Trey Ferguson is a partner with Sumrell Sugg, P.A., a North Carolina law firm with more than 75 years of experience serving local governments and communities throughout eastern North Carolina. Trey focuses his practice on representing local governments and public entities in state and federal courts, including appellate matters before the state’s appellate courts. His practice includes land use and zoning disputes, civil rights and governmental liability matters, and other complex issues facing municipalities and counties.Trey also serves as outside general counsel to municipalities in the region, providing practical advice on day-to-day legal matters and helping elected officials and staff navigate the legal issues that accompany public service. Sumrell Sugg represents Jones, Pamlico, and Lenoir Counties, and Trey assists with the firm’s work on behalf of each of these local governments. In addition to his legal practice, Trey serves as the elected Alderman for Ward 1 of the City of New Bern and, in that capacity, serves on the North Carolina League of Municipalities’ Legislative Policy Committee.Trey also represents law enforcement agencies and public officials as insurance defense counsel in civil litigation, including matters involving governmental liability and claims arising from law enforcement activities. His experience working with public officials, government staff, and law enforcement agencies gives him a practical perspective on the legal and operational challenges facing public entities. Trey has also been a frequent speaker on issues affecting local governments and public entities, having presented to organizations including the North Carolina Public Risk Managers Association, the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys, the North Carolina Police Executives Association, and other professional groups on topics including local government litigation, employment law, law enforcement liability, and ethics for public officials.Before practicing law, Trey taught high school mathematics in Wake County Public Schools, an experience that continues to inform his practical and service-oriented approach to his legal work. He earned his bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University and his law degree, magna cum laude, from Campbell University School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of The Campbell Law Review and was the Janette Soles Nelson Public Service Scholar for his class.

Community Involvement: New Bern Board of Alderman, Elected Ward 1 Alderman (2025-present)NC League of Municipalities Legislative Policy CommitteeNew Bern Farmer’s Market BoardSwiss Bear Board of DirectorsNew Bern-Craven Public Library Board of TrusteesNew Bern Board of Adjustment, Ward 1 Appointee (2022-2025)Litigation Council Member at the North Carolina Bar Association (2024-25)Board Member of Craven Community Foundation, Vice Chairman (2026-27) (An Affiliate of the North Carolina Community Foundation)Member of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys (Member of Government Liability Practice Group) (2023-24)Treasurer/Secretary of the Craven County Bar Association (2023-24)Advisory Board Member for SECU’s Howell Road Branch (2021-25)Programs Committee Member of the N.C. Bar Foundation (2022-23) Bar Admissions:N.C. State CourtsU.S. District Court for the Eastern District of N.C.U.S. District Court for the Middle District of N.C.U.S. District Court for the Western District of N.C.U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Publications:NC’s Down-Zoning Ban: Property Rights or Planning Paralysis?, Carolina J. (Feb. 20, 2026), https://www.carolinajournal.com/opinion/ncs-down-zoning-ban-property-rights-or-planning-paralysis/Article: Checks and Imbalances: 2024 Local Government Case Law Update, The Resource, N.C. Ass’n of Defense Attorneys (June 2024).Article: Color-Code Curricula: How North Carolina’s Tracking Regime Creates Micro-Segregation and Violates the State’s Constitution, 44 N.C. CENTRAL L. REV. 29 (2022).Policy Brief: “Color-Coded Curriculum – How North Carolina’s Academic Tracking Regime Creates Micro-Segregation and What Our State Can Do to Remedy It”, Center for Racial Equity in Education (2022)Comment: Protecting Personal Data: A Survey of Consumer Protections Throughout North Carolina’s Identity Theft Protection Act, 42 CAMPBELL L. REV. 191 (2020). PresentationsEthics for North Carolina Local Government Officials, July 2024.Checks & Imbalances: 2024 Local Government Case Law Update, North Carolina Public Risk Managers Association’s Annual Conference, September 2024.Tully & Mole’: The Erosion of Public Sector At-Will Employment, North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys’ Government Attorneys “Shop-Talk”, January 2024.Fruits of their Own Labor: How the Courts are Stomping Local Governments’ Grapes, North Carolina Public Risk Managers Association’s Annual Conference, September 2023.Employment Law: Legal Liabilities for Law Enforcement, North Carolina Police Executives Association’s Annual Conference, July 2023.

Civil LitigationLocal GovernmentLand Use & Zoning

N.C State University (B.S., Secondary Mathematics Education, 2014) Campbell University, Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 2021)

Trey graduated with bachelor’s in sciences from North Carolina State University and then taught high school math for four years in Wake County Public Schools. After teaching, Trey attended Campbell University’s School of Law as the Janette Soles Nelson Public Service Scholar. During law school, Trey interned with Judge Lucy Inman at the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Judge Kenneth D. Bell at the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Additionally, Trey was the Editor-in-Chief of The Campbell Law Review and worked for two years as a teaching scholar for the Legal Research and Writing program at Campbell University’s School of Law. Trey graduated law school magna cum laude and received the 2021 Scholarship & Leadership Award from the American Law Institute CLE and the Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake, Jr. Constitutional Law Award for an article that he wrote on state constitutional law issues surrounding academic tracking of public-school students, which was later published by the North Carolina Central University’s Law Review.