Janet Amburgey is a partner at GHMA Law in Asheville, with 18 years of practice concentrating in complex family law matters as both a litigator and certified mediator.

Amburgey served on the Executive Committee of the 28th Judicial District Bar for more than a decade, culminating in her term as president. She is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Family Law Section, previously served as co-chair of its Parents’ Rights Committee and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Mediation Center in Asheville.

She is recognized in the legal community as a steady, practical voice in difficult cases — focused on helping clients and counsel move toward resolution with clarity and professionalism. Her most meaningful matters include complex financial disputes and custody cases that resolve through thoughtful negotiation rather than litigation.

“The most memorable matters are not necessarily those that go to trial,” Amburgey said, “but those that resolve in a way that allows families to move forward productively.”

Lisa Angel is the president and owner of Rosen Law Firm, with more than 30 years of practice concentrating exclusively in family law. She is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Family Law Specialist.

Angel is the author of three books on North Carolina family law and has served as an adjunct professor at Campbell Law School and guest lecturer at Duke University School of Law.

She was appointed by former Governors Easley and Perdue to serve and eventually chair the North Carolina Domestic Violence Commission and co-founded Project Together, a Wake County initiative providing pro bono legal services to domestic violence survivors.

Amy Britt is a partner at Parker Bryan Family Law in Raleigh, with 21 years of practice concentrating in family law.

Britt is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and has chaired the CLE Committee of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Family Law Section since 2019. She previously served as a council member of the section and chaired its History Committee from 2011 to 2018.

Her memorable matters include a grandparent visitation case following the death of a biological father and an international parental kidnapping case that ultimately resulted in termination of parental rights and a stepparent adoption.

She said she was drawn to family law to serve clients navigating a difficult and emotional time “with competence and compassion” — and that her practice is defined by attention to detail, thorough preparation and a deep knowledge of the law.

Ronnie Crisco Jr. is a partner at Arnold Smith Law in Charlotte, with approximately 20 years of practice concentrating in family law and civil litigation. He is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Family Law Specialist.

Crisco earned a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from Duke University in 2002 and his Juris Doctor with honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 2005. He handles all phases of family law including divorce, custody, alimony, equitable distribution and prenuptial agreements, as well as civil litigation involving contracts, construction disputes and motorsports matters.

He served as past president, vice president and treasurer of the Judicial District 22-A Bar Association and in 2006 founded the Mooresville High School Mock Trial Team, which he coached for 12 years — producing two regional championships, three trips to the state finals and multiple alumni who went on to legal careers.

He is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Family Law Section and serves as attorney advisor to the Board of Directors of Mooresville Youth Athletics.

Jaime Davis is a co-managing partner at Gailor Hunt Davis Taylor & Gibbs in Raleigh, with nearly 25 years of practice concentrating in complex family law matters. She is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Family Law Specialist, a certified family financial mediator and a parenting coordinator.

Davis is the creator and host of the podcast A Year and a Day: Divorce Without Destruction, for which she has produced more than 90 episodes, and the author of a book by the same name. Her practice philosophy centers on helping clients resolve disputes constructively — combining litigation strategy with alternative dispute resolution to reach outcomes that are legally sound and sustainable over time.

She said she is committed to “divorce without destruction,” even in the most high-conflict cases — an approach she said influences how she advocates, mediates and serves as a parenting coordinator across all aspects of her practice.

Gray Ellis is the founder and managing partner of Ellis Family Law, with offices in Durham, Cary, Pittsboro and Wake Forest, and 24 years of practice concentrating in family law.

Ellis founded the firm with a focus on assembling a team that is “tough, but calm — high caliber, but approachable.” His approach to family law was shaped by years working in juvenile court, where he witnessed firsthand how parental conflict affects children and subsequent generations. Helping parents navigate divorce in a way that allows them to focus on the future rather than fight the past can meaningfully reduce generational trauma.

He is known in the legal community for prioritizing civility and professionalism while maintaining zealous advocacy for clients. He regularly serves as a mentor and advisor to attorneys entering the family law field.

He said the most memorable aspects of his practice are not individual cases, but the people and connections made along the way, including clients, opposing counsel and opposing parties.

Mary Gurganus is the CEO and senior attorney of Triangle Divorce Lawyers in Raleigh, with 20 years of practice concentrating in family law.

Gurganus said her path to family law was personal — she grew up as a child of a high-conflict divorce and said that experience motivates her to minimize unnecessary conflict and help families navigate difficult transitions with care and clarity. She has built her practice around mentoring attorneys and staff, educating clients and the broader community through free initiatives and fostering a people-focused firm culture that prioritizes work-life balance.

Her most meaningful matters involve reunifying parents and children separated during the earliest and most unstable phases of a case. She said she often asks clients to send her a photo when their child is returned to them — and what she receives captures everything the work is about.

Hilary Hux is a partner at Garrett Walker Aycoth & Olson in Greensboro, with 12 years of practice concentrating in family law, where she leads the firm’s family law team.

Hux chaired the Greensboro Bar Association’s Family Law Section and is an active member of the Guilford Inn of Court. A recent memorable matter involved representing a fellow attorney in a custody and child support case — an experience she said reinforced the difference between understanding legal principles in theory and having the experience-based perspective to navigate how courts apply them in nuanced, fact-specific situations.

“The ability to bring value by bridging the gap between the law as written and the law as lived really stuck with me,” she said.

Hux was drawn to family law by the opportunity to help people regain stability and clarity during some of the most uncertain moments of their lives.

Jill Jackson is a lawyer at Jackson Family Law in Raleigh, with 26 years of practice concentrating in family law.

Jackson currently serves as treasurer of the North Carolina chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, as an advisor on the NC State Bar Grievance Committee and as CLE chair of the Appellate Section of the North Carolina Bar Association. She has previously chaired the Family Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association and chaired the Programs Committee of the Wake County Bar Professionalism Committee for several years.

Her notable appellate matters include representing the plaintiff in Mason v. Dwinnell — the first North Carolina appellate case to recognize child custody rights for a non-biological parent raising a child with a same-sex partner — and representing the father in Routten v. Routten, a North Carolina Supreme Court case addressing when a trial court may deny parental visitation rights.

“Libby” James is an attorney at Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin in Charlotte, with nearly 21 years of practice concentrating in family law.

James is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Family Law Specialist, a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers. She co-authored the LexisNexis Practice Guide: North Carolina Family Law alongside Will Medlin — a comprehensive single-volume reference covering case law, statutes and forms for all aspects of family law practice.

She serves on the North Carolina Bar Association’s Family Law Council and Specialization Committee, co-chairing its Alimony Committee and co-chairing its Domestic Violence Issues Committee. She served as chair of the Mecklenburg County Bar’s Family Law Section and on the bar’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

She said family law attorneys cannot stop learning and that even after two decades of practice, human nature still surprises her.

Afi Johnson Parris is a partner at Fox Rothschild in Greensboro, with 24 years of practice concentrating in family law. She is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Family Law Specialist handling matters ranging from collaborative divorces to international child abduction cases under the Hague Convention.

Johnson Parris recently completed her term as chair of the American Bar Association’s Law Practice Division and has served as chair of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Family Law Section and as president of the Greensboro Bar Association. She currently chairs the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro Board. She serves on the North Carolina Bar Foundation Board of Directors and the NC Equal Access to Justice Foundation Board.

A memorable matter involved securing full custody for maternal grandparents in a four-party dispute involving serious allegations of abuse and domestic violence — placing three young children in what she said was a safer, more stable home. She said she still receives a Christmas card from the family every year.

Marsha Kennedy is the managing partner of Kennedy Law Associates in Charlotte, with nearly 31 years of practice concentrating in family law.

Kennedy practiced business law at a large firm before pro bono work for domestic violence victims inspired her to shift her focus to family law — a field she said allows her to help people, particularly women, on a more personal basis. She is a licensed family and divorce mediator and a certified parent coordinator who works with parents navigating the conflicts that arise in co-parenting after separation.

She has led divorce workshops throughout Charlotte for more than seven years in partnership with the Council for Children’s Rights and volunteers as an attorney for United Family Services.

She said her successes come from empowering clients in healthy ways.

“My successes come when I win a custody suit and see a new father gain equal rights to his child, or I help a woman get her fair share of the assets.”

Brian King is the managing shareholder of King Law in Rutherfordton, with more than two decades of practice concentrating in personal injury and family law. He founded the firm in 2002 in a modest two-room office and has built it into a multi-state practice.

King is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Family Law Specialist and an experienced trial lawyer with jury and bench trial experience in catastrophic injury, wrongful death, premises liability and insurance bad faith matters. He has litigated before the North Carolina Court of Appeals, securing published opinions that continue to guide trial courts. He has authored a book on AI in legal practice and contributed a chapter to the National Business Institute’s Litigator series on artificial intelligence in litigation strategy. He leads King Law University, the firm’s internal attorney training program.

He said family law is “the place where the legal meets the personal” — and that making a real difference for someone is more meaningful than winning cases.

Dana Lehnhardt is the managing partner of Lehnhardt Price Family Law in Monroe, with approximately 28 years of practice concentrating in family law. She is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Family Law Specialist, a certified family financial mediator and a licensed parenting coordinator.

A Union County native, Lehnhardt is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association and the Union County Bar Association and has been active in community nonprofit boards throughout Union County and surrounding areas.

She said her practice is defined by honesty, compassion and helping clients find peace through a difficult process. A memorable moment came when a former client approached her at a concert to tell her she had helped him gain custody of his grandchild more than 20 years earlier.

“I think it is important to be honest with your clients,” she said, “and I have built up a lot of trust over the years with not only clients but with other attorneys as well.”

Angela McIlveen is the managing partner of McIlveen Family Law Firm in Gastonia, with 19 years of practice concentrating in family law. She is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Family Law Specialist.

McIlveen is known in the legal community for courtroom preparation, direct advocacy and practical strategy in high-conflict custody disputes, complex financial cases and domestic violence matters.

Family law drew her because it is deeply human work where excellent advocacy can change the course of someone’s life — affecting children, finances, homes and futures in ways few other practice areas can. The cases that stay with her most are those where a client arrived overwhelmed and left in a far better place.

She said leadership is not just about being good at the work yourself — it is about “raising the standard for the people around you and helping build a stronger profession.”

Scott Montgomery is the founder of Montgomery Family Law in Cary, with approximately 18 years of practice concentrating exclusively in family law, including equitable distribution, divorce, child custody and support, alimony and adoption.

Montgomery is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Family Law Specialist — a credential held by approximately 1 percent of licensed lawyers in the state — first certified in 2014 and recertified in 2020. He earned his Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2007, where he received the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Family Law Student Award.

He served as treasurer of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Family Law Section in 2009 and served on its Pro Bono Committee from 2011 through 2014. He is also an active member of the Wake County Bar Association.

Gena Graham Morris is an attorney at James, McElroy & Diehl in Charlotte, with 33 years of practice concentrating in family law litigation.

Morris is currently in her third term on the North Carolina State Bar Council, where she serves as vice chair of the Ethics Committee. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and a member of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers. She has also volunteered for the Council for Children’s Rights and its predecessor organization for many years.

A memorable matter involved a multi-week custody trial in which she successfully regained custody for a father who had been denied access to his children for years due to false abuse allegations.

She noted that she has spent years “trying valiantly and so far unsuccessfully to get heartbalm torts declared unconstitutional” — a cause she expects to continue pursuing.

Meredith Nicholson is a partner at NicholsonPham in Durham, with 27 years of practice concentrating in family law for both traditional and nontraditional families, including divorce, custody, adoption, termination of parental rights and assisted reproductive technology.

Nicholson is a Fellow of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys and currently serves as one of two State Bar Councilors representing Durham County. She previously served as president of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Latino Affairs Committee and as president of the Durham-Orange chapter of the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys. She is fluent in French and Spanish, allowing her to serve clients from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

A former foster parent who both adopted and served as a court-appointed guardian, she brings personal experience to complex parentage and family structure matters, including surrogacy cases where the law continues to evolve. She said she loves receiving referrals from attorneys with cases that require fitting “a square peg into a round hole.”

Michael Schilawski is a founding partner of Wake County Family Law Group in Raleigh, with more than 40 years of practice concentrating exclusively in family law. He was among the first attorneys certified as a North Carolina State Bar Specialist in Family Law in 1989.

Before law, Schilawski spent seven years as a public school teacher, coach, guidance counselor and assistant principal — experience he said taught him the patience and listening skills that have served him well in both litigation and his extensive mediation and arbitration practice. He was certified as a Family Financial Mediator by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission in 1999 and has argued family law cases before the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.

Bruce Scott, a partner at Robinson & Lawing in Winston-Salem, practices family law with a focus on complex equitable distribution and business-related issues in divorce proceedings. He brought to the practice a disciplined perspective shaped by seven years of service in the U.S. Coast Guard.

Scott is recognized for his analytical approach to cases involving business valuation, asset tracing and significant financial interests. He values cases where careful strategy and preparation lead to resolution in highly contested custody and support disputes, combining detailed financial analysis with effective advocacy to reach practical outcomes for clients navigating difficult transitions.

His bar involvement includes service on the NCBA Family Law Section Council, the Appellate Monitor Committee and the Forsyth County Family Law Advisory Committee.

Leigh Sellers is the owner of Touchstone Family Law in Charlotte, with 25 years of practice concentrating in family law, including custody, divorce and complex business valuation matters.

Sellers is known for negotiating hard to keep families out of the courtroom — treating all parties with respect and giving clients honest assessments of their own role in making resolution more difficult. She is actively involved in the North Carolina and South Carolina family law bar sections.

Family law found her unexpectedly, she said — she was working toward an appellate practice when a colleague quit without notice, leaving her a file cabinet and a divorce case to handle that afternoon. She stayed.

Regarding custody cases, she said holding a large part of a child’s future in her hands is “terrifying” — and that she can only take a deep breath when a client tells her they are happy with the case presented and believe nothing more could have been done.

Jim Siemens is a partner at Siemens Family Law Group in Asheville, with 32 years of practice concentrating in family law.

Siemens presents at continuing legal education programs and assists with mediation training. He said his reputation has been built one case at a time through a consistent work ethic — coming in early, staying late and occasionally working weekends for nearly three decades. He is currently developing a subscription service for his practice and is actively cultivating the next generation of leadership within his firm.

Among memorable recent matters is a divorce case centered on the distribution of a therapeutic comfort rabbit used in a medical practice — a dispute that required several rounds of mediation focused primarily on where the rabbit would live and work. He said he is pleased to report the rabbit is well and patients remain comforted.

He noted that building a reputation requires no special formula: “Matching some dedication with the passage of time leads to good things.”

Nicole Sodoma is the founder, shareholder and managing principal of Sodoma Law, with 25 years of practice. She founded the firm in 2008 with 30 clients and a conviction that family law could be practiced at the highest level without sacrificing firm culture or personal life. Today the firm generates more than $20 million in revenue, employs 103 people including 45 attorneys and operates across multiple offices in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Sodoma is the author of “Please Don’t Say You’re Sorry” and founded the Sodoma Law Foundation in 2014 to support organizations including Safe Alliance, Dress for Success and Girls on the Run.

Her firm operates on a shared leadership model that allows managing attorneys to hold equity in their offices and provides internal leadership pathways for attorneys and administrative professionals.

“Leadership, to me, is building people and taking care of clients,” Sodoma said, “because when you get those two things right, everything else follows.”