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Whitney A. Young, Managing Attorney
Whitney Young is a North Carolina native, having lived in nearly all of its major cities including Raleigh, Charlotte, and Asheville. She first moved to Elizabeth City in 2009 to begin her teaching career at River Road Middle School, shortly after graduating from Appalachian State University as a NC Teaching Fellow and Honors Student Teacher. She was passionate about working with at-risk children, which is what drew her to the Albemarle area.
After several years of teaching, Whitney met her husband, Steven Young, a native of Elizabeth City, who was active duty US Army. During their first year of marriage, Whitney relocated to Steven’s duty station in Clarksville, Tennessee where she taught high school for one year prior to entering law school.
Whitney attended Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In Fall 2014, Whitney was given an academic achievement award in family law, after achieving the highest grade in a class of nearly 70 students.
She went on to study family law and civil litigation as an intern with several local law firms, including Gunther Law Group of Hertford, NC and The Twiford Law Firm of Elizabeth City. After completing law school and passing the bar exam, Whitney began working as an associate attorney at Twiford. In total, she spent nearly five years with Twiford before deciding to open her own firm.
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In 2020, Whitney was selected for the NCBA Leadership Academy, which is designed to further community leadership and the legal profession. Read more about her experience at the Academy here.
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In 2022, Whitney joined the NC Civil Collaborative Law Association to give her clients a path forward outside the court process, realizing that while often court is necessary in domestic disputes, most families prefer to avoid that, if possible. Collaborative attorneys have special training to streamline the dispute resolution process and avoid the cost, delay and stress that comes with litigation. Read more about collaborative law here.
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Similarly, another option outside the court process is mediation, which led Whitney to become a certified by the NC Dispute Resolution Commission as a family financial mediator in 2023.
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Whitney's main practice areas are family law, adoption, guardianship, estate planning and administration. She is passionate about helping children and families through whatever means necessary, whether that be litigation, collaborative law, and/or mediation.
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When Whitney is not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Steven, her stepdaughter, Elena, and her son, Sylas.
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RACHEL W. MELTON, Associate Attorney
Rachel Melton is a lifelong native of Chowan County, North Carolina. She attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, earning her Bachelors degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology in May of 2018. During her junior year at UNCG, Rachel was named a University Marshall and recognized as in the top 10% of her class.
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Rachel attended Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Virginia. While there, she was an active board member of the Regent University Moot Court Board and the director of the 1L Moot Court Competition. In 2020, Rachel earned an academic achievement award in Professional Responsibility for achieving the highest grade in a class of nearly 40 students.
During her time at Regent Law, Rachel interned in various fields of law, including family law and criminal law. She began with an internship at the District Attorney's Office for the First Judicial District. She then interned with East Carolina Law Group, where her love for family law and advocating for children flourished. Rachel also volunteered as a Guardian Ad Litem , advocating for the best interests of children in DSS cases.
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When Rachel is not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Josh, her son, Ward, and family.