IDS announces the appointment of Annick Lenoir-Peek by the IDS Commission as the new Parent Defender for the state of North Carolina. A nationally recognized expert in child welfare law, Lenoir-Peek brings more than two decades of experience representing parents in abuse, neglect, and dependency (A/N/D) cases—most recently serving as Deputy Parent Defender under Wendy Sotolongo, who retired as Parent Defender on June 30 this year.
In child welfare courtrooms across North Carolina, attorneys often find themselves in high-stakes cases that determine whether a child remains with their family or is placed in foster care. At the heart of these critical legal battles are parent attorneys—advocates for mothers, fathers, and caregivers navigating one of the most emotionally charged and legally complex areas of the law.
As Parent Defender, Lenoir-Peek will lead the statewide resource center supporting both trial and appellate attorneys who represent parents at risk of losing custody of their children. Her appointment marks a continued commitment to high-quality, holistic legal representation for families navigating one of the most complex and emotionally challenging areas of the law.
“This work is about more than courtrooms,” said Lenoir-Peek. “It’s about giving voice and dignity to parents who are often misunderstood, underserved, and under-resourced. Every parent deserves to be seen, heard, and believed in.”
Lenoir-Peek’s career as Deputy Parent Defender focused on improving legal infrastructure for parent attorneys, creating tools such as sample motions, trial guides, “Tuesday Tips,” and “Monthly Minders”—resources now widely used across North Carolina. She has also presented for more than 15 years at the American Bar Association’s National Parent Representation Conference and is published nationally on legal issues affecting military- and out-of-state parents.
Born in Venezuela to French-Canadian parents, Annick Lenoir-Peek’s path to parent defense wasn’t typical. Her father’s work in the oil industry meant a childhood spent moving between countries in South America and Europe. It wasn’t until college that she landed in the U.S., earning her degree in International Politics at Georgetown University before graduating from Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law.
“I’ve taken four bar exams—Texas, Illinois, South Carolina, and North Carolina,” she says, laughing. “All on the first try. But I’m not moving again unless it’s to a state where I’m already licensed!”
Calling Durham home since 2008, Lenoir-Peek has worked to improve the quality of legal representation for parents across North Carolina. Her experience spans nearly every role in child welfare law: parent attorney, DSS attorney, appellate counsel, mentor, and national lecturer. For the past 20 years, she’s specialized in appeals—arguing before the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court on behalf of parents whose rights were at risk of being permanently severed from their children.
“This work is heavy. It’s emotional. Our clients aren’t bad people. They’re struggling people,” she explains. “I’ve represented deployed fathers who lost custody while overseas, mothers battling addiction without support, and grandparents raising children with no legal rights. These aren’t headlines. These are families.”
Her vision for the OPD includes:
- Expanding public-facing resources for parents and caregivers
- Increasing recruitment and training of parent attorneys statewide
- Launching short informational videos to educate both attorneys and families
- Advocating for a broader understanding of the trauma caused by child removal.
“I want to change the narrative,” she said. “The public too often sees our clients through the lens of sensational headlines. But most of the parents I represent are doing the best they can under difficult circumstances. They don’t need judgment. They need help.”
“We’ve forgotten how traumatic it is to remove a child,” she says. “People think removal is always safer. But I’ve seen the harm firsthand—even if they do get to eventually come back home, the kids are never the same.”
Lenoir-Peek replaces longtime Parent Defender Wendy Sotolongo, whose leadership helped build the OPD into a nationally respected model for parent advocacy.
“I wouldn’t be half the attorney I am without Wendy,” she says. “She taught me how to be strategic, how to lead with empathy, and how to make change without burning the system down. Her vision gave this office national credibility. I want to build on that.”
Lenoir-Peek plans to work closely with the UNC School of Law this fall as it is launching a new child welfare clinic, designed to help recruit parent attorneys in North Carolina and beyond. She is partnering with the clinic to build interest in parent representation among future attorneys.
She will also advocate for the expansion of the social worker pilot program, which originated with her predecessor, and that embeds social work professionals directly into parent defense teams. It is called the Interdisciplinary Parent Representation (IPR) Program. The program has a track record of changing (for the better) the lives of clients and their children long term—not just impacting the outcomes in the courtroom.
“When I say I represent parents in child welfare cases, people assume the worst,” she says. “They picture addicts passed out in cars, abusive parents. But I can count on one hand the number of truly dangerous parents I’ve represented in almost 30 years. The vast majority are people doing the best they can with the resources they have.”
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For more information on the Office of the Parent Defender and its resources for
attorneys and families, visit https://ncparentdefender.org/.