Three Brooks Pierce Attorneys Recognized by The North Carolina Supreme Court for Pro Bono Work
Brooks Pierce attorneys Daniel Adams, Kearns Davis and Shepard O’Connell have been honored by the North Carolina Supreme Court for providing 50 or more hours of pro bono legal services in 2018. They were among 468 attorneys named to the 2018 North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society.
“Brooks Pierce has a strong commitment to serving our community, and pro bono work is a key component of that,” said Reid Phillips, managing partner of Brooks Pierce. “We are proud of Daniel, Kearns and Shepard for both the time they have dedicated to helping others and for this recognition.”
Adams represents individuals, small businesses and large corporations facing white-collar criminal prosecution, government investigations and complex business litigation. In 2017, he was selected for the North Carolina Bar Association Leadership Academy, leadership training provided to only 16 young lawyers each year. In 2015, a pro bono case he worked on was recognized by American Lawyer as the “Global Pro Bono Case of the Year.”
Davis heads Brooks Pierce’s white-collar criminal defense and investigations practice and handles a wide range of federal and business litigation. He previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina and as a law clerk to the late Chief Judge Sam J. Ervin III, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He served as the 2016-2017 president of the North Carolina Bar Association. Davis has received numerous professional recognitions, including being listed in North Carolina Super Lawyers Top 10 attorneys in all categories from 2016 to 2019, The Best Lawyers in America in White-Collar Criminal Defense from 2010 to 2019, Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in White-Collar Crime and Government Investigations from 2012 to 2019, and Business North Carolina’s “Legal Elite” in Criminal Defense from 2008 to 2019. In addition, Best Lawyers has repeatedly named him “Lawyer of the Year” for Greensboro in White-Collar Criminal Defense, and Benchmark Litigation recognized him as a "Litigation Star" for North Carolina in White-Collar Crime from 2015 to 2019.
O’Connell focuses her practice on commercial litigation in federal and state court, including the North Carolina Business Court. As a fluent Spanish speaker, she draws on her experience litigating international disputes to serve corporate and individual clients from diverse backgrounds, providing counsel on business, contract, and intellectual property issues. O’Connell is an active member of the North Carolina Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and a regional selection committee member of the Morehead-Cain Foundation.
