Highlands Lawyers

Experienced business law practitioner, dealing with transactions and litigation in Western North Carolina.

Whitney Staton was born in Hendersonville, NC in 1986 and grew up on an apple farm in Henderson County. Whitney graduated from East Henderson High School in 2004. After graduating high school, Whitney went to UNC-Charlotte where she graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in American Studies. Whitney then decided to pursue her law degree and attended Charlotte School of Law, where she was on the Dean's list and graduated in December of 2010. After graduation Whitney took the February 2011 North Carolina Bar Examination and passed the Bar. Whitney was...

James Minick is the NC DWI Guy. James works relentlessly to hold officers accountable in their DWI investigation process. When he meets with his clients, he will review all the potential consequences, criminal, driving and otherwise, and come up with a comprehensive game plan for obtaining the best possible outcome on the case. Find more information at www.minicklaw.com or call (828) 333-5024 for a free consultation.

David Gantt is an Asheville-based Board Certified Workers’ Compensation Legal Specialist serving western North Carolina. In addition to work comp, David practices in the areas of Social Security Disability, Personal Injury, and Wrongful Death law.

He holds a BA in Economics from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1978, and earned his Juris Doctor from Campbell University Law School in 1981. David was admitted to the bar for North Carolina and U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina in 1981. In 1984, he was admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, and U.S. District...

Henry Teich is a North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation, who has for over 40 years successfully represented workers with serious work injuries.

He is one of the founding partners of Grimes Teich Anderson LLP, a North Carolina and South Carolina Injury and Disability Firm with 8 offices in the two states. His goal is to make sure that his clients get the best medical treatment available under the circumstances and to protect them from insurance companies which may use oppressive tactics to limit or deny benefits that the injured worker is entitled to under the law.

He...

Rebekah Grafton is a former trial attorney for the Department of Homeland Security in their Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division. She is prepared to put years of experience litigating on behalf of the government to work for you. She is not only skilled in the complicated nuances of immigration law, but in her unique experience she has also become well-versed in the policies that guide the filing of applications. She has prepared and argued written motions and memoranda at both the Immigration Court level as well as at the Board of Immigration Appeals. Additionally, she has worked closely with USCIS...

Patrick McCroskey is a Board Certified Specialist in Family Law and an American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Fellow. He limits his family law practice to complex matters surrounding separation and divorce. As a Certified Family Financial Mediator, Patrick provides services to other family law attorneys and their clients through mediation, and to the community at large in his capacity as Buncombe County Certified Parenting Coordinator.

Since 2007, Patrick has been continuously recognized by Best Lawyers in America, and named the Family Law Lawyer of the Year for Asheville in 2015, 2017, and 2020. He has been named to North...

Blake Marcus graduated from Michigan State University College of Law with honors. During law school, Blake completed an internship with the honorable Michelle M. Rick in the 29th Circuit Court of Michigan. His primary practice area is DWI defense. He has completed the NHTSA DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Course.

Dana Andrew LeJune was born in Beaumont, Texas in 1956 into a Cajun, rice sharecropping family. He graduated from French High School there in 1975. In 1976 he began his undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and received his B.A. in History three years later. He taught Government and History at French High School through May, 1979, when he began law school.

Mr. LeJune attended South Texas College of Law and graduated with a J.D. in December, 1982, after having published a maritime law article in the August, 1982 South Texas Law Journal. He took the February, 1983...

Jessica is dedicated to getting justice for those who've been sexually harassed, discriminated against, have Family and Medical Leave Act issues, or suffered retaliation at work. As a partner at Grimes Teich Anderson, Jessica focuses her practice on employment law, workers' compensation, and personal injury.

Since she became an attorney in 2001, Jessica has litigated cases in both state and federal court and before the North Carolina Industrial Commission, and she has an extensive background in appellate work before the North Carolina Supreme Court, North Carolina Court of Appeals, and North Carolina Industrial Commission.

She obtained a successful ruling from...

Based in Asheville, NC, Lakota R. Denton is a Personal Injury Lawyer that has assisted many clients in North Carolina who have been injured through no fault of their own, or due to someone else’s negligence. He is committed to helping injured persons in his community, and assisting them through the complex legal process, so they can get their lives back on track. Lakota is a Cum Laude graduate of Western New England College of Law. After interning at Pellegrini Seeley Ryan and Blakesley in Massachusetts and the National Labor Relations Board in Hartford, Connecticut during Law School,...

Attorney Douglas A. Petho joined the firm in 1993. He is a graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in the Administration of Criminal Justice in 1988. He earned his law degree from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 1991. Mr. Petho is a native of the Charlotte area.

Mr. Petho began his trial career as an Assistant District Attorney for the 1st Judicial District of North Carolina serving under the Hon. H.P. Williams. In that position, Mr. Petho was tasked with the prosecution of both misdemeanor and...

Christopher B. "Chris" Reinhardt is a native and life long resident of North Carolina. He is a second generation attorney, his father being an accomplished real estate attorney in Durham, North Carolina. Chris was admitted to practice in 2003, North Carolina and has practiced in the Asheville area since being admitted. Community: Chris is currently the Legal Counsel for Daniel Boone Council of the Boy Scouts of America serving all of the 14 western most counties of North Carolina. Chris is a Past-President of the Brevard College Alumni Advisory Board, which he has been a member of from...

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...

Anna is a North Carolina native who has been practicing law for more than 23 years. She received a B.A. in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1991, and her law degree from George Washington University in 1994. She first became licensed to practice law in Virginia in 1994, followed by Washington, D.C. in 1995.

In 1996, she returned to North Carolina and has been practicing here ever since. She concentrates her practice in the areas of Workers' Compensation and Social Security Disability.

Anna is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell®, the facilitator of a peer review ratings...

I finished law school in 2005 and immediately opened my own firm in Raleigh, North Carolina. I began my practice taking criminal cases in North Carolina state courts, with matters ranging from simple speeding tickets up to high level felonies. My practice has been a success because I care deeply for my clients, I consistently get them fantastic results, and I create fee structures that people can actually afford. Over my career, I have taught several seminars to other attorneys on how to properly defend criminal and traffic cases, with a significant emphasis on teaching defense of...

Scott Lippert was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He and his wife moved to North Carolina to start practicing law in 2013. He began his career in private practice before becoming a prosecutor in Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba Counties. Scott left the District Attorney's Office to partner with his wife and Richard Beyer to form Beyer & Lippert. Scott has served on several local boards and committees within the North Carolina 25th Judicial District. He is a State Board-Certified Specialist in North Carolina Criminal Law. Scott lives in Morganton with his wife, kids, and dogs.

Janet Amburgey is a Board Certified Specialist in Family Law. Since graduating from Appalachian School of Law in 2008 she has focused her practice exclusively on family law matters, assisting people through family chaos, ensuring the protection of their rights and property and helping to blend and expand families. She has represented clients in divorce and separation with issues surrounding child custody, child support, alimony, and in property settlement matters. She also assists families through adoption, name changes and protects parents and children in both domestic violence matters and DSS matters. Janet believe’s problem-solving is a primary responsibility...

Gary Cash has over 35 years of legal experience, including 25 spent as a North Carolina District Court Judge. He maintains a private mediation and arbitration practice with offices located in Asheville North Carolina. Gary was first elected to the bench in 1986 and most recently served as Buncombe County’s Chief District Court Judge, a position he held since 2002. Prior to serving as judge, Gary worked in Asheville as a general practitioner in the private practice of law. Gary attended Davidson College, during which time he was an International Rotary Scholar at the University of Meunster in...

In the 30 years since Brian began practicing law, he has gained considerable experience as a trial attorney. The experience he gained early in his career as an insurance defense attorney is extremely beneficial in his representation of people who have been injured or killed because of the negligence of others. Brian has extensive civil litigation experience in state and federal courts, as well as before the Social Security Administration. He has also presented cases before the North Carolina Supreme Court and the North Carolina Court of Appeals. As a partner at Grimes Teich Anderson LLP, Brian represents clients...

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...

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....

Attorney Scott Anderson has a passion for helping the injured and protecting their interests against insurance companies. Mr. Anderson has extensive trial, and strategic negotiation experience is personal injury, wrongful death, and workers compensation matters in North Carolina and South Carolina. He is licensed in both states and has handled matters in both states over the past 29 years. He is managing partner of Grimes Teich Anderson LLP, a North Carolina and South Carolina personal injury law firm with 8 offices in both states. Before becoming a personal injury attorney, he was an insurance defense lawyer, which gives...

Rod is a cannabis business law attorney. He represents legal cannabis businesses through-out the world and is editor and chief writer of the Kight On Cannabis law blog (www.kightoncannabis.com). Rod is the author of “Cannabis Business Law-What You Need to Know”, published by Aspatore Books in August 2015. Rod is on the advisory board for the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine, for which he also writes a legal column. Rod is frequently quoted on cannabis matters by trade publications and major media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Time, Politico, and Business Insider. Additionally, Rod has been listed in MG...

Andrew D. Atherton practices Elder and Special Needs Law with McGuire, Wood & Bissette, P.A., where his practice focuses on developing and implementing comprehensive personal estate plans, assisting clients in navigating the estate administration and probate process, advising clients on how to deal with the costs of long-term care, Veterans Administration Benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, guardianship and Special Needs Trusts. Mr. Atherton completed a clerkship with the Kentucky Supreme Court. He earned his undergraduate degree in Business Economics from Western Kentucky University and law degree from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University. He...

Thomas Amburgey is a board-certified specialist in state criminal law. As a former prosecutor with the Office of the District Attorney for Buncombe County, he handled thousands of cases, ranging from minor offenses like speeding tickets to capital offenses like first-degree murder. That experience gives him an immeasurable advantage in the courtroom.

Because pleas are often made and charges can be dismissed, many criminal law attorneys only experience a handful of trials in their entire careers. Thomas has successfully completed hundreds of bench trials and dozens of jury trials from both sides of the aisle. Regardless of your charge, Thomas Amburgey...

The Adaramola Firm is a progressive law firm that provides a positive alternative to traditional, expensive, and highly adversarial law firms. We are a transactional and litigation firm offering services in the following practice areas: estates and trusts, business law, real estate law, intellectual property, and estate administration. Ile Adaramola is a friendly, down-to-earth, competent attorney dedicated to using innovative legal concepts to resolving legal issues.

Ile (E-lay) earned a Bachelors of Arts in Criminal Justice and Philosophy with high honors, from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.After receiving her degree, she worked as a real estate paralegal for Shapiro...

Family and relationships are so important to me and I know they are for you as well. It’s one of the reasons that, after practicing many types of law, I’ve settled into the areas of law that we all will eventually face: including end-of-life planning and estate administration. I know these are often difficult topics with challenging decisions for individuals and families, especially for adult children of elderly parents, the terminally ill or those who are in domestic partnerships not legally recognized as marriage under North Carolina law. My job is to provide you with clarity on the law and...