Catharine Biggs Arrowood is Retired of Counsel at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP in Raleigh, North Carolina.

After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Wake Forest University, Ms. Arrowood attended its School of Law and graduated in 1976. Ms. Arrowood spent a year in the Antitrust Division of the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office. In 1977, she joined former Governor Terry Sanford’s law firm in Raleigh, North Carolina. From 1986 to 1989, she chaired the firm’s management committee during which the firm merged to form Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP. Ms. Arrowood served on the combined firm’s management committee from 1989 to 2000. Since completing her term on the firm management committee, she has continued to serve the firm in a number of capacities and has devoted particular attention to the promotion and mentoring of women and minority lawyers.

Ms. Arrowood has a business background. From an early age, she worked in a group of family-owned businesses. These businesses, founded by her great grandfather in 1899, included farming, commercial real estate, warehouses, and retail operations. The family businesses are now being managed by the fifth generation of her family. Ms. Arrowood has served on the boards of directors for these businesses since 1976. Ms. Arrowood also previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of Rex Healthcare, Inc.

Over the years, Ms. Arrowood has served on numerous non-profit and professional committees and boards. She is a member and former Chair of the North Carolina Symphony Board of Trustees. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, where she has chaired its International Committee and the North Carolina State Committee. Ms. Arrowood served as President of the Tenth Judicial District Bar in 2007, has chaired the North Carolina Supreme Court Historical Society, and has served as General Counsel to the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. She is a Past President of the North Carolina Bar Association Board of Governors.

Ms. Arrowood is a member of the Panel of Neutrals for the American Arbitration Association and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution, and she serves as the co-chair of TerraLex’s Dispute Resolution Group. She regularly serves as an arbitrator and is also a Certified Superior Court Mediator. Ms. Arrowood arbitrates for both large and small businesses and has considerable experience with regulated companies. She focuses on resolving problems that threaten the viability of a business. Her clients have included educational institutions, utilities, insurance companies, accounting and law firms, health care and biotech firms, banks, and commercial aerospace companies.