Women at Smith Anderson Etch Pathways to Success

Women’s History Month is an opportunity to highlight groundbreaking women and their impact on their community. As the celebratory month comes to a close, Smith Anderson is making history of its own by having more female attorneys and women in leadership roles than ever before. Nearly one-third of Smith Anderson lawyers and three-quarters of our professional and senior administrative leadership are women, including paralegals, directors and managers.

We reflect on some of the recent milestones achieved by our women leaders and applaud them for their admirable and impactful actions of having challenged the status quo, demonstrated excellence throughout their career and championed the greater community:

• Triangle Business Journal honored firm Management Committee Chair Amy Batten as a 2022 “Woman in Business” award winner. The publication also recognized Jessica West as a leader in the legal field and community naming her a Top 40 Under 40 award winner.

• Kerry Shad, co-chair of Smith Anderson’s D&I Committee, landed on North Carolina Lawyers Weekly’s 2022 Power List and Benchmark Litigation named her in its International Top 250 Women in Litigation Guide. 

• Kendra White, Sharita Whitaker, Taylor Dewberry and Jenny Bobbitt are recognized by the National Black Lawyers Top 100 list.

• Taylor Dewberry was appointed as Smith Anderson’s first Chief Diversity Officer.

• The National Law Journal continues to rank Smith Anderson in its Women’s Scorecard for its percentage of female attorneys and partners.

• Caryn McNeill was elected as a member of The American Law Institute (ALI), which is the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize and otherwise improve the law. 

• North Carolina Lawyers Weekly named Smith Anderson partners Rose Kenyon and Caryn McNeill to its prestigious “Women of Justice” awards.

• Smith Anderson Women’s Affinity Group “SWAG” serves as a community-building arm within the firm and offers women opportunities to engage externally through various service projects.

• Many of our women lawyers are also actively engaged members or directors of professional and community organizations. Some of those organizations include: Artspace, Community Music School of Wake County, Food Runners Collaborative, Neighbor to Neighbor, Ravenscroft School, RISE Southeast Raleigh Charter School, Triangle Commercial Real Estate Women and United Arts Council.

We acknowledge the contributions of the women throughout history who have helped cultivate the opportunities and freedoms that women have today, as well as current and future generations who will continue to advance this important cause.