Checking In: Nov. 24, 2020
Compiled by Jessica Junqueira
New Hires and Appointment
Ashley Coghill is now an associate attorney at Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP (CSH Law). She practices in the firm’s Wilmington office. She focuses on professional liability, admiralty & maritime, and construction law. Before joining CSH Law, Coghill practiced in civil litigation at a firm in Durham, where she worked for five years. She also was a pre-litigation support analyst. Coghill has volunteer experience providing legal services for North Carolina farmers. Coghill graduated from Campbell Law School and received a Bachelor of Arts from Appalachian State University.
Harrison Wicker is now an associate attorney with Safran Law Offices. Before he joined the firm, he was an intern with Nelson Mullins PLLC and Safran Law Offices. He also has experience working as an econometrics analyst with the North Carolina Department of Instruction. Wicker graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in economics and from Campbell Law School with a Juris Doctorate.
Poyner Spruill has named Cheslie Kryst as the firm’s first Diversity Advisor. Kryst will help to advance the firm’s diversity and inclusion development. She will work with the Diversity and Inclusion Committee on initiatives and recruiting efforts. Kryst was a member of the firm’s litigation team, and her focus was on complex civil litigation. She was selected as Miss USA 2019. Kryst earned her Bachelor of Science from the Honors College at the University of South Carolina, her MBA from Wake Forest University, and her Juris Doctorate from Wake Forest University School of Law.
Dayton Cole has been named interim general counsel for Campbell University. Bob Coswell, who was general counsel at Campbell for nearly 20 years, will assume the role of associate general counsel. For more than 30 years, Cole was the general counsel and chief legal officer for Appalachian State University. There, he served under five chancellors and a number of trustees. Throughout his legal career, his general practice encompassed a wide range of legal matters, with emphasis on client counseling, research, writing, policy development, and coordination of litigation efforts with North Carolina Department of Justice attorneys. Before joining Appalachian State, he served as assistant university attorney at Texas State University and as university attorney at Texas A&M – Commerce. He is the author of the Legal Handbook for North Carolina Teachers and has served as a member of the Board of Governors of the North Carolina Bar Association. Cole is a graduate of the South Texas College of Law in Houston and Texas State University.
Patti Ramseur and Alex Maultsby launched Ramseur Maultsby LLP in September 2020, focusing on employment law, after each practiced for over seventeen years with Smith Moore Leatherwood and, more recently, Fox Rothschild. In their new firm, they will continue to engage in employment litigation, counseling, and training. Patti and Alex are longtime North Carolinians. Ramseur graduated from North Carolina State University and Wake Forest University School of Law; Maultsby graduated from Davidson College and the University of North Carolina School of Law.
Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP (CSH Law) announced that Brandy Cox is now a paralegal in the firm’s Wilmington office. Cox is a North Carolina Bar Certified Paralegal with more than six years of experience in elder law and estates. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a Bachelor of Arts in communication studies and a minor in psychology and from Cape Fear Community College with an associate’s degree in paralegal technology.
Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP (CSH Law) also announced that Laura Dean, a civil litigator, has been promoted to of counsel. Dean, who is based in the firm’s Raleigh office, focuses on professional liability defense, general business disputes, premise and products liability cases, and admiralty and maritime matters. She practices in federal and State courts across North Carolina. She obtained a Juris Doctorate at the University of North Carolina School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in business administration from UNC.
Rylee Dillard has joined Hall Booth Smith, P.C. (HBS) as an associate attorney in the firm’s Charlotte office. Her practice is focused on medical malpractice, general liability and workers’ compensation. Prior to joining HBS, she practiced at an insurance defense firm located in Charlotte and represented clients in workers’ compensation disputes. Dillard earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with a concentration in politics, philosophy and law from the College of Charleston.
Brian Lagesse has joined the Durham office of NC Eminent Domain Law Firm. His area of practice is eminent domain law. Before practicing in this area, he represented clients in matters of complex real estate as the leader of another firm’s N.C. Title Resolution Department. He received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Baylor University, and prior to attending law school, he worked for a Department of Defense aerospace contractor as a project manager. Lagesse holds a Juris Doctorate from Regent University School of Law and a Master of Laws from Duke University School of Law.
Stephen Bell has joined Cranfill Sumner & Hatzog LLP (CSH Law). Bell is an associate attorney in civil litigation. He has over seven years of experience litigating complex commercial matters. His practice areas are commercial litigation, as well as class actions, multi-district litigation and real property disputes. As outside counsel, Stephen has assisted businesses across the state in a number of areas, including regulatory issues. He obtained his Juris Doctorate from Wake Forest University School of Law and his undergraduate degree in Psychology from Clemson University.
Steven Newton, II, was recently promoted from associate partner to principal at Nicholls & Crampton, P.A. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy at UNC Chapel Hill and a joint Juris Doctorate / Master’s in Business Administration from Campbell Law School in 2012. Newton graduated magna cum laude from Campbell. Newton previously worked as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Stephani W. Humrickhouse, judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.