80 in 65 zone in NC

[Rob_in_VA]

I live in Virginia. I was traveling in North Carolina for work and got pulled over on I-95 for doing 80 in a 65 mph zone. The ticket specifies a penalty of $30 and court costs of $121. Whe I arrived home I found about 6 or 7 letters from NC law companies claiming they could help me. I will not be able to go to to the court date, as it is hundreds of miles from my home. Is it worthwhile to hire one of these firms to represent me at the hearing? Do they have a decent record of reducing points in cases like mine? I have a clean record and haven't gotten a ticket in years. If I just pay the ticket, would the out of state speeding violation be applied to my record? Based on my research, it seems this is a class 2 misdemeanor, which is kind of scary. Thanks for any help you can give.