Parker Poe announces board members and partners for 2018

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP announced the election of two board members and four new partners for 2018. Debbie Kleman will serve her first term on the firm’s board of directors, and Russell Killen was re-elected to the board.

Parker Poe has a seven-member board of directors that functions as a policymaking body for the firm. Each year, all partners vote on two members, who then serve three-year terms.

Board Members 

Debbie Kleman joins the board of directors from the Spartanburg office. For more than 20 years, she has advised clients on employee benefits and executive compensation. She provides counsel on the design and implementation of employee benefit plans, qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, executive compensation arrangements, reporting and disclosure requirements, and employee communications.

Russell Killen was re-elected to the board of directors for his second term. He works in the firm’s Raleigh office and focuses his practice in the area of construction and land development, including dispute resolution, contract negotiation, and project entitlement. He is the former mayor of the Town of Knightdale, and his extensive experience in the municipal arena provide his clients a unique perspective in connection with land use and zoning matters.

Debbie and Russell join Managing Partner Tom Griffin and other previously elected board members: Charles Raynal in Raleigh and Jimmy Greene, Craig Lynch, and Stacy Wood in Charlotte.

Partners

The firm also announced the election of four new partners: Micheal Binns, Karen Carroll, Emily Luther, and Brad Overcash.

In Columbia, Emily Luther was selected to become a partner. Emily advises and represents a variety of public and private organizations in the areas of public finance  and economic development. She also advises and assists nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations with federal and state tax and corporate law compliance. Emily earned her law degree from the University of South Carolina, her Master of Laws (LL.M.) in taxation from New York University, and her undergraduate degree from Wofford College.

Micheal Binns is a member of the Intellectual Property practice group in the firm’s Atlanta office. Michael is a registered patent attorney practicing primarily in the area of patent litigation.  He also has experience in all aspects of intellectual property (IP) law related to a variety of technologies, including patent and trademark prosecution proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, IP licensing, and counseling clients on all forms of IP evaluation and risk assessment. Micheal earned his law degree from Fordham University and his undergraduate degree from Morgan State University.

Karen Carroll was also elected as a partner in the Atlanta office. Karen’s practice focuses on complex intellectual property litigation and counseling, with a specific focus on pharmaceutical and biotechnology-related patent matters, including Hatch-Waxman litigation. Karen also counsels pharmaceutical clients on transactional matters pertaining to commercial supply chain and wholesale distribution agreements and product offers. She earned her law degree from American University, her master’s degree in molecular biology from Northwestern University, and her bachelor’s degree from Franklin & Marshall College.

Brad Overcash of the Charlotte office was elected as a partner as well. Brad represents clients in a broad range of litigation matters, including professional negligence defense, long-term care/nursing home defense, commercial litigation, and general litigation. He also practices in the areas of insurance coverage litigation and insurance defense. A native of Thomasville, N.C., and a resident of Belmont, N.C., Brad earned his law degree from Ole Miss and his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

 

About Parker Poe

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP has more than 200 lawyers in seven offices located in major markets across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The firm provides legal counsel to some of the largest companies and local governments in the region.

Parker Poe is a member of TerraLex, one of the world’s leading international legal networks. With 155 member law firms and more than 17,000 attorneys in 100 countries, TerraLex members provide the legal resources and expertise needed to conduct seamless business worldwide. 

For more information, please visit www.parkerpoe.com.