Winston Salem, NC

Stefan Latorre

Stefan Latorre is the founder and managing partner of Latorre Law Firm. The firm specializes in the aggressive representation of individuals in both state and federal courts in personal injury, workers’ compensation, criminal defense, and immigration matters. The firm has offices throughout the North and South Carolina and Florida. Mr. Latorre earned his Juris Doctorate degree with honors from the Florida State College of Law in 1991 and a Masters in Tax Law from the University of Florida in 1992. He began his legal career as an international tax attorney in Miami, Florida, and helped U.S. companies establish business operations in over 20 foreign countries. In 1996, Mr. Latorre founded Latorre Law Firm and dedicated himself to representing injured individuals and immigrants with their litigation needs. Since then, Mr. Latorre has devoted his law practice to ensuring his clients receive every benefit available regardless of their economic situation. Mr. Latorre has successfully represented over 20,000 individuals throughout the Carolinas and Florida. He has successfully argued and represented clients before the North Carolina Industrial Commission, District and Superior Courts in North Carolina and South Carolina, the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and the North Carolina Supreme Court. Among the many cases he successfully argued, Mr. Latorre is most proud of two seminal cases in North Carolina: Francisco Ruiz v. Belk Masonry and Vicente Acosta v. Edwin Painting. Mr. Latorre has helped thousands of immigrants obtain their lawful permanent resident status and naturalization in the United States. He has also successfully represented hundreds of immigrant clients in removal proceedings and obtained lawful permanent residence for many of his clients on the verge of being deported from the United States. Mr. Latorre is licensed in the States of Florida and North Carolina. He is a member of the North Carolina and Florida Bar Associations, the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, the American Association for Justice, the Mecklenburg County Bar Association, the Mecklenburg County Trial Lawyers Association, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Mr. Latorre has written several articles in national and local publications. He has been featured in many publications and has been a frequent guest on live audio programs in English and Spanish, including Nation Public Radio. He has received several awards including the Business Journal’s “40 under 40” top business persons, the Charlotte Center City Partners’ Vision Award, and the Excellent Award as the Outstanding Businessman of the Year. Mr. Latorre is also the host of “La Verdad De La Ley” a Spanish Language radio show that is broadcast in four states. Mr. Latorre was instrumental in the development of the restaurant and entertainment scene in downtown Charlotte. He firmly believes in giving back to his community. He has represented numerous clients without charge and actively supports numerous charitable and nonprofit organizations. He has served on the board of directors of Charlotte Center City Partners, Theater Charlotte, McColl Center for Visual Arts, Discovery Place, and the Latin Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Latorre is a regular contributor to numerous organizations including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Arts and Science Council, The March of Dimes, Historic Charlotte, The Latin American Women’s Association, Theater Charlotte, Discovery Place, The North Carolina Dance Theatre, The Children’s Law Center, United Way, the UNCC Athletic Foundation, and the Florida State College of Law. In addition to supporting other charitable organizations, Mr. Latorre also founded two annual charitable events to benefit the lives of families in the community: Fiesta de Regreso a la Escuela and Fiesta con Santa. Mr. Latorre was the chair of the Charlotte Immigrant Integration Task Force.

John Griffith

John P. Griffith is licensed to practice law in South Carolina only. He concentrates his practice Workers Compensation and Serious Personal Injury cases in South Carolina. Mr. Griffith earned a Juris Doctorate Degree with from Loyola University, School of Law in 1994 and an was an Associate Editor for the Loyola Poverty Law Journal. He also clerked for a Louisiana State Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge and served as a law clerk to The Honorable Gerald C. Smoak, Sr., South Carolina Circuit Court Judge. Mr. Griffith earned his Bachelor’s Degree from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in 1987. The South Carolina Lawyers Weekly newspaper has featured Mr. Griffith for workers compensation and nursing home neglect cases. He was also featured in the South Carolina Lawyers Weekly newspaper for a successful negligence case against the South Carolina Department of Transportation for a low road shoulder with a seven inch edge drop which caused the death of the tractor trailer driver, extensive property damage, and environmental clean up. Additionally, Mr. Griffith benefits from his prior experience as an insurance claims adjuster for two major insurance companies in South Carolina. He has held a South Carolina Adjuster’s license and Appraiser’s license since 1988. Mr. Griffith has recently been named in the prestigious South Carolina Super Lawyers publication and website. He is rated AV (top rating) for prominent attorneys by Martindale Hubbell (Martindale.com) by his peers. Mr. Griffith is also a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, American Association for Justice, Southern Trial Lawyers Association, South Carolina Association for Justice, Injured Workers Association, South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association, Anderson County Bar Association, South Carolina Bar Association (Workers Compensation Section), and American Bar Association.

Brian Thompson

Brian Thompson is a proud member of the Latorre Law Firm team that handles personal injury, workers’ compensation, and product liability cases. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and earned student-athlete honors. He received his Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He graduated cum laude and was a competitor on the NSU Trial Team. In his last year of law school, he won the annual Nova Southeastern University Upperclassmen Mock Trial Tournament. Mr. Thompson has experience settling cases but also taking them to jury trial verdicts when necessary. He has litigated cases throughout the Carolinas and helped hundreds of clients. Mr. Thompson is licensed in North Carolina and South Carolina. He is a member of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ) and South Carolina Advocates for Justice (SCAJ).

Tatiana Fotescu

Mrs. Tatiana Fotescu is an associate attorney at Latorre Law Firm, specializing in the field of U.S. Immigration Law. Mrs. Fotescu successfully executed diverse and complex nonimmigrant/immigrant petitions and applications, which resulted in favorable adjudications, and zealously represented clients before the immigration courts (EOIR) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Prior to immigrating to the United States, Mrs. Fotescu earned two law degrees (J.D. equivalent) from University of Bucharest and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne respectively. During her law school studies, she was actively involved in several student organizations and participated in international youth exchange programs in Europe and Asia. In addition, she worked as a legal intern at the Parliament of Romania, Moldovan Embassy to the United States of America, Canada and Mexico in Washington D.C. and at the New York office of the United Nations. Mrs. Fotescu moved to the United States to pursue her dream of having an international career. As an immigrant herself, she felt a strong motivation to start helping immigrants navigate the complex and continuously evolving system and ease the emotional rollercoaster which immigration entails. With great interest to become a licensed immigration lawyer in the United States, she graduated “cum laude” the LL.M. in Business Law program at Florida State College of Law, while being the LL.M. representative for the International Law Students Association and also a member of the Advocates for Immigrant and Refugees Rights organization and The Florida Bar International Law Section. Prior to joining Latorre Immigration Law Firm, Mrs. Fotescu worked for a private immigration law firm in Miami as an Associate Attorney gaining extensive experience in a wide range of immigration law issues.

Derek Wagner

Derek Wagner is a proud member of the Latorre Law Firm team and is responsible for handling workers’ compensation cases with the firm. Derek received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Eastern Michigan University in 2013 where he graduated Magna Cum Laude, as well as being a member of the University’s Honor’s College. Derek subsequently received his Juris Doctor from Charlotte School of Law in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2016; graduating with Cum Laude honors and in the top 11% of his class. Derek has since dedicated his career to learning the ins-and-outs of the North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act and is a zealous advocate for all clients who have sustained workplace injuries. Prior to joining Latorre Law Firm, Derek spent multiple years representing both injured workers and defending employers and insurance carriers in workers’ compensation claims. The experience Derek obtained in defending employers and insurance carriers in such claims has proven to be very beneficial in his success in representing and advocating for injured workers. Throughout his career, Derek has successfully handled all aspects of workers’ compensation claims, including mediating, and obtaining strong settlements for his clients, in addition to litigating claims before the Industrial Commission and North Carolina Court of Appeals. One of Derek’s biggest accomplishments throughout his career was receiving a favorable decision in an important workers’ compensation case before the North Carolina Court of Appeals, which provided further clarity on the compensability of injuries suffered by traveling employees. See McSwain v. Industrial Commercial Sales & Service, LLC, North Carolina Court of Appeals (2020). Derek also received the prestigious honor of being selected to the North Carolina Super Lawyers Rising Star’s List in 2023 in the area of workers’ compensation, based upon peer recognition and professional achievements in his legal practice. Derek is licensed to practice in North Carolina and is a member of the North Carolina State Bar and North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ).

Chen Chen

Mrs. Chen Chen is an Associate Attorney at Latorre Law Firm, practicing in Immigration Law. Mrs. Chen earned Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2019. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Law (LLB) at Jinan University (Guangzhou, China) and Master of Laws (LLM) specialized in Business and Commercial law at Indiana University Maurer School of Law. She is admitted to practice law in Indiana. She has been working in immigration law area since 2018 and has a lot of experiences in family-based applications. She is full of passion for helping clients.

Joyce Bennett Alvarado

Joyce Bennett Alvarado is an Associate Attorney in the Immigration department at Latorre Law firm. She handles U Visas, Adjustments of Status, and VAWA cases. Mrs. Bennett Alvarado earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of St. Thomas School of Law in 2017. While in law school, she was elected Secretary of the Latino Law Students Association. She received her bachelor’s degree in Law with Magna Cum Laude Honors from Universidad Tecnologica Centroamericana (Tegucigalpa, Honduras). Following her graduation from law school, Ms. Bennett Alvarado began her career as an immigration attorney in 2018. She has experience in humanitarian-based immigration and is passionate about helping clients navigate the complicated immigration system.