NEAVES AND GILLESPIE - Key Persons

James Davis Gillespie was born in Elkin, North Carolina, and is a graduate of Starmount High School and of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received his Juris Doctorate from The Cumberland School of Law of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, graduating magna cum laude in 1980. During his time in law school, he served as an associate editor of the Cumberland Law Review, wrote for the American Journal of Trial Advocacy and was inducted into Curia Honoris, an academic honor society. After passing the North Carolina Bar Examination in 1980, James began his private law practice with Charles M. Neaves, Sr., a former District Attorney and Superior Court Judge, and practiced in various state and federal courts throughout North Carolina. James is a member of the North Carolina State Bar, the North Carolina Bar Association, the Surry County Bar Association and the 23rd District Bar Association. James is highly active in and dedicated to the community he serves. He was a member of the town council for Jonesville, NC for two years, and served as mayor for eight years. He has served on numerous boards and is a past chairman of the Northwest Piedmont Council of Governments in Winston Salem and the Surry-Yadkin Mental Health Authority. James also received the honor of being designated as a Top Ten Family Law Attorney by the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys. James and Regina met in 1994 and married in 1998. He has one son, John, and two stepchildren, Neil and Linda. James and Regina reside in Jonesville, North Carolina.

Kayla Campbell was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and grew up in the small, rural, and beautiful town of Boonville, North Carolina, located in Yadkin County. Kayla considered the practice of law as her chosen career path after hearing stories of her great-grandfather, Attorney F.D.B. Harding, who was also a former member of the North Carolina State Senate (1965-66) and North Carolina State House of Representatives (1949-50, 1961-64). It was then that she wanted to spend her life helping others working in the legal field by using problem-solving strategies to resolve legal issues, assist others in understanding the law, and competently litigate in legal proceedings for clients. Kayla's academic career included attending Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC, graduating Magna Cum Laude with High Honors majoring in Spanish. She improved her skills in second language acquisition as well as in interpreting and translating. Kayla then went on to obtain her Master's degree through the Interpreting and Translation Studies Program at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. She subsequently attended Elon University School of Law and graduated with her Juris Doctor degree in December 2017. There, she served on the committee SALSA (Spanish and Latino Law Student Association) to assist in helping spread awareness of legal issues within the Hispanic community and work to increase Hispanic representation in the legal field. Kayla is fluent in Spanish and is licensed to practice law in both the District of Columbia and North Carolina. She is also a member of the North Carolina Bar, the North Carolina Bar Association, and District of Columbia Bar. In her free time, Kayla enjoys spending time with her family and playing music/signing together, traveling, and teaching Adventure Club, a wonderful youth group at her local church, North Oak Ridge Baptist Church in Boonville, North Carolina.

Job Titles:

• Member of the North Carolina State Bar

Regina R. Gillespie was born near Boston, Massachusetts in 1958 and was raised the majority of her younger years in South Florida. During her early career, she gained valuable experience through working as a paralegal, a mortgage banker, and the manager of a title insurance company. Regina was 33 years old entering her first year at Wake Forest School of Law. Highlights of her law school accomplishments include winning the prestigious George K. Walker Moot Court Competition, competing in Chicago and New York Moot Court competitions, and membership in The Order of Barristers. Regina graduated from Wake Law in 1993 as a single mother with two children, Neil and Linda. Regina began her career in 1993 working for Attorney Sarah S. Stevens, in Mount Airy, North Carolina. In January of 1995, she opened her own offer in Mount Airy. In 1998 Regina married Attorney James D. Gillespie and moved her office to Dobson, North Carolina to be closer to her new home and her new blended family. Regina is a member of the North Carolina State Bar, the North Carolina Bar Association, the Twenty-Third District Bar Association, past President of the Surry County Bar Association, former Secretary/Treasurer of the Twenty-Third District Bar Association, previously sat on the Board of Directors of the Yadkin Valley United Fund and Board of Directors of the Children's Center of Northwest North Carolina, a member of The National Association of Counsel for Children, and is a member of Elkin Presbyterian Church. Regina now resides with her husband James in Jonesville, North Carolina.

Job Titles:

• Paralegal
• Resident of Wilkes County

Stacey E. Marker is a resident of Wilkes County and a single mother of three children, Zane, Alexis and Sydney. Alexis and Sydney are both students in Wilkes County. Zane has chosen to serve his country and will begin his training as an Army Medic in August. As a second career Stacey chose to attend the Paralegal program at Surry Community College. She began working with Neaves and Gillespie as an intern and the Firm was fortunate enough that, upon her graduation, she chose employment in our Dobson office. As a North Carolina Certified Paralegal, Stacey adds an important dimension of service to our clients.