Mark Pinkston is a principal with The Van Winkle Law Firm, where he focuses his practice on creditors’ rights and banking and lending transactions. His representation of individual and corporate clients has covered a full spectrum of work-out, collector and transactional scenarios, including those involving bankruptcies, foreclosures, and recoveries. Over the years, he has applied zealous representation of regional and national creditors to collect millions of dollars in consumer and commercial recovery situations.

Practice Areas

Awards & Honors

  • The Best Lawyers in America® 2020, Asheville Area –
    • Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
    • Litigation – Bankruptcy
    • Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law
  • The Order of the Coif
  • AV Peer-Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Business North Carolina Legal Elite
  • Lawyer Of The Year Award (3 Times)
  • Top 10 Super Lawyers North Carolina 2024
  • The Best Lawyers In America 2025
  • 2024 North Carolina Super Lawyers

Education

  • University of Tennessee, Juris Doctor, with highest honors, 1989
  • North Carolina State University, Bachelor’s Degree in Nuclear Engineering, 1986

 

Community Involvement

  • Sulphur Springs Methodist Church
  • Daniel Boone Council Boy Scouts of America, Executive Board Member
  • Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts in the Historic Shelton House, Lawyer Emeritus
  • Pisgah High School Athletic Boosters, President

Professional Affiliations

  • Buncombe County Bar
  • North Carolina Bar Association, Bankruptcy Section, Past Council Member and Past Nominating Committee Member
  • North Carolina State Bar
  • Cherokee Supreme Court – Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
  • Tennessee Bar Association
  • Fourth Circuit Court Of Appeals
  • United States District Court Western District North Carolina
  • United States District Court Eastern District North Carolina
  • United States District Court Middle District North Carolina
  • United States District Court Eastern District Tennessee

Mark and his wife, Patti, have five children: Brett, Joe, Kane, Luke, and Morgan.