Benner, Brian J.

Ms. Bennick, born in Concord, North Carolina, received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981 with High Honors in Political Science. She graduated from the UNC School of Law in 1984, and was admitted to the New York State Bar in May, 1985 and the North Carolina State Bar in November 1991.

Ms. Bennick began practicing law in New York City in August, 1984, starting her legal career as a staff trial attorney for the Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division, where she worked from 1984 until 1988. During her tenure at Legal Aid, Ms. Bennick tried 20 felony jury cases to verdict and is proud of her 19 acquittals.

From January, 1988 until April, 1989, Ms. Bennick served as a law clerk to the Honorable Allen Alpert of the New York State Supreme Court, Criminal Term. Her responsibilities included research, legal writing, and motion and trial calendar control.

Ms. Bennick joined the law firm of Hoffinger Friedland Dobrish Bernfeld & Hasen in April 1989 where she initially spent her time practicing criminal law. She worked on several important white collar criminal cases and tried two high profile homicide cases with Jack S. Hoffinger. However, Ms. Bennick soon shifted to the family law side of the firm, where she worked with Robert Z. Dobrish, a family law partner. She was involved in many family law related trials and hearings as well as several appeals.

From April of 1991 to April of 1993, Ms. Bennick worked as a senior associate with the firm of Colton Hartnick Yamin & Sheresky where she spent all of her time practicing family law. She was involved in many high profile divorce matters and tried family law cases with Norman M. Sheresky, the senior partner in the firm. She was also involved in many cases at the intermediate appellate level as well as the negotiation of prenuptial agreements.

Ms. Bennick opened her own law practice in New York City in April, 1993. After moving to North Carolina in October of 2002, Ms. Bennick opened her own practice in Chapel Hill in early 2004. Ms. Bennick has conducted many family law related hearings and trials, including equitable distribution, alimony and spousal support, child custody and child support matters, and also represents victims of domestic violence. In New York, she was also engaged in extensive motion practice at the intermediate appellate court level as well as having perfected and won several appeals.

While she is an experienced litigator and has tried hundreds of cases, Ms. Bennick's philosophy is that every effort should be made by the parties and their counsel to resolve matters without resort to litigation. To this end, Ms. Bennick has settled hundreds of cases in her tenure as a practicing family law attorney.

Ms. Bennick is currently a member of the North Carolina Bar and New York State Bar Associations, and a member of the Family Law Sections of those organizations. She is also a member of the Orange County and Orange County Women's Bar Associations, the North Carolina Advocates for Justice and the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys.

Previously, Ms. Bennick was a member of the New York County Lawyer's Association where she co-chaired the Legislative Policy Committee of the New York County Family Law Section. She was also a member of the New York Women's Bar Association where she sat on the Family Law Committee of that organization for many years. Additionally, she was also a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

Ms. Bennick served as a lecturer, trainer and mentor for pro bono attorneys for InMotion, Inc., a not-for-profit organization which aids indigent women in domestic violence and family law matters in New York City. In 1999, she received the Commitment to Justice Award from InMotion. Ms. Bennick also lectured at the New York County Lawyers Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and participated in various pro bono programs at both of those organizations. She is proud of her participation in those programs and received several citations for her work in that regard. Since moving back to Chapel Hill, Ms. Bennick has lectured and conducted trainings for volunteers for the Family Violence Prevention Center in Chapel Hill. She also works closely with the Orange County Sherriff's Department Crisis Unit and the Chapel Hill Police Department's Crisis Unit.

Ms. Bennick has previously authored several publications for Lorman Continuing Educational Services, including Equitable Distribution: What's Fair and Spousal Support & Maintenance in New York. She has also lectured on child custody for various New York organizations, including InMotion and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

You can find her published appellate division decisions as follows: Daniels v. Daniels, 243 A.D.2d 254 (1st Dept. 1997) and Bartha v. Bartha, 15 A.D3d 111 (1st Dept. 2005).