Mary Catherine Baker is an associate in the Van Winkle Law Firm’s Litigation and Trust, Estates, and Elder Law Practice Groups. She focuses her practice on trust and estate litigation. Mary Catherine joined Van Winkle immediately after becoming licensed.

While earning her law degree, Mary Catherine spent two years as a teaching assistant for first-year writing and research courses and one year as a research assistant for her mentor and civil procedure professor, focusing mostly on expert witness work for complex civil litigation. She also spent two years working with the Medical Legal Partnership Clinic where she handled housing, healthcare, and end-of-life document planning cases. Mary Catherine served as the Executive Director for the Wake Forest University School of Law Pro Bono Project, where she established several new projects and led the student body to a record breaking 4,300 hours of pro bono service hours.

Education and Affiliations:

Wake Forest School of Law – Juris Doctor, 2025

  • Excellence in Service Award
  • Outstanding Graduate Student Service Award

Columbia College (Honors College) – B.A. (English), 2021, Summa Cum Laude with Honors Distinction

  • Order of the Purple Seal
  • Outstanding Graduating Student of the Year
  • PLACE Fellow of the Year
  • First in my graduating class

Professional Affiliations:

North Carolina Bar Association

North Carolina State Bar

Mentor, Wake Forest School of Law Pro Bono Project

A native of Lexington, South Carolina, Mary Catherine attended a local and historic women’s college, where she fell into community service and non-profit work. After graduation, she worked for a non-profit in Pennsylvania as a crisis counselor and courtroom advocate, which led to her attending law school. Loving to live in a tightknit, vibrant community, Wake Forest School of Law was the perfect choice. Mary Catherine moved to Asheville after graduation for the mountains, the recreation, and the proximity to her family. She enjoys pickleball (unless she’s losing), reading new books, hiking the trails of Western North Carolina, and spending time with her friends and family.

  • Favorite Artists:
    • Cameron Whitcomb
    • Noah Kahan
    • Billie Eilish
    • Zach Bryan
    • The Revivalists
  • Favorite Books:
    • Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
    • The Stand by Stephen King
    • The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
    • The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
    • Ask for Andrea by Noelle Ihli
  • Favorite Movie:
    • Twilight
    • Interstellar
    • Little Women
    • Pride and Prejudice
    • Barbie
  • Favorite Places to Visit:
    • Yellowstone National Park
    • Charleston, SC
    • Scottish Countryside
    • New York City
    • My grandparents’ house