BarCARES is a confidential, short-term intervention program provided cost-free to members of the 24th Judicial District Bar and other participating judicial district bars, voluntary bar associations and law schools. If you would like additional information about the program and/or its availability in your area, please contact the BarCARES coordinator at 919.929.1227 or 1.800.640.0735 or click on the icon below.
Claire O’Brien
Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, LLP
Endorser: D. Beth Langley
Jeffrey Wolfe
Schell Bray PLLC
Endorser: Thomas C. Watkins
Jacquelyn Renee Gauntlett
Endorser: Lauren Hossfeld
Brian Cody Wagoner
Jenkins Haynes PLLC
Endorser: James B. Haynes
Cory Schug
Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
Endorser: John D. Wooten, IV
Joshua M. Lingerfelt
Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, LLP
Endorser: John M. Cross, Jr.
Charlisa Moore Powell
Legal Aid of North Carolina
Endorser: Brian P. Hogan
Maria Adriana Slater
Elon University School of Law
Endorser: Katherine A. Reynolds
Michael J. Garrigan
Coltrane & Overfield, PLLC
Endorser: John C. Overfield
Michelle J. Scott
Triad Legal Group, Inc.
Endorser: Sharon E. Dunmore
Keren Keoni Jones
Endorser: Andrea Davis
Robert M. Hill
Legal Aid of North Carolina
Endorser: Brian P. Hogan
Barry C. Snyder
Snyder Law
Endorser: Gabriel Snyder
November 11 – Board Meeting, 4:00 PM, Zoom
November 18 – YLS Board Meeting, 12:00 PM, Zoom
November 19 – Member Meeting, 12:30 PM, Zoom
November 20 – Submission Deadline for the December Newsletter
Lisa W. Arthur, President of the Greensboro Bar Association
GBA Members,
Thank you to those of you who are continuing to support the GBA virtually during these COVID times. We are truly appreciative of your participation! We know that engagement can be difficult when our only avenue to do that is through Zoom, but the board members and committee chairs continue to find ways to help us move forward.
We were pleased to have Zack Matheny address the membership during our October meeting. He updated everyone on the downtown revitalization efforts during COVID and some new development projects in the works, including a new downtown bowling alley and his dream of a major water feature in our downtown space in the future. Next up for our November meeting is Barbara Christy, president for the North Carolina State Bar. We hope you will join us on November 19 at 12:30 p.m. via Zoom.
We have had a busy month. Our Young Lawyers Section hosted a virtual swearing-in ceremony for all newly licensed attorneys in Greensboro on October 16. We want to extend a special welcome to all of our newly licensed attorneys! Manisha Patel also shared some information at our October membership meeting on how to get involved with the new summary ejectment mediation pro bono project. She has provided details on how to volunteer in her Pro Bono Committee Update that is within this Newsletter. I encourage all members to read it and assess if you are able to give of your time to a great cause. Also, our Coronavirus Response committee hosted a session on the Paycheck Protection Program on October 29 at 2:00 p.m. via Zoom. It was a very informative session. Finally, we hope to be able to announce plans to host a virtual holiday party and a virtual diversity and inclusion workshop soon.
Please stay tuned to all of our membership updates via the newsletter and our GBA emails. We hope to see you all virtually again soon!
Lisa Arthur
GBA President, 2020-2021
Wendell Harrell Ott passed away at UNC Memorial Hospital on September 24, 2019, after a battle with bone marrow cancer fought with courage and grace. Wendell was born on his family’s farm near Osyka, Mississippi, to Clifford Davis Ott and Hortense Harrell Ott. He graduated from Osyka High School and went on to obtain a B.S. degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, an MSW degree from Tulane University and his J.D. degree with honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law. In law school he served as the Managing Editor of the North Carolina Law Review. While still in high school, Wendell joined the Army National Guard and served eight years (in Mississippi and Idaho) after which he was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant. In his undergraduate years, he worked for three summers for the U.S. Forest Service in the St. Joe National Forest in northern Idaho and developed a lifelong love of the Northwest and fly fishing in remote wilderness areas. After college, he worked for three years for the Idaho Welfare Department, including two years as County Welfare Director in two counties. This experience produced an understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty that influenced the remainder of his life. During this time as County Welfare Director, he made friendships which enriched his life over the subsequent decades.
Wendell met his wife Phyllis at Tulane University where they both earned MSW degrees and worked for two more years. Drawn back out West, he accepted an Assistant Professor position with the Social Work Program at Colorado State University in 1969. Their son Michael was born in Fort Collins the following year. After three years in Colorado, Wendell decided to pursue a law degree. While a student at the University of North Carolina School of Law, he formed another group of lasting friendships, including camping and fly fishing buddies with whom he had many memorable experiences both in North Carolina and out West. After law school, Wendell secured employment with a Greensboro law firm in 1976 and, based in part on his pre-law experiences, developed a practice concentrating on the representation of non-profit hospitals in their dealings with payors. His practice experience eventually led to Wendell and his colleagues forming the firm of Ott, Cone & Redpath, PA, devoted exclusively to the practice of health care law. Wendell was widely recognized as a leading health care attorney in North Carolina. He was especially proud of assisting his hospital clients in developing financial strategies to enable them to provide safety-net services to uninsured and low-income patients. He retired from the practice of law in 2014.
Wendell and Phyllis were affiliated with other religious organizations before they discovered a community of worshipers at New Garden Friends Meeting, with whom they became deeply and meaningfully involved. This warm, welcoming and inclusive group contributed to their spiritual journey and provided many opportunities for service within the Meeting and in the broader community. When asked how long he had been a Quaker, Wendell’s stock response was “All my life, but didn’t discover that until ten years ago.” Particularly significant for Wendell was his involvement in the formation and maintenance of the Friendship Community Partnership, an informal association of New Garden Friends Meeting with four other nearby churches, three of which are predominantly African American congregations. This group has engaged over several years in a broad array of joint activities including service, worship and fellowship, producing lasting friendships and enhanced understanding.
Wendell was predeceased by his parents and his oldest sister, Carol Ott Zarich (Joe). He is survived by his beloved wife of 53 years, Phyllis, his son Michael C. Ott, daughter-in law Erika Fritz Ott, and three grandsons: David, Jonathan, and Zachary. Also surviving are his siblings William T. Ott, Clifford D. Ott Jr. (Marti), Steve E. Ott (Maureen), C. Phillip Ott, Linda Ott Wall (Charles), Cherie Ott Johansen (Paul), and Fleet James Ott (Maria).
Bynum Merritt Hunter passed away at home peacefully in his sleep after a long illness, with family by his side. Bynum was fiercely devoted to his family, his country, his friends and to the common cause of humanity. He was a symbol of decency, collegiality and courtesy. A true “Southern Gentleman”, he exemplified the phrase “to walk with kings nor lose the common touch.”
Bynum Merritt Hunter was born to Annie Merritt Hunter and Hill McIver Hunter on June 13, 1925, in his childhood home in Fisher Park in Greensboro, where he resided with his older brothers, Hill McIver Hunter, Jr. and Dr. John Gray Hunter. He graduated from Woodberry Forest School in 1943 where he was a Prefect and Captain of the Woodberry track team and a “wingback” on the Woodberry football team. During World War II Bynum volunteered for military service. He served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy (1945-1947), and was stationed in the South Pacific. Bynum Hunter stood with his country during war and peace. Proud, confident and courageous, he was a true patriot, deeply loving his country and cherishing freedom.
Bynum attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as part of the V-12 program, and graduated in 1945. At UNC, he was a star athlete and, as captain of the varsity track team, competed in two major track events at Madison Square Garden. He was also a member of Zeta Psi Fraternity and Gorgonshead. After graduating from the University of North Carolina School of Law, he joined the Greensboro law firm of Smith Sapp Moore and Smith in 1949, and ultimately became a senior partner with the firm of Smith Moore Smith Schell and Hunter in Greensboro (now Fox Rothschild LLP).
Bynum served as President of the Greensboro Bar Association and was the youngest inductee of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was involved with numerous high profile trials, working alongside McNeill Smith in the Junius Scales trial and with Telfred Taylor on the Nuremberg Trials. Bynum was known for his brilliance, prowess and charm in the courtroom. He served as attorney for the Atlantic Coast Conference for more than 25 years. His Restricted Justice Fund supported the North Carolina Bar Association’s Lawyers in the Schools Project, which paired lawyers with schools in North Carolina to further civic education and understanding of the legal system. The Galleria of the North Carolina Bar Center is named in his honor. Bynum was committed to his community and served as a member of the Greensboro Rotary Club for more than 75 years, following in the footsteps of his father who was a founding member of the club. He was proud to serve by his wife’s side as she served in Helsinki as the United States Ambassador to Finland.
Bynum Merritt Hunter is survived by his wife of 38 years, Bonnie McElveen-Hunter; their son, Bynum Merritt Hunter, Jr; daughters, Mary Parker Hunter and Shirley Hunter and son-in-law Alex Pietruska, and a grandson, Hunter Pietruska.
Bynum will be remembered for his impeccable character and integrity, social graces, and patriotism. Even in death, Bynum has left us a wonderful heritage of love of country, family, and a great generosity of spirit that will never die.
Herbert O. (Bert) Davis died Friday, February 21, 2020. Bert was the son of Claudie Lea Pointer Davis, and was preceded in death by his mother, brother Guy Pointer Davis and grandmother Claude Thomas Pointer. He is survived by his son Bert Davis, Jr.; his daughter Ann Davis Legette, her husband Wade and grandsons Wade and Jim; his son Paul Davis, his wife Meghan and grandsons McAuley and Porter; and his wonderful companion of many years, Barbara Wales.
Bert was a 1957 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Sigma. He was also a graduate of the Duke University School of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of The Duke Law Journal in 1959-1960. Bert was a partner in Smith Moore Smith Schell & Hunter (now Fox Rothschild LLP), which he joined as an associate in 1960. He was a member of the American, North Carolina and Greensboro Bar Associations.
Bert was listed in The Best Lawyers in America in corporate and banking law from 1990 until his death. He was a member of the Board of Directors and Secretary of the Greensboro City Club, as well as a member of the Greensboro Country Club and the Greensboro Investment Club.
Theodora Vaporis
Tuggle Duggins P.A. is pleased to announce the arrival of Theodora Vaporis to its roster of practicing attorneys as Of Counsel. Theodora joins the firm after having previously counseled clients and families as a partner with another Greensboro law firm.
Theodora focuses on assisting clients with estate planning needs, including estate administration after the loss of a loved one and investigating disputes that can arise from fraudulent conveyance, misuse of a Power of Attorney or a Last Will and Testament procured by fraud or duress. She is an advocate for the elderly and other persons vulnerable to undue influence and, as such, helps them establish Guardianships and assists the guardians appointed by the Court in maintaining proper accountings of those Guardianship Estates. Her dual licensure allows her the opportunity to represent clients in both North Carolina and in California.
“We are thrilled to have Theodora join our team. Her experience combined with her passion for helping and protecting her clients, particularly those who are elderly and otherwise vulnerable, are what make her a great addition to our firm. We could not be more pleased to offer Theodora’s services to our clients,” said Nathan Duggins, Managing Partner of Tuggle Duggins.
Theodora earned her Juris Doctorate from The Catholic University of America, and her B.A. in Business Administration and Management from Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. She is active in many professional and civic organizations and, together with another attorney and many health care professionals, Theodora helped create the Health Care Power of Attorney and Living Will used by many hospitals in North Carolina.
Save the Date for our GBA Annual CLE
Allie Petrova
The American Bar Association’s Section of Taxation (ABA Tax Section) has selected Allie Petrova as a John S. Nolan Fellow (Nolan Fellow) for 2020-2021. Allie Petrova has served on task forces and has contributed to comments for the Department of Treasury, speaks regularly on national CLE courses presented by the ABA Tax Section, and currently chairs its Closely Held Business Committee.
The ABA Tax Section selects up to six (6) Nolan Fellows each year. Officers, Council Directors, Committee Chairs, and Vice Chairs of the ABA Tax Section are eligible to submit nominations. The nominees have made some significant contribution to an ABA Tax Section committee or task force, or to the ABA Tax Section in general. Nolan Fellows serve for a term of one fiscal year in a variety of capacities involving substantive contributions and participation in the ABA Tax Section.
Allie Petrova is the founder of Petrova Law PLLC, a Greensboro-based business law firm focused exclusively on tax and business law. Ms. Petrova assists individual and business clients with tax planning solutions, IRS and Tax Court representation, M&A transactions, and business law matters from launch to exit and succession.
Ms. Petrova earned her J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation degrees from the Georgetown University Law Center and her B.S. degree in Business Administration and Economics, magna cum laude, from Greensboro College.
Hillary Kies is President of the Greensboro Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section and is an attorney with Turning Point Litigation.
Each year the Young Lawyers Section sponsors a Fall Swearing-In Ceremony for the admission of newly licensed attorneys to the state and federal courts. This year, due to COVID19, the Young Lawyers Section is holding its Fall Swearing-In Ceremony on Friday, October 16, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. via Zoom.
If you are a newly licensed attorney, or you know a newly licensed attorney, please email Nicole Scallon at nscallon@hensonlawyers.com to receive the application materials. We welcome the support and attendance of members of the GBA at the Fall Swearing-In Ceremony to support our newly licensed attorneys. Friends and family are also invited to celebrate the occasion.
Do you want more information about upcoming Young Lawyers Section events or how you can get involved? Visit our website at www.greensboroyls.org, e-mail Hillary Kies (hkies@turningpointlit.com) to make sure you are on the listserv and follow us on Facebook (Greensboro Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section).
Camille Stell is President and CEO of Lawyers Mutual Consulting & Services. Continue this conversation by contacting Camille at camille@lawyersmutualnc.com or 800.662.8843.
Evolve and thrive. Never before have those two words been more important.
Some firms will adapt to these unprecedented times. They will emerge ready to meet the new opportunities of a re-imagined world. Other firms will wait for things to return to normal.
Let’s make sure you are in the first group.
The answer is no. In the Foreword to Jack Newton’s 2020 book, The Client Centered Law Firm, Jordan Furlong says, “You are in the business of helping people solve problems, of putting lives back on track, of helping businesses grow and prosper. But it’s possible that your own law business has started to chase and measure and reward the wrong things – that it has forgotten its intended purpose, what and who it’s actually for. The purpose of your law business is your clients. The future of law is client-centered.”
According to the 2018 Clio Legal Trends Report, forty percent of clients feel frustration as part of the experience when hiring a lawyer, but only 8% of law firms perceive this to be the case.
According to the same report, lawyers spend 2.4 hours per day on billable work. On any given day, lawyers spend 2 hours looking for legal work.
Clients aren’t getting the experience they want from lawyers, yet lawyers are working hard to find clients. Modernizing your law practice is one way to bridge this gap.
The profession has experienced permanent changes because of the pandemic. Here are a few:
Jack Newton is the co-founder and CEO of Clio. He has spent the past ten years working with lawyers as they build their law firms. The Clio Legal Trends Report and now the Clio COVID-19 Impact Reports are Clio’s research efforts to understand the challenges faced by small law and to offer information and solutions. Jack’s newly released book, The Client Centered Law Firm, furthers the research Clio has done. In it, Jack discusses the impact small changes can have on your firm and your client relationships.
“Asking your client to fax you something (or receive a fax), fill out forms by hand, or come to your office multiple times during their working hours to sign documents requires a lot of effort of their part.”
“Simple changes like sharing documents electronically, and allowing e-signatures, make for a much smoother experience. The best part is, creating an effortless experience for your clients often means creating an effortless experience for your firm too. The improved processes and efficiencies mean less rote work.”
“It doesn’t have to happen all at once. It’s better to implement small, continuous, iterative changes than it is to implement nothing at all. Small changes have a big impact, and over time, there’s a cumulative positive effect.”
“The more you can make small changes, learn, and iterate on them, the closer you’ll get to providing the type of experience your clients want and need.”
At the time Jack wrote this, the pandemic was unknown to us. As a result of the pandemic, many firms have been forced to make some of these changes that provide a better experience for clients. The question will be whether firms look to make these changes permanent or whether they anxiously await the day when they can return to a pre-pandemic world.
The goal should be to create a modern law practice that will evolve and thrive during and after the pandemic. Building a modern practice doesn’t mean that the lawyers are all young or that the client work is of a certain level of sophistication. Rather it is the mindset of the firm.
In Jim Collins seminal book, Good to Great, he shows how an organization makes small decisions geared toward success, day in and day out. Ultimately, those efforts culminate in an unstoppable force that takes a good business to greatness.
As Jim interviewed companies that made the leap from good to great, the leaders couldn’t attribute their success to any one change or moment in time. Rather, it was a buildup of small changes that eventually paid off.
The changes you make today may not result in new clients or improved profits tomorrow. But over time, your efforts to build a modern law firm will result in a client centered firm supported by enthused professionals that will last multi-generations.
Camille Stell is the President of Lawyers Mutual Consulting & Services. Continue this conversation by contacting Camille at camille@lawyersmutualconsulting.com or 919.677.8900.
BarCARES is a confidential, short-term intervention program provided cost-free to members of the 24th Judicial District Bar and other participating judicial district bars, voluntary bar associations and law schools. If you would like additional information about the program and/or its availability in your area, please contact the BarCARES coordinator at 919.929.1227 or 1.800.640.0735 or click on the icon below.
Amanda Schemkes
Elon University School of Law
Endorser: Susan Liemer
Caroleen McFadden Dineen
Elon University School of Law
Endorser: Alan D. Woodlief, Jr.
Lauren N. Zickert
The Elderlaw Firm
Endorser: Lauren D. Hossfeld
Ryan O’Keith Hargrave
Gate City Legal Services
Endorser: Sharon E. Dunmore
Daniel Karlsson
Gate City Legal Services
Endorser: Sharon E. Dunmore
William Donald Bomar
Law Offices of Adams & Winfree
Endorser: Charles H. Winfree
Samuele Joseph Viscuso
Garrett Walker Aycoth & Olson
Endorser: Hilary Hux
Andrea L. Davis
The Law Office of Andrea L. Davis, PLLC
Endorser: Lora M. Howard
Brandon Shane Cook
Andraos Law, PLLC
Endorser: Kristy S. Andraos
Gia M. Gaster
Gaster Law, PLLC
Endorser: Sharon E. Dunmore
Lynn Ellen Coleman
Lynn E. Coleman Attorney-Mediator
Endorser: Frederick K. Sharpless
Matthew Harbin
Law Offices of James Scott Farrin
Endorser: Vanessa Beltran Ortiz
Nathaniel Ryan Smith
Endorser: John Covington Overfield
October 14 – Board Meeting,4:00 PM, Zoom
October 15 – Member Meeting, 5:30 PM, Zoom
October 16 – Swearing-In Ceremony, 3:00 PM, Zoom
October 20 – Submission Deadline for the November Newsletter
October 21 – YLS Board Meeting, 12:00 PM, Zoom
Lisa W. Arthur, President of the Greensboro Bar Association
GBA Members,
What a great start to our 2020-2021 GBA year! We are truly grateful for the hardworking GBA board members, committee chairs, and committee members who have hit the ground running to make this year a success.
We held our first member meeting on September 17, 2020 via Zoom and our featured speaker was Kim Gatling, who gave us a lot to think about regarding racism and the need for diversity in our practices and in our world. Next up for our October meeting is Zack Matheny, who will talk to us about the downtown revitalization efforts and the GBA’s donation to the Feeding the Frontlines program. We hope you will join us on October 15th at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom.
I had to make the difficult decision that the remaining meetings for 2020 will be held via Zoom. While I certainly would love for all of us to be together in person, the safety of our membership is most important.
Please stay tuned as our bar year continues to get underway. We hope to see you all virtually again soon!
Lisa Arthur
GBA President, 2020-2021
The law firm of Black, Slaughter & Black, which has four offices statewide, will now be doing business as “Law Firm Carolinas.” In addition, three attorneys have been named partners in the firm: Jennifer Ruby, who does general civil litigation, business litigation and appeals; Michael Taliercio, who manages the firm’s HOA/condo assessment collections practice and practices bankruptcy and parliamentary law; and Harmony Taylor, who practices community association (HOA and condo) law and civil litigation. More information at www.lawfirmcarolinas.com.
The International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) has announced that Andrew S. Chamberlin, a partner at Ellis & Winters LLP in Greensboro, North Carolina, has been elected president of the IADC for the 2020-21 term. The IADC, which is the preeminent invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests, has provided and continues to provide influential leadership on legal reform issues.
Mr. Chamberlin, who served as IADC president-elect for 2019-20, was formally installed as president as the IADC celebrated its 100th anniversary at the IADC’s 2020 Annual Meeting. The IADC also elected new board members for 2020-21, including new board leaders.
“I am honored to serve the IADC as its president at this critical juncture in our history and to help set the course for the future.” Mr. Chamberlin said. “I look forward to furthering the IADC’s mission of serving our members, the legal profession and civil justice systems throughout the U.S. and the world, by enhancing the development of skills, professionalism, diversity, and camaraderie in the practice of law.”
In his practice, Mr. Chamberlin is a trial lawyer with a broad national and international practice. He has handled product liability and catastrophic injury defense cases as well as the prosecution and defense of commercial, construction and intellectual property disputes. He has appeared in state and federal courts across the United States.
In addition to his leadership role with the IADC, Mr. Chamberlin is an active member of the Defense Research Institute and the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys. Mr. Chamberlin has been recognized among the “Best Lawyers in America” and has been selected as a “North Carolina Super Lawyer.”
Mr. Chamberlin received his J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Georgia.
Carruthers & Roth, P.A. hosted an internal food drive to support the COVID-19 response efforts of BackPack Beginnings, a Greensboro non-profit organization founded to deliver child-centric services to feed, comfort and clothe children in need. The firm’s attorneys and staff collected donations during the first two weeks in May and were able to donate more than 1,000 items of food to BackPack Beginnings.
“There are many incredible organizations in our community working hard to serve the vulnerable during these uncertain times,” said Chris Vaughn, Managing Director of Carruthers & Roth. “Carruthers & Roth is pleased to be able to assist one such organization, BackPack Beginnings, in their efforts to combat increased food insecurity as a result of COVID-19.”
BackPack Beginnings is working closely with Guilford County Schools and other partner agencies to make sure food and other essential supports are provided to some of the most vulnerable school-age children and their families in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to food donations to stock their warehouse, BackPack Beginnings is looking for volunteers and other supplies. There is a “COVID-19 Response” information page on their website which explains how people can help during the pandemic.
BackPack Beginnings, founded in 2010 by Parker White, a native of Greensboro and mother of 2 children, is a 95 percent volunteer-run and donor-driven organization. What started out as a feeding program in one school feeding 50 children has grown to a multi-program organization serving approximately 9,000 children a year. To find out more or support BackPack Beginnings through in-kind donations, funding or volunteering, please contact Parker White at parker@backpackbeginnings.org or visit the organization online at www.backpackbeginnings.org.
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by the Greensboro Bar Association and while we endeavor to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, members, legal professions featured or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
Physical Address:
Greensboro Bar Association
24th Judicial District Bar
122 North Elm Street, Suite 805
Greensboro, NC 27402
(336) 378-0300
Mailing Address:
Greensboro Bar Association
24th Judicial District Bar
PO Box 1825
Greensboro, NC 27402
