Whitakers Lawyers

Ken was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961 and served as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps from 1986 through 1990, where he was a member of the JAG Corps. Ken practices law in the following areas: workers’ compensation, personal injury litigation, wrongful death, bankruptcy, and trials in state and federal courts and arbitrations.

He is a Board Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialist through the North Carolina State Bar and was recently appointed to a three-year term on the North Carolina Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Section Council. Mr. King is also a member and frequent lecturer at the Workers’ Compensation...

Bill Alexander has practiced law for over 48 years in North Carolina and maintains the highest attorney ratings possible— ‘A-V Preeminent’ peer rating by Martindale-Hubbell and a “10-Superb Attorney” Avvo rating. He now manages an asset protection, estate and eldercare planning law practice as the founding attorney of W.G. Alexander & Associates, PLLC. His law practice was heavily influenced by life circumstances; his older brother was severely injured, unconscious for two months and survived with traumatic brain injury. Hence Bill learned how to deal with special needs; eventually, he became his brother’s care manager and Trustee. He also...

Construction & Business Lawyer representing Owners, Developers, Sureties, General Contractors, Subcontractors, Suppliers, and other Construction Industry Participants in Litigation, Mediation, and Arbitration. Federally Certified Mediator for the EDNC, United States District Court. Certified Arbitrator for Wake County District Court. Private Arbitrator for Construction and Commercial disputes. Arbitrator and Mediator, Construction Industry Panel of Neutrals, American Arbitration Association (AAA)

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...

Workers who have been injured on the job or who suffer occupational diseases oftentimes must face a frustrating waiting game to receive the benefits they deserve. Attorney James Adam Bridwell, who focuses his practice solely on workers’ compensation cases, knows what it takes to help clients get their lives back together. Bridwell is a native South Carolinian. He received a B.A. in marketing and management from the University of South Carolina before coming to Raleigh to attend Campbell University Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law. While in law school, he was a case summary writer for the Campbell Law Observer and...

A Board-Certified Criminal Law Specialist, Tom Manning brings 33+ years of experience to focused and determined criminal defense representation of clients charged with serious offenses in North Carolina state and federal courts. Manning has tried to verdict more than 200 cases, including first degree murder, drug trafficking conspiracies, federal money laundering and drug conspiracies, political corruption cases, bank and wire frauds, criminal environmental violations and attempted murder, kidnapping, sexual assaults and child sexual abuse cases.

For 40 years, Gene Riddle has been fighting for the rights of the injured. As the founder and Managing Partner of Riddle & Brantley, LLP, Gene has earned a reputation of excellence within the legal community and is a valued leader at our law firm. Under Gene's leadership, Riddle & Brantley has recovered over $850 million in compensation for clients since 2000 alone (see disclaimer). Today, Gene believes honesty, integrity and willingness to work hard are the bedrock principles of a good attorney. That is what he and the other lawyers at Riddle & Brantley provide to their injured clients. Gene...

John started his legal career in the trenches as a Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps Lieutenant with the United States Navy. He graduated from Naval Justice School in 1991, boarded the Guided Missile Cruiser (USS CHOSIN) in Hawaii, and finally reported to his permanent duty station at the Naval Legal Service Office in Yokosuka, Japan. As a Navy defense attorney for three years, John battled in court, day after day, for the wrongly accused. It was there that he developed and honed his advocacy skills for the injured, for whom he now goes to battle everyday in the...

Bobby Mills is the principal in the Law Office of Bobby D. Mills, PLLC and a Fellow in the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, Bobby is an experienced adoption lawyer and Board Certified Specialist in Family Law. Since 1991, Bobby has concentrated in adoption, surrogacy, family building, and family law related matters. His clients are adoptive parents, birth parents, and individuals seeking to build their families through surrogacy and other assisted reproductive technologies.. He formerly co-directed a private adoption agency and has represented adoption agencies and professionals. He has extensive experience in agency and independent adoptions, stepparent, relative and grandparent...

Casey Fidler grew up in Huntersville, North Carolina. She graduated with Highest Distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication with a second major in Political Science. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from Wake Forest University School of Law and is licensed to practice law in North Carolina.

While in law school, Casey served as the Executive Editor of the Wake Forest Law Review and was a member on the Moot Court Board. She was also a student advocate in the Elder Law Clinic. Throughout her time...

Lynn Burleson is a native of Albemarle, North Carolina. He was admitted to the practice of law in North Carolina after receiving his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Public Administration degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his Juris Doctor degree from the Wake Forest University School of Law. Before joining Tharrington Smith, Mr. Burleson served as a district court judge and was a partner in the law firm of Kilpatrick Stockton. He has served as an adjunct professor of law for the Wake Forest University School of Law and High Point University....

Mark E. Sullivan is the principal of Law Offices of Mark E. Sullivan, P.A. in Raleigh, North Carolina. A retired Army Reserve JAG colonel and a Board-Certified Specialist in Family Law, Mr. Sullivan is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the author of The Military Divorce Handbook, (ABA, 2nd Ed. 2011).

He was co-founder of the military committee of the North Carolina State Bar in 1981, and he has been a member of the committee or its director ever since. He is a past chair of the Military Committee of the ABA Family...

EDWIN HARDY has been practicing law for over 31 years. With more than 30 years experience at bankruptcy, he has over 3000 bankruptcies successfully filed to help people. He is a former member of the N.C. General Assembly as a State Representative in the N.C. House of Representatives where he served as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He has served on the N.C. Courts Commission and the Governor's Crime Commission. He is a past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Beaufort Regional Health Systems which operated Beaufort County Medical Center. He has also served as President of the Beaufort...

A native of New Bern, North Carolina, Daniel Barker completed his BA degree at NC State in 1989 after graduating from EHS in Alexandria, Va. He then attended Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama, earning a JD in 1992. During his third year of law school, Daniel was elected and served as President of the Student Bar Association. Daniel returned to Raleigh to begin his legal career as a sole practitioner for six years in the practice areas of real property transactions, criminal defense and civil litigation before joining the Raleigh office of Stubbs & Purdue in 1999....

Karney | Clayton NC Motorcycle Accident Lawyer | Carolinas' Biker Lawyers I have built a reputation for protecting my clients. With a clear understanding of the obstacles motorcyclists face both on the road and in the courtroom, my team and I fight for motorcycle accident victims. Representing bikers since 1975 throughout the Carolinas with offices in Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh.

Jason Michael Burton is a fifth-generation attorney with broad experience in significant personal injury cases. The son of a career-long insurance defense attorney, he has a detailed understanding of how insurance companies review and handle claims, which he uses to maximize personal injury compensation for his clients.

Since serving as a judicial clerk in the North Carolina court system, Mr. Burton has helped secure more than $40 Million in settlements and verdicts on behalf of individuals harmed by the wrongful conduct of others. He focuses his practice on catastrophic personal injury cases resulting in life-altering injuries, prolonged...

Barri Hilton Payne was born in High Point, North Carolina and grew up in Davidson County. She attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where she majored in Religious studies and Sociology. Barri practiced for the last twelve years as a founding partner in the firm Brock, Payne & Meece, P.A. before opening her own solo law and mediation practice in 2013. Barri was involved with the Holderness Moot Court while in law school at UNC and earned her law degree in 1999. She has practiced in Durham, North Carolina since that time and concentrates her practice on...

I am a Board Certified Specialist in Immigration Law. I am fluent in Spanish. I assist families, businesses, and individuals in finding solutions to their immigration problems.

Billie Guthrie has spent more than 20 years working with people experiencing challenging life situations and fighting for social justice, first as a social worker and later as an attorney. Billie, who has a master’s degree in social work from the University of North Carolina, worked in the mental health field as an administrator and social worker. One of her primary roles was as a policy advocate, fighting for legal and systemic changes to improve outcomes for disabled adults and people dealing with persistent mental health issues and homelessness. As an attorney, Billie helps her clients navigate the complicated and often frustrating...

Attorney Peace is a managing partner at the Law Office of Peace & Squires, PLLC practicing in the areas of Business, Contracts, and Personal Injury Law. Attorney Peace has worked extensively negotiating North American and International contracts, and has used her notable negotiations skills to effectuate first-rate results for her clients.

Attorney Peace earned her Juris Doctor degree from North Carolina Central University in 2008, her Master of Business Administration, Cum Laude, from North Carolina Central University in 2004, and her Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, Magna Cum Laude, from North Carolina Central University in 2002. While attending North Carolina...

Shelia Huggins is a North Carolina licensed attorney with almost 20 years of experience in working with businesses in a variety of capacities. Her extensive experience includes business formation, contracts, government relations, entertainment law, and social media. She also has a YouTube channel with free information about contracts, legal issues, and scams and frauds. Her YouTube channel has over 500 videos available to the public. You can view it at https://www/youtube.com/mslegalista. Shelia is a former adjunct professor at North Carolina Central University where she taught Entertainment and Business Law, and she has spoken at numerous events including the Long Leaf Pine Film...

I practice personal injury law focusing primarily on motor vehicle accidents, motorcycle accidents, trucking accidents, construction accidents, and slip and falls. After many years of representing injured clients, I have have a unique understanding of the difficulties and stresses an accident and injury can place on a person's life. I am very passionate about helping my clients through these difficult times and I fight to ensure all of my clients are fairly compensated for their losses. My goal is to provide all of my clients with a boutique law firm experience - I purposefully keep my client list low so...

Mr. Jacob Goad is a workers’ compensation and personal injury attorney with Law Office of Jacob Goad, PLLC. Mr. Goad graduated from the University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill where he majored in Spanish and minored in Social and Economic Justice. At UNC, Mr. Goad earned membership in Sigma Delta Pi, a Hispanic Collegiate Honor Society. After earning his undergraduate degree, Mr. Goad lived and worked in Peru, where he got involved with environmental advocacy and also coordinated international delegations. He accompanied CNN producers and Dr. Sanjay Gupta to the town of La Oroya where Mr. Goad introduced Dr. Gupta...

Attorney J. Wallace Pierce was born in the Republic of South Africa. In the course of his tenure as a scholar, he spent much of his time studying, exploring and grasping the complexity that surrounds South Africa's race relations. In early 2001, Attorney Wallace Pierce relocated to Durham, North Carolina with his family. Attorney J. Wallace Pierce acquired his Bachelors in History, Concentration in African American History, from North Carolina Central University in 2006. Attorney Pierce finished this four yearlong program in only three years. His determination and enthusiasm to furthering his involvement in the local community grew as...

Matthew Burkert was raised in Durham, North Carolina, and still resides in the same area he grew up in. He is a graduate of East Carolina University, where he received a bachelor’s degree majoring in Criminal Justice in 2008. Matt then attended North Carolina Central University School of Law, earning his Juris Doctor degree in 2012. He passed the North Carolina Bar Exam in February, 2013, becoming a licensed attorney in the State. Matt joined the Constantinou Law Group, PA as a law clerk while in law school in 2010. He remained at the firm after passing the bar, becoming...

John A. Price has over four decades of legal experience, including first chair trial experience on a variety of complex business and commercial litigation matters with special emphasis on the areas of antitrust and unfair/deceptive trade practices, business torts, securities fraud, intellectual property, minority shareholder, regulatory, products liability, environmental, and a wide spectrum of business disputes. He is ranked AV Preeminent with 5 out of 5 for legal ability and ethics by Martindale-Hubbell in a peer-reviewed rating. He is certified in civil litigation by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, licensed to practice law in Kansas, Texas and...

Dr. Stanley Elliot After being married for 13 years, I was going through a rough separation. This was not easy for me and the separation also involved a custody battle for our child. I met with several attorneys and all of them were suitable. But I didn't just need a suitable attorney, I needed an experienced, litigation-savvy attorney. Richard Gantt was that attorney. When we met over lunch, he was informative, empathetic, and also ready to do battle in the courtroom. Richard was available to talk day and night. He has thought of innovative ways to proceed with all aspects...

Kellie Corbett chose the University of South Carolina for her undergraduate degree for two reasons: the pageantry of big-time college football and the fact she hates snow. She got the pageantry but it came with snow – a freak storm, 8” of the stuff, her freshman year.

There’s a lesson there but we’re not exactly sure what it is — yet.

Kellie was accepted at the University of North Carolina School of Law where she became the first law student in the history of American law schools (that dates back to 1793) to fall in love with Trusts and Estates while taking...

Stephanie joined the Cary Estate Planning team in May of 2023 as an Estate Planning Lawyer. She spent a combined eight years as a solo estate planning practitioner and then pro bono attorney in Pittsboro, North Carolina. She believes in proactive planning at all stages of our lives and aims to provide client-centered service. Stephanie lived in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Ohio before attending Duke University in North Carolina, where she studied comparative religion. She relocated permanently to Chatham County after returning to Ohio briefly to study at Miami University. During law school at North Carolina Central University, Stephanie served as...

D. Cole Phelps manages our office in the northeastern part of the state. Attorney Phelps is a native of Washington County, and he returned to his home community to serve and give back. After winning his first primary election with over 62% of the votes, he later became the youngest county commissioner at the time of his election to serve in any of North Carolina’s 100 counties. During his first term of office, he was selected by his fellow board members as vice chairman and then chairman. Currently, he is serving his second term of office as a member of...

Ellis Family Law, PLLC was founded in 2008 by board certified family law specialist Gray Ellis with the singular goal to provide the very best legal representation to North Carolinians facing challenging family law issues. Since that time, the firm has successfully represented hundreds of husbands, wives, children, grandparents, and other family members in courts across the state. Our work has not gone unnoticed as the firm has earned awards from both national and local organizations such as Super Lawyers, Martindale Hubbel, North Carolina’s Legal Elite, NC Lawyer's Weekly Power List, NC leader's in the Law, and the...

Karina Herhusky is a dedicated professional who strives to provide the best legal representation for her clients. She believes that empathizing with clients is the key to successful representation. Karina understands the importance of keeping clients informed throughout every step of the process.

An immigrant herself, Karina understands a client’s perspective, including the challenges they face to legalize their status and other issues that may have an impact on their legal status. As a wife and mother, Karina empathizes with families who may be facing the threat of separation due to their immigration status. She fiercely advocates on behalf of...

Sara Barlowe is an associate attorney at Bagwell Holt Smith where she practices in the Firm’s Family Law department. Sara joined the Firm in July of 2020 shortly after relocating to the Research Triangle area from Astoria, Queens with her family and their two cats. While in New York, Sara worked as an Assistant District Attorney with the Bronx District Attorney’s office where she focused primarily on domestic violence and special victims cases with the exception of a year-long stint in the office’s Special Investigations Division where she handled long-term wiretap investigations. Sara received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Benjamin...

Whitney Young is a North Carolina native, having lived in nearly all of its major cities including Raleigh, Charlotte, and Asheville. She first moved to Elizabeth City in 2009 to begin her teaching career at River Road Middle School, shortly after graduating from Appalachian State University as a NC Teaching Fellow and Honors Student Teacher. She was passionate about working with at-risk children, which is what drew her to the Albemarle area.

After several years of teaching, Whitney met her husband, Steven Young, a native of Elizabeth City, who was active duty US Army. During their first year of...

Leto has many years of experience litigating cases for plaintiffs in the North Carolina state and federal courts. Her practice is now concentrated primarily on representing victims of crime, particularly sexual abuse. She also handles catastrophic personal injury cases. Leto has received widespread recognition for the effectiveness of her work. She has the highest rating (AV) for legal ability and ethical standards given by Martindale-Hubbell. She has been listed in Best Lawyers in America and in North Carolina Super Lawyers, where she has been named multiple years as one of the top fifty women lawyers in...

William O. “Billy” Richardson has been practicing law in North Carolina since his admission to the Bar in 1980. Throughout his career, he has built a reputation as a zealous, effective litigator, in and out of the courtroom. He has appeared in front of the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the North Carolina Supreme Court. He continues to build The Richardson Firm, in hopes of providing zealous, competent representation for each client that he has the pleasure of representing. AREAS OF PRACTICE Personal Injury Medical Malpractice Eminent Domain/Condemnation Civil Rights Criminal Law BAR ADMISSIONS North Carolina, 1980 U.S. Court of...

Steven J. Goralski is an experienced military defense attorney, with court martial trial experience in Marine Corps, Army, and Air Force courts. He served on active duty in the Marine Corps for over 11 years, attaining the rank of Major. He spent several years as an active-duty military lawyer in the criminal defense office at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, in Jacksonville, NC; one of the busiest defense offices in the Marine Corps. He also spent time as the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate (legal advisor) to the Commanding General of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. He also has experience...