Stephen M. "Steve" Russell, Jr.

Keith Wood is both an attorney and CPA with a special background in taxes. He also is a board-certified specialist in estate planning and probate law. Keith’s practice is focused on business, tax and estate planning for a wide range of clients, including new startups, entrepreneurs and multigenerational family-owned businesses. He counsels these closely held enterprises in the unique challenges they face – from succession planning, tax planning and management structures to effecti...

D.J. O’Brien represents employers and individuals in business litigation, employment law, and government enforcement actions. He has deep experience in all levels of federal and state appellate and trial courts in North Carolina, including the N.C. Business Court. D.J. concentrates a significant part of his practice in high-stakes actions under the False Claims Act. D.J. represents businesses in a variety of employment-related litigation cases, including class and collective actions and...

Aaron Bennett has a broad-based practice serving individuals, families, and business owners. He also represents corporate and individual fiduciaries in trust and estate administration matters. He especially focuses on estate and wealth transfer planning, estate and trust administration, and closely held business planning. Aaron enjoys working with families to develop solutions to the multifaceted issues that arise in helping them achieve their goals and objectives in a tax efficient manner, w...

Ken Carlson is a senior litigator who has successfully defended companies in virtually every aspect of employment law. He also has a strong practice in drafting employment contracts, independent contractor agreements, and noncompetition agreements, combined with a significant amount of work involving trade secret and noncompetition law. In addition to his litigation practice, Ken regularly advises employers on how to avoid problems before they occur, and helps companies protect their intellec...

Robert Young is a litigator whose practice spans several areas including commercial, real estate, employment, cybersecurity, professional liability and construction litigation matters. Within these practice areas, Robert regularly handles cases with respect to contract disputes, landlord-tenant matters, estate disputes, construction liens, professional negligence and disciplinary and licensing issues, employment and non-competition agreements, condemnation and land use issues, insurance dispu...

Dan Smith focuses his law practice on matters involving environmental, commercial, education, and state constitutional law. A former educator and environmental scientist, Dan represents businesses, boards of education, and individuals in state, federal, administrative, and appellate courts. Dan uses his scientific training and background to help clients solve complex problems related to environmental laws, frequently working as part of a larger Brooks Pierce team. Dan has represented and advi...

Jeffrey T. Skinner is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Corporate Law, Financial Services Regulation Law, Securities / Capital Markets Law and Securities Regulation. Jeffrey T., who practices law in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jeffrey T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Robin Shea has more than 20 years' experience in employment litigation, including Title VII and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (including the Amendments Act), the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act, the Equal Pay Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act; and class and collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage-hour laws; defense of audits by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs; and labor relations...

Chris Haaf is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation. Chris, who practices law in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Chris is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Chris Vaughn began his career over 25 years ago. Over those 25 years, Chris’ practice has gravitated from almost exclusive lender representation to representing owners in their acquisition, financing, development, construction, leasing and sale of commercial real estate. While he has represented many clients in varied real estate sectors across the United States including in office and fast casual dining, his current practice is dominated by owners engaged in the development and ownersh...