ATTORNEYS

Brian N. Stretcher

Brian graduated from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1983 with a B.S. in Chemistry. He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Cincinnati in 1989, doing his thesis work on the chemical modification of proteins. He then worked as a Postdoctoral Assistant and Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, developing methods for the measurement of anti-HIV drugs inside white blood cells.

Brian graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in May, 1998, and was licensed to practice law in Ohio in November, 1998. After receiving his license, Brian ran a solo law practice in the Cincinnati area for many years, serving clients in Hamilton, Clermont, Warren, and Butler Counties in southwest Ohio. Brian's practice was primarily criminal defense, divorces and dissolutions, and juvenile law, including delinquency, dependency, custody, and child support cases in the Ohio Juvenile Courts. As his practice grew, he added estate planning and administration to his areas of expertise.

Brian has appeared in court on behalf of clients in hundreds if not thousands of cases in his fifteen years of practice in Ohio. He served on the adult felony, misdemeanor, appellate, and juvenile delinquency and dependency appointment panels in Hamilton County, the felony conflict appointment panel in Clermont County, and accepted Guardian ad Litem appointments in both Hamilton and Clermont Counties. Brian was credentialed as a Guardian ad Litem in Ohio in 2009. Brian also accepted pro bono cases through the Volunteer Lawyer Program of the Legal Aid Society, representing victims of domestic violence in divorce actions, and providing help to struggling homeowners against foreclosure actions through the Save the Dream program.

Brian was a member of the Cincinnati Bar Association throughout his years of practice in Ohio. For most of those years, he served on the Committee for the Unauthorized Practice of Law, including as secretary, vice-chair, and chair. The Committee's function was to investigate complaints about the practice of law in Hamilton County by non-attorneys, and to seek sanctions against persistent offenders. Brian was also a panel member of the Lawyer Referral Service of the Cincinnati Bar Association, through which he accepted reduced-fee divorce cases through the Modest Means program.

Brian closed his Ohio practice in 2013 to move to the mountains of North Carolina with his wife of 35 years. He received his North Carolina law license and was sworn in as a North Carolina attorney in August, 2014, and opened his law office in downtown Brevard that same month. He is no longer actively licensed to practice law in Ohio.

Brian is a member and has been a sponsor of the Brevard/Transylvania County Chamber of Commerce since 2015. He also currently serves on the Heart of Brevard and TCArts Boards, and continues to actively fight to keep courthouse functions downtown.