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About

Three decades.
One through-line.

My career has taken many forms — trial attorney, mediator, general counsel, program director, family office consigliere. Beneath every role, the same commitment: help people navigate complexity with clarity, candor, and complete loyalty.

Philosophy

The advisor who answers to you alone.

My professional training as a trial attorney grew out of a desire to identify and resolve pressing challenges. The dynamics of dispute resolution gave me a personal understanding of the complex interests brought to bear in resolving difficult legal problems — and an awareness of the broader human stakes always at play.

Over thirty-five years, that understanding has deepened through every role I have held. Representing clients in state and federal courts. Running the legal and operational functions of a residential care facility. Serving as the sole trusted advisor to a high-net-worth family for nearly two decades.

What I have learned is this: the most valuable thing a trusted advisor can offer is not expertise alone — it is judgment, loyalty, and the willingness to say what needs to be said, even when it is not what a client wants to hear.

This practice exists to offer exactly that.

Professional History

A career built on trust.

2007 – 2026Independent Practice

Independent Counsel & Private Advisory

Chapel Hill, NC

For nearly two decades, I have served and continue to serve as the sole advisor, administrator, and consigliere for a high-net-worth family. In addition, I continued to provide pro bono legal services to family, friends, and those less fortunate throughout this period. Obtained licensure as a North Carolina Real Estate Broker. Remained actively engaged in civic and outdoor life, including long-distance hiking associations — the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Partnership for the National Trails System, and the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

Hiked the Appalachian Trail in full with my youngest son, summiting Mt. Katahdin on his birthday. Hiked the Kerry Way in Ireland. This period deepened the personal clarity and perspective that now informs every client relationship.

2009 – 2017

Vice President, General Counsel & Program Director

Caramore Community, Inc. · Carrboro, NC

Served in a combined executive, legal, and operational leadership role at Caramore Community — a 24-hour residential and vocational rehabilitation program for adults with severe mental illness. As Vice President and General Counsel, responsibilities included regulatory compliance for a licensed nonprofit mental health service provider, governance, and all legal matters.

As Program Director, oversaw and coordinated the full range of services designed to help clients transition to independent living: identifying and obtaining gainful community employment; managing personal finances, Social Security, and health care benefits; developing independent living skills; maintaining a balanced mental health regimen; and obtaining suitable and affordable community housing.

This role required the simultaneous management of legal complexity, institutional administration, and the deeply human work of helping vulnerable people rebuild their lives — an experience that informs every aspect of this practice.

2000 – 2007

Attorney — Member/Manager

Brown & Bunch, PLLC · Chapel Hill, NC

Trial attorney and member/manager in a medium-sized firm with extensive corporate dealings. Areas of concentration included general and complex business and appellate litigation in state and federal courts — shareholder and partnership disputes, commercial disputes, and real property issues. Additional practice areas included commercial real estate transactions, zoning, planning, and land use disputes.

1991 – 2000

Attorney — Partner

Brown & Bunch, a general partnership · Chapel Hill, NC

Trial attorney and partner in medium-sized firm with extensive corporate dealings. Areas of concentration included general and complex business and appellate litigation in state and federal courts, including shareholder and partnership disputes and commercial matters.

1990 – 1991

Attorney — Associate

Brown, Kirby & Bunch · Durham, NC

Trial attorney (associate) in medium-sized firm with extensive corporate dealings. Areas of concentration included general business and appellate litigation in state and federal courts.

1989 – 1990

Attorney — Associate

Faison & Brown · Durham, NC

Trial attorney (associate) in law firm with extensive corporate dealings. Areas of concentration included general business and appellate litigation in state and federal courts. Beginning of a legal career that would span two decades of active trial practice.

Education

UNC, through and through.

Juris Doctor, With Honors

University of North Carolina School of Law

Class of 1989 · Chapel Hill, NC

Bachelor of Arts

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Class of 1985 · Chapel Hill, NC

Credentials & Affiliations

The full picture.

  • Licensed to practice law, State of North Carolina — since 1989
  • Admitted to practice, United States Federal Courts
  • Former certified Superior Court Mediator — State of North Carolina
  • Licensed Real Estate Broker — State of North Carolina
  • Member, North Carolina State Bar
  • Former Vice President & General Counsel, Caramore Community, Inc.
  • Member, Appalachian Trail Conservancy
  • Member, Partnership for the National Trails System
  • Member, Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail
  • Eighteen years sustained personal recovery

Beyond the Resume

What shapes the work.

The Long Trail

I have hiked the Appalachian Trail end to end with my youngest son — summiting Mt. Katahdin on his birthday. I have walked the Kerry Way in Ireland. Long-distance hiking teaches patience, presence, and the value of knowing exactly where you are. Those are not bad qualities in a trusted advisor.

Recovery

Eighteen years of sustained personal recovery have given me something no credential can confer: a genuine understanding of what it means to rebuild, and what it takes to sustain it. I bring that understanding to every client relationship where it is relevant — quietly, and without making it the center of anything.

Chapel Hill

I am a product of Chapel Hill — undergraduate, law school, and the better part of a legal career. The Triangle's professional community is one I know deeply and have served for decades. That network of relationships is an asset every client benefits from.

Pro Bono

Throughout my career and semi-retirement, I have continued to provide pro bono legal services to family, friends, and those less fortunate. The obligation to use professional skills in service of those who cannot access them easily is not a burden — it is a privilege.

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