ATLANTA & SPARTANBURG — Ford & Harrison LLP, one of the nation’s largest labor and employment law firms, today announced that the lawyers and staff of Edwards Ballard, a labor and employment boutique firm with offices in Spartanburg, SC and Asheville, NC, will join the firm effective January 1, 2005. The combined firm will have more than 140 lawyers and consultants in 14 offices located throughout the country.
Wade E. Ballard, Michael W. Bishop, Kevin W. Sturm, Thomas H. Keim, Jr., Karen M. Tyner, Patrick L. Cont and S. Clay Keim will become partners of Ford & Harrison. Jeffrey A. Lehrer and Penny C. Wofford will join the firm as associates and George B. May will join Ford & Harrison’s consulting practice as a wage and hour consultant.
Edwards Ballard’s South Carolina and North Carolina offices expand Ford & Harrison’s national reach to better meet the needs of its and Edwards Ballard’s clients throughout the Southeast and along the East Coast. The addition of Edwards Ballard’s practice will enhance even further the firm’s already stellar labor and employment practice, particularly in the areas of employee benefits, business immigration and wage and hour consulting.
“Our strategy is to serve our clients throughout the country and the growth of our firm is an integral part of that commitment,” explained Ford & Harrison Managing Partner C. Lash Harrison. “Adding the Edwards Ballard lawyers and consultant and opening South Carolina and North Carolina offices is a significant step forward in implementing that strategy. The addition of our Edwards Ballard colleagues to the Ford & Harrison team enables our firm to offer clients even more sophisticated problem solving strategies, across the spectrum of labor and employment law issues, as well as meeting the needs of our clients in South Carolina and North Carolina.”
“The lawyers and professionals at Edwards Ballard are delighted to be joining a firm of Ford & Harrison’s caliber,” said Wade Ballard, a founding partner of Edwards Ballard. “The firm’s broad range of services and expertise in representing employers and its network of offices across the country will be a significant new benefit for our clients.”