Ward and Smith is leveraging transformative technology to give more freedom to its attorneys and staff.
On August 1, Ward and Smith announced its new Flexible Workplace Policy. While acknowledging the value in putting in 'face time' at work, Ken Wooten, the firm's Co-Managing Director, remarked "there's also a need for employees to work from home, while traveling, or from an alternate location. With our recent upgrades in both technology and security, we are able to let employees schedule their work anytime, from anywhere." He added that the new policy allows the firm to "effectively manage people, time, and office space without compromising the quality of services delivered to clients, and to each other."
One of the technologies driving the firm's move toward a more flexible environment has been the recent deployment of new secure laptops. In addition, Ward and Smith has increased the reimbursement for cell phones plans to accommodate unlimited data as more employees seek to stay connected while on the go. Director of Human Resources Michael Christman stated, "We know that client demands require responsiveness at all hours of the day, and that doesn't stop when the office closes. We want to provide all the resources our team needs to continue to put our clients first." He continued, "In many ways, this policy simply documents our current practices and the spirit of what we have been doing for years. Codifying it as a firm-wide policy gives us a recruitment and retention advantage in a very competitive market."
About Ward and Smith
Ward and Smith is a full-service law firm with more than 90 attorneys working as a team from five offices from the coast to the mountains of North Carolina. The firm’s goal is to provide exceptional service to clients. In order to focus on and respond to specific client needs, Ward and Smith's leadership developed teams in specific industries and fields of law as necessary to serve clients within various segments of the market.
