Going into labor in the Twin City.

• Position: Labor-law firm Constangy, Brooks & Smith to set up shop in Winston-Salem

This firm thinks Winston-Salem is a city with a future.

That's how North Carolina Bar Association President George Mast reacted to news that Atlanta-based labor-law firm Constangy, Brooks & Smith was setting up shop in Winston-salem.

"On the face of it, it looked a little unusual," admits labor lawyer John Doyle of Charlotte-based Weinstein & Sturges.

With such golden geese as RJR Nabisco and Piedmont Airlines having flown the coop, why would a nationally known labor firm nestle its newest office in the Twin City?

One reason is that the National Labor Relations Board's four-state regional headquarters is in WinstonSalem. And one of the firm's largest clients is Sara Lee Corp., whose personal-products group is based there. But the deciding factor was surely Randy Loftis' departure from Petree, Stockton & Robinson - the state's third-largest practice.

Loftis, a 20-year veteran and former head of Petree, Stockton's labor-and employment-law section, took associate Robin Shea with him - the...