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RAY BENNETT

Ray Bennett grew up on the West Coast (Southern California and Oregon), but now calls the “City of Oaks” (Raleigh, North Carolina) his home. Ray is a professional problem solver. As a commercial litigator, he works with a range of technology and other clients to solve their complex business disputes. Ray also serves as a certified mediator because he believes deeply in the peace dividend that comes through settling disputes – releasing time, creativity, energy, and budget for more productive pursuits. Ray loves working with complex problems – and sometimes-complicated people – to help parties find a path forward for the future. Ray attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for his undergraduate degree, followed by Stanford Law School, before clerking for two federal judges: Judge T.S. Ellis in the Eastern District of Virginia and Judge Douglas Ginsburg on the D.C. Circuit. He returned to North Carolina in 2006 where he and his wife, Tara, have raised their four children. 

Ray on growth:

I have long been inspired by the image of an oak tree, planted by a stream of water, whose roots run deep and who provides shade, comfort, strength, and rest to passersby. But as I long for that image, I am reminded of the long, slow process it takes to produce that tree. An oak begins as a tiny acorn, then grows into a sapling, and one day – after many years – a full-sized tree. In the earliest stages, its growth is not even visible. As my favorite Wendell Berry poem says: “The seed is in the ground, Now may we rest in hope, While darkness does its work.” When it comes time for a sapling, growth is happening both above and below the ground, and the tree has shades of what is to come. Yet growth still comes slowly – adding one year and one ring at a time. Still, throughout every season of the tree’s life, from acorn to sapling to mature tree, the essence of the oak tree that is to come is ever-present – and ultimately inevitable. We just have to be patient, and trust, while growth does its slow, steady work. 

Favorite Tree: White Oak

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