James F. (Rik) Lovett, Jr. has been practicing law for roughly 27 years in Raleigh (Wake County, N.C. and the surrounding counties). Shortly after beginning his legal career as a bankruptcy attorney, Rik gravitated toward the more scintillating, personal arena of divorce / family law and began practicing exclusively in that field and has continued doing so for the last 25 years.

Today Rik is a N.C. State Board Certified Specialist in family law and a Martindale Hubbel AV Preeminent attorney. He has also been named Legal Elite by N.C. Business Magazine (nominated by peers) for the last five years. In 2014, Rik was named a National Advocate Top 100 Matrimonial and Family Lawyer. In 2015, Rik was named Ten Best in N.C. – client satisfaction – by the American Institute of Family Lawyers. Mr. Lovett has earned a current 10 out of 10 ranking from Lawyergist, a national rating system to give clients guidance in finding the best domestic / family lawyer for them.

A former N.C. state high school tennis champion, nationally ranked junior, and college scholarship athlete, Rik initially learned to fight on a tennis court. Those skills were readily transferable to the courtroom and negotiation / mediation playing fields.

Rik obtained his B.A. degree from Furman University (Greenville, S.C.) and his law degree from Wake Forest University (Winston – Salem, N.C.). He is a member of the American Bar Association (family law section), the N.C. Bar Association (family law section), the N.C. State Bar and the Wake County Bar Association. His practice is limited to Divorce and Family Law. He is available to lecture on domestic / family law topics to legal, church, and civic groups and is a member of the Christian Legal Society.

Rik teaches Continuing Legal Education seminars to other North Carolina family law attorneys. Rik has lectured at these family law seminars over the years:

2016 – Divorce Law Boot Camp

2013 – Child Custody Procedures: Form by Form

2012 – Dividing Debt During Divorce: A Step-By-Step Guide To Properly Handling The Latest Bankruptcy, Foreclosure And  Debt Issues During Divorce Proceedings

2011 – Advanced Issues in Divorce: Solutions to Real Life Family Law Problems

2011 – Child Custody from A to Z: In The Best Interests of the Child

2010 – Divorce Litigation: From Start to Finish

2008 – Preventing Critical Financial Mistakes During Divorce

2007 – Equitable Divorce Settlements

2006 – Successful Financial Settlements For Your Divorce Clients

2005 – Crucial Discovery Techniques in North Carolina Dissolution Cases: Finding The Money

2004 – Complex Issues in Divorce for the North Carolina Practitioner – Forensic Accounting and Valuation in Divorce and Tax Aspects of Divorce

2003 – Family Law in North Carolina – Analysis of Financial Information, Consideration in Child Custody, and Preparation and Trial of a Divorce Case

2003 – Exploring Essential Issues in Domestic Law for North Carolina Paralegals – When and Why Marital Agreements are Needed, and Gathering and Analyzing Financial Information

2002 – Marital Agreements Made Easy in North Carolina – Recent Developments Impacting Premarital Agreements – Court Decisions and Emerging Trends, and Drafting Marital Agreements

Rik is married, has four children, and when not feeding his workaholic addiction, enjoys attending sporting events, tennis, jogging, perusing Wall Street Journal editorials and reading books that make people think.