Mr. Cocklereece is an attorney with the firm of Bell, Davis & Pitt, P.A., a 40 attorney law firm with offices in Winston Salem and Charlotte, North Carolina. He devotes a substantial portion of his practice to property tax appeals in North Carolina. Mr. Cocklereece first became involved in property tax work in representing R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in an appeal of the taxation of tobacco in customs bonded warehouses, a case that ultimately went to the U.S. Supreme Court [1986]. From 1990 through 1993, Mr. Cocklereece served as a member, and later Chairman, of the North Carolina Property Tax Commission, the state level trail court for property tax appeals in North Carolina. Since ending his term on the Property Tax Commission, Mr. Cocklereece has represented numerous taxpayers and political entities in property tax appeals. He is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association (Tax Section Council, 1993-96, 2000-, Chair, 1995-96).