Checking In: February 21, 2023
Compiled by Jessica Junqueira
Craige Jenkins Liipfert & Walker LLP Elects New Partner
The firm announced that Crissy R. Dixon was elected to partner. Dixon focuses her practice on estate planning, estate administration, trust administration and taxation. She received a J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2016, where she served as the Editor in Chief of Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy and was honored with the Outstanding Female Law Graduate award. She holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
Cranfill Sumner LLP Welcomes New Associate
Elizabeth Leonard has joined the firm’s Charlotte office. Her practice is focused on construction law and civil litigation. She has prior experience practicing civil litigation with a focus on construction law, personal injury, and other liability matters. Before becoming an attorney, she was a writer and editor. She received a J.D. from the William & Mary Law School, where she was a Review Articles Editor and Legal Practice Writing Fellow. Leonard holds a B.A. in psychology from Wesleyan University.
Hannah Sheridan & Cochran Adds New Attorney
Aaron Gavin has joined the firm. Gavin is a 2022 graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law. While in law school, he served as a research assistant for Alyse Bertenthal. Gavin has experience serving as a volunteer to veterans, children, the homeless and to his church community. He graduated from Auburn University with a double major in history and economics.
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP announced that Leah M. Campbell has been elevated to counsel with the firm. Campbell practices in the Charlotte office. She specializes in the intersection of technology, regulation, securities law and financial services. She has represented financial services and insurance company clients in federal and state courts and before state regulators. She has provided intellectual property guidance in mergers and acquisitions and corporate structuring matters. Campbell holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from Tulane University Law School and a B.A. from The Evergreen State College.
The firm announced that attorney Britton Lewis has been selected as a director. Lewis practices in the Commercial Real Estate and Banking and Finance groups. He represents both developers and business owners and supports traditional and asset-based lenders. He is admitted to appear in federal courts in the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina. Before joining the firm, Lewis was a clerk for the Honorable Patrick Flatley in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. Lewis earned a J.D., with honors, from the University of North Carolina School of Law, and he holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Robert El-Jaouhari is now a partner with the firm. Based in Raleigh, El-Jaouhair focuses on real estate litigation and governmental regulation. He has experience working with clients on complex environmental regulatory matters related to new questions under federal and state law. He earned his J.D., with honors, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law, and he also holds a master’s degree in philosophy from Duquesne University and a B.A. in philosophy and history from North Carolina State University.
Allison P. Tanner was elected to partner. Tanner works in the firm’s Charlotte office. She focuses her practice on tax and employee benefits and represents employers on employee benefit and executive compensation matters arising under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. She provides counsel to both public and private companies. Before becoming an attorney, she worked as a lead trial paralegal. She earned a J.D., with honors, from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where she was the recipient of the Smith/Shaver Merit Scholarship and a staff member of the North Carolina Law Review. She also holds a B.S. in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Sydney ter Avest is now an associate attorney in the firm’s Business, Tax and Estates practice. She will focus on corporate and business law, estate planning, and wealth transfer and preservation. Ter Avest received a J.D. from Campbell Law School, where she was a teaching scholar and research assistant. While in law school, she received numerous awards and served as a peer mentor and president of the Health Law Association. She earned a B.A. in public policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Jocelyn Mitnaul Mallette was elected to partner. Mallette represents companies in product liability claims, complex civil litigation, and environmental litigation in state and federal courts. She also represents veterans pro bono through the National Veterans Legal Services Program. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, she served for ten years in the military, where she was an Intelligence Officer, a Wing Executive Officer and an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate with the JAG Corps. In 2017-2018, Mallette was a clerk to Associate Justice Barbara A. Jackson in the North Carolina Supreme Court. Mallette previously served as the NCBA Military & Veterans Law Section Communications Chair. In 2022, she was selected as an NCBA Citizen Lawyer Award recipient. Mallette holds a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and a B.S. in legal studies from the U.S. Air Force Academy.
The firm announced that Jill Walters is a shareholder. Walters has joined the Corporate Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group and practices in the Raleigh/Research Triangle office. She has more than 15 years of experience counseling clients in matters of corporate insolvency, distressed lending, restructuring and bankruptcy, and complex Chapter 11 cases. Walters is a member of the NCBA Bankruptcy Section and serves as the Sponsorship Committee Chair. She is on the Board of Directors for A Note in the Pocket and volunteers with Legal Aid of North Carolina. Walters holds a J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law and a B.A. from Lake Forest College.
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP announced that John S. McCool is now an associate attorney. McCool practices in the Charlotte office. He has joined the Construction Practice Group with the firm, where his focus is on construction litigation and transactions. He has experience as in-house counsel with an engineering and construction firm. He received a J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law, where he was recognized as a Cali Award recipient and where he served as an editorial staff member. He holds a B.S. from the University of Alabama.
Peyton L. Derrow has joined the firm’s Wilmington office. He practices civil litigation, with a specific focus on admiralty and maritime law and construction law. Derrow has previous experience in business and personal injury law. He served as an intern at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Derrow holds a Master of Business Administration and a J.D. from Campbell Law School, where he was involved in international moot court competitions. He traveled to Ghana in 2019 to study international human rights and comparative law. He also holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Bryan Boyd has joined Edwards Beightol, LLC as a litigation attorney. Beightol will work in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, birth injury, traumatic brain injury, trucking accident, toxic exposure, nursing home abuse and neglect, sexual harassment, workplace discrimination, whistleblower/qui tam and wrongful termination litigation. Boyd was a professor at Campbell Law School for over 15 years, and he continues to teach the Wire in the spring semester. He has served as the Clerk of the North Carolina Supreme Court. He received a J.D. from Campbell Law School and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Mars Hill University.
The Law Offices of Wiley Nickel announced that its name is has been changed to Nickel & Granados, PLLC. The law firm assists individuals charged with traffic and criminal matters and provides expungement relief. Wiley Nickel established the firm in 2009, and Lindsey Granados joined the firm in 2020. Granados assisted in expanding the firm’s practice to include high-level felonies in both state and federal courts. She is the Vice President of Wake Women Attorneys and formerly served as president of the association. She also serves the president of the Wake County Academy of Criminal Trial Lawyers. She holds a J.D. from Stetson University College of Law and a B.A., magna cum laude, in political science from Oklahoma Baptist University.
Bradley Anderton has joined the firm. He has prior experience serving as the Assistant District Attorney of the 15th Prosecutorial District of North Carolina. He holds a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law. There, he was a recipient of the Gressman-Pollitt Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy. In his role as a Juvenile Justice Clinic student attorney, he volunteered over 100 hours. Anderton also holds a Bachelor of Science in economics, summa cum laude, from North Carolina State University, where he was a part of the Honors Program.
Troy D. Shelton has been named a partner with the firm. He practices in the Litigation Department in the firm’s Raleigh office. Shelton has both trial and appellate experience. He has litigated cases in the areas of class actions, antitrust, employment disputes, land use and family law. He is a class action consultant to attorneys within the firm as well as outside it. After earning his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of North Carolina School of Law, Shelton served as a Guardian ad Litem, and following that role, as an appellate attorney. He also holds a B.A., magna cum laude, from Duke University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Megan McGee Stacy has joined the firm’s Charlotte office of counsel. Her practice is focused on commercial contracts and business torts, construction, general liability, medical malpractice, premises liability, products liability, professional liability, and transportation matters. She has prior experience in commercial litigation law. She earned a J.D., summa cum laude, from the Charlotte School of Law. She also holds a B.A. in history, with honors, from High Point University.
Laura Gregory has also joined the Charlotte office. She focuses on general liability, medical malpractice, labor and employment, and workers’ compensation law. Gregory serves with the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys and the Junior League of Charlotte, and she is a mentor with the Carolina Youth Coalition. Before joining the firm, she practiced workers’ compensation law. She holds a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
William Thomas has joined the firm as an associate attorney. Thomas focuses his practice on civil litigation, insurance coverage and defense, and employment law. He has prior experience in employment litigation and workers’ compensation law. While in law school, Thomas served as an intern for Associate Justice Samuel J. Ervin IV with the Supreme Court of North Carolina and Judge R. Christopher Dillon with the North Carolina Court of Appeals. He received his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and his undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Fox Rothschild LLP announced that Bradley M. Risinger is now the Managing Partner in the firm’s Raleigh office. Risinger is a trial attorney focusing on business litigation and complex disputes. He has experience litigating in the North Carolina Business Court, as well as in state and federal courts across the Southeast. Risinger served on the Board of Directors for United Way of North Carolina and on the Board of Directors for NC 2-11. He holds a J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. with high distinction from Indiana University.
K&L Gates announced that Courtney B. Thomas is now a partner. Thomas is a part of the corporate practice group. He focuses his practice on commercial technology and sourcing and corporate/mergers and acquisitions. Thomas has prior experience serving as senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary for an international technology company. He also practiced as a senior lawyer at a large investment bank. He has served as a guest lecturer at the University of North Carolina School of Law. He holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. from Duke University.