After practicing law in the nonprofit arena for almost 30 years, Suzanne Chester has opened her own small practice where she focuses on child-centered family law services. She spent most of her career at Legal Aid of North Carolina where she provided legal services for low-income clients in child custody, domestic violence, landlord tenant, and fair housing litigation. She spent the last eleven years directing The Child’s Advocate at LANC and promoting legal representation for children at the national level. Chester earned a Ph.D. in the humanities from Louisiana State University and a J.D. from UNC School of Law.
Smith Anderson Welcomes Of Counsel
Ralph Strayhorn is now of counsel with the firm. Strayhorn has more than 40 years of experience in executive leadership in banking and other industries. He is executive chairman of New Republic Partners, Inc. and New Republic Bank in Charlotte, where he formerly served as president and CEO. Strayhorn was appointed by the governor and reappointed by the speaker of the House to serve as chair of the Golden LEAF Foundation. Strayhorn graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received his undergraduate degree, and from UNC School of Law.
Moore & Van Allen Announce Future Relocation
Moore & Van Allen announced it will relocate its Charlotte office from the Bank of America Corporate Center to Tower Two at Queensbridge Collective in 2028.
The firm’s new office building will be constructed at 1111 South Tryon Street, a location connecting Charlotte’s South End and Uptown districts. The firm’s offices will span nine contiguous floors of the 43-story building. This new space will increase the firm’s current square footage from 165,000 square feet to 206,000 square feet. Some of the features of this new location include one full acre of outdoor green space, a 10,000 square foot fitness and wellness facility and meeting and event space within the building and outdoors, including a rooftop terrace.
Once completed, the construction will be the eighth-tallest building in Charlotte. The building will be constructed by Riverside Investment & Development and is expected to be completed in 2028.
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.
Checking In: September 23, 2025
Checking InCompiled by Jessica Junqueira
Chester Opens Child’s Voice Law
Smith Anderson Welcomes Of Counsel
Moore & Van Allen Announce Future Relocation
Moore & Van Allen announced it will relocate its Charlotte office from the Bank of America Corporate Center to Tower Two at Queensbridge Collective in 2028.
The firm’s new office building will be constructed at 1111 South Tryon Street, a location connecting Charlotte’s South End and Uptown districts. The firm’s offices will span nine contiguous floors of the 43-story building. This new space will increase the firm’s current square footage from 165,000 square feet to 206,000 square feet. Some of the features of this new location include one full acre of outdoor green space, a 10,000 square foot fitness and wellness facility and meeting and event space within the building and outdoors, including a rooftop terrace.
Once completed, the construction will be the eighth-tallest building in Charlotte. The building will be constructed by Riverside Investment & Development and is expected to be completed in 2028.
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