Checking In: June 28, 2022
Compiled by Jessica Junqueira
Anderton Joins The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin
Bradley Anderton has joined the firm. He has prior experience serving as the Assistant District Attorney of the 15th Prosecutorial District of North Carolina. He holds a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law. There, he was a recipient of the Gressman-Pollitt Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy. In his role as a Juvenile Justice Clinic student attorney, he volunteered over 100 hours. Anderton also holds a Bachelor of Science in economics, summa cum laude, from North Carolina State University, where he was a part of the Honors Program.
Troy D. Shelton has been named a partner with the firm. He practices in the Litigation Department in the firm’s Raleigh office. Shelton has both trial and appellate experience. He has litigated cases in the areas of class actions, antitrust, employment disputes, land use and family law. He is a class action consultant to attorneys within the firm as well as outside it. After earning his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of North Carolina School of Law, Shelton served as a Guardian ad Litem, and following that role, as an appellate attorney. He also holds a B.A., magna cum laude, from Duke University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Megan McGee Stacy has joined the firm’s Charlotte office of counsel. Her practice is focused on commercial contracts and business torts, construction, general liability, medical malpractice, premises liability, products liability, professional liability, and transportation matters. She has prior experience in commercial litigation law. She earned a J.D., summa cum laude, from the Charlotte School of Law. She also holds a B.A. in history, with honors, from High Point University.
Laura Gregory has also joined the Charlotte office. She focuses on general liability, medical malpractice, labor and employment, and workers’ compensation law. Gregory serves with the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys and the Junior League of Charlotte, and she is a mentor with the Carolina Youth Coalition. Before joining the firm, she practiced workers’ compensation law. She holds a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
William Thomas has joined the firm as an associate attorney. Thomas focuses his practice on civil litigation, insurance coverage and defense, and employment law. He has prior experience in employment litigation and workers’ compensation law. While in law school, Thomas served as an intern for Associate Justice Samuel J. Ervin IV with the Supreme Court of North Carolina and Judge R. Christopher Dillon with the North Carolina Court of Appeals. He received his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and his undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Fox Rothschild LLP announced that Bradley M. Risinger is now the Managing Partner in the firm’s Raleigh office. Risinger is a trial attorney focusing on business litigation and complex disputes. He has experience litigating in the North Carolina Business Court, as well as in state and federal courts across the Southeast. Risinger served on the Board of Directors for United Way of North Carolina and on the Board of Directors for NC 2-11. He holds a J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. with high distinction from Indiana University.
K&L Gates announced that Courtney B. Thomas is now a partner. Thomas is a part of the corporate practice group. He focuses his practice on commercial technology and sourcing and corporate/mergers and acquisitions. Thomas has prior experience serving as senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary for an international technology company. He also practiced as a senior lawyer at a large investment bank. He has served as a guest lecturer at the University of North Carolina School of Law. He holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. from Duke University.
Tina Hlabse has joined Ramseur Maultsby. Hlabse engages in employment litigation, counseling, training, and workers’ compensation defense. She has more than 20 years of experience in litigation and counseling. Hlabse previously served as General Counsel for the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services and as a Special Deputy Attorney General with the Tort Claims section of the N.C. Department of Justice. Hlabse also worked in private practice. She graduated from Wake Forest University School of Law with a J.D. and from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she received a bachelor’s degree.
Daniel Goldstein has joined Bell and Howell as corporate counsel. Goldstein has prior experience in the areas of business law, intellectual property, litigation entertainment and sports law. He is a 2020 graduate of Campbell Law School, where he was a member of the Order of Old Kivett and received Book Awards for International Business and Criminal Procedure. He holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he double majored in political science and peace, war and defense and minored in history.
Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP announced that Shalanna Pirtle will serve as its Chief Talent, Diversity & Inclusion Officer. Pirtle will oversee all aspects of talent management, diversity, equity, and inclusion. She is overseeing a professional development program that will offer learning, skill and career development, coaching, mentorship, feedback and evaluation opportunities. Pirtle is a partner with the firm, where she practices mediation and employment law. She is certified as a mediator by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission and serves on the panel for Alterity ADR. Pirtle earned a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law and a B.A. from Indiana University.
The circuit executive for the Fourth Circuit announced that Brian C. Behr has been appointed Bankruptcy Administrator for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The announcement follows news of Marjorie K. Lynch’s retirement effective May 2022. Behr has served as the senior staff attorney for the courts since 2008. Prior to this role, he was an Adjudications Officer with the Department of Homeland Security. Behr graduated from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law and from North Carolina State University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in political science and international politics.
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings recently announced the addition of 26 new attorneys, including Maria Carisetti of Bradley’s Charlotte office. Carisetti is an associate in the Construction Practice Group. She received her J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where she served on the Pro Bono Executive Board and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Executive Board. Carisetti earned her M.A. and B.A. in political science from Virginia Tech with concentrations in legal studies and environmental politics and policy.
Benjamin Milam is now a partner with the firm’s Charlotte office. He is a member of the Banking & Financial Services Practice Group. His practice is focused on policyholder insurance coverage, commercial auto liability, title remediation, and financial services litigation. Milam assists in resolving insurance coverage disputes and defends mortgage lenders and servicers. He holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Partner Jonathan Schulz is a member of the Litigation Group with the firm and also practices in the Charlotte office. Schulz represents clients ranging from individuals and family-run small businesses to public corporations. He advises clients on the dispute resolution process and litigates claims related to fraud, unfair and deceptive trade practices, breach of fiduciary duty, and more. He has represented clients in state and federal courts. He received a J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina. 
April Giancola has joined the senior staff of Campbell Law School as the Assistant Dean of Career Services and Professional Development. Giancola has 21 years of experience in legal and program management. She was the Director of Public Interest Advising for the University of North Carolina School of Law’s Career Development Office. She served as the Chief Legal Program Officer for Disability Rights N.C., as well as a civil attorney and post-conviction managing attorney for N.C. Prisoner Legal Services Inc. After earning her J.D. from the New England School of Law, she worked in the Maricopa County (Arizona) Public Defender’s Office as a trial attorney. Giancola also holds a B.S. in speech and communications from Emerson College. Giancola is certified to practice law in the Eastern, Middle and Western District Courts of North Carolina, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. She is a member of the NCBA Minorities in the Profession Committee.
Hall Booth Smith announced that Brock Wolf has joined the firm’s Charlotte office. His area of focus is medical malpractice defense, data privacy and cyber security, and general liability litigation. Wolf has experience serving as a law clerk and summer associate with the firm. He received a J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law. There, he was the managing editor of the Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy. He obtained a B.A. from Virginia Tech.
Emily L. Guarascio has joined the Law Office of Manisha P. Patel, PLLC. Guarascio will focus her practice on family law. She earned a J.D. from Elon University School of Law, where she was a member of the Innocence Project, the Women’s Law Association, and Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. She also holds a B.A. in Business Administration, magna cum laude, from Adelphi University.
Matt Wolfe serves on the North Carolina Bar Foundation Board of Directors. He is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and currently serves as vice chair of its Behavioral Health Practice Group. He is also a member of the North Carolina Society of Health Care Attorneys Board of Directors and previously chaired the national Health Law Section of the Federal Bar Association. A member of the Health Law and Administrative Law Sections of the North Carolina Bar Association, he co-chairs the Legislative and Ethics Committee of the Health Law Council and has served on the NCBA’s Strategic Planning and Emerging Trends Committee and the Future of the Law Committee.
Kenneth Burgess previously served as the Senior Director of Legal Services and Facility Operations of the American Health Care Association and as the General Counsel of North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association. He is past president of the North Carolina Society of Healthcare Attorneys, and a past member the NCBA Health Law Section Council. He received the Health Law Section’s Distinguished Service Award in 2016. He is a legal consultant and member of the North Carolina Medical Society Ethical and Judicial Affairs Committee and serves as chair of the North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association Associate Advisory Committee. He currently serves as chairman of the board of directors of FutureCare Foundation of North Carolina.
Matt Fisher represents health care providers, with an emphasis on HIPAA compliance, privacy, and information security matters, and Certificate of Need law. He is a member of the American Health Law Association and the North Carolina Bar Association, and is active in the North Carolina Society of Health Care Attorneys, where he currently serves as chair of the Governance & Planning Committee. 
