BALANCED LEADERS.

• Author: Pressler, Alyssa
• Position: N.C. PORTRAITS: LEADERSHIP IN LAW FIRMS

Lawyers are one of those things you hope you never need, but when you do, you want the best. The state is filled with top notch law firms specializing in all types of law, including those profiled on the following pages. In speaking with the firms, it was easy to find a common thread. Each of them champions their clients above all else and truly cares about the people they work with. Read on to learn more about Ward and Smith, Myers Bigel and Kaufman & Canoles.

STAYING POWER

Myers Bigel is a law firm people don't leave very often. The average tenure for an employee is 16 years, according to shareholder James (Jim) Cannon, who has been with the firm since its inception 25 years ago. "There's a lot of loyalty, and as a result a lot of continuity" he says.

In feet, there are five attorneys who can say they were one of the original 17 to form Myers Bigel by breaking away from Bell Seltzer during that firm's merger with Alston & Bird in 1997. One of those five is D. Randal Ayers, who was recently included in the peer reviewed The Best Lawyers In America's 2021-22 listing.

Another is Needham Boddie II, who began practicing patent law, which Myers Bigel specializes in, in 1994 when he joined Bell Seltzer after 10 years of experience in design engineering with Duke Power Company.

As a firm that focuses on patent law, particularly in the tech, chemistry and biology, and mechanical industries, their location in the heart of the Triangle in Raleigh allows each attorney to flourish in their area of expertise. This is true of Julie Richardson, who focuses on patent prosecution in the electromechanical arts with an emphasis on biomedical devices.

Grant Scott, former shareholder and now counsel at Myers Bigel, is one of the attorneys with the most experience at the firm, having started his law career in 1991 like Cannon.

Cannon believes the continuity of the firm is one of the reasons for its success and, along with excellent service, why many of the firm's clients, including the firm's four largest clients, have remained loyal for more than 20 years.

But he's not concerned about the future of the firm, either. A number of people at Myers Bigel have been there for decades, like Rohan Saba, a shareholder that has been at the firm since graduating from law school 20 years ago, and Erin Bobay, a shareholder who's been at the firm since graduating law school 14 years ago, both of whom have already taken leadership roles in the firm's management. Executive...