Kara Bennis is a Virginia native who comes to Pikrallidas & Associates after 14 years of experience working at a D.C. Law firm, where she was the only Virginia attorney. The primary areas of litigation for Kara include: automobile accidents, slip and falls, Elevator/ Escalator Malfunctions, and dog attacks in the General District and Circuit Courts of Virginia, the Superior Court of Washington, D.C., D.C. Court of Appeals, and limited practice in the Federal Courts of Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. Kara also has filed breach of contract matters against insurance companies for failure to issue payments under the client’s Medical Payments coverage. She has assisted client’s in resolving property damage matters, and pursued cases for diminution of value. Kara has tried over 50 Jury trials and well over 200 Bench trials in Virginia and D.C. She has also sought resolution of matters using Alternative dispute resolution, and has reached resolution on cases using both mediation and Arbitration. She has engaged in an active motions practice to get positive resolution for her client’s. She has engaged in law suits against individuals as well as companies, including a number of actions against the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA).

Stephanie Benske was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska where she graduated from the private high school Omaha Marian High School. After graduate from Omaha Marian, Stephanie was accepted at and attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. While at Nebraska Stephanie gained valuable work experience working at the State Legislature and working on political campaigns. As a member of the sorority Chi Omega Stephanie developed lasting friendships and acted as the Sorority\'s Secretary for two years. Stephanie graduated with her Juris Doctorate degree from Creighton Law School in 1998. During law school, Stephanie was accepted as a visiting scholar at Marquette Law School for her third year of law school. She also gained valuable experience working as an intern for the Honorable Daniel Noonan at the Children\'s Court Center in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Stephanie relocated to Wisconsin. After successfully completing the Wisconsin Bar Exam Stephanie joined Brazil & Thelen in 1998. Stephanie quickly proved to be a valuable addition to the firm and was named a full partner by 2000. In addition to quickly proving her legal talents at Brazil & Thelen, S.C., Stephanie has been widely recognized as a Super Lawyer in Milwaukee Magazine in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Stephanie has prepared materials for and taught legal seminars on adoption and family law related issues for other attorneys through the National Business Institute. She has appeared on Dateline with fellow partner Paulette Brazil on a family related case. She has been a member of the Inns of Court, Society of Family Law, Justinian Society and the Wisconsin Club. She has also used her political campaigning skills to assist with judicial campaigns. She has donated her time at the Volunteer Self Help Legal Clinic which was offered at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. Stephanie graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee\'s Mediation program. Stephanie provides mediation services for family related issues. Stephanie is also an experienced adoption attorney. Not only has Stephanie handled numerous adoption cases but Stephanie offers the unique experience of having adopted children of her own both in the international and domestic setting. Stephanie also works at the Children\'s Court Center handling CHIPS cases both in private cases and as an intake attorney at the Center. She is also experienced with guardianships. Stephanie enjoys spending time with family both here and in Nebraska. She enjoys many activities with family and friends including supporting the Wisconsin Badgers and her fellow Nebraska Huskers. In her free time she enjoys learning all aspects of cooking and enjoys discovering new places through travel.

David was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1984. He focuses on solving the problems that injured workers have with their employers and workers’ compensation insurance companies. He has had a successful workers’ compensation practice for almost 30 years. David became a Circuit Court Mediator in 2014.

Lenni B. Benson has been teaching and writing in the field of immigration law since 1994. She is the Distinguished Chair of Immigration and Human Rights Law at New York Law School. She founded the Safe Passage Project, which recruits, trains, and mentors attorneys to assist unaccompanied youth who are facing deportation. Safe Passage Project began as an NYLS pro bono project/clinic and is now a nonprofit with a staff of over 40 professionals housed at NYLS that partners with the School’s clinic. With more than 500 pro bono attorneys, Safe Passage Project is currently assisting over 1,000 unaccompanied minors in New York. Professor Benson has won national awards for her pro bono leadership and excellence in immigration teaching. She has served as a member of several national task forces on the needs of migrant youth and has been a speaker for the federal government at national trainings. She also served as one of the founding steering committee members of the American Immigration Representation Project, formed in 2017, to expand pro bono representation of detained immigrants. In 2012, she completed, with Russell Wheeler, a study of the immigration courts for the federal government’s Administrative Conference of the United States. She served as the chair of the Immigration and Nationality Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York from 2012 to the end of 2014. Professor Benson is an emeritus trustee of the American Immigration Law Foundation (now the American Immigration Council), is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and served on the board of the Center for Human and Constitutional Rights. Her co-authored book Immigration and Nationality Law: Problems and Strategies was published by LexisNexis in 2013 and a new edition was issued in December of 2019 by Carolina Academic Press. In addition to teaching at NYLS, she has also served as an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School. Most recently, Professor Benson edited an academic volume of international essays with Professor Mary Crock of the University of Sydney entitled Protecting Migrant Children: In Search of Best Practice. She will prepare a new book for Elgar Press in its Advanced Legal Studies Series on U.S. Immigration Law that is expected to be published in early 2021. Professor Benson teaches Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, and several advanced seminars ranging from asylum to business immigration.

Even in childhood Laura was a self-motivated, driven, passionate individual who wanted to make a difference in her community. She graduated from Harrison High School in Kennesaw GA before attending Furman University and receiving a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in four years. She then received an academic scholarship to attend Case Western Reserve University School of Law where she received her J.D. in 2003 before returning home to Georgia. Laura represents local governments, public utilities, developers, and private individuals on state and federal environmental planning, permitting, regulatory compliance and natural resource management. Her business practice is based on integrity, honesty and a strong worth ethic, which she believes has been key to her success and building of long-term trusting relationships. Her knowledge of the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act and Endangered Species Act have resulted in a client confidence of her abilities to obtain the desired client objectives which are exemplified by obtaining five of the last five new reservoir permits issued in the State of Georgia in the last ten years. Laura performs pro bono legal services in her community for minor criminal and civil matters and also is involved in the Georgia Legal Military Assistance Program. Laura lives in Sharpsburg, GA with her husband, Arthur, their four children and two dogs. She enjoys spending time with her family, playing sports, and cooking. She aspires to read for pleasure but recognizes the likelihood of that happening is moot until after baseball/soccer season. Laura is an active member of her faith community at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Peachtree City, GA.