About Douglas
Douglas Kingsbery earned his B.A. from Duke University's Trinity College of Arts and Sciences in 1977, majoring in political science and religion. He stayed at Duke for law school and received his J.D. in 1980. Those years on campus framed an interest in public institutions and contested legal questions that would shape his career.
Before law school, Kingsbery served in the United States Naval Reserve beginning in 1973. After completing his J.D., he joined Tharrington, Smith & Hargrove in 1980, a firm that later became Tharrington, Smith LLP. He built his practice there, handling a wide range of courtroom matters and appeals over many years.
He maintains admission to practice before a number of state and federal bodies. Those include the U.S. Supreme Court, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the North Carolina Supreme Court and the North Carolina bar. He is also admitted in several federal trial courts: the United States District Courts for the Western, Eastern and Middle Districts of North Carolina, the United States Court of Federal Claims, and the United States Tax Court. He is authorized to represent taxpayers before the United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service.
Kingsbery is a Board Certified Specialist in Federal and State Criminal Law through the North Carolina Board of Legal Specialization. His peers have recognized him with fellowships in national trial organizations: he is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the latter designation held since 2018. He also holds memberships in the North Carolina Bar Association's Criminal Justice and Litigation Sections, the American Bar Association's Litigation Section, the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
In courtroom work he has handled matters that range from state criminal prosecutions to federal litigation and appeals. His admissions to tax and federal claims forums mean he regularly appears in cases that cross the boundary between criminal, civil and tax law. He has taken cases to trial and argued issues on appeal, and his practice reflects a mix of trial preparation, courtroom advocacy and appellate briefing.
His current practice focuses on federal and state criminal defense, civil litigation and proceedings before federal tax and claims forums.
