Ward and Smith, P.A. Welcomes Five New Attorneys

Ward and Smith, P.A. is pleased to announce that real estate attorney Melissa R. Hardy, business attorney Lee C. Hodge, financial institutions attorney Kimberly E. Melk, litigation attorney Michael J. Parrish, and business attorney Bridget L. Welborn joined the Firm in September. Ms. Hardy, Mr. Hodge, Mr. Parrish, and Ms. Welborn work in the Firm's New Bern office. Ms. Melk works in the Firm's Greenville office.

Melissa R. Hardy earned her law degree in 2008 from Campbell University's Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law. She was membership editor for the Campbell Law Review and a Webster Scholar. In 2003 she received her B.A. in Communication, magna cum laude, from East Carolina University. Ms. Hardy's externship for the Honorable Judge Sanford L. Steelman, Jr. of the NC Court of Appeals included drafting bench briefs and opinions.

Lee C. Hodge received his J.D. in 2008, summa cum laude, from Wake Forest University School of Law. He was research editor for the Wake Forest Law Review and a recipient of the Dean's Scholarship 2005-2008. Mr. Hodge received his B.A. in Political Science, summa cum laude, from North Carolina State University. He has served as a legislative liaison before the North Carolina General Assembly.

Kimberly E. Melk earned her law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law. She is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois, and North Carolina.

Michael J. Parrish received his law degree in 2008, magna cum laude, from Wake Forest University School of Law. He participated on the Moot Court Board's National First Amendment Team and was a member of the Wake Forest Law Review. Mr. Parrish earned his B.A. in Economics in 2004 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Scarboro Scholarship recipient. He was a 2007 Summer Associate at Ward and Smith.

Bridget L. Welborn earned her law degree in 2008, cum laude, from the University of Richmond School of Law. Ms. Welborn was captain of the Jessup Moot Court Board and managing editor of the Journal of Law and Public Interest. She received her B.S. in Public Health in 2005 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During law school, Ms. Welborn interned with a Richmond law firm and volunteered in housing project cases for the Legal Aid Justice Center in Richmond, Virginia.