BROUGH LAW FIRM - Key Persons

Al Benshoff graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources. He briefly worked as a contractor for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Outdoor Recreation (now the National Park Service) before working in environmental compliance for National Steel Corp. He later received a Master's Degree in Regional Planning from the University of Michigan. For many years, he worked as a planner, first for the Beaufort County, S.C. Planning Commission, and then for the City of Cary, N.C. where he oversaw the adoption of the first Unified Development Ordinance, the construction of the first five miles of greenway, and several comprehensive plans. While working in Cary, he attended the evening law program at N.C. Central University School of Law, in Durham, NC. After receiving his law degree, Mr. Benshoff became the City Attorney for Lumberton, N.C. and then served as the City Attorney for Concord, N.C. Some of his accomplishments in Concord include litigating a major zoning challenge to the new Cabarrus County jail, re-writing the Concord Development Ordinance, obtaining and defending Inter-Basin Transfer Permits from the Yadkin and Catawba Rivers to Concord and Kannapolis, assisting with the redevelopment of "Brownfield" sites, and organizing community development and the construction of the joint Albemarle-Concord- Kannapolis water pipeline. Mr. Benshoff provides general legal counsel to the Village of Clemmons and the Towns of Gibson, Mocksville, Oakboro, Sedalia, and Stanfield. He has worked with other local government clients, including the Towns of Aberdeen, Carthage, Carrboro, Creedmoor, Selma, Holly Springs, Pinebluff, Robbins, the Lumberton Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Cities of Kannapolis and Roxboro, and the Village of Pinehurst. He practices in the areas of real estate development, code enforcement, contracts, economic development, annexation, land use and zoning, eminent domain, housing authorities, personnel, and community development, including U.S. Housing and Urban Development programs. Mr. Benshoff is licensed in the North Carolina state courts and U.S. District Courts of the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina, as well as the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is an active member of the North Carolina Bar Association, where he has served on the Section Councils of both the Government & Public Sector Section and the Zoning, Planning and Land Use Law Section. Mr. Benshoff recently received the Grainger Barrett Award for Excellence from the Government & Public Sector Section. Also, from 2017 to 2019 Mr. Benshoff served on the Board of Directors of the NC Association of Municipal Attorneys. In the community, he serves as a director of a nonprofit corporation providing housing to low income seniors in Cabarrus County, the Methodist Episcopal Senior Housing, Inc.

Brady Herman received his B.A. degree from Elon University and his J.D. degree from Campbell University School of Law. While in law school, he concentrated his studies in litigation. He was also a named contributor to Navigating the First Year of Law School, a nationally-distributed book published by Carolina Academic Press. Mr. Herman currently serves as the Town Attorney for Carthage and Vass and the City Attorney for Southport. He also provides outside counsel to the City of Sanford Planning Board. His practice is devoted to assisting private clients obtain zoning and land use entitlements and advising local government clients in a wide range of areas, including zoning and planning matters, code enforcement, quasi-judicial functions, ordinance drafting and interpretation, police and fire functions, storm water and other public-utility matters, employment matters, and contract and other transactional matters for local governments. Mr. Herman also provides legal research and litigation representation and support for cases litigated by the firm. This includes counsel and representation in negotiation and mediation, administrative matters, quasi-judicial proceedings, trial proceedings, and appellate cases brought on behalf of the local governments represented by the firm in the North Carolina and federal courts. Brady is a contributing author to the regular updates for North Carolina Civil Trial Practice-With Application of the N.C. Rules of Evidence-which is North Carolina's leading trial-practice treatise published by Juris Publishing Company. He is admitted to practice in all North Carolina courts.

While in law school, Mr. Hornik worked as a legal writing consultant and instructor, assisting and advising students on their legal writing assignments. He also worked as an intern at the school's Community and Economic Development Clinic, providing pro bono legal services to non-profit and community and economic development organizations in the Charlotte area and in the surrounding communities. He also was a member of the World Affairs Council of Charlotte, participating in and attending a lecture series in the greater Charlotte area through both the law school and The Magellan Society. Mr. Hornik currently serves as the City Attorney for Creedmoor and the Town Attorney for Pinebluff. He also regularly provides outside counsel to the Town of Chapel Hill Historic District Commission, the Town of Cary Board of Adjustment, and the City of Sanford Board of Adjustment and Historic Preservation Commission. His experience includes local government and municipal land use matters, as well as non-profit and community economic development work. Mr. Hornik practices with the firm by counseling the firm's numerous local government clients in land-use, regulatory, and employment matters, including all operational and transactional aspects of those local governments. In addition, he provides integral legal research, and litigation representation and support for cases litigated by the firm on behalf of local governments. This includes counsel and representation in administrative matters, quasi-judicial proceedings, trial proceedings, and appellate cases brought on behalf of the local governments represented by the firm in the NC Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, the federal district courts of North Carolina, and the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Lydia E. Lavelle graduated with a B.A. from St. Andrews College and received a master's degree in Recreation Resources from North Carolina State University. She received her law degree from North Carolina Central University (NCCU) School of Law, after which she served as a law clerk for the Honorable Clifton E. Johnson on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. In 2009, Ms. Lavelle joined the full-time faculty at NCCU Law School where she obtained the status of full professor. She regularly taught State and Local Governmental Law, among other subjects. She has published numerous articles and has co-authored two books. She has also served as a lecturer or panelist in over sixty workshops, events, and Continuing Legal Education programs on topics such as local government authority, legislative issues, and leadership. Ms. Lavelle has served in public office and as a member or chair of numerous organizations, including the Executive Committee of the N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Orange County Solid Waste Advisory Group, the Board of Directors of the Orange County Visitor's Bureau, and the Board of Directors of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce. Her memberships in legal organizations include the 18th Judicial District Bar, the North Carolina Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys (where she served as past President). Ms. Lavelle's practice concentration is in state and local government law, including representation of local government councils and boards.

Mr. Hornik's practice emphasizes municipal law, zoning and land use law, litigation, and ordinance drafting. He serves as general counsel to the Towns of Hillsborough, Hoffman, Stem, and Summerfield, the City of Boiling Spring Lakes, and Foxfire Village. In addition, Mr. Hornik supports others in the firm in their capacities as counsel for the Firm's other municipal clients. He has represented and advised municipalities in New York and North Carolina on issues including local finance, employment, annexation, zoning, planning and environmental law, and private developers in administrative and judicial proceedings at the State and Federal levels. Mr. Hornik has extensive litigation experience in municipal, land use, and annexation matters in trial and appellate courts, including the North Carolina Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. He has also counseled clients in various commercial real estate transactions, including site acquisition, leasing and financing of multi-million-dollar commercial, retail and office ventures, and large scale residential subdivisions. Mr. Hornik's practice has included representation of several regional and national wireless telecommunication providers in the site acquisition and permitting processes for wireless telecommunications facilities, including State and Federal court actions brought under the Telecommunications Act. Mr. Hornik is admitted to practice not only in in North Carolina and New York, but also in the federal courts in the Northern and Western Districts of New York, in the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina, in the United States Circuit Court for the Fourth Circuit, and in the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the North Carolina, New York and American Bar Associations. Mr. Hornik is active in the North Carolina Bar Association's Zoning, Planning, and Land Use Section, having served as a member of the Section's first Section Council. He served two terms as Chairman of the Section's Continuing Legal Education Committee, and has presented continuing legal education programs for municipal attorneys and newly admitted attorneys on numerous occasions.

Job Titles:

• Honorary Member of the NC Municipal Attorneys Association

Mr. Hankins provides general legal counsel to Person County and the Town of Godwin. He has also taught as a visiting professor in graduate public policy and management programs at UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State, and Duke University, in the areas of state and local government, tax policy and public finance, public law and ethics, and intergovernmental relations. He also has assisted cities, counties, public risk pools, state municipal leagues, and county associations with executive searches and other management needs, as a member of a nationwide public sector consulting firm. Mr. Hankins served as Executive Director of the North Carolina League of Municipalities, the statewide municipal association, and previously as the League's General Counsel and chief state legislative lobbyist. He has represented municipalities and other public and private sector entities and associations in state and federal trial and appellate courts and before congressional committees, as a member of the League staff and in private law practice. He is licensed to practice law in North Carolina and is admitted to practice before the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina and the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He is a former member of the National League of Cities Board of Directors; the NLC Mutual Insurance Company Board of Directors and Executive Committee (reinsurance company); the NCLM Risk Management Services Board of Trustees; the UNC School of Government Foundation Board of Directors; and the Wake County Parks and Recreation Commission. He assisted with the transition of North Carolina Governor-Elect Roy Cooper, leading the assessment team that evaluated the Governor's Office, Department of Administration and Office of State Human Resources. Mr. Hankins serves as Chair of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority Board, as an appointee of the Wake County Board of Commissioners. Mr. Hankins is a lifetime honorary member of the NC Municipal Attorneys Association, the NC City-County Management Association, and the NC League of Municipalities, and he received the Grainger Barrett Award for Excellence from the NC Bar Association Government and Public Sector Section. He is a member of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, bestowed by Governor Pat McCrory for exemplary service to the State of North Carolina.

Mr. Morphis' primary practice areas include municipal, zoning, land use, employment, code enforcement, environmental, and coastal area management law. He provides general legal counsel for the City of Hamlet; the Towns of Aberdeen and Robbins; and the Village of Whispering Pines. He also serves as outside counsel to the Chatham County Board of Adjustment, and regularly represents citizen groups and other private clients in land-use litigation throughout North Carolina. Mr. Morphis has experience at all stages of litigation, from quasi-judicial hearings before local boards to trial court work and appellate advocacy before the North Carolina Court of Appeals and North Carolina Supreme Court. Mr. Morphis also regularly advises local government clients on code enforcement and board governance issues. Early in his career, Mr. Morphis served as a clerk with the Charlotte City Attorney's Office and as an extern for the Honorable Judge Linda McGee of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Mr. Morphis' Masters-Degree Project compared land trusts and resource conservation efforts in North Carolina with forest conservation in India, and he was a recipient of a U.S. Department of Education Foreign Language Area Studies scholarship for the study of Hindi and Urdu. Mr. Morphis also received, at UNC-CH Law School, the Gressman-Pollitt Award for Oral Advocacy, the Best Overall award in the UNC Environmental Negotiation Competition, and recognition as a finalist in the Merhige National Environmental Negotiation Competition. Mr. Morphis is admitted to practice in the State courts in North Carolina and in the United States District Court, Middle District of North Carolina. He currently serves on the Board of the North Carolina Association of Municipal Attorneys and has previously served as the Chair of the North Carolina Bar Association's Zoning, Planning and Land Use Section Council and as the Co-Editor of the North Carolina Bar Association's Land Use Law Quarterly. He also previously served on the Triangle Land Conservancy's Land Protection Committee and as the Chairman of the Advisory Committee to the City of Durham's Community and Family Life Center at Lyon Park.