Kristen F. Shearin

Paul M. Hattenhauer, a partner with Culp Elliott & Carpenter, P.L.L.C., is chair of the firm’s Estate Planning practice group. Mr. Hattenhauer’s practice is focused on providing tax, business, asset protection and estate planning advice for individuals, closely held business owners and fiduciaries. He provides counsel in sophisticated estate tax reduction strategies, and advises clients on strategies to arrange their affairs to pay the least amount of tax. He is experienced in...

Noell P. Tin is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: General Practice and Criminal Defense: White-Collar. Noell P., who practices law in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2010. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Noell P. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

With his deep knowledge and breadth of experience in law and taxation, Mr. William R. Culp, Jr. helps clients structure their business affairs to maximize their wealth. Mr. Culp represents a wide variety of clients, from entrepreneurs and private investors to large corporate clients. Clients look to him for guidance in structuring complex business arrangements and transactions, and for solutions to the most challenging business problems. Mr. Culp's practice includes real estate and partnershi...

Mike Connor is a partner in the firm’s IP Litigation Group. He is a recent co-chair of the firm’s national Intellectual Property Practice and a past chair of the national IP Litigation Group. He handles patent infringement and other IP disputes and counseling. Mike has experience in technologies such as cardiovascular implants and other medical devices, mobile telephony, high speed computer networks, financial services, diagnostic imaging, music downloads, robotics, textile machin...

Jon Ferry brings his substantial experience as a federal prosecutor to assisting clients in False Claims Act litigation, government investigations and other enforcement actions, internal risk analysis and internal investigations. Jon served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina for over seven years. As the head of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) program and the Healthcare Fraud Coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Jon led and supervised num...

Ed O’Keefe advises and represents financial institutions. From strategy to tactics and logistics, Ed’s experience includes investigations, litigation, regulatory compliance, governance, cybersecurity, compensation, and risk management. He also advises on law department management, including effective legal engagement with regulators and control functions. Ed is the former Global General Counsel of Bank of America Corporation. Having also headed or served as a senior executive with...

Bill Macurda is a partner in the Finance Group of Alston & Bird. Bill is the senior partner in the firm’s trust practice, one of the largest trust, agency and asset servicing practices in the country. He represents all major trustees, in a wide variety of product types, including structured finance (CMBS, RMBS, ABS, CDO, CLO and REO), corporate debt, municipal debt, hedge fund transactions, lending and project finance. He advises clients in all roles: trustees, master servicers and ...

After graduating from the University of North Carolina School of Law, Bryan began practicing in the employment law and employee benefits areas, working for large law firms that concentrated in those areas. In 2001, Bryan returned to school at the Georgetown University Law Center and studied to receive an LL.M. in Taxation with a concentration in Employee Benefits, a field that includes retirement plans, health insurance plans, short- and long-term disability, life insurance and other similar ...

A former presidentially appointed U.S. attorney, Thomas Walker understands the high stakes of federal and state investigations and white-collar criminal defense. A former presidentially appointed U.S. attorney, Thomas concentrates his practice in government investigations, internal corporate investigations, and white-collar criminal defense. Thomas has extensive jury trial experience in state and federal courts and previously served as special counsel to North Carolina Attorney General Roy Co...

Tom Mitchell has served as Managing Partner and Chair of the Management Committee since 2018 and is a nationally recognized finance lawyer with over 30 years of experience representing financial institutions. Tom serves in multiple leadership positions at the firm, including as Managing Partner, Chair of the Management Committee, and Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. He is also an active member of the firm’s Inclusion & Belonging Committee. Tom served previously as head of ...