Experienced. Compassionate.
Katherine N. Willett, Esq.
Willett - Background
Katie was born and raised in China Grove, North Carolina and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2006. Before heading to law school, Katie lived and worked in Northern Ireland for the U.S. State Department. Katie then attended law school at Mercer University School of Law and was an active member of the Moot Court Board, serving as an Executive Officer. Katie competed in the Vale National Corporate Law Moot Court Competition where she was a finalist and was later selected to represent Mercer Law at the Houston National Moot Court Championship. Katie was selected as a member of the Order of the Barristers for her work with Moot Court. Also while in law school, Katie chaired the Mercer Law Community Service Committee all three years of her attendance. The Dean’s Community Service Award was bestowed upon her at graduation.
During law school, Katie worked for NASA - Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the General Counsel’s office, working on all the legal needs of KSC’s operations. Katie was fortunate enough to explore the Atlantis Space Shuttle, even getting to sit in the Commander’s seat. Katie also worked at Bullard & Wangerin, a civil defense firm, during her 2L and 3L years.
After graduation, Katie earned a clerkship with the Honorable Eugene M. Benton; this clerkship was the most valuable legal education she received. After her clerkship, Katie worked at Merbaum & Becker in Atlanta where she focused her practice on business, construction, and fiduciary litigation, spending quite a bit of time in the courtrooms of the Metro Atlanta area.
During this time in Georgia, Katie was active with the State Bar of Georgia’s Young Lawyers Division, graduating from the 2013 YLD Leadership Academy. Katie served as Director of Community Outreach on the Georgia Bar YLD’s Board of Directors. In 2013, Katie, along with Brandon Elijah, started a pro bono project called the State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division First Responders Wills Clinic. The Wills Clinic pairs attorney volunteers with first responders and their spouses for the preparation and execution of essential estate planning documents. This program continues serving Georgia’s first responders to this day. Katie and Brandon received the YLD Award of Achievement for Outstanding Service to the Public for the Wills Clinic.
Katie was the Co-Chair of the 2014 Georgia Legal Food Frenzy, which is a friendly competition among Georgia’s law firms and legal organizations to raise food and money for Georgia’s food banks. In 2014, the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy raised over 1.4 million pounds of food for the Georgia Food Bank Association. Katie received the YLD Award of Achievement for Outstanding Service to the Public for her work with the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy.
Later in 2014, Katie moved to Greenville, South Carolina to open an Elder Law and Estate Planning office. The firm office was an immediate success, becoming a dependable referral source for Greenville’s healthcare and financial industry business persons. Katie provided estate planning, complex estate planning, revocable and irrevocable trusts, Medicaid planning, VA benefit services, probate administration, trust administration, and business plans.
A family illness brought her back to her home state of North Carolina, where Willett Legal, PLLC was born. Willett Legal, PLLC will continue to provide well-rounded knowledge of the complexities of Elder Law, Estate Planning, and the things our seniors need to know for a successful estate and legacy plan.
Katie is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the State Bar of South Carolina, the North Carolina State Bar, Cabarrus County Bar Association, Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce, North Carolina Bar Association, Be the Match Organization, and the Alzheimer’s Association. Katie graduated from the Cabarrus Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 Leadership Cabarrus class.
In her spare time, Katie spends every possible moment with her daugther, Maven, and her rescued SuperMutt*, Stella. Katie loves to garden, hike, nerd out over anything involving space and deep sea exploration, and read!! Katie’s favorite book of 2023 has been 1491 by Charles C. Mann.
*DNA testing suggests Stella is a SuperMutt, containing over 27 different dog breeds’ DNA, but Stella’s top two DNA breeds are German Shepard and Rat Terrier (explain that one!).