GUILTY Pleasures.

• Author: Gessner, John
• Position: 2018 LEGAL ELITE

We've all got them--simple indulgences that help us unwind and clear our heads at the end of a long day or week. This year, Business North Carolina asked our 16 Legal Elite category winners to share their favorite guilty pleasures, which in some cases happen to be, well, fairly innocent.

Since 2002, BNC has asked all members of the N.C. State Bar to select peers they think are reputable in their fields. Lawyers aren't allowed to vote for themselves and can only vote for a member of their own firm if they also pick an attorney from an outside firm in the same category. We've added two new categories this year, appellate and immigration. Through our online balloting system, 705 attorneys were selected as Legal Elite, fewer than 3% of the state's lawyers. Since 2004, the top vote-getters have been elevated to the Hall of Fame and can no longer win in the same category. Hall of Fame members are listed by their firm at the time of selection, unless otherwise requested.

ANTITRUST

Brad Evans, Ward and Smith PA, Greenville; Henry L. Kitchin Jr., McGuireWoods LLP, Wilmington; George L. Little Jr., Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, Winston-Salem; Lawrence C. Moore III, Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte; Jeffrey E. Oleynik, Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, Greensboro; Clinton R. Pinyan, Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, Greensboro; George F. Sanderson III, Ellis & Winters LLP, Raleigh; Thomas G. Walker, Alston &. Bird LLP, Charlotte

HALL OF FAME: Matthew W. Sawchak, Ellis & Winters LLP, Cary (2002, 2003); Rodrick J. Enns, Enns & Archer LLP, Winston-Salem (2004); Larry B. Sitton, Smith Moore LLP, Greensboro (2005); Everett J. Bowman, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte (2006); Douglas Wayne Kenyon, Hunton & Williams LLP, Raleigh (2007); Mark W. Merritt, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte (2008); Mark J. Horoschak, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, Charlotte (2009); Jennifer K. Van Zant, Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, Greensboro (2010); Catharine B. Arrowood, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, Raleigh (2011); Jonathan Heyl, Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP, Charlotte (2012); Noel L. Allen, Allen, Pinnix & Nichols PA, Raleigh (2013); John F. Graybeal, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, Raleigh (2014); Press Millen, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP, Raleigh (2015); W. Andrew "Andy" Copenhaver, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP, Winston-Salem (2016); Stephen Feldman, Ellis & Winters LLP, Raleigh (2017)

APPELLATE

Matthew Nis Leerberg, Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP, Raleigh; Jaye E. Bingham-Hinch, Tuggle Duggins PA, Greensboro; Christopher G. Browning Jr., Troutman Sanders LLP, Raleigh; Allegra Collins, Raleigh; Michelle D. Connell, Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, Raleigh; Alexander C. Dale, Ward and Smith PA, Wilmington; Ashleigh Parker Dunston, N.C. Department of Justice, Raleigh; Robert H. Edmunds Jr., Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP, Greensboro; Andrew H. Erteschik, Poyner Spruill LLP, Raleigh; Bonnie Keith Green, The Green Firm PLLC, Charlotte; K. Edward Greene, Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, Raleigh; Tobias S. Hampson, ? Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, Raleigh; M. Duane Jones, Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe & Garofalo LLP, Charlotte; John Korzen, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem; Jonathan McGirt, Raleigh; Joseph P. McGuire, McGuire, Wood & Bissette PA, Asheville; Michael T. Medford, Manning, Fulton & Skinner PA, Raleigh; Preston O. Odom III, James, McElroy & Diehl PA, Charlotte; Jim W. Phillips Jr., Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, Greensboro; Leslie Rawls, Leslie Rawls, Charlotte; Stephen M. Russell Jr., Mullins Duncan Harrell & Russell PLLC DBA Turning Point Litigation, Greensboro; Deborah Sandlin, Sandlin Law Firm PA, Raleigh; Matt Sawchak, N.C. Department of Justice / Solicitor General, Raleigh; Elizabeth Brooks Scherer, Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP, Raleigh; Mark Sigmon, Sigmon Law PLLC, Raleigh; Rebecca Kathleen "Becky" Watts, Collins Law Group PLLC, Monroe; John R. Wester, Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte

BANKRUPTCY

William P. Janvier, Janvier Law Firm PLLC, Raleigh; Shelley Abel, Western District of N.C./U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Charlotte; Brian R. Anderson, Nexsen Pruet PLLC, Greensboro; James B. Angell, Howard, Stallings, From, Atkins, Angell & Davis PA, Raleigh; David R. Badger, David R. Badger PA, Charlotte; June L. Basden, Carruthers & Roth PA, Greensboro; Nicholas C. Brown, Howard, Stallings, From, Atkins, Angell & Davis PA, Raleigh; Daniel C. Bruton, Bell, Davis & Pitt PA, Winston-Salem; Algernon L. Butler, Butler & Butler LLP, Wilmington; Stacy C. Cordes, Burt &. Cordes PLLC, Charlotte; John Paul Cournoyer, Northen Blue LLP, Chapel Hill; Damon Duncan, Duncan Law LLP, Greensboro, Winston-Salem; A1 Durham, Rayburn Cooper & Durham PA, Charlotte; David L. Eades, Moore & Van Allen PLLC, Charlotte; Erich M. Fabricius, Fabricius & Fabricius PLLC, Knightdale; Paul A. Fanning, Ward and Smith PA, Greenville; Brian C. Fork, Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, Raleigh; Lauren Miller, Golden, Ellis & Winters LLP, Raleigh; Adam Mark Gottsegen, Nicholls & Crampton PA, Raleigh; David G. Gray, Westall, Gray & Connolly PA, Asheville; Joseph W. Grier III, Grier Furr & Crisp PA, Charlotte; Jason L. Hendren, Hendren, Redwine & Malone PLLC, Raleigh; Andrew T. Houston, Moon Wright & Houston PLLC, Charlotte; Charles M. Ivey III, Ivey, McClellan, Gatton &. Siegmund LLP, Greensboro; Lance P. Martin, Ward and Smith PA, Asheville; Julia A. May, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick LLP, Charlotte; Robert A. Mays, Van Winkle, Buck, Wall, Starnes and Davis PA, Asheville; Jack Miller, Rayburn Cooper & Durham PA, Charlotte; Kristin Decker Ogburn, Horack, Talley, Pharr & Lowndes PA, Charlotte; Jeffrey E. Oleynik, Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, Greensboro; Cindy G. Oliver, Longleaf Law Partners, Raleigh; George Mason Oliver, Oliver & Cheek PLLC, New Bern; Walter W. "Wrennie" Pitt Jr., Bell, Davis & Pitt PA, Winston-Salem; Rebecca F. Redwine, Hendren, Redwine & Malone PLLC, Raleigh; Ashley S. Rusher, Blanco Tackabery & Matamoros PA, Winston-Salem; Tyler J. Russell, Ward and Smith PA, Raleigh; George F. Sanderson III, Ellis & Winters LLP, Raleigh; Philip Sasser, Sasser Law Firm, Cary; Travis Sasser, Sasser Law Firm, Cary; Caroline Wannamaker Sink, Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte; John H. Small, Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, Greensboro; Richard DeWitte Sparkman, Richard D. Sparkman & Associates PA, Angier; Lisa P. Sumner, Nexsen Pruet PLLC, Raleigh; Glenn Thompson, Hamilton Stephens Steele & Martin PLLC, Charlotte; Tom Waldrep, Waldrep LLP, Winston-Salem; Margaret R. Westbrook, K&L Gates LLP, Charlotte/Raleigh; James C. White, Parry Tyndall White, Chapel Hill; John Woodman, Sodoma Law PC, Charlotte

HALL OF FAME: J. Michael Booe, Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman LLP, Charlotte (2002, 2003); Gregory B. Crampton, Nicholls & Crampton PA, Raleigh (2004); Richard M. Hutson II, Hutson Hughes & Powell PA, Durham (2005); C. Richard Raybum Jr., Rayburn Cooper & Durham PA, Charlotte (2006); Terri L. Gardner, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, Raleigh (2007); John A. Northen, Northen Blue LLP, Chapel Hill (2008); Holmes P. Harden, Williams Mullen, Raleigh (2009); Christine Myatt, Nexsen Pruet PLLC, Greensboro (2010); Gerald A. "Jeb" Jeutter Jr., Gerald A. "Jeb" Jeutter Jr. Attorney at Law PA, Raleigh (2011); Kenneth M. Greene, Carnahers & Roth PA, Greensboro (2012); Trawick H. "Buzzy" Stubbs Jr., Stubbs & Perdue PA, New Bern (2013); Benjamin A. Kahn, Nexsen Pruet PLLC, Greensboro (2014); James S. "Charlie" Livermon III, Poyner Spruill LLP, Rocky Mount (2015); Richard S. Wright, Moon Wright and Houston PLLC, Charlotte (2016); Heather W. Culp, Essex Richards PA, Charlotte (2017)

BUSINESS

John Babcock, Wall Babcock LLP, Winston-Salem; Justin Agans, Spengler & Agans PLLC, Charlotte; W. Sidney Aldridge, Nicholls & Crampton PA, Raleigh; Patrick T. Apple, Medlin Law Firm PC, Greensboro; Beth Ferebee Atkins, Howard, Stallings, From, Atkins, Angell & Davis PA, New Bem; W. Alexander Audilet, Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP, Greensboro, Raleigh; June L. Basden, Carruthers & Roth PA, Greensboro; Matthew S. Black, Pinna Johnston and Burwell PA, Raleigh; Galen Boerema, Boerema Law PLLC, Raleigh; Scott Branam, Gardner Skelton PLLC, Charlotte; Patrick S. Bryant, Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte; Michael A. Burger, Adams, Howell, Sizemore & Lenfestey PA, Raleigh; Philip S. Chubb, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick LLP, Charlotte; Galen G. Craun III, Bell, Davis & Pitt PA, Winston-Salem; John M. Cross, Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, Greensboro; Fred B. Davenport Jr., Murchison, Taylor & Gibson PLLC, Wilmington; G. Stephen Diab, Murchison, Taylor & Gibson PLLC, Wilmington; Lisa J. Dixon, Womble Bond Dickinson, Raleigh; T. Greg Doucette, Law Offices of T. Greg Doucette PLLC, Durham; James R. Faucher, Brown, Faucher, Peraldo & Benson PLLC, Greensboro; Kerry A. Friedman, Patla, Straus, Robinson & Moore PA, Asheville; Gregory H. Gach, Gach & Nolen PLLC, Charlotte; James B. Gatehouse, Rayburn Cooper & Durham PA, Charlotte; Stephen P. Gennett II, Johnston, Allison & Hord PA, Charlotte; M. Heath Gilbert Jr., Baucom, Claytor, Benton, Morgan, & Wood PA, Charlotte; Garland G. Graham, Schell Bray PLLC, Greensboro; Thomas Christopher Grella, McGuire, Wood & Bissette PA, Asheville; William B. Gwyn Jr., Manning, Fulton & Skinner PA, Raleigh; Jimmie B. Hicks Jr., Sumrell, Sugg, Carmichael, Hicks & Hart PA, New Bem; Steven A. Hockfield, Erdman and Hockfield LLP, Charlotte; Lee C. Hodge, Ward and Smith PA, New Bern; Clifton W. Homesley, Homesley & Wingo Law Group PLLC, Mooresville; Nathan M. Hull, Hull & Chandler PA, Charlotte; Robert H. Hull, Nexsen Pruet PLLC, Charlotte; Gregory D. Hutchins, Roberts & Stevens PA, Asheville; Gene Jones, Morningstar Law Group, Raleigh; Jesse Jones, Fourscore Business...