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).

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.

Bailey Benton is a personal injury trial lawyer here at Spaulding Injury Law: Atlanta Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyer handling everything from car accidents, motorcycle accidents, tractor-trailer accidents, premises liability and wrongful death matters in metro-Atlanta and throughout the State of Georgia. Born in Destrehan, Louisiana, Bailey has proudly called Cumming, Georgia her home since 2008.

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.