Fox Rothschild Selects New Leadership, Adds Partner
Diana Palacek is now the Managing Partner of Fox Rothschild’s Charlotte office. She practices commercial real estate transactions and focuses on financing (closing, servicing and enforcement), purchase and sale, ground-up development and leasing. She previously served as in-house counsel for a financial services organization in Greensboro and a financial services organization in Winston-Salem. She is a member of CREW Charlotte, a chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Women Network. She holds a law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Erskine College.
Susan Fradenburg is now the Managing Partner in the firm’s Greenville office. She has practiced health care law for more than 25 years. She focuses on representing long-term care providers, pharmacies and hospitals. She has argued at the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. She works alongside the firm’s health law team to provide crisis management assistance to health care facilities. She has served as a speaker, and she has written articles on the topic of providing a response to crisis events, CARES ACT funding and more. She is a member of Rotary and serves at her local elementary school as a study buddy volunteer. She holds a law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree with highest distinction from the University of Kansas.
Terrill Johnson Harris is now co-chair of the Health Law Practice Group. She advises a range of health care providers on regulatory compliance, major transactions and dispute resolution. She has more than thirty years of experience assisting clients in matters of regulatory compliance, strategic planning and risk management. From 2022-2024, she served on the Legal Committee for the nonprofit LeadingAge. She also served as chair of the Board of Trustees of Friends Homes, Inc., from 2017 to 2019. She volunteers with the Women’s Resource Center. She received her law degree from Duke University School of Law and her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Wake Forest University.
Jason Vogel has joined the firm as a partner. He will practice in the Raleigh office and will be a member of the Intellectual Property Department. Vogel is an international trademark and copyright attorney. He provides counsel to clients on U.S. and international trademark and copyright strategy, clearance, protection, enforcement and transactions. He is experienced in multijurisdictional trademark and copyright registration, enforcement and litigation. He holds a law degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and his bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music.
Melissa Tulis Smith is now a partner with the firm. Smith has been a part of the firm’s Consumer Collections practice group since 2020. Prior to joining the firm, she gained experience in civil litigation with a focus on property, construction and landlord-tenant disputes. Smith, who is originally from Raleigh, received her undergraduate degree in philosophy and romance languages from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She graduated from Campbell Law School. Smith serves as the 2025-2026 chair of the NCBA Litigation Section and as the Membership Committee Chair for the North Carolina Creditors Bar Association. She is licensed to practice law in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
Tuggle Duggins Welcomes New Associate
Joshua Plummer is now an associate attorney with Tuggle Duggins. He is a member of the Commercial Real Estate practice with the firm. Plummer graduated from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2023. While in law school, he was a teaching assistant, research assistant and participant in the Veteran’s Legal Clinic. Prior to going to law school, Plummer served in the United States Marine Corps. He retired as a major in 2019. Before joining Tuggle Duggins P.A., he practiced law in Winston-Salem. He holds his undergraduate degree from Purdue University, where he graduated with distinction and was a member of the naval ROTC.
Martin H. Brinkley Selected to Receive Faculty Service Award from The University of North Carolina Alumni Association
Martin H. Brinkley has been selected as a 2026 Carolina Alumni Award recipient by the University of North Carolina’s Alumni Association. Brinkley and other honorees will be recognized in a ceremony on April 17. Brinkley is a Kenan Distinguished Professor at Carolina Law, where he teaches first year property, business associations and legal history. He served as the dean of UNC School of Law from 2015 to 2025. He is a graduate of UNC School of Law, where he served as executive articles editor for the North Carolina Law Review. Prior to law school, he studied papyrology at the University of Cologne’s Institute for Ancient Studies. Brinkley received an A.B. degree in classics from Harvard University. He was a clerk to Chief Judge Sam J. Ervin, III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He practiced corporate law in Raleigh for 22 years.
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP Attorney Named Fellow of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers
The American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers (ACCFSL) has elected Christy W. Hancock as a fellow. Hancock, along with the new class of fellows, will be honored in Atlanta at the organization’s annual dinner on April 18. Hancock is a partner in the firm’s Charlotte office. She assists mortgage servicing and financial institution clients. Hancock is a co-leader of the Banking & Financial Services Practice Group and the co-chair of the Home Equity Lending team and the Bankruptcy Compliance & Consumer Bankruptcy Litigation team. She holds her law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law and her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina.
New Firm Announcement: K Tyson Law
Kim Tyson has launched K Tyson Law in Charlotte. The firm serves clients throughout North Carolina and nationwide on federal tax matters, including charitable giving, disputes with the IRS, federal tax litigation and IRS collections. Tyson has over 20 years of experience working on tax issues at the IRS Office of Chief Counsel and the U.S. Tax Court. At the IRS, Kim advised revenue agents and litigated cases in the Large Business & International and Litigation & Advisory Divisions. During her tenure, Kim was an IRS subject matter expert on penalties and a nationwide legal advisor on syndicated conservation easements. She was repeatedly recognized for outstanding contributions to the agency, including being awarded IRS Office of Chief Counsel Attorney of the Year among field attorneys nationwide. She received an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center, a law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Frostburg State University.
Checking In: April 28, 2026
Checking InCompiled by Jessica Junqueira
Fox Rothschild Selects New Leadership, Adds Partner
Diana Palacek is now the Managing Partner of Fox Rothschild’s Charlotte office. She practices commercial real estate transactions and focuses on financing (closing, servicing and enforcement), purchase and sale, ground-up development and leasing. She previously served as in-house counsel for a financial services organization in Greensboro and a financial services organization in Winston-Salem. She is a member of CREW Charlotte, a chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Women Network. She holds a law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Erskine College.
Susan Fradenburg is now the Managing Partner in the firm’s Greenville office. She has practiced health care law for more than 25 years. She focuses on representing long-term care providers, pharmacies and hospitals. She has argued at the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. She works alongside the firm’s health law team to provide crisis management assistance to health care facilities. She has served as a speaker, and she has written articles on the topic of providing a response to crisis events, CARES ACT funding and more. She is a member of Rotary and serves at her local elementary school as a study buddy volunteer. She holds a law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree with highest distinction from the University of Kansas.
Terrill Johnson Harris is now co-chair of the Health Law Practice Group. She advises a range of health care providers on regulatory compliance, major transactions and dispute resolution. She has more than thirty years of experience assisting clients in matters of regulatory compliance, strategic planning and risk management. From 2022-2024, she served on the Legal Committee for the nonprofit LeadingAge. She also served as chair of the Board of Trustees of Friends Homes, Inc., from 2017 to 2019. She volunteers with the Women’s Resource Center. She received her law degree from Duke University School of Law and her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Wake Forest University.
Jason Vogel has joined the firm as a partner. He will practice in the Raleigh office and will be a member of the Intellectual Property Department. Vogel is an international trademark and copyright attorney. He provides counsel to clients on U.S. and international trademark and copyright strategy, clearance, protection, enforcement and transactions. He is experienced in multijurisdictional trademark and copyright registration, enforcement and litigation. He holds a law degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and his bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music.
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Checking In: March 24, 2026
Checking InCompiled by Jessica Junqueira
Smith Debnam Selects Partner
Tuggle Duggins Welcomes New Associate
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Checking In: February 23, 2026
Checking InCompiled by Jessica Junqueira
Martin H. Brinkley Selected to Receive Faculty Service Award from The University of North Carolina Alumni Association
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP Attorney Named Fellow of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers
New Firm Announcement: K Tyson Law
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