclusion into the 2013 edition of the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers
Most Recent Posts
Post
NC Workers’ Compensation Presumptions: Presumption for Medical Compensation
Welcome to the first in a series of articles designed to be a refresher on various NC workers’ compensation presumptions....
News
33 CSH Law Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America 2026
Thirty-three attorneys from Cranfill Sumner LLP (CSH Law) were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2026....
Post
NC Court of Appeals Denies Motion to Add Self-Insurance Association in Asbestos Exposure Case
In a published decision with a dissent, the NC Court of Appeals denied the Plaintiff’s motion to add North Carolina...
News
Cranfill Sumner Hosts 2025 Risk Management & Workers’ Compensation Legal Summit
On April 30, Cranfill Sumner LLP hosted its 2025 Risk Management & Workers’ Compensation Legal Summit....
News
32 CSH Law Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America 2025
Thirty-two attorneys from Cranfill Sumner LLP (CSH Law) were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2025....
News
Cranfill Sumner LLP Hosts Legal Summit
Cranfill Sumner LLP hosted a day-long, virtual 2023 Legal Summit on Oct. 11....
News
32 CSH Law Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America 2024
Thirty-two attorneys from Cranfill Sumner LLP (CSH Law) were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2024....
News
Amy Pfeiffer Presents at N.C. Workers’ Compensation Conference
Amy Pfeiffer recently presented on a panel at the 27th Annual N.C. Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference in Raleigh. The N.C. Industrial Commission conference was held Oct. 12-14 at the Raleigh Convention Center....
News
25 CSH Law Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America 2023
Twenty-five attorneys from Cranfill Sumner LLP (CSH Law) were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2023....
News
26 CSH Law Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America 2022
Twenty-six attorneys from Cranfill Sumner LLP (CSH Law) were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2022....
News
27 Cranfill Sumner Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America 2021
Twenty-seven attorneys from Cranfill Sumner LLP (Cranfill Sumner) were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2021 (Copyright 2020 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC)....
News
31 Cranfill Sumner Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America 2020
Thirty-one attorneys from Cranfill Sumner LLP (Cranfill Sumner) were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2020(Copyright 2019 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC)....
News
Amy Pfeiffer Presents at NCBA Workers’ Compensation CLE
On Nov. 30, Amy Pfeiffer served as a presenter for “The Assembly Line of Workers’ Compensation (2018 Basics of Workers’ Compensation Program)” at the North Carolina Bar Center in Cary. She presented on the topic of “Is it Compensable? Injury by Accident and Occupational Disease Claims.” The conference was planned by the North Carolina Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Section and covered the fundamental steps of a typical workers’ compensation claim....
News
32 Cranfill Sumner Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America 2019
Thirty-two attorneys from Cranfill Sumner LLP (Cranfill Sumner) were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2019 (Copyright 2018 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC)....
News
33 Cranfill Sumner Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America 2018
Thirty-three attorneys from Cranfill Sumner LLP (Cranfill Sumner) were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2018 (Copyright 2017 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC). Eight attorneys were selected for inclusion in the list for the first time....
Result
Amy Pfeiffer Obtains Dismissal of Claim Arising from Shoulder Injury
Amy Pfeiffer recently obtained dismissal of a claim arising from a shoulder injury the plaintiff sustained while unloading drywall into...
News
Amy Pfeiffer To Speak on Case Manager Panel
Amy Pfeiffer will speak as part of a panel for the Southern Rehabilitation Network’s company training event on Oct. 13. Amy, a defense attorney in the Raleigh office of Cranfill Sumner LLP, will serve on the panel that also includes a plaintiffs’ attorney, an employer and a claims adjuster....
News
Amy Pfeiffer Serving on NCBA Program Planning Committee
Amy Pfeiffer, an attorney in the Raleigh office of Cranfill Sumner LLP, is serving as a co-planner of the 2016 NC Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Fall Program which will be held Nov. 18 at the NC Bar Center, Cary. ...
Result
Amy Pfeiffer and Lucy Bradley Obtained Favorable Opinion and Award from the IC
Amy Pfeiffer and a former Cranfill Sumner attorney obtained a favorable Opinion and Award from the Industrial Commission in a claim...
News
Cranfill Sumner Names 4 New Partners
Cranfill Sumner named four new partners: Leanne Dale, Katie Hartzog, Amy Pfeiffer out of the firm’s Raleigh office and Brian Kromke of the firm’s Wilmington office....
