I’m not your average divorce lawyer. I have all the trappings of a successful attorney – degree from a good law school, coveted clerkship, solid courtroom record – but my approach is often to remind my clients of the following principles: Life is short; this is not a board game; what goes around comes around; and, we can get through this together.
About Judy
I’m a native North Carolinian and have a “hunger for justice,” thanks in large part to my experience in the Methodist and Quaker communities. This background informs my approach to law, which I’ve been practicing since 1984.
I graduated from Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., in 1978 with a degree in English and Religious Studies, then headed north to attend Northeastern University School of Law in Boston. I loved Boston and practiced there for seven years before returning home to North Carolina in 1991 with my husband and two children. That year, I was privileged to clerk at the North Carolina Supreme Court with Justice Harry Martin.
In 1994, I launched my own firm, focusing primarily on family law through mediation and collaborative law, as well as handling wills and estate planning matters. I’ve been certified to mediate in Superior Court cases since 1992 and as a Family Financial Mediator since 2000. I’ve also been trained in Collaborative Law since 2009. Outside my office, I love spending time at my Ashe County cabin on land that has been in my family for 200 years. I also enjoy tending to my perennial garden, cooking, reading, and writing poetry. My daughter works for an online mental health care service. My son is a carpenter and window restoration guy and my daughter-in-law is a marriage and family therapist, and they recently gave birth to my fantastic new grandson!
I believe that by working toward an equitable, intelligent, and open-minded application of the law in specific cases, we will move toward a more just and humane society.
