Kendall Page, 56 Attorney
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Kendall married Mendy Childress, her partner of 25 years, on February 2. She grew up in Chapel Hill admiring her parents: now-retired attorney Robert J. “Bob” and homemaker Lillyan Lee Gordon Hill Page, known to friends as “Luke.” They met at Tri-Delt/Phi-Delt mixer at UNC. “My mother has the gift of hospitality, and my father the ability to take a complicated matter and make it simple – both of which have been assets in my legal career as a real estate and probate attorney,” says Kendall, who earned her law degree from N.C. Central University. She volunteers faithfully each Monday at Paws4ever, a guaranteed adoption facility for dogs and cats in Orange County.
ealtors will tell you that purchasing a home is all about location, location, location. Real estate attorneys agree, but Kendall values an even more important asset: loyalty. Having inherited a successful law practice from her father, Bob, Kendall was well versed in advising homebuyers on how to keep their heads above water. She counseled them to build equity should they ever need to liquidate funds for an emergency. Kendall never imagined she’d need to raise capital quickly to save her own business, which had grown to include nine paralegals. But when the economy faltered in 2008, she found herself faced with difficult decisions. Much in the way families gathered around kitchen tables to talk about what they could do without, Kendall called her all-female staff 56
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together for a frank discussion about the firm’s future. “I asked, ‘Would you be willing to do something different if I can keep you all on?’ And they all said they’d do whatever it would take,” she recalls, still emotional at the memory. “My team was a big part of my success. I had to come up with a plan.” Kendall was aware of a dilapidated dwelling near the OrangeAlamance line that was in foreclosure. The plan was to quickly improve and “flip” it to generate revenue. A bank loan covered purchase, repair and, importantly, payroll. Taking turns so two employees would always be at the office, she and her crew invested considerable sweat equity in the house, surprising themselves by tackling projects they never would have touched in their own homes. “Demolition work is so therapeutic,” Kendall says with a laugh. “It’s