Soni Brendle

Divorce, Estate & Business Lawyers

Schedule consultation

Call us: 704-686-7300

Blog

Celebrating our one year anniversary

On February 17th, Soni Brendle celebrated our one year anniversary! COVID-19 might have been a gigantic hurdle for us starting just a few weeks after we opened our doors, but it could not stop us from accomplishing our goals of growing the practice.

About Soni Brendla lawyers

Despite the pandemic and all the other "regular" challenges of opening a law practice, we pushed through the barriers and ended up stronger on the other side. The only way we succeeded was through the positive encouragement of our family and friends, the confidence and referrals from our existing clients, the support of our colleagues, and our reliance on each other! The icing on our cake was the addition of Jessica Maybin in July and David Strickland agreeing to join us near the end of the year.

While we are thankful for many years that 2020 is over, we look forward to all the opportunities and new clients that our firm will be privileged to serve in 2021!

Soni Brendle prevails in North Carolina Court of Appeals alimony case

Soni Brendle - North Carolina Charlotte and Winston Salem Business Litigation Law Attorney

The North Carolina Court of Appeals the last set of 2020 Opinions on December 31st. Soni Brendle was fortunate to end the year with another win.  Ketan Soni and Andrew Brendle were retained after the alimony trial to pursue our client's appeal.   The full opinion can be found by clicking here.

The case involves a contested alimony claim that went to trial in Mecklenburg County.  Soni Brendle was able to convince the Court of Appeals that the trial court made an error in its ruling by refusing to consider any "bad acts" by the wife in this matter. The trial court also improperly back-dated alimony to prior to the parties' separation and also failed to provide adequate factual basis for the duration of alimony, thus vacating the judgment in part.

Contact our firm if you think a court has made the wrong decision and we can help you decide what actions are at your disposal.

Judge David Strickland joins Soni Brendle as Partner

Soni Brendle, PLLC is honored to welcome David H. Strickland to the firm beginning January 2021.  After serving as a Mecklenburg County Judge for eight years, David is uniquely situated to provide private arbitration services to other North Carolina attorneys as the court system continues to be bogged down by COVID-19.  When he is not serving as an arbitrator, David will also handle construction law, commercial and civil litigation, and family law cases for the firm.

 

He graduated from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. and obtained his law degree at Campbell University in 2002. 

 

Please join us in celebrating David’s addition to our firm!

New Zoom Features to Improve Communication: Clients, Mediation, Arbitration (and more!)

Ketan Soni has been using Zoom and other remote technology to deliver divorce and estate planning legal representation, arbitration and mediation services since before the start of COVID. Click here to read about Ketan’s latest post on the North Carolina Bar Association’s website about some of the latest Zoom features and how they positively impact your experience. This information applies whether you are a lawyer, mediator, arbitrator, or any person who uses Zoom in their business and personal activities!

There is a relation between how Zoom is used and how effective lawyers can be in communicating with their clients or parties in a lawsuit.  What may seem like minor adjustments, like moving a video screen, can actually create better rapport and understanding between everyone involved. Think about a phone conversation versus an in-person meeting. You can obtain more visual cues that help you understand what the other person is really trying to say. That same concept is true when having conversations with family law and estate planning clients, litigants in the court system, and parties to an arbitration.

 

Ketan Soni appointed to North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission

Ketan Soni law attorney Charlotte NC

Soni Brendle is proud to announce that Ketan Soni has been appointed to the NCDRC Commission for a 3-year term!

The North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission was established in October of 1995, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-38.2. The Commission is charged primarily with certifying and regulating private mediators who serve the courts of this State. The Commission also recommends policy, rules, and rule revisions relating to dispute resolution in North Carolina’s courts; provides support to court-based mediation programs; certifies mediation training programs; serves as a clearinghouse for information about court-based mediation programs; assists other State agencies interested in or providing dispute resolution services to their constituencies and publishes a newsletter.

Ketan has been mediating since 2011 in Superior and District Courts which primarily involve family law matters.  He uses the 20 years of divorce litigation and his experience resolving cases to assist spouses who wish to avoid the court system.  The use of mediation as an alternative to litigation has become increasingly popular as the costs of divorce skyrocket across the state.  This process provides couples with an option to have a greater say in the ultimate result of their own case.

As the governing body for court-ordered mediation in North Carolina, Ketan will have an opportunity to shape the future of mediation and dispute resolution with other colleagues across the state.  Congratulations!