— press release courtesy of Franklin County

Franklin County, September 22, 2021: Franklin County Commissioners unanimously appointed Gena McCray of the firm of Gena Walling McCray, PLLC, to serve as County Attorney on September 20, 2021. McCray’s appointment is effective September 27, 2021.

McCray received her undergraduate degrees in English and Psychology from South Carolina College (University of South Carolina’s Honors College). She graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in Columbia, South Carolina with a Juris Doctor Degree. She was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina but has been a citizen of Franklin County since 2006 when she opened her practice in Louisburg.

While attending law school, McCray served as Clerk for the Honorable Judge C. Tolbert Goolsby at the South Carolina Court of Appeals and interned one summer in Raleigh for the North Carolina Family Policy Council gaining intimate knowledge of the legislative process in North Carolina. In her third year, she served as Clerk for the respected law firm of Sweeny, Wingate & Barrow, P.A. After law school graduation, she married Michael McCray and moved to Raleigh to practice family law, criminal law, parental rights cases, estates and civil litigation. In addition, McCray supervised Wake County’s Wills and Estates Division for the Clerk of Superior Court and gained valuable insight into Estate Administration, Special Proceedings and operations of the Clerk’s Office. McCray is licensed to practice law in North Carolina and South Carolina and a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, South Carolina Bar Association, and the 9th Judicial District.

McCray has experience in Franklin County Government having served as attorney for the Department of Social Services since 2016. She said, “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve the people of Franklin County and look forward to working in this new role.”

McCray and her husband, Michael, currently reside on a small farm in Louisburg.

For additional information, please contact Kim Denton, Franklin County Manager, at (919) 496-5994.