About the Office of Special Counsel

Chad Perry first joined the Office of Special Counsel in 2019 as an attorney before being appointed Chief Special Counsel in 2022. Perry’s prior legal career includes serving as an assistant public defender in Durham County for eight years.  He has also served as an attorney advisor for the Office of the Inspector General for Washington, D.C. and the Social Security Administration’s Appeals Council in Crystal City, Virginia.

William Smith earned his B.A. in Political Science with a concentration in Public Administration from Winston-Salem State University in 2004. He then completed his J.D. at North Carolina Central University School of Law.  Mr. Smith became interested in Healthcare Law in 2016, and he completed courses in Health Law at Cleveland State University.  He has served as an Assistant District Attorney, Healthcare Compliance Director, Patient’s Rights Director, and Criminal Defense Counsel in his 15-year legal career.

Melisa Hambrick Berry joined the Office of Special Counsel in 2007 as the Assistant to Special Counsel / Paralegal in their offices located in Burke County, N.C. at Broughton Hospital.  Melisa’s previous employment history includes 20 years of experience as a paralegal within the private sector in the State of Michigan in the areas of Civil Litigation, Domestic Relations (Family Law), Corporate, Health Care, and Criminal Law. While serving the patients at Broughton Hospital as Assistant to Special Counsel, Melisa has received a Director’s Award of Excellence from Broughton Hospital – Department of Health and Human Services, and a Humanitarian Excellence Recognition and Observance (H.E.R.O.) Award from Broughton Hospital Patient Advocacy Services.  She has a B.S. Degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology from Western Carolina University, a Legal Assistant Certificate, as well as certificates in Correctional Law, Corrections, and Basic Law Enforcement Technology, and a previous member of the Michigan State Bar – Legal Assistant Section (LA# 58639) and the Oakland County Bar Association.

Willia G. Mills joined the Office of Special Counsel in 2000. Prior to joining the Office of Special Counsel, she was in private practice from 1995 to 2000, where she was given the exclusive right to be the attorney assigned to the Involuntary Committed adults and children. Most of her work experience in private practice was in Civil Commitment Law (95%). She started her career with the Durham Public Defender’s Office in 1992.  It was in the Public Defender’s Office where she was introduced to Civil Commitment Law; and she practiced in this area the entire 3 years that she was employed.  In 32 years of practice, she has devoted her career to making sure that the rights of the Respondents are paramount in the Civil Commitment of the Respondents.

Benjamin (Ben) M. Turnage is Special Counsel at Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro, NC. He has practiced law in Wayne, Greene and Lenoir counties for 16 years, working primarily in indigent defense. Ben has represented indigent clients in district and superior courts in addition to representing parents in abuse/neglect/dependency cases, juveniles alleged to be delinquent, and respondents in guardianship proceedings. Ben serves as a resource for appointed counsel for respondents in civil commitment cases.

Portia R. Smith joined the Office of Special Counsel in October 2019 as Special Counsel Legal Assistant. Prior to joining Special Counsel Portia worked for Cherry Hospital as a Health Care Technician for nine years. She left Cherry Hospital and went to work for The Department of Public Instruction in Raleigh for five years and returned to Cherry Hospital to serve in the Advocate Department for DHHS as the Administrative Assistant, and from there, she went on to serve in her current role.

Deborah Faircloth joined Cherry Hospital as an Administrative Assistant with Special Counsel in October 2019. Before this role, she spent approximately 12 years at Trillium, formerly known as Eastpointe, where she worked with diverse populations, including early childhood intervention, individuals with intellectual disabilities, substance abuse, and mental illness. Her last position at Eastpointe was as a Transition Care Coordinator, assisting clients with transitioning into the community with appropriate support.

From 2007 to 2011, she also operated as a sole proprietor, providing community support services throughout eastern North Carolina.

She takes great pride in being part of the exceptional team at the Special Counsel Office and looks forward to many more years of contributing to their mission.

Lindsey Moore has been practicing law in Raleigh, North Carolina since 2016. Prior to joining the Office of Special Counsel, Lindsey practiced as a criminal defense attorney in Wake and other surrounding counties. Lindsey has been representing patients in the civil commitment process through Special Counsel’s Office since 2017.

Tamzin Kinnett joined the Office of Special Counsel as an attorney in the Raleigh office in February 2023. Prior to that, she served as an Assistant Public Defender in Chatham County, NC for 13 years. She is originally from Terre Haute, Indiana, and attended law school at New York University. She came to North Carolina in 2008 for a two year fellowship at the Fair Trial Initiative, which was a nonprofit organization in Durham, NC, dedicated to representation of capital murder clients at the trial level.

Jennifer an Attorney with the Office of Special Counsel currently handling Involuntary Commitment cases. She graduated from North Carolina State University having majored in history and earned her Juris Doctorate from Nova Southeastern University located in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Before joining the Office of Special Counsel her experience included handling North Carolina criminal law and family law matters, as well as juvenile dependency, abuse, and neglect cases.

Zachary Thayer first joined the Office of Special Counsel in October of 2023. After graduating Cum Laude from law school, Zachary began his legal career in the Durham County Public Defender’s Office, where he spent nine years handling cases ranging from low level misdemeanors to high level felonies. For almost three of his years in the Public Defender’s Office, Zachary also represented individuals committed under IVCs in Durham County, providing experience and knowledge that helps him zealously defend clients now at the Office of Special Counsel. Zachary was a collegiate athlete at Guilford College where he played football for three years while earning a B.S. in Criminal Justice.