News & Notes
Current events and annoucements within our firm
are posted to this section and updated periodically. We encourage
you to revisit this page at your convenience for the latest
updates.
Firm Member William P. Aycock II has been recognized by the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust for exceptional service by an individual as a land conservation partner for the 2008-2009 year. The award was given at the NCCLT’s annual meeting in October 2009 and in conjunction with the presentation of the “Corporate Conservationist of the Year” award to the firm’s client, Restoration Systems, LLC, and “Conservationist of the Year” award to Barrett Jenkins of Restoration Systems. All three awards grew out of Restoration Systems efforts to provide permanent protection of the 1,100 acre Frog Hollow tract on the Neuse River in Craven County, North Carolina, through use of a conservation easement to be held by the NCCLT and an endowment for perpetual stewardship provided by Restoration Systems.
Firm Member Thomas C. Watkins has recently been elected to serve a four year term as a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Visitors assists the UNC Board of Trustees and the Chancellor in a broad range of activities that help advance the University, including public relations, governmental relations and fund raising.
Watkins has also been recently named to a three year term as a member of the Board of Directors of the Greensboro Sports Council. The Sports Council is focused on supporting and further developing Greensboro, and fostering its economic development, as a leading site for sporting events involving youth, collegiate, amateur and professional organizations.
Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston PLLC is proud to announce that nine of its members have been named to the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession.
First published in 1983, Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive annual peer-review survey. For the new U.S. edition, more than 24,126 leading attorneys cast more than 2.8 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in the same and related specialties.
Because of the rigorous and transparent methodology used by Best Lawyers, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”
Steven Naifeh, Managing Editor of Best Lawyers, says, “We continue to believe – as we have believed for 26 years – that recognition by ones’ peers is the most meaningful form of recognition in the legal profession.”
Michael R. Abel for Corporate Law, Employee Benefits Law and Tax Law
Holly H. Alderman for Real Estate
William P. Aycock II for Real Estate Law
Doris R. Bray for Corporate Law, Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law and Securities Law
Barbara R. Christy for Real Estate Law
Michael H. Godwin for Trusts and Estates
Garland G. Graham for Corporate Law
Paul H. Livingston, Jr. for Trusts and Estates
Thomas C. Watkins for Banking Law and Corporate Law
The firm was also ranked # 1 by Best Lawyers in Chapel Hill in Real Estate Law with one attorney, #1 in Greensboro in Corporate Law with four attorneys, Employee Benefits Law with one attorney, Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law with one attorney and Securities Law with one attorney.
Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston PLLC is pleased to announce that J. Craig Kiser and Amy H. Kincaid have become Members of the firm. Mr. Kiser received his degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, (B.A., 1998) and Wake Forest University School of Law (J.D., 2002) and concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial real estate including acquisitions, sales, financing, leasing and development. Ms. Kincaid received her degrees from Clemson University, (B.S., cum laude, 1992) and University of North Carolina School of Law, (J.D., with high honors, 1998). She is also a CPA licensed in North Carolina and concentrates her practice in the area of estate planning, trust and estate administration and exempt organizations.
Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named Michael R. Abel as the “Greensboro Best Lawyers Corporate Lawyer of the Year” for 2009 and William P. Aycock II as the “Greensboro Best Lawyers Real Estate Lawyer of the Year” for 2009.
Lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” have earned a high level of respect among their peers for ability, professionalism, and integrity. After more than a quarter of a century in publication, Best Lawyers is designating “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. These specialties are Banking Law, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Corporate Law, Family Law, Personal Injury Litigation, and Real Estate Law and only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is being honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.”
Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The current, 15th edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2009), is based on more than 2.5 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.
We are proud to announce that eight of our members have been named as members of the North Carolina Legal Elite for 2009, based upon a poll of North Carolina attorneys conducted by Business North Carolina magazine. They are: Michael R. Abel for Business Law and Tax and Estate Planning; William P. Aycock II for Real Estate; Doris R. Bray, as a member of the Legal Elite Hall of Fame for Business Law; Michael H. Godwin for Tax and Estate Planning; Garland G. Graham for Young Guns; Jennifer L.J. Koenig for Tax and Estate Planning; Paul H. Livingston, Jr. for Tax and Estate Planning; and Thomas C. Watkins for Corporate.
We are proud to announce that seven of our members were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in North Carolina Super Lawyers 2009. They are:
Holly H. Alderman Real Estate Law
Michael R. Abel Business/Corporate Law
William P. Aycock II Real Estate Law
Doris R. Bray Business/Corporate Law
Michael H. Godwin Estate Planning and Probate
Paul H. Livingston, Jr. Estate Planning and Probate
Thomas C. Watkins Business/Corporate Law
Law & Politics magazine performed the survey and analyzed the results. The Super Lawyers designation identifies those lawyers who are judged to be superior in their individual practice area by other of the state’s attorneys. This is Law and Politics’ third annual guide to the top attorneys in the state and the results are based on surveys from lawyers across the state practicing law five or more years. Recognition is given to only the top five percent of attorneys in more than 60 practice categories.
Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston PLLC was pleased to participate in the North Carolina Bar Association’s second annual 4ALL Public Service Day held on March 6, 2009. As part of the 4ALL activities, the Greensboro call center fielded calls requesting legal advice during the twelve-hour period when pro bono services were made available to the public. Schell Bray attorneys Parrish Lentz and Amy Kincaid served as volunteers at the call in center. Blanche Berkowitz, NCCP, also assisted at the call center as a volunteer from the firm.
J. Craig Kiser has been asked to serve as Secretary of the Greensboro Bar Association for the 2009 – 2010 year.
J. Carter Grant has joined the Steering Committee of the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro’s Future Fund.
A Justice Fund was established with the North Carolina Bar Foundation in honor of the late Braxton Schell, a founding partner of the Firm. A dedication ceremony was held on September 9, 2008 at the N.C. Bar Center in Cary, NC. Mr. Schell was honored for his exemplary service to and leadership in the legal profession of North Carolina. The Fund was established by members of the Kenan family and their affiliates, Mr. Schell's clients, by Mr. Schell's family and by the Firm.
Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston PLLC and The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro today announced a new community arts initiative: The Greensboro Public Art Endowment Fund. As the founding contributor and sponsor, Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston is opening the fund with an initial donation of $25,000. The future-looking fund will provide art in public spaces around Greensboro.
"Being the founding donor of this fund allows Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston PLLC to show our appreciation to Greensboro, which has been our home for all 20 years of our firm's life. We believe that the art purchased by this fund will contribute to the beauty of our city and our sense of community. To reach it's potential, this fund needs to grow, so it is our fond hope that foundations, businesses and individuals in this community will support the fund with generous contributions," said Paul Livingston of Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston PLLC.
Walker Sanders of The Community Foundation added, "Art in public spaces helps to give our Greensboro community its identity and sense of place. We are fortunate to have a vibrant arts environment in Greensboro and public art is a vital part of our landscape, engaging and inspiring our citizens. Most importantly, we are truly pleased to partner with a company that so clearly shares our commitment to this community and its continuous cultural growth."
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