Neil B. Whitford

Practice Areas
Commercial Law, Municipal Law, Construction Law, Employment Law, Homeowner Association Law, Civil Litigation, Education Law

Education
North Carolina State University, B.A. in Economics (with honors),1973
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, J.D., 1976


Admitted
1976, North Carolina Bar and all state courts
1977, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of NC
1983, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
1983, U.S. Supreme Court


Service
-Chairman of the Education Law Section of NC Bar Association 1998-1999
-Chairman of the North Carolina Council of School Attorneys 1999-2000
-Chairman of the Carteret County Community College Board of Trustees 1987-1989
-President of Morehead City Rotary Club 2006-2008
-Executive Committee of the Construction Section of NC Bar Association (co-editor of Residential Construction Contract form)
-Various boards and committees of First United Methodist Church, Morehead City, NC

Sample of experience with appellate court cases
-State v. Roberts, 41 N.C.App. 187, 254 S.E.2d 216 (1979)
-Furches v. Moore, 48 N.C.App. 430, 269 S.E.2d 635 (1980)
-Thompson v. Carteret County Board of Education, 904 F.2d 701 (4th Circuit), 1990
-Town of Pine Knoll Shores v. Evans, 331 N.C. 361, 416 S.E.2d 4 (1992)
-Pine Knoll Association, Inc. v. Cardon, 126 N.C.App. 155, 484 S.E.2d 446 (1997)
-Matter of Application by C & P Enterprises, Inc., 126 N.C.App. 495, 486 S.E.2d 223 (1997) , cert denied, 347 N.C. 136, 492 S.E.2d 36 (1997)
-Carolina Water Service, Inc. of North Carolina v. Town of Pine Knoll Shores, 145 N.C.App. 686, 551 S.E.2d 558 (2001)
-Kelly v. Carteret County Bd. of Educ., 569 S.E.2d 648, 170 Ed. Law Rep. 398 (2002)
-Ceplecha v. Pine Knoll Townes Phase II Ass'n, 176 N.C.App. 566, 626 S.E.2d 767, (2006)
-Hill v. Taylor, 360 N.C. 363, 629 S.E.2d 852 (2006)
-Watford et al v. MidSouth Golf, 716 S.E.2d 87 (Table), 2011 WL 3891239 (N.C.App. 2011)

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
J.D.,

Carolyn Barnett Brady

Practice Areas
Traffic and Criminal Law, Civil Trial Practice, Homeowner Association and Lien Law, Municipal Law, Education Law

Education
Davidson College, B.A., 1981
Wake Forest University School of Law, J.D., 1985

Admitted
Georgia Bar, 1985
North Carolina Bar, 1988
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of NC, 2013

Carolyn Barnett Brady grew up in Henderson, NC and graduated from Vance Senior High School in 1977. She attended Davidson College and obtained a B.A. degree in 1981. She worked as a paralegal at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, LLP in New York, NY before returning to North Carolina to attend Wake Forest University School of Law. While at Wake Forest, she participated on the Jessup International Law Moot Court Team.

In 1985 she graduated from Wake Forest University School of Law and accepted employment at Alston & Bird, LLP in Atlanta, GA. In 1988 she returned to North Carolina and served as an Assistant District Attorney in Beaufort, NC from 1988 to 1994. She was responsible initially for all District Court cases including: traffic offenses, other moving violations, DWI's, trespass, larceny, shoplifting, misdemeanor drug offenses, simple assaults, and marine fisheries violations. Later she resumed responsibility for the prosecution of all juvenile cases and all felonies in Superior Court to include: murder, drug offenses, rape, sexual assaults, offenses against children, and other violent crimes.

In 1994 Carolyn left the District Attorney's office and joined the firm. She continued to handle criminal matters, but also served as an attorney for the Guardian Ad Litem program, and expanded her practice to include civil litigation, collection work, and real estate law. She became a partner in 1999. Her current practice includes traffic and criminal matters, civil litigation, municipal law, homeowner association and lien work, personnel law, education law, and collection work. She has advised governing bodies, municipal quasi-judicial boards, and has appeared before the NC Real Estate Commission.

Professional Associations and Memberships:
-North Carolina Bar Association, Member 1988-present
-Carteret County Bar Association, Member 1988-present
-District Attorney's Association, Treasurer
-Georgia Bar Association, Member 1985-present

Community Involvement:
-Carteret Community College, Trustee 2009-present
-National Charity League - Parliamentarian; Cultural Chair ; Charitable Liaison 2010-present
-St. Egbert's Home & School Association, President 2003-2004
-First Presbyterian Church, Morehead City, NC - Elder since 1997; Building Together Campaign, Chairman 2001

Wake Forest University School of Law
J.D.,

Melissa Berryman

Practice Areas
Real Estate, Corporate Law, Municipal Law

Admitted
1998, North Carolina Bar

Law School
Campbell University, J.D.

Campbell University
J.D.,

Kimberly L. Farias

Practice Areas
Family Law, Civil Trial Practice,
Criminal Law, Personal Injury

Admitted
2005, North Carolina Bar
2007, California Bar

Law School
California Western School of Law, J.D.

California Western School of Law
J.D.,

Jane A. Gordon

Practice Areas
Trust and Estates, Civil Litigation

Education
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A., 1986
Emory University School of Law, J.D., 1989

Admitted
1990, New York Bar
1991, U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern
Districts of New York
1994, Northern District of New York
1997, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
2010, North Carolina Bar
2010, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of
North Carolina

Jane is a native of Morehead City and graduated from West Carteret High School in 1982. She graduated with Highest Honors and Highest Distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. degree in 1986. Jane attended Emory University School of Law, where she was a Woodruff Fellow, and where she served as an Executive Articles Editor of the Emory Law Journal. She earned her J.D. degree with Distinction in 1989.

Upon graduation, Jane clerked for the Hon. Ralph B. Guy, Jr., of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Upon completing her judicial clerkship in 1990 she joined the law firm of Shearman & Sterling in New York City as a commercial litigation associate. In 1994 Jane joined the law firm of Herrick, Feinstein in New York where she also practiced complex commercial litigation. While in private practice in New York, Jane handled complex disputes among a variety of large corporations, financial institutions and high net worth individuals. In 1998, Jane left private practice in New York and joined the in-house legal department of International Specialty Products and GAF Materials Corporation in Wayne, New Jersey. As Associate General Counsel, Jane managed the companies' worldwide litigation and also handled certain regulatory affairs and other business matters for the companies.

In 2010, Jane returned home to Carteret County and joined our firm. She specializes in wills, trusts, and estates and elder law matters. She also handles a variety of civil litigation matters and works with the firm's municipal clients as well.

Professional Affiliations:
North Carolina Bar Association
Carteret County Bar Association

Community Involvement:
Clerk of Vestry, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Beaufort
Beaufort Ole Towne Rotary Club

Emory University School of Law
J.D.,