After being raised by a family of lawyers, including my mother, father, grandfather, two brothers, and an uncle, I initially decided to be anything but a lawyer. However, while exploring graduate school in a number of other areas, I took a number of career assessment tests which overwhelmingly concluded that a career as either a lawyer or a teacher would be a good fit for me. I feel like practicing Family Law allows me to be both – I am able to help clients by educating them about the law and by handling complex legal issues on their behalf. I am a part of the third generation of attorneys to practice at Conrad Trosch and Kemmy and am now a partner at the firm. I have pushed myself to become and expert in family law.  My first goal was to be a Board Certified Family Law Specialist, which I did in 2010.  I have taken the opportunity to teach other lawyers the nuances of Family Law and authored the book: Divorce in North Carolina – Answers to Your Legal Questions, which answers over two hundred of the thousands of questions that have been posed to me over the years.

I am not a one-trick pony unless the pony is called common sense. I take an approach to my practice that causes me to wear a lot of hats. I am an aggressive advocate when necessary, but I also I help my clients see that settling their case is a reasonable way out of court. I think quickly on my feet, which allows me to perform well not only in litigation, but also in a stressful time-sensitive negotiation. What I enjoy the most about Family Law is that it encompasses so many other areas of the law. A Family Law attorney also needs to understand Real Estate Law, Estate Planning, Business Law, Tax Law, Criminal Law, and Bankruptcy, just to name a few. I enjoy the constant intellectual challenge.

My goal is always to give my client the peace of resolution in the least damaging way possible to their family. The most rewarding part of my practice is seeing my clients, who have just gone through one of the most difficult times of their lives, with a smile of relief because their case is resolved. It is that “light at the end of the tunnel” moment that keeps my clients and me pushing forward toward resolution.

My wife, Elizabeth Trosch, is Mecklenburg County’s Chief District Court Judge, and we have two sons. When one of my sons was about three years old, he asked me if he could have some candy before dinner. I told him no and sent him on his way. As is the case with children, he went around the corner to my wife and asked her the same question. She quizzed him, “What did your father say when you asked him?” My son paused and then said, “Well you see Mommy, you are a judge and Daddy’s just a lawyer. Don’t judges just tell lawyers what to do?” Despite his clever “lawyering,” she denied his request. Ultimately, if parties cannot agree, then the only way to have your case resolved sometimes is to have a judge make the final decision. I want to get the best result for my client’s individual situation, and the key is that I do not use only one “tool” all the time. The thing that sets me apart from other Family Law attorneys is that I know what tools I have in my toolbox and when to use them.