Ragsdale Liggett PLLC is pleased to announce that the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization recently certified John R. Cella, Jr., as a Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law.  The State Bar’s Board Certification program requires applicants to be significantly devoted to the practice area, meet continuing legal education requirements, undergo a peer review process, and pass a rigorous, one-day written examination.  Fewer than 4% of North Carolina lawyers are Board Certified Specialists.

Skilled at managing tax-oriented and family complexities in estate planning and administration matters, John has practiced in trusts and estates, tax, and ERISA for over twenty years.  His North Carolina Bar Association involvement includes numerous presentations and articles, and, more recently, chairing the Pro Bono Committee of the Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law Section.  Since John joined Ragsdale Liggett, the firm has earned top tier ratings in Trusts & Estates for the Raleigh Metropolitan Area by Best Law Firms in America.  Best Lawyers in America® also has honored John in Trusts and Estates Law, Tax Law, and/or Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law in its annual editions since 2018, and Business North Carolina magazine has recognized him in its yearly Legal Elite lists for Tax & Estate Planning.

A graduate of Needham B. Broughton High School, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of South Carolina School of Law, John earned his LL.M. in Employee Benefits, with honors, from the University of Illinois Chicago.  He is admitted to practice in North Carolina and South Carolina.