Diversity

Diversity and inclusion at Smith Anderson means celebrating the variety of experiences, perspectives and backgrounds that strengthen our firm culture, while reflecting the communities and clients we collaborate with. As a law firm with a significant public profile, we recognize that we play a pivotal role as a voice of influence within the legal professional and within the communities we serve. We are committed to making deliberate, thoughtful decisions that reflect our dedication to fostering an inclusive environment and embracing a broad range of perspectives across all aspects of our work.

Awards and Recognition

We are honored that Smith Anderson’s commitments to diversity and inclusion have been publicly acknowledged with several awards and recognitions. North Carolina Lawyers Weekly named Smith Anderson to its inaugural Empowering Women List, which recognizes law firms that have shown strong commitment to supporting and elevating women attorneys. The Triangle Business Journal named our firm one of its 2022 Leaders in Diversity award winners and has named three of our attorneys to its annual Women in Business list: Management Committee Chair Amy Batten (2022), Diversity & Inclusion Committee Co-Chair Emeritus Sharita Whitaker (2023), and securities and start-up attorney Benji Jones (2025). Consulting firm The Diversity Movement honored Smith Anderson as one of five East Coast law firms that "do it right" in leading and advancing diversity and inclusion, not just in the legal profession, but throughout the community. Smith Anderson also received the Wake County Bar Association’s inaugural Equity Champion award and the Diversity & Inclusion award from North Carolina and South Carolina Lawyers Weekly.

Building Belonging

We challenge ourselves to not only “talk the talk,” but to demonstrate our commitments to diversity and inclusion as a pillar of our strategic plan and through firm policies. A few key highlights of these efforts include:

Maintaining a Diversity and Inclusion Committee, consisting of both partners and associates that is co-chaired by two women partners who are champions of diversity.
Retaining a Chief Diversity Officer to help create and implement the firm’s diversity and inclusion programs, policies and strategic plans.
Offering an Excellence in Diversity 1L Fellowship program for first-year law school students who have demonstrated their commitment to make a positive contribution toward diversity and inclusion.
Maintaining and developing affinity groups open to all lawyers that value diversity and inclusion with a focus on mentoring, networking and community involvement.
Supporting, recruiting and hiring from minority job fairs.
Creating a Diversity Mentor Program that pairs associates who value diversity with partner mentors to foster a sense of belonging and assist associates navigating the path to firm partnership.
Serving on the Minorities in the Profession Committee of the North Carolina Bar Association, the Young Lawyers Division Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the Adelante! Moving Forward Program.
Sponsoring diversity and inclusion conferences, including the North Carolina Chamber’s Women Lead NC conference, the Chamber's Diversity & Inclusion conference, and NC Tech's Diversity + Inclusion Summit.
Supporting NFP organizations whose missions are rooted in D&I principles.

There is much more work that needs to be done on this front by the business community at large, and, for our part, we continuously work to be intentional in all of the decisions we make to ensure that diversity and inclusion is considered at every turn.

Mansfield Certification Plus

Smith Anderson has again achieved Mansfield Certified Plus status for our actions to ensure all talent at the firm has a fair and equal opportunity to advance into leadership. Data collected by Diversity Lab shows that firms that remain committed and accountable to the Mansfield Certification process year-over-year are making substantial progress in creating inclusive talent practices and diversifying their leadership ranks. This is why the firm has committed to a third cycle with Mansfield in the 2025-2026 Midsize Law Firm class.