Brooks Pierce has opened a new office in Charlotte. The firm also has offices in Greensboro, Raleigh and Wilmington. Three new partners, David Allen, Ben Chesson and Anna Majestro have joined the firm.
David Allen has practiced law for more than thirty years. He has empaneled nearly 100 juries since the beginning of his career. He previously served as president of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys. He is a councilor of the North Carolina State Bar and a former chair of its Ethics Committee. Allen has also served the legal community through lecturing on the topic of trial practice. He is the 2020 recipient of the NCADA Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy. In July 2025, Allen was selected by the N.C. State Bar’s Nominating Committee to stand for election as N.C. State Bar vice president. He holds a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ben Chesson has tried nearly 20 cases to verdict. Chesson has a range of experience in his practice, including shareholder disputes, product warranty claims and more. He has tried both corporate and individual clients in state and federal courts across North Carolina. He has represented clients in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, all appellate courts in North Carolina, and the South Carolina Supreme Court. He holds a J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law, where he served as editor of the Wake Forest Law Review. He received a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Anna Majestro is licensed to practice law in West Virginia and South Carolina. She focuses her practice on commercial litigation. After graduating from law school, she clerked for a federal court in West Virginia. Majestro served as chair of the Mecklenburg Bar Association Civil Litigation Section and as a volunteer guardian ad litem with Mecklenburg County. She holds a J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a senior editor for the annual survey on White Collar Crime for the American Criminal Law Review at Georgetown. She received a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University. Read more
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP Welcomes New Partner
Elizabeth F. Greene has joined the firm. Before joining Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, she managed a regional white-collar and investigations firm in Charlotte. She brings more than 20 years of experience as a trial attorney in high-stakes litigation. Greene practiced as an assistant United States attorney in the Western District of North Carolina and an assistant district attorney in Mecklenburg County. She served as in-house counsel for a large national mortgage lender. She previously was a prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice. Greene assists clients in complex criminal matters in both state and federal court, False Claims Act violations, professional licensing, and other regulatory matters. She regularly conducts internal investigations for businesses. She holds a J.D. from Campbell Law School and a B.A. in English literature from the University of Virginia.
Law Firm Carolinas Names New Partner
Jonathon Woodruff is a partner with the firm. He joined Law Firm Carolinas in 2021, and his practice is focused on representing community associations, including HOAs and condominium associations. Woodruff has experience in civil law and criminal law. He supervises the firm’s association assessment collections practice. He has been involved in his community through service with Blanchard Community Law Clinic, the Restorative Justice Clinic and Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. Woodruff, who is a native of Winston-Salem, earned his J.D. from Campbell Law School, where he served as the president of the Black Law Student Association and as the 3L representative for the Student Bar Association. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from North Carolina Central University.
Stacy Ackermann has been appointed Global Managing Partner. Ackermann has practiced with the firm since 2012, and she previously served on the Management Committee for six years. Ackermann spearheads the firm’s global finance practice. She represents lenders, servicers, investors, and other market participants in all aspects of various financial and credit market transactions. She focuses on structured finance, primarily commercial mortgage-backed and CRE CLO securitization transactions. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif. She holds a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Furman University.
Poyner Spruill Welcomes New Associate Attorney
Margaret Raymer is now an associate attorney based in the Raleigh office. Raymer’s practice is focused on education law. She provides counsel to local school boards and public school systems. She helps clients with various matters in education law, such as special education issues, student discipline and personnel matters. She graduated from Campbell Law School, where she was the managing editor of Campbell Law Review. She served with the Lawyers and Leaders Program as vice president. Prior to law school, she worked with Teach for America as a sixth-grade science teacher. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Checking In: August 26, 2025
Checking InBrooks Pierce Opens New Charlotte Office
Brooks Pierce has opened a new office in Charlotte. The firm also has offices in Greensboro, Raleigh and Wilmington. Three new partners, David Allen, Ben Chesson and Anna Majestro have joined the firm.
David Allen has practiced law for more than thirty years. He has empaneled nearly 100 juries since the beginning of his career. He previously served as president of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys. He is a councilor of the North Carolina State Bar and a former chair of its Ethics Committee. Allen has also served the legal community through lecturing on the topic of trial practice. He is the 2020 recipient of the NCADA Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy. In July 2025, Allen was selected by the N.C. State Bar’s Nominating Committee to stand for election as N.C. State Bar vice president. He holds a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ben Chesson has tried nearly 20 cases to verdict. Chesson has a range of experience in his practice, including shareholder disputes, product warranty claims and more. He has tried both corporate and individual clients in state and federal courts across North Carolina. He has represented clients in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, all appellate courts in North Carolina, and the South Carolina Supreme Court. He holds a J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law, where he served as editor of the Wake Forest Law Review. He received a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Anna Majestro is licensed to practice law in West Virginia and South Carolina. She focuses her practice on commercial litigation. After graduating from law school, she clerked for a federal court in West Virginia. Majestro served as chair of the Mecklenburg Bar Association Civil Litigation Section and as a volunteer guardian ad litem with Mecklenburg County. She holds a J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a senior editor for the annual survey on White Collar Crime for the American Criminal Law Review at Georgetown. She received a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University. Read more
Checking In: July 29, 2025
Checking InCompiled by Jessica Junqueira
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP Welcomes New Partner
Elizabeth F. Greene has joined the firm. Before joining Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, she managed a regional white-collar and investigations firm in Charlotte. She brings more than 20 years of experience as a trial attorney in high-stakes litigation. Greene practiced as an assistant United States attorney in the Western District of North Carolina and an assistant district attorney in Mecklenburg County. She served as in-house counsel for a large national mortgage lender. She previously was a prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice. Greene assists clients in complex criminal matters in both state and federal court, False Claims Act violations, professional licensing, and other regulatory matters. She regularly conducts internal investigations for businesses. She holds a J.D. from Campbell Law School and a B.A. in English literature from the University of Virginia.
Law Firm Carolinas Names New Partner
Checking In: June 17, 2025
Checking InCompiled by Jessica Junqueira
K&L Gates Announces Global Managing Partner
Poyner Spruill Welcomes New Associate Attorney