NC-CAN - Key Persons

Ashley-Nicole Russell, Esq. is an award-winning family law attorney, author, and speaker who is changing the way divorce is perceived around the world. She is widely-known as a dedicated, passionate, and trustworthy attorney with integrity. She is committed to protecting her clients while understanding the needs of their families. As a child of divorce and divorcee, she brings a unique, relatable, and personal understanding to AN|R Law Offices and the communities it serves as the first collaborative law firm in Greenville, North Carolina. When her parents divorced, she faced years of hardship and adversity due to the impact of traditional litigation and the lack of shared parenting laws. This experience inspired her to pursue law and find a better way for families to divorce. Ashley-Nicole graduated Magna Cum Laude from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. She went on to attend North Carolina Central University School of Law where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and earned a Juris Doctor and a Certificate in Dispute Resolution from the Dispute Resolution Institute. Ashley-Nicole trained and obtained membership with the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and co-founded the North Carolina Collaborative Attorney Network. With more than a decade of experience in collaborative law, Ashley-Nicole knows first-hand how this model benefits families during separation and divorce. This method, which Ashley-Nicole used in her own divorce, allows the couple to move forward peacefully with understanding and respect. Her North Carolina law practice is an award-winning firm with locations in Greenville, Raleigh, and Beaufort. She is the author of The Cure for Divorce Culture and the host of the Divorce, Healthy! podcast. She is an advisor for co-parenting app Fayr and is a member of the national board of directors for the National Parents Organization. She also serves as the Vice President for the Carteret County Bar Association. As an expert in divorce culture, Ashley-Nicole has appeared on various multi-media platforms to discuss collaborative law, conflict resolution in the workplace, and the future of divorce in America. Ashley-Nicole has been featured in Forbes, The Washington Post, and ABC, NBC, and CBS news affiliates. She actively shares her mission nationwide by speaking at events, conferences, and trainings focused on family law, human resources, and mediation. She is committed to sharing information to help families navigate the emotional and legal aspects of separation and divorce. With wide-ranging experience in the legal industry throughout North Carolina, she co-founded and co-owns two additional law firms with varying specialties. McLawhorn & Russell, PLLC, with locations in Raleigh, Greenville, and Beaufort focuses in employment law, social security disability law, family law, and civil litigation. Michael & Russell, PLLC, headquartered in Wilmington, focuses on adoption law and collaborative family law. Ashley-Nicole is honored to be recognized with the following achievements: Spark Award Finalist by Better Business Bureau of Eastern North Carolina, 2021 Super Lawyer Rising Star, 2019-2021 Leader in the Law by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, 2020 Certified Collaborative Law Practice by the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, 2020 Certified Practice by the North Carolina Collaborative Attorney Network, 2020 Super Lawyers, Top Rated Family Law Attorney, 2019 Business North Carolina Legal Elite, 2019 Greenville-Pitt County Small Business Leader of the Year, 2017 Rated one of the 10 Best Female Attorneys in Client Satisfaction by The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys, 2016

Irene King is an experienced Collaborative Divorce lawyer, North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Family Law and North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission Certified Family Financial Mediator. As a divorce lawyer and as a daughter embroiled in her parents' divorce, Irene has endured the devastating and traumatic fallout of a traditional litigated divorce where people think they are seeking fairness, justice and to have their story heard and validated in a courtroom. What people do not recognize when they hire a traditional divorce lawyer is that they are signing up for a process that uses 18th century crime and punishment tactics to engage in a public battle. The cost is that children, families and communities suffer in a system that encourages and perpetuates conflict. In 2015, after litigating for over a decade, Irene stopped going to court completely and opened the doors to King Collaborative Family Law, where she thoughtfully represents clients in a non-adversarial way. Irene has successfully concluded numerous Collaborative matters and believes there are so many benefits of a Collaborative Divorce that one of Irene's goals is to ensure that one day Collaborative will be the first choice for families in transition and adversarial litigation will be the last resort. Irene is a past President and current Executive Board member of the Charlotte Collaborative Divorce Professionals and succeeded in her passionate mission to expand the membership during her six years at the helm of the organization. She has been named "Legal Elite" in Family Law by Business North Carolina, a North Carolina "Super Lawyer" in Family Law, and has received other accolades for her work as a family lawyer. She is an active member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, NC Collaborative Attorney Network, My Collaborative Team, NC Civil Collaborative Law Association, Association of Family Conciliation Courts, Global Collaborative Law Council, NC Association of Women Attorneys, and speaks to law student classes, professional groups, and Collaborative practice groups around the state about Collaborative Divorce.

In 2006, I started my career in family law litigation. While I was able to advise clients and use the litigation system to get them through difficult times in their lives, I found I also wanted to help them transition out of those difficult times with a workable plan, which the litigation system didn't usually […]

If you are having to consider divorce, for whatever reason, I think you are wise to be considering the collaborative process. For the last fifteen years I've dedicated my legal practice to this legal option for divorcing, because I've become absolutely convinced that for most couples, it's a less destructive and less expensive approach to […]

As an attorney, I enjoy helping families resolve their disputes peacefully. I love how the collaborative process enables the professionals involved in a case to focus on the needs and interests of the family members, often achieving an amazing outcome that could never happen in court. I have been practicing family law exclusively for the […]

Job Titles:

• Board Certified Family Law Specialist