About Emma Way
Emma Way is a writer and editor living in Charlotte, North Carolina. By day, she is a director of editorial product at Axios, serving as the connector between 30 local reporting teams across the country. The Delaware-native and Washington College graduate has been writing for Super Lawyers since 2018.
Articles written by Emma Way
Pivotal Paths
Three young attorneys share their journeys in law and look to the futureLaw was never part of Fareshteh Hamidi’s plan. An aspiring physician assistant, Hamidi had just been rejected from PA school two years running. “Instead of potentially getting my heart broken a third time, I looked for other avenues to work in health care tangentially. … Law school fell into my lap,” says Hamidi, a litigation associate with Steptoe & Johnson in Oklahoma City. Morgan Lawson, a first-generation college student, decided as a teenager that she was going to law school. …
The Great Profession
Perennial Super Lawyers listees reflect on the last two decades of law in North CarolinaTwenty years ago, as the first edition of North Carolina Super Lawyers was published, the state was ina renaissance. Its population was growing faster than ever, adding hundreds of new residents every day. Musicians like Eric Church, Kellie Pickler and Anthony Hamilton were still in the early years of releasing hits. The UNC men’s basketball team was crowned the NCAA champions, led by their new coach Roy Williams. Things haven’t slowed down since. In this anniversary edition, we caught up …
The Run of the City
Dwight Williams swapped press conferences for family lawIt’s midnight, and Dwight Williams’ pager has just gone off. He’s groggy and in his pajamas, but he can’t ignore the calls from reporters. Sleep will wait. It’s just another day in 1996 as deputy press secretary for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, Williams always wanted to go into law; but after graduating from NYU, he rose from an intern in Giuliani’s office to a leader on the mayor’s communications team. The career path was put on …
It Takes Crew (to Make a Thing Go Right)
How Morgan Foster’s experience as a coxswain lends itself to lawThere’s a magic to rowing that’s hard to imagine unless you’ve felt a crew boat lift and float on top of the water as eight rowers pull in precise harmony. Watching over all those ripples and micromovements is a magician of sorts—the coxswain. “A lot of it comes down to trusting your instincts,” says Morgan Foster, who helped steer her team to the NCAA Championship at Brown University in 1999. “When everyone’s rowing together and the oars are catching at the exact same time … …
Uniform Performance
How Andre Pennington honed his legal chops in the Air ForceSome cases will stick with Andre Pennington forever. The founder of Pennington Law joined the Air Force early in his legal career, starting as a prosecutor before going on to handle estate planning matters and advocate for airmen who had made mistakes. In one case, he represented an airman who had risen through the ranks quickly. In a short amount of time, the man went from a desk job stateside to driving tanks in Iraq around 2010. “I’m sorry to be graphic,” Pennington says, “but he’d …
Work Worth Doing
Chris Olson’s civil rights success is no solo effortBehind every civil rights case, and every major moment, in Chris Olson’s nearly 30-year legal career, he has a long list of credits. There are legendary attorneys like James “Fergie” Ferguson, Burton Craige, Hoyt Tessener, David Rudolf and Sonya Pfeiffer who have acted as both inspiration and aid for his work. There are the leaders in exonerating wrongly incarcerated North Carolinians like Jamie Lau and Jim Coleman with the Duke Law Wrongful Convictions Clinic and Chris Mumma with North …
Paddling Ahead
Adam Van Grack flows through complex litigation just as he does whitewater rapidsWhitewater kayaking is like skiing, but in an avalanche. The rapids are always changing, whipping the kayak and occupant off course. The feeling Adam Van Grack gets when he’s flying through rough rapids is one that’s matched only when he’s in the courtroom. Both require focus and flexibility. “You have to take every rapid in every moment, understanding that your game plan might change immediately,” says the Olympic-qualifying athlete and commercial litigator. If an opponent …
Cool in Combat
Family attorney Justin Crozier was an Army mental health specialistIn combat, tempers run hot. “You have to maintain an edge,” says Justin Crozier, who worked as a combat medic and mental health specialist in the Army for 10 years. “Without it, you’re not going to be able to do the job that you’re hired to do—to keep us safe.” But the problem with that mindset, he adds, is that it can cause military personnel to remain guarded, and not share the struggles they’re experiencing. Crozier compares it to an overheated car: Putting your foot on the …
When the Roads Diverged, She Took Both
Why Jessica Heltsley moved out of courtrooms and into divorce coachingJessica Heltsley didn’t dream of standing in front of a courtroom arguing for her client. She avoided debate. When it came to problem solving, she enjoyed peace and calm, not the hustle of litigation. But Heltsley was a good student, and she had watched her mother rise from a paralegal to attorney. Studying law seemed like a smart path forward. “It wasn’t until my first summer of law school, when I was a family law clerk, and it just clicked for me,” she says. “It felt more …
From Farm to Negotiation Table
How Rita Bolt Barker tackled pandemic lawsuits to protect vulnerable communitiesThe seeds of Rita Bolt Barker’s career as an environmental attorney were planted decades ago on her family’s farm. She watched conservation in action throughout her childhood and developed a deep love for nature and animals. “My dad would never have admitted that he was one of the original conservationists,” Bolt Barker says, “but a lot of farmers are, of course, good stewards. “That’s where it started.” Bolt Barker considered becoming a veterinarian, but a job-shadowing program …
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