Attorneys
William P. Bray
William Bray is the founding member of The Bray Law Firm, PLLC. His primary areas of practice are motorsports, music, business litigation and general corporate representation. William has extensive experience in representing race teams and drivers in NASCAR, has acted as lead counsel in more than sixty jury trials throughout North Carolina and South Carolina, and serves as primary outside counsel for dozens of corporations in a variety of industries. William is also an Adjunct Professor of Sports Law for the UNCC Belk College of Business Sports MBA Program, where he also acts as a faculty advisor to the program's students.
In 2006, William was elected as Chairman of the Sports & Entertainment Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association, and served as the program coordinator for that organization’s successful continuing legal education program on motorsports, entitled Law in the Fast Lane. He is a frequent speaker and author on issues concerning the management and organization of small businesses, and has been featured in publications such as the Charlotte Observer and Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal.
Upon graduating from law school, William served as an assistant solicitor for the 16th Judicial Circuit of South Carolina (York and Union Counties), where he prosecuted drug-related offenses and violent crimes. He later served as a partner in the law firm of Bray & Chiarenza in Rock Hill, South Carolina, before leaving the practice of law in 1999 to serve as president of The Links Golf Group, which specialized in corporate entertainment at major sporting events and executive golf retreats to Scotland and Ireland. After returning to a full-time practice in 2002, William opened The Bray Law Firm in April of 2003.
William is a native of Florence, South Carolina. He received his B.A. from Davidson College in 1989, and his J.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1993, where he served on the honor council for three years and was awarded the American Jurisprudence Award in Constitutional Law. He is married to Kitty Mattocks of Charlotte, North Carolina and has three children (Hutch, Liza and Katherine).
In 2006, William was elected as Chairman of the Sports & Entertainment Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association, and served as the program coordinator for that organization’s successful continuing legal education program on motorsports, entitled Law in the Fast Lane. He is a frequent speaker and author on issues concerning the management and organization of small businesses, and has been featured in publications such as the Charlotte Observer and Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal.
Upon graduating from law school, William served as an assistant solicitor for the 16th Judicial Circuit of South Carolina (York and Union Counties), where he prosecuted drug-related offenses and violent crimes. He later served as a partner in the law firm of Bray & Chiarenza in Rock Hill, South Carolina, before leaving the practice of law in 1999 to serve as president of The Links Golf Group, which specialized in corporate entertainment at major sporting events and executive golf retreats to Scotland and Ireland. After returning to a full-time practice in 2002, William opened The Bray Law Firm in April of 2003.
William is a native of Florence, South Carolina. He received his B.A. from Davidson College in 1989, and his J.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1993, where he served on the honor council for three years and was awarded the American Jurisprudence Award in Constitutional Law. He is married to Kitty Mattocks of Charlotte, North Carolina and has three children (Hutch, Liza and Katherine).
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Shannon L. Vandiver
Shannon Vandiver joined The Bray Law firm in 2006 and became a partner in 2008. Prior to joining the firm, Shannon spent several years in Winston-Salem, North Carolina where she practiced with one of North Carolina’s largest law firms in the area of products liability litigation for a Fortune 500 company. A 1997 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a 2000 cum laude graduate of Campbell Law School, Shannon served as an Editor of the Campbell Law Review, the Editor-in-Chief of the Campbell Law Observer, and received numerous accolades and awards for her academic and clinical achievements while in law school. After law school, Shannon served as a federal judicial law clerk in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke, Virginia.
Shannon’s principal area of practice with the Firm is commercial and business litigation, which she handles on behalf of clients in all areas of the Firm’s practice. From a racing family with its roots in NASCAR’s beginnings, with father Jim Vandiver, a 1960s and 70s era NASCAR driver, uncle Tom Vandiver, NASCAR crew chief for Jim Vandiver, aunt Lillian (Vandiver) Hoopaugh, the first female to race in any division at the then Charlotte Motor Speedway and brothers Emory and Rhett Vandiver, both currently active in the motorsports community, Ms. Vandiver particularly enjoys providing legal assistance, counsel and representation to her motorsports clients. Shannon has provided representation to motorsports teams, owners, drivers, executives, employees, vendors and support personnel in at least 5 racing divisions including the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, the NASCAR Busch Series, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the ARCA Re/Max Series and the Indy Racing League. As a litigator, Ms. Vandiver aids and assists her clients with their contract disputes, business break ups, employment matters, sponsor relations and rules compliance and pursues and defends against lawsuits including obtaining and satisfying judgments.
In addition to the motorsports industry, Ms. Vandiver has also provided representation to the Firm’s other sports and entertainment field clients including a professional golf tour and golfer, various musical acts, a film festival and television and film producers. Shannon also counsels, assists and litigates on behalf of the Firm’s construction and real estate development clients as well as a number of the Firm’s other small to mid size business clients who make up a variety of industries.
Shannon has been involved with the Sports and Entertainment Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association and is the current past co-editor of the Sports and Entertainment Law Section Newsletter. A native of the greater Charlotte area, Ms. Vandiver is active in The Junior League of Charlotte, Inc. and other charitable and civic endeavors.
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David L. Tkach
David Tkach joined The Bray Law Firm as an associate attorney in 2005. His principal areas of practice are general corporate representation, motorsports, entertainment and intellectual properrty. David handles matters which are primarily transactional in nature, such as incorporation, contracts and trademarks.
David received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2002 and his J.D. from Duke University in 2005.
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