Checking In: July 14, 2020

Compiled by Jessica Junqueira 

New Hires

Zac Bolitho is now of counsel with Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP in Raleigh. He will practice with the White Collar & Criminal Defense Group. Prior to joining the firm, Bolitho was an Associate Deputy Attorney General and the Chief of Staff to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Bolitho serves as an Associate Professor of Law at Campbell Law School in Raleigh. He received a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from the University of Mount Union, and a Juris Doctorate, summa cum laude, from The Ohio State University.

Morningstar Law Group announced that Marie Farmer is now an associate attorney with the firm. She will practice in the Litigation Practice Group. Prior to Morningstar Law, Farmer was a legal fellow at the University of North Carolina’s Office of Legal Counsel. There, she offered litigation support and assisted in a variety of areas, including constitutional, healthcare, employment, and intellectual property law. Farmer obtained a Juris Doctorate from the University of North Carolina School of Law, and she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Law and Philosophy from the University of Florida.

Smith Anderson welcomes Mark Griffith, a corporate attorney, to the firm. Griffith will work with the Energy and Renewable Energy and M&A practice teams. He has significant experience in energy transactions, economic development and matters related to financial institutions. Prior to Smith Anderson, Griffith practiced with Troutman Sanders. He serves on the chamber of commerce and has taught a course on renewable energy transactions at UNC School of Law. Griffith graduated from the University of North Carolina, with honors, where he received a Bachelor of Arts, and from UNC School of Law, with honors, where he earned a Juris Doctorate.

Thorp Law welcomes Ava Britt Lynch to the firm’s Raleigh office. Lynch, who focuses on trial advocacy, practiced personal injury law before joining the firm. She served in the Restorative Justice Clinic program, and she interned with the Office of the Public Defender in the Eastern District of North Carolina, as well as the Wake County District Attorney’s Office and Public Defender’s Office. Ava earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and government from North Carolina State University and a Juris Doctorate from Campbell Law School.

Julie Vergara has joined the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin in Greensboro. Vergara will practice personal injury law with the firm. She has experience in immigration and personal injury law, and has assisted victims of domestic violence, as well as special education and immigration clients. Vergara is fluent in English and Spanish. Prior to the firm, she served as a staff attorney at Legal Aid of North Carolina.  She received a Bachelor of Science in Criminology from Pennsylvania State University and a Juris Doctorate from Wake Forest University School of Law.

Black, Slaughter & Black Announces New Name, Partners

The law firm of Black, Slaughter & Black will now be doing business as Law Firm Carolinas, partner Jim Slaughter recently announced. Law Firm Carolinas has four North Carolina offices: Greensboro, Charlotte, Triangle (Garner) and Coastal (Wilmington).

Jennifer Ruby

Michael Taliercio

Harmony Taylor

In addition, three Law Firm Carolinas 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.

Ruby is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2006) and Elon University School of Law (2010) and is based in the Greensboro office. Taliercio is a graduate of Grinnell College (2004) and the University of Minnesota School of Law (2006) and is also based in the Greensboro office. Taylor is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1995) and UNC School of Law (1999) and is based in the Charlotte office.

Bressler, Amery & Ross Announces New Charlotte Office

Bressler, Amery & Ross has opened a new office in Charlotte. The firm, based in New Jersey, represents business and insurance clients. The Charlotte location is the firm’s seventh office on the East Coast. Frank J. Cuccio, the managing principal and president of Bressler, will be the principal in charge in the Charlotte location. He is a member of the firm’s Financial Institutions practice group. Michael J. Morris, an associate with the firm, will join Cuccio in the Charlotte office. Morris practices in transactional work and insurance and health care issues.

Miles Mediation & Arbitration Opens Office in Charlotte

Miles Mediation & Arbitration now has an office in Charlotte. The new office is the firm’s first location outside of Georgia, and the only firm in Charlotte solely devoted to alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Miles Mediation is based in Atlanta with a second office in Savannah. The firm’s area of focus includes mediation, arbitration, special master, and all kinds of dispute management. The Charlotte office is located at 6101 Carnegie Boulevard, Suite 450.