Buncombe County Lawyers

Joe Ferikes began his practice in 1974 in Atlanta, Georgia, representing such entities as the County of Dekalb. In 1983, Joe and his wife moved back to their hometown of Asheville to continue his law practice and raise their family. He has been a private practice trial lawyer since 1981, and was a solo practitioner until forming Ferikes & Bleynat in 2001.

Joe’s representative clients include the Towns of Woodfin and Fletcher, North Carolina, as well as the ABC Boards for Fletcher, Woodfin and Black Mountain. Joe has been actively involved in the Greek community and has coached youth sports for...

Craig Associates, PC was founded by attorney Christopher M. Craig to support the administrative and legal needs of growing families & businesses. Estate planning and the laws of inheritance are complex, so we can help simplify the process to ensure your end-of-life preferences, including trusts & wills, are handled effectively. Chris Craig sees clients across Buncombe County, convenient to Biltmore Forest, Black Mountain, Hendersonville, Highlands, Cashiers & other communities in Western NC. The practice provides estate law services, as well as adoption and small business law services. Our proactive approach empowers you to secure and safeguard your most precious assets:...

I am a solo practitioner in Asheville, North Carolina. I serve Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania and the surrounding Western North Carolina counties. I focus my practice primarily on family law related issues, including divorce, child custody, child support, domestic violence, and criminal law related issues including traffic and juvenile matters.

Margaret S. "Meg" Westall anchors iTicket in Western North Carolina, handling traffic matters in Buncombe and Madison Counties. One of Attorney Hatley’s oldest friends, Meg has helped our law firm expand all the way to the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. Prior to joining iTicket.law, Meg worked in a small Asheville-based firm where her practice focused on estate and trust planning and administration. Advising fiduciaries and neutralizing conflict in matters of administration has afforded her a no-nonsense approach to technical problem solving. Meg is also involved with the Pisgah Legal Services Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyer program, for which she assists low-income...

Edward L. Bleynat, Jr. began his legal career by clerking for James G. Exum, Jr., then the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. He later went to work with a major Greensboro law firm in a general litigation practice, focusing on business litigation and tort law.

In 1995, Ed, his wife and children relocated to Asheville, North Carolina to continue his law practice and to raise their family in Western North Carolina, where Ed grew up. After Ed started his own firm in 1997, he and Joe Ferikes merged their practices into Ferikes & Bleynat, PLLC in 2001.

Ed...

Senta Rhodes is an experienced trial attorney whose practice area focuses on personal injury and workers' compensation law. She is admitted to practice in North Carolina, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and The State of Maryland. Before Senta joined Grimes Teich Anderson LLP, she was an Assistant District Attorney in the Major Felony Crimes Division in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she prosecuted more than 20 jury trials and 50 bench trials.

Senta is experienced in gathering evidence, examining experts and negotiations, and she puts those skills to work for her clients who deserve justice for their injuries and protection from insurance companies....

Craig Law Firm, PLLC, provides legal services, including counsel; document and contract drafting, review, and enforcement; and negotiation and litigation assistance in State and Federal courts, in the following areas of law: Business Law: We work with small and medium-size business, including start-ups, in their formation, management, and transfer or dissolution. We work with sole proprietors, partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), and corporations (S or C designations, and "B" corporations). Real Estate Law: We work with property owners and occupiers in ownership, leasing, and use issues. We assist in developing lease, purchase or sale, and other agreements. We also work with title,...

At the family dinner table while I was growing up, we enjoyed vigorous argument and debate as much as the food. Even as a child, I loved finding out all of the facts. Going to law school seemed a natural choice. After graduating, I immediately headed to New York to work for a large, international law firm. I learned a tremendous amount. But something, or someone, was missing. You. And me. I realized that I wanted to be collaborating with my clients, that all those facts, all the research, all the arguments, even the law, only made...

Nick Benjamin is a former police officer, prosecutor and North Carolina Assistant Attorney General. He has practiced for nearly a decade in Asheville North Carolina. The majority of his time practicing law came as a prosecutor in Buncombe County, where he has prosecuted everything from speeding tickets to first degree murder. Nick left the Buncombe County District Attorney's Office in July 2022 (when he was focusing on violent crimes and firearms offenses) to start his own practice. In addition to an extensive criminal law background which includes over 300 bench trials and over 40 jury trials, Nick was an assistant...

Attorney Bruce A. Elmore Jr. brings more than three decades of legal experience to his clients. His record includes record setting recoveries in counties throughout Western North Carolina.. Learn more about his firm’s commitment to pursuing a maximum recovery for you and your family.

The Law Office of Cheryl R. Watkins is a boutique estate law practice serving all 100 counties of North Carolina representing individuals, families, and small businesses in the provision of advice, counsel, and results in the following areas of law:

- Estate Administration (Probate Law)
- Estate Planning (Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, etc.)
- Business Succession Planning
- Wrongful Death

Attorney Cheryl R. Watkins of The Law Office of Cheryl R. Watkins has a practice concentration in Estate Planning and Probate and has worked in those fields for over 20 years as a former CPA, auditor, Assistant Clerk,...

Attorney Ron L. Moore is licensed to practice in all North Carolina State Courts and the US District Court in the Western District of North Carolina. Ron is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association (Workers’ Compensation Section), Buncombe County Bar Association, North Carolina State Bar, and The North Carolina Advocates for Justice. He is also an approved attorney for Lawyers Title of North Carolina, Investors Title Insurance Company, Commonwealth Land Title Company of North Carolina, Stewart Title Company, The Title Insurance Company of North Carolina, and Attorneys Title. Additionally, Mr. Moore is a Certified Mediator in Industrial Commission...

James O. Rice, Jr. is an experienced criminal defense attorney in Asheville, who can provide you with the strong legal representation you need to fight the charges against you. When your future is on the line, it’s critical that you have someone on your side who will fight zealously for your freedom. Attorney Rice has assisted numerous clients against criminal charges, and can offer you his expertise and resources in order to help you develop a solid legal defense against the prosecution. Attorney Rice has experience with a variety of criminal law matters in North Carolina, including but not...

Rodney attended North Carolina State University and graduated cum laude with honors in 1991 with a degree in Political Science with a Criminal Justice concentration. He then obtained his Juris Doctor at the Wake Forest University School of Law in 1995. While at Wake Forest, Rodney was the Captain of the International and Constitutional Law Moot Court teams which won several awards in inter-school competition. Rodney joined the Buncombe County District Attorney's office in 1995 and worked as an Assistant District Attorney until 2009. While there, he tried over 160 jury trials, including capital murder, adult and child sex offenses, armed...

Melody J. King is an experienced litigator and negotiator in Family Law where she focuses her practice on child custody and child support, spousal support, equitable distribution (property division), and divorce. In addition to litigation, Melody has significant experience in the drafting of premarital and postmarital agreements, as well as Separation and Property Settlement Agreements. Coming from a large law firm, Melody decided to open her own firm exclusively practicing in the area of family law. Melody works closely with clients to determine their specific needs and goals and to make difficult family law cases manageable for her clients, with...

Susan Waller Ramos is a graduate of Emory University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Spanish, and St. Mary’s University School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in North Carolina, Texas, and New Mexico (currently inactive), and began practicing immigration law in 2003. Ms. Ramos is fluent in Spanish and assists individuals, families, and employers in connection with assessing available U.S. immigration options. Ms. Ramos’ practice includes preparing and filing individual, family-based, and employment-based petitions, immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applications, and waivers of inadmissibility. She assists with complex consular processing...

Time spent as an insurance claims adjuster made me realize that people need advocates to fight for them, and to fight for what matters most. Being on both sides of the claims process now as a personal injury attorney has taught me valuable information about how insurance companies will try to get you to settle for less than what you deserve. Whether it’s a personal injury attorney you need, medical malpractice, wrongful death, auto accident, workers compensation, or a matter involving civil litigation, my mission to get you what you are owed under the eyes of the law and...

Once Anthony graduated law school he was offered a position with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago, Illinois as an Assistant State’s Attorney. In that position, he was able to gain valuable courtroom experience handling approximately 10-30 hearings a day, every day, for 18 months. As part of his duties, Anthony was assigned to the Child Protective Services Division. In that capacity, he was responsible for handling serious cases of child abuse and neglect. From initial emergency custody hearings through terminating parental rights, Anthony fought to ensure that children were not left in the...

A native of Asheville, Brad graduated from The Florida State University College of Law in 2005, magna cum laude, where he was a member of Law Review. Brad is currently a member of The Order of the Coif; a prestigious national society recognizing academic excellence in the legal arena.

Brad is personal injury trial attorney representing the injured in State and Federal Court. In addition to serving clients, Brad is a past President of the 28th Judicial District Bar (Buncombe County). Brad is also a member of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ).

My practice focuses on the representation of individuals and families dealing with the aftermath of severe injury and loss, including death. I have extensive experience with complex medical issues in personal injury and medical malpractice cases. Our firm consists of four experienced trial lawyers and a remarkably talented and devoted support staff.

BIOGRAPHY
Susan earned a B.A. in Psychology at Southern Methodist Universtiy in Dallas, Texas and went on to attend Loyola University New Orleans, School of Law, graduating in the top of her 2003 law school class. Susan began her legal training during law school working as a law clerk in the civil insurance defense and criminal practice areas.

Following licensure by the Louisiana State Bar in 2003, she began a private law practice in New Orleans where she focused exclusively on Criminal Law. She has gained extensive trial experience working for over 15 years as a litigator the private and public...

John graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law in 1989. He has been working for Plaintiff's for over 31 years. His office is located in Asheville, NC but he has clients all over the state of North Carolina and several outside of North Carolina.

George Moore has been practicing law in Asheville, North Carolina since 1971 with a general practice restricted to family law, child custody, employment discrimination, workers compensation, medical malpractice, social security disability and personal injury. Our office provides individual legal representation centering on your personal case and situation. You are given individual attention and do not get lost in the bureaucracy of a large, impersonal firm. Our office takes pride in being attentive to your needs and in maintaining contact with you during the course of your case. You can contact us by telephone, email and text when you need information...

Walter E. Daniels III
Attorney

Admissions
- Licensed to practice in North Carolina (2000) and Louisiana (2002).

- Admitted to practice in Federal District Court for the Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of North Carolina as well as the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Affiliations
- North Carolina State Bar Association - North Carolina Academy of Justice

- American Academy of Justice -28th Judicial Bar - American Bar Association

Education
Juris Doctorate, University of Alabama School of Law, 1999

International Law and Comparative Law, Fribourg University, Fribourg, Switzerland, Summer 1997

B.A., Politics, University of Alabama, 1994

Birthplace
Birmingham, Alabama 1972

Jody Lanier, Asheville DWI/DUI, Drug, and Traffic Ticket Lawyer. Asheville Personal Injury and Car Accident Lawyer.

As a former Prosecutor and a Board Certified Specialist in State Criminal Law, Dustin has extensive litigation experience in courts all over Western Carolina. He has handled cases ranging from petty misdemeanors to 1st Degree Murder and Seven Figure Traumatic Injury cases. He has tried over 50 Jury trials to verdict and is ready to help you with your legal needs, big and small.