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Meet Our Professionals

Michael B. Kent Jr.

Counsel
Raleigh | 919.835.4004
Fax | 919.834.4564

Mike Kent focuses his practice on land use regulation, real estate development, state and local government law, and related litigation.

Mike assists real estate developers and property owners with a range of issues, including rezonings, special use permits, variances, entitlement review, zoning enforcement, and representation in quasi-judicial proceedings. In addition, he assists property owners, buyers, landlords, and tenants in connection with real estate acquisitions, title issues, easements, construction contracts, and professional services contracts.

He also helps clients navigate a variety of other issues involving state and local governments. His experience includes advising both public and private entities on public contracting, public utility regulation, the drafting and interpretation of municipal ordinances, and constitutional and statutory provisions addressing governmental authority and private rights.

He is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of North Carolina as well as the Northern District and Middle Districts of Georgia, and he has represented clients in real estate, commercial, and governmental litigation. Early in his career, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Emmett R. Cox of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the Honorable J. Owen Forrester of the Northern District of Georgia.

Mike has 19 years of teaching experience at law schools across the Southeast on topics such as land use regulation, real property, local government law, environmental law, and constitutional law. He is currently a law professor at Campbell University in Raleigh. 

Since 2014, Mike has served as author of Webster's Real Estate Law in North Carolina, considered one of the most authoritative sources of real estate law in the state. 

Representative Experience

  • Assisted real estate developers and property owners with rezonings, special use permits, variances, entitlement review, zoning enforcement, and representation in quasi-judicial proceedings.
  • Advised property owners, purchasers, landlords, and tenants in connection with land acquisition, title issues, easements, restrictive covenants, and leasing.
  • Negotiated, documented, and reviewed commercial leases, vacation rental agreements, easements, construction contracts, and professional services contracts.
  • Advised local governments in connection with land use regulation, governmental liability, open records, ordinance drafting, contracting, and public employment issues.
  • Advised public utility cooperatives in connection with real estate issues, legislative and policy issues, corporate governance, service rules, and local taxation.

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Memberships

  • North Carolina General Statutes Commission, Past Member
  • Town of Cary Zoning Board of Adjustment, Past Member
  • North Carolina Bar Association Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Law Section, Past Council Member
  • Campbell University School of Law, Professor of Law, 2019-present; Associate Professor of Law, 2013-2019
  • Atlanta's John Marshall Law School, Associate Professor, 2010-2013; Assistant Professor, 2006-2010
  • Stetson University School of Law, Visiting Assistant Professor, 2009-2010