Winston-Salem North Carolina Civil Litigation and Defense Lawyers - Bennett & Guthrie, PLLC Attorneys at Law in NC

FIRM NEWS

Three Bennett & Guthrie attorneys were selected for inclusion in 2012 North Carolina Super Lawyers®:
- Richard Bennett, Super Lawyers, Personal Injury Defense: Medical Malpractice
- Roberta King Latham, Rising Stars, Civil Litigation Defense
- Joshua H. Bennett, Rising Stars, Personal Injury Defense: Medical Malpractice

Super Lawyers magazine recognizes the top attorneys in each state, as chosen by their peers and through independent research. Rising Stars names the state's top up-and-coming attorneys.

In 2011, Richard V. Bennett was recognized by Martindale-Hubbell for achieving an AV rating, the highest rating available from Martindale-Hubbell, for 25 consecutive years.
Roberta King Latham was recognized by Business North Carolina Magazine as part of the Legal Elite Young Guns. The 2012 Legal Elite Young Guns are North Carolina's best lawyers under 40 years of age as identified by their peers.
Bennett & Guthrie was recognized by U.S. News & World Report in America's Best Law Firms for 2010 and 2011 in medical malpractice defense and personal injury litigation.
Joshua Bennett was recently elected Chair of the Ethics and Grievance Committee of the 21st Judicial District Bar.
Roberta King Latham was a moderator at the North Carolina Bar Association's New Admittee Professionalism Program, a mandatory Continuing Legal Education program for newly admitted North Carolina attorneys, on September 22, 2011, at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem. More information can be found here.
On October 20, 2011, Roberta King Latham repeated her 2-hour continuing education program for the Congregational Nurse and Health Ministry Program of The Shepherd's Center of Greater Winston-Salem entitled, "Legal Aspects to the Faith Community Basic Preparation Course." She originally made this presentation on October 21, 2010. More information about the Congregational Nurse and Health Ministry Program can be found here.
Roberta King Latham was interviewed by Business Leader Radio, “The Business Leader Triad Report” on August 16, 2011. Click here for the interview.
In April of 2011, the North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed an entry of summary judgment obtained by Rod Guthrie and Kim Shipley, in favor of an Asheville real estate broker and her former agency where buyers of a $1.3 million property alleged misrepresentation, fraud and deceptive trade practices related to the age and condition of the property. The Court of Appeals' decision in that matter can be found here.
Roberta King Latham was selected as a 2010 Business Leader Women Extraordinaire honoree.
Roberta King Latham finished her term as Chair of the North Carolina Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division at the YLD Annual Meeting in June 2011 in Asheville. She was the 59th chair of the YLD and the fifth attorney from Winston-Salem to serve as leader.
Roberta King Latham was a speaker at WFU Baptist School of Medicine's, "Medicine and Law 101" course on March 5, 2011. She originally served as a speaker at that course on May 30, 2009.
In late 2010, after eight years of litigation and two trips to the appellate courts, the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court affirmed an entry of summary judgment in favor of a healthcare provider client which had been obtained by Richard Bennett and Joshua Bennett.
Kim Shipley co-chaired the Children's Museum of Winston-Salem's Storybook Gala, the largest fundraiser for the museum on October 1, 2010.
As a member of the Piedmont Triad Federalist Society steering committee, Josh Bennett along with other local attorneys helped organize a judicial forum for candidates currently running for seats on North Carolina's Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. The event took place September 7, 2010 at the Thomas K. Hearn Ballroom in Winston-Salem with eight candidates in five different races in attendance. Veteran news reporter Bob Buckley of WGHP Fox8 served as moderator for the forum. The forum received extensive media coverage, including the High Point Enterprise, North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, WBT radio in Charlotte and News 14 Carolinas. The Winston-Salem event and a similar one two weeks later in Raleigh also sponsored by the Federalist Society were the only two judicial forums open to the public this election season.
Richard Bennett and Kim Shipley successfully defended a midwife at trial in Guilford County in a lawsuit alleging that the remains of a non-viable fetus were misplaced following delivery. The jury found in favor of the midwife.
The Court of Appeals affirmed a jury verdict in favor of Forsyth Medical Center and one of its nurses in which the jury found that the plaintiff was not injured because of the Defendants' negligence. Richard Bennett and Joshua Bennett successfully represented the hospital and nurse. Yorke v. Novant Health, Inc., ___ N.C.App. ___, --- S.E.2d (2008).
On July 1, 2008, Rodney A. Guthrie became a North Carolina Certified Mediator and has established an active mediation practice.
Defense Verdict - A patient and her husband sued an Obstetrician/Gynecologist ("OB/GYN")'s estate, and his practice alleging that he was negligent in failing to ensure that the entire placenta was removed following the birth of the patient's child. The plaintiffs further alleged that, by failing to ensure the removal of the entire placenta, the tissues that remained caused the patient to develop an infection, which in turn caused her bleeding and necessitated a hysterectomy. Richard Bennett and Kimberly Shipley successfully defended both defendants as the Guilford County jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendants.
Joshua H. Bennett received the Star of the Quarter Award from the North Carolina Bar Association Young Lawyers Division ("NCBA YLD") for his work in spearheading the very successful state-wide Ask a Lawyer Day on April 4, 2008, highlighting the hard work that went into making this event a success. Only two of these awards were given for the YLD's final quarter.
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Roberta King Latham received the 2007-2008 Charles F. Blanchard Outstanding Young Lawyer Award from the NCBA YLD.
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The Hinson v. Jarvis decision was selected as one of the "50 Most Important Opinions" of 2008 by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly.
The Court of Appeals affirmed a grant of directed verdict and jury verdict in the amount of $810,647.39 in favor of Trust beneficiaries who brought claims against former Trustee alleging breach of fiduciary duty and constructive fraud, seeking both compensatory and punitive damages. The Court of Appeals also affirmed the Trial Court's award of costs in the amount of $388,664.54, plus pre-judgment interest. Richard Bennett and Roberta King Latham successfully represented one of the Trust beneficiaries. Babb v. Graham, ____ N.C.App. ___, 660 S.E.2d 626 (2008).
The Court of Appeals affirmed the Trial Court's grant of summary judgment in favor of wife-passenger as to claims of negligence, negligence based upon aiding and abetting and negligence based upon joint enterprise where the husband-driver was operating his pickup truck at the time of the subject accident and the wife, who never possessed a drivers license, was in no way responsible for the care, control, maintenance, or operation of the pickup owned by her husband. Rodney Guthrie and Roberta King Latham successfully defended the wife-passenger. Hinson v. Jarvis, 190 N.C. App. 607, 660 S.E. 201 604 (2008).
The Court of Appeals affirmed a jury verdict in favor of Forsyth Medical Center in which the jury found that the nursing staff of Forsyth Medical Center provided appropriate care to the plaintiff's decedent. Richard Bennett and Roberta King Latham successfully represented the hospital. Clayborn v. Novant Health, Inc., ___ N.C.App. ___, 656 S.E.2d 15 (2008).