Brent Adams & Associates

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Brent Adams & Associates

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WALK-INS WELCOME

IN AN ERA WHEN LEGAL ADVICE IS READILY AVAILABLE ONLINE, PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER BRENT ADAMS MAKES MEETING WITH WALK-IN CLIENTS AN IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT HIS 30 EMPLOYEES DO AT BRENT ADAMS & ASSOCIATES OFFICES IN RALEIGH, DUNN AND FAYETTEVILLE.

By Bob Friedman

Gregory Posch, Sheila Chavis, Brent Adams, Vance Jennings, Margo Thaggard-O’Tuel and Ava B. Lynch

“I guess I need the business,” laughed Ad-ams. “If somebody pays you a compliment by coming to your office, even if it’s some-thing you can’t handle or don’t want to han-dle, I think it’s good to at least sit down and talk with them briefly. I’m a sucker for a bad story, I guess. I may recommend that they see another lawyer or I will suggest that it’s something they can handle themselves.”

To help clients and potential clients, Ad-ams has authored “The Truth About Medi-cal Malpractice Claims,” “How to Get Top Dollars For Your Workers’ Compensation Claim,” and “Ten Costly Mistakes That Can Wreck Your North Carolina Case.”

“The books are very helpful to clients because they explain the law and what to expect during a case or if they don’t have a case,” said Adams. The books are offered for free at his offices.

Brent Adams & Associates handles a bevy of personal injury cases as well as workers’ compensation and social security disability cases. Partners Sheila Chavis and Vance Jennings have worked for Adams for over a decade. Chavis handles mostly workers; compensation cases and Jennings does almost exclusively social security dis-ability and ERISA disability.

Sitting together with Adams, Jennings and Chavis in one of their functional, but not opulent conference rooms, you get the sense of warmth and intimacy you’d expect from small-town lawyers.

“Brent has taught me the personal touch,” said Jennings. “In our Dunn office, people walk in all the time, whether they have an appointment or not. Our clients feel like when they walk-in, they’ll get the attention of our staff. We make them comfortable, of-fer them a Coke or water and put a name with a face.”

“From watching Brent, I’ve learned to listen to what the clients want and not be afraid to say, ‘Yes, I’ll do it for you, even if I don’t think you can get the exact result that they want,’ sometimes they want to hear someone say, ‘I’ll fight for you,’” said Chavis.

Robert MorganAdams was born and raised in Dunn,

North Carolina, in Harnett County. His father, Hoover Adams, owned the local newspaper, The Daily Record.

Growing up, Adams said the late Sena-tor Robert Morgan was one of his role models. Morgan was from nearby Lill-ington. Adams got to know him through his father’s newspaper. “Robert Morgan was an inspiration to me. He’s a big part of why I wanted to become a lawyer. The thing about Robert is, he grew up in a rural area. He did not have wealth or family contacts. He worked hard and he had a touch for the common man.”

Morgan had a long career as a North Carolina State Senator and led the way in establishing the state’s consumer pro-tection law. While Morgan was serving in the U.S. Senate from 1975 to 1981, Adams assisted him with the Senate Eth-ics committee investigation of Georgia Democratic Senator Herman Talmadge who was censured by the Senate for “improper financial conduct” involving phony expenses.

“Morgan was a very dogged and deter-mined individual even in the face of over-whelming odds. He was not afraid. He would take on someone even if the odds were against him. I learned from him per-severance and the willingness to take on a challenge even in the face of the odds be-ing stacked against you.”

Reputation, Integrity and Veracity

“I tell the young lawyers who work for me to treat everyone well…especially the opposing counsel and their clients,” said Adams. “Your reputation, integrity and veracity are all you have. It takes a

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Brent Adams

If somebody pays youa compliment by com-

ing to your office, even if it’s something you can’t handle or

don’t want to handle, I think it’s good to

at least sit down and talk with them briefly.

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long time to build it up and a short time to ruin it. It’s very important that you are someone people can rely upon. That they can rely on your word. You fight hard, you don’t pull any punches but you don’t do anything underhanded. Our values at the firm are the golden rule, treat people the way you would like to be treated.”

“If the rules say something or a statute says something, it amazes me how much gratitude I get from a client when they’re making an argument that may not even be very rational, but I say, ‘You know what, I’ll

put that to the adjustor and see what we can do,’” said Chavis.

“Clients are over the moon when judges tell them they are going to approve their case,” said Jennings. “It’s very rewarding when I am able to get these folks not only Social Security disability benefits they have paid into the system but also health insurance and that really changes the qual-ity of their life. They are able to live a lot longer.”

Take Me to the RiverAdams and his wife, Susan, have three chil-

dren, Clay, a real estate agent; Jacob, who works

at the firm; and Marilyn, who rehabs houses. They also have three grandchildren. Other than spending time with family and working, Adams professes to having no hobbies.

But during our photo shoot at a local shop-ping center, Adams stopped us to listen to the song playing on the PA. “That’s Al Green,” said Adams.

Turns out, Adams is a big fan of blues and R&B. He recently attended a “Take Me to the River” musical revue.

He grew up listening to WLAC-AM, the 50,000-watt, clear-channel radio station in

Sheila Chavis

CLIENT CHAMPION By Bob Friedman

“A potential workers’ compensation cli-ent from Gastonia said he wanted someone to be a client champion,” recalled personal injury attorney Sheila Chavis, a partner at Brent Adams and Associates. “He’s had a claim open since 2007 and never had a law-yer. He said he was looking for someone to fight for him, someone to be one-on-one with him.” He found it in Chavis, who has been leading the workers’ compensation section at Brent Adams & Associates for over 12 years.

Chavis was born in Queens, New York, and raised in rural Allendale, South Caro-lina. “My dad’s attorney there was Woody Gooding. I’ve always had this wonderful image of Woody Gooding in my mind. He had an office in a really nice building up-town. I get that same small-town feeling, when I work in our Dunn office,” said Cha-vis who rotates between the firm’s Raleigh, Dunn and Fayetteville offices.

In high school, Chavis was on a forensic style debate team. “My partner and I were an All-State lauded team during our junior and senior years. I found more interest and success with the topics that were more civil in nature.”

Chavis earned her undergraduate de-gree in public policy from Duke Univer-sity and a master’s degree in public pol-

icy from Duke’s Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. She worked for the state of North Carolina as a policy analyst in performance management and budget-ing. During the day she worked for the government and in the evenings attend-ed North Carolina Central University School of Law where she earned her Juris Doctor.

Chavis’s husband, Kevin, is a certified saddle fitter, trainer, and avid equestrian. The couple has three kids, Kyle, 21, Mekhi, 13, and Logan, 11.

Chavis is a member of the Western Wake Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Inc., which is active in a wide variety of community events, from health fairs to blood drives to candidate’s forums. “I en-joy the camaraderie and sisterly feeling of doing good things for our community with like-minded people.”

“When I was a young lawyer, I thought I needed to be tough and play hardball,” said Chavis. “I learned very early on that I am most successful when my strategy, ar-guments, and actions come from a place that is truly me. I can be kind, warm, and friendly and still be a good lawyer. Then when I feel the situation merits it, I can be tough-as-nails, stubborn, and play hardball with the best of them.”

It’s very rewarding when I am able to get these folks not only Social Security disability benefits they have paid into the system but also health

insurance and that really changes the quality of their life.

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Our legal system, with all of its faults, is still the best system in the world.

Nashville that bounced in on radios across the country at night. It introduced him to gospel music, like the Mighty Clouds of Joy and blues artists like Little Willie John, Muddy Waters, Elmore James and How-lin’ Wolf. But by far his favorite was James Brown, who Adams saw numerous times in Raleigh and Durham.

“He was the most amazing performer I ever saw … and I saw Sammy Davis Jr. and Tom Jones. James Brown far and away sur-

passed them in showmanship and excite-ment,” said Adams. “I always regretted not seeing him at the Apollo Theatre.”

Buying a Promise“The thing that amazes me about the

civil justice system is that anyone from anywhere  – a factory worker from Har-nett County, a teacher from Dunn – can go down to the court and file a complaint if they think they have been wronged.

Vance Jennings

SPEAK UP AND JUDGE FAIRLY

By Bob Friedman

“A Bible verse, Proverbs 31: 8,9, framed in my office reads, ‘Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of the destitute. Speak up and judge fairly, defend the rights of the poor and needy.’” said Vance Jennings, senior managing at-torney, Brent Adams & Associates.

Jennings primarily handles disability claims before the Social Security Admin-istration and long and short-term ERISA and private disability claims. He is a board-certified specialist in social security dis-ability law. Jennings is a past chair of the disability advocacy section for the NC Ad-vocates for Justice and serves on the NC State Bar specialization committee for So-cial Security disability law.

“I chose this area of law because this is the area that I can have the most impact on people’s lives. The work I do helps my clients keep their homes, obtain health in-surance, get medical treatment and medi-cations, as well as helping them feed their families.”

Vance’s father, Ed Jennings, was an at-torney in Winston-Salem. “My dad was my mentor and role model. He handled all kinds of cases. I grew up going to work with him, observing him, and going to all the NC Academy of Trial Lawyer conven-tions. I would hear the stories and see the good that he and other plaintiffs’ attorneys were doing for people. It was very inspir-ing,” said Jennings.

Jennings has a Bachelor of Science in communications and in political science

from Wake Forest University. He earned his Juris Doctor from Campbell Law School. Jennings also earned his master’s degree in trust and wealth management from Campbell’s Business School.

“The disability process is a long and arduous process,” explained Jennings. “People who are sick, injured, in pain, and disabled truly can’t navigate the system by themselves. They really need someone to help and advise them every step of the way.

“I try to go above and beyond for my cli-ents and help them in all areas of their lives that disability has affected. I help them ob-tain health insurance, obtain Medicaid, ap-ply for charity care and free medications, advise them about low-cost health facili-ties. I guide clients to additional help avail-able through social services. This job truly gives me the chance to be an attorney and counselor at law.”

When Jennings isn’t practicing law, you will find him running, rooting for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, or on the tennis court. Vance met his wife, Erin, in law school. She is a former practicing attor-ney is now a senior administrative assistant at Cary Tennis Park, where Vance has won his share of matches.

Daughters Riley, 12, and Macie, 9, are also dedicated tennis players. Riley is highly ranked in the state. “When we all get together and play doubles as a family it’s fantastic. Hitting a tennis ball is a great stress release,” said Jennings.

That’s what appealed to me about becom-ing a lawyer and practicing law. Our legal system, with all of its faults, is still the best system in the world.”

Adams saves his sharpest barbs for insur-ance companies. “When people buy insur-ance, they are buying a promise that when it comes time for the insurance company to live up to their promise they’ll follow through. It’s okay for insurance companies to nickel and dime when they are setting

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premium prices and deciding who to un-derwrite. They don’t have to underwrite ev-erybody. But once they underwrite a policy and collect the premiums, there should be no negotiation on the pay-out.”

“A lot of people don’t understand that the insurance company does not have the right to bargain on a claim, but they always do. They are obligated to pay the full amount of the loss. Period. So, when they’re really egregious about it, it’s a lot of fun to take them to task. To be able to have someone come in who has been shortchanged by the insurance company and take their case and make their life better really excites me.”

Half in jest, Adams added that he is mod-ern-day Robin Hood or Don Quixote.

He shared the story of the man who broke down and cried when Adams told him he would finally be getting his Social Security disability benefits. “To this man, who is trying to feed his family, whether he wins or loses his Social Security disability case is the difference between eating dog food and living a decent life.”

“When people come to a lawyer, most of them know we are not miracle workers. But they want us to fight for them and be on their side and be their advocate. Even if we’re wrong. That’s my approach to the practice of law.”

At a GlanceBrent Adams & Associates3200 Wake Forest Rd, Ste 275Raleigh, NC 27609(919) 781-7590www.brentadams.comOther LocationsFayettevilleDunnEducationBachelor of Arts Wake Forest

University, 1969Juris Doctor, Wake Forest University

School of Law, 1972HonorsMulti-Million Dollar Advocates ForumSuper LawyersMartindale Hubbell AV RatingNCAJ AdvocateBoard Certified in Civil Trial Advocacy by

the National Board of Trial AdvocacyResearch Assistant, Supreme Court

of North Carolina 1972-1973AuthorThe Truth About Medical Malpractice

ClaimsHow to Get Top Dollar For Your

Workers’ Compensation Claim

Ten Costly Mistakes That Can Wreck Your North Carolina Case

Homeowners Insurance Claims How To Get Maximum Recovery

AdmissionsNC State Bar 1972US District Courts Eastern, Middle &

Western Divisions 1973Admitted to the US Court of Appeals

for the Fourth Circuit in April 1979MembershipsWake County Bar Association,Former Secretary Treasurer Harnett

County Bar AssociationNC Bar AssociationNC Advocates for Justice, FormerVice-President & Former Board MemberAmerican Association for Justice,

Former State Committee PersonSouthern Trial Lawyers Association,

Current Member of the Board

Legal Seminar SpeakerNorth Carolina Bar Association American Association for Justice Wake Forest University School of

Law NC Advocates for JusticeMelvin M. Belli Seminar

Chavis, Adams and Jennings

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