12 Mar 2018

Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP announces new partners

MSI's South Carolina and Georgia law member Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP is pleased to announce that attorneys Dorothy H. Cornwell, Stephanie G. Flynn, Karen M. Kemerait and Amy Smith Klass have been elected to the firm's partnership effective 1 January 2018.

"Congratulations to these excellent lawyers at this significant milestone in their careers," said Julie Theall Earp, managing partner. "It was not until we completed the decision-making process that we realized that our incoming partners this year are all women. Given the number of talented women professionals we have in our ranks, however, this was not a surprise. We celebrate their success." Atlanta, Georgia Cornwell is a member of the firm's health care group and focuses on litigation and regulatory compliance, particularly at the intersection of the health care and health insurance industries. She is an experienced litigator, with substantial involvement in life, health and disability litigation. Cornwell works with numerous health-related entities, including hospitals, physician practices, home health agencies, employer health plans and health insurers. She also has significant experience in business litigation, including representing individuals and companies in connection with shareholder/owner litigation and disputes involving family partnerships, closely held corporations, breach of corporate bylaws and operating agreements, and breach of fiduciary duty. Her practice also includes a concentration on medical spas, and she speaks regularly at national conferences on topics related to this industry. Cornwell is a graduate of Duke University and Emory University School of Law. Greenville, South Carolina Flynn is a litigation attorney, focusing primarily in the areas of products liability, toxic and mass torts, personal injury, and transportation litigation in both federal and state courts. She also has extensive experience in appellate courts. She represents a broad range of clients in products liability, including manufacturers, suppliers and retailers of asbestos-containing products, automotive equipment and products, industrial equipment, latex products, pharmaceuticals and recreational products. Among her many honors, Flynn has been selected to Best Lawyers in America® (2013-2018) and was a graduate of Leadership Greenville Class 37. Flynn received her bachelor's degree from College of Charleston and her law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. Raleigh, North Carolina Kemerait focuses her practice in the areas of utilities, zoning and land use, environmental, telecommunications, and administrative law. She represents renewable energy companies, solar developer industry groups, private and governmental water and wastewater clients on a variety of issues, and her work in land use matters, environmental matters, and telecommunications spans throughout North Carolina. In addition, Kemerait is a regular contributor to Elements for Growth, a blog providing news, information, and resources about infrastructure and economic development in the Southeast. She is the Vice Chair of the Board of Adjustment for the City of Raleigh, is a Board member of the NC League of Conservation Voters, and the former Vice Chair for WakeUP Wake County. She is a graduate of Davidson College and Wake Forest University School of Law. Greensboro, North Carolina Klass has been an attorney with the firm for over 30 years, most recently as "of counsel." She assists clients in planning, drafting and executing comprehensive estate plans, including estate tax, gift tax and charitable gift planning and special needs trust planning. She also assists fiduciaries, such as executors and trustees, on matters involving estate and trust administration. Klass is a member of the estate planning and fiduciary law section of the North Carolina Bar Association. She has been selected to Best Lawyers in America® (2017, 2018) for Trusts and Estates Law, is a past member of the Greensboro Bar Association Board of Directors and Foundation Board and a past officer and board member of the Greensboro Estate Planning Council. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina School of Law.

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