Douglas P. Arthurs was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina on May 13, 1954. He grew up in Gaston County, North Carolina and graduated from Cherryville High School. He subsequently attended Gaston College where he received his Associate in Arts Degree in 1977. While attending Gaston College, he served as the student body president. He then attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science in 1978.

Doug earned his Juris Doctor degree with highest honors (magna cum laude) from Wake Forest University School of Law in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1982. While attending Wake Forest University School of Law, he served on the Wake Forest Moot Court Board and he was a member of the Wake Forest Law Review. He was published twice in the Law Review. He wrote notes entitled “The Peremptive Provision as a Valid Restraint on Alienation” and “Spousal Testimony in Criminal Proceedings”.

Doug entered the private practice of law in Gaston County, North Carolina in September of 1982 and has continued to practice in Gaston County since that date. He has been a member of the Gaston County Bar Association, the North Carolina Bar Association and the North Carolina State Bar since 1982. He served as President of the Gaston County Bar Association from 1991 until 1992. He has also served as treasurer to the Gaston County Bar Association.

In 2010, he was chosen as one of North Carolina’s Top Lawyers by other lawyers as published in Business North Carolina Magazine. He has received an “AV” rating in the prestigious Martindale-Hubble law directory. An “AV” rating represents the highest level of professional excellence, as ranked by his peers.

Doug  is a certified mediator in Superior Court civil actions and has been a certified mediator since July 27, 2006.