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Welcome to Voices of NCAJ.
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We're talking to members of the North
Carolina Advocates for Justice about what
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it means to be a trial lawyer, what it
takes to be great at the practice of law,
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and how being a part of NCAJ
enriches their lives and careers.
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Produced and powered by LawPods.
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Welcome everyone to Voices of NCAJ,
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the podcast for the North Carolina
Advocates for Justice. I am Amber Nimocks,
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your host and director of
external affairs for NCAJ.
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Before we get started,
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I'd like to thank our circle of leadership
gemstone level members for supporting
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NCAJ's mission and this podcast.
If you're watching on YouTube,
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you can see a list of circle of leadership
firms at the end of the podcast.
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To find out how your
firm can join the circle,
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go to ncaja.com/circle.
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My guests today are Audrey
and Gabe Snyder. In January,
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the Snyders bought Ward Black Law in
the wake of the passing of the firm's
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founder, Janet Ward Black in November.
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The Snyders have both been actively
involved for NCAJ in years,
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as was Janet Ward.
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Audrey has served as chair of NCAJ's
Women's Caucus and the Products Liability
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Class Actions and Mass Torts section,
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and she has served as president of the
North Carolina Association for Women
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Attorneys. Gabe is graduate of
NCAJ's NEXT leadership program
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and has served as chair of the Auto
Torts and Premises Liability Section.
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Audrey, Gabe,
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welcome to the program and congratulations
on being the new owners of Ward Black
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Law. Thank.
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You. Thank you. Thank you.
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So you announced the purchase
of the firm in early January,
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and that followed very shortly
after Janet Ward's passing.
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So this must have been, I'm only guessing,
a whirlwind few months for you guys.
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You screeze Christmas in there in
between somewhere, right? Yeah.
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With your two small children.
How are you both feeling?
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Well, now that you asked,
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I've taken a moment to pause
and maybe reflect on that.
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It has been a whirlwind, as
you said. And to be honest,
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I feel like we have not
really stopped to even
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recognize or appreciate
all that's happened.
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So between losing Janet Ward,
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and of course that was
extraordinarily hard on our firm,
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a lot of mixed emotions
with seeing her pass
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and losing her,
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but also knowing that she
is in a place that she wants
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to be with her Lord and
savior. That's comforting.
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And then just trying to continue
to steer a whole law firm
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across a finish line and into
a transition has just been ...
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A whirlwind is a really
good description of it.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah. I'll echo what she said.
I feel like it's been difficult,
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but in a lot of good ways.
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Janet Ward did a good job of kind of
preparing us for this in a lot of ways,
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letting us in the
leadership team for years.
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Audrey and I have been at the
firm for six, seven years a piece.
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So we really have been
involved in business decisions
and handling things with
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the firm. And so the thing motivating
us now is keeping the team together,
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keeping our staff together,
keeping our clients together,
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and really trying to continue on with
Janet Ward's legacy of giving and care.
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And so yeah, both of you
were at the firm for, Gabe,
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you said six or seven years?
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Yeah, I have trouble keeping
track. I think I came in at:
2019
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so I'm going up on seven
and Audrey got here first.
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I had joked that she actually got me
my first job. So my first big boy job.
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That's handy.
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That's a good job. Yeah. It's nice
being married to a successful person.
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And how did you come to work
at War Black Law, Audrey?
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Well, it was absolutely
a God story of how I
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got to the firm. Gabe,
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my wonderful husband joined his father's
firm here in Greensboro when he first
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started practicing.
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And I followed him and came to
Greensboro, but didn't have a job.
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So I applied to several places,
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didn't get much back in
the way of interviews or
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offers.
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So one day I got tired of sitting at home
and waiting and decided I was going to
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put on a suit and print out some resumes
and just introduce myself to the law
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firms in Greensboro.
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So I literally walked
into Word Black Law and I
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remember being so impressed by the
fact that Janet Ward led her firm
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with her faith.
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And so when I walked up to the front
desk here in the office, I said, "Hi,
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my name's Audrey Snyder. I have a law
degree and I share your faith. Are you
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hiring?" Wow. Wow. So yeah,
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I've had quite the story of how
I got here. The answer was no,
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we're not hiring,
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but we may have some work
for you on a contract basis.
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And so I got a call a couple
weeks later and they made
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me an offer for, I think
the way it was phrased is,
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"We don't have an office space for you.
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We have no idea how long
you can work for us,
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but if you're willing to
show up and work with us,
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then we'll give you some contract work."
And so I actually turned down at that
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time a full-time job because I was
so drawn to word black law and I
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felt like it's where God wanted me to be.
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So with no benefit offers
and just a contract
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basis, no guarantee of
work other than two weeks.
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They said they'd give
me two weeks of work.
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I started working with the firm in their
family law department actually when we
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used to have a family law department
and I worked for about three months and
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Janet Ward decided that she needed
to sign me up for full-time and
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keep me around.
So yeah, it was quite the adventure.
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That is not your typical
how I came to firm X, Y,
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or Z story. That's really amazing.
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I would never think that in this day and
age with all the LinkedIn and all the
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automated robots and
everything that you usually ...
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The typical route is you
either know somebody or
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you try to get it over, put the
right keywords in for your resume.
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So that is really amazing that you walked
in the door and that was the door you
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decided to stay in. Wow.
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Yeah, absolutely. Nine
years later, I'm still here,
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the first firm and only firm
I've ever worked at. Oh.
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Okay. Wow. And so Gabe,
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you followed her to War
Black Law a few years later?
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I've been following her
around since we met.
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A smart man. Smart man.
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That's right. That's
right. We met back in:
2010
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and I've been following ever since.
We went to undergrad together,
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law school together,
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and a job opened up and my dad was
starting to slow down for retirement
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and a job had opened up at
Ward Black and Audrey said,
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"Why don't you apply?"
And Jane Ward hired me.
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Awesome.
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Been working here ever since.
Started off in workers' comp,
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then progressed into PI and
comp. And then anyway, yeah.
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So how did you two meet? Do you
have a good meet cute story?
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Yeah, Gabe gets to take that.
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One. Yeah, I like telling it because
Audrey's kind of factual about it.
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And so for me, I was the one
that was kind of infatuated.
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Yeah. Yeah. So what,
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2010
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so we were young going to college
and we were sitting in the,
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or I was sitting with my buddy at the
cafeteria and we're sitting talking and
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obviously looking around for girls.
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It was like all we wanted
to do when we got there.
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So.
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I look up and I see Audrey. First
of all, I was stunned. I mean,
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I thought she was beautiful. And I said,
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"I'm going to go talk to her." She's
like, "No, you're not. " I was like, "No,
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no, go watch me. Watch me. " So I
walk up and she's in the burger line.
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I think there had raps there, I found
out later. And I had already eaten,
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of course. I'm literally just there to
talk to her. So I walk up and I said,
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"Hey, my name's Gabe.
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Looks like you play tennis," because
she was wearing a tennis outfit.
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And she looked at me and she goes,
"Uh-huh." Like that. And I go, okay,
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well, I play tennis too. And
she's like, "That's nice.
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That's cool." And I'm like, "Well, if
you play tennis and I played tennis,
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then maybe we should play sometime."
And she said, "Well, if you want to,
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you can look me up on
Facebook." And so I said,
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"Okay." And I faked getting a
burger and then I looked her up on
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Facebook and sure enough,
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we went and played tennis.
We fight about what our first date was.
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I think it was tennis.
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She thinks it was Cracker Barrel because
that's all there is at Campbell at
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Bowie's Creek. Plus I'm
17, I don't have any money,
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but blueberry pancakes and eggs
and bacon, I think is what we had.
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Aw.
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That's a.
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Great story. You have to tell her.
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So what's really special and makes
it that much more cute the way we
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met is I had told him,
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"You have to look me up on Facebook."
So he friended me that day,
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invited me to be his friend and
then messaged me that way. Well,
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however many years later, I
think it was seven years later,
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we're standing on the
altar getting married
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and we're listening to a song that
his brother had written for us and
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he whispers in my ear and he says,
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"Guess what popped up on my Facebook
this morning?" And I was like, "No, what?
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" And he said, "We've been
friends now for seven years.
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Today is the day that I invited you to
be my friend." And so it must have been
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the day that we met.
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September 2nd.
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September 2nd. Yeah. And I had no idea.
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So of course I'm like teary-eyed
on the altar at our wedding.
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She's like, "Why did you tell me
that now?" Whispering, of course.
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That is terribly
romantic. Very, very nice.
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Who knew a cafeteria
could and burgers, you.
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Know? And you actually had
to buy another burger. So
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that's a real commitment as a 17-year-old.
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I was committed to that relationship
early on, apparently. Yeah.
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I liked her so much on our first date.
I joked about, I was so nervous. I said,
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"Our kids are going to have our same
sense of humor." So I was real smooth.
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That was.
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Terrible. Playing it cool.
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Yeah. Not obsessed.
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So you started dating as undergrads
and then how did you both
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decide to pursue the legal profession?
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I think we both had law in
mind when we went to Campbell.
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I think one of the things that attracted
us the most about Campbell was that
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they had a faith-based law school,
which we thought was really,
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really impressive. So I think going in,
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we both knew we wanted
to go to law school,
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but we weren't positive that
we wanted to go to Campbell.
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I was pretty confident in that, but Gabe,
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I don't think made the final decision
to go to Campbell until about a couple
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months before classes started.
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Okay.
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But yeah,
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we were in classes together from freshman
year at Campbell undergrad all the
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way through for seven years
through law school. So
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we are very used to working
together and so it was kind of a
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natural fit for us. I know working
together is not for every couple,
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and we certainly have to have our
separate domains here at Ward Black Law,
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but it seemed very natural for us
because we kind of grew up together in a
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sense.
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Right, right. What was it that
drew you to the law in general,
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Audrey?
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For me,
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I always had a really big passion
for helping people through their
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problems.
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I've been drawn to the counseling
aspect of the practice of law.
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I majored in psychology
and I thought about
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counseling at one time,
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but when I went and shadowed
some psychologists and
kind of saw what that would
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look like day in and day out,
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I felt a real call that that's
not something I would really
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want to do long term.
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I felt like I really needed a
way to help people tangibly,
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to help change their circumstances.
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I'm not really the best
listener all the time.
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I like to hands-on problem solve.
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So I think that was really the deciding
factor for me is I felt like I could
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really make a difference for people
and make a difference in changing their
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circumstances through the law.
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Cool. And how about you, Gabe?
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How long have you known that
you wanted to be a lawyer?
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So since I was like in second grade,
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and it probably has something to
do with my dad being a lawyer,
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you idolize your father and
my second idol was Matlock,
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the best lawyer that ever lived.
I used to watch with my mom.
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Seriously? Oh.
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Yeah. That's awesome. Absolutely.
Serious sucker and hotdogs, baby.
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Absolutely.
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But as I got older, when you
actually decide those things,
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it became more of an object
or a goal for me because I
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think I just love telling
other people's stories.
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I love telling their story in
a way that impacts others and
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that sometimes people,
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they can't tell their story the way that
needs to be told and they need somebody
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to speak for them. And
so that was very, very
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something that I wanted to do.
I like advocating for people,
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no matter what it is, to help them.
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Yeah, that's true.
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There's a great storytelling
component to being a lawyer,
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so absolutely.
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So you guys are about two months into the
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stewardship of this institution,
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which is celebrating its 20th year,
right? This month in February.
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And it has a very ...
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Obviously you knew this from the
moment you walked in the door, Audrey,
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a unique culture.
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How is it occurring to you as
the new leaders of this firm?
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How are you going to preserve the
ward black law and further the word
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black law culture? I'm sure you must
be thinking about that all the time.
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Absolutely. I think we're trying
to take it one step at a time.
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Janet Ward left a legacy and
footprints that we'll never fill.
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And frankly, we don't really want to.
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We want to take what she
built and continue it,
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absolutely,
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but also reshape it somewhat to
make it our story that we know God
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has for us. I love that you used the
word stewardship. That's how we feel.
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We feel like we are very
blessed and fortunate to have
the opportunity to lead a
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law firm.
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We've got 30 staff who we care
for deeply that dedicate every
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single day of their life.
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They spend more time here in this law
firm than they do at home with their
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family.
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So part of what we're
focused on is really making
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sure that they are well cared for
and that we are empowering them with
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resources and things that they can
use to give their highest and best
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every day.
We're all skilled in different ways.
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So we're really about bringing our team
together so that we can ultimately do
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what we've all been called
to do here in this building,
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which is serve clients
who've been injured.
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And so we're really kind
of taking a step back,
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reflecting on all that Janet Ward has
built and the legacy she has left and kind
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of refocusing on our
staff and on our clients.
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Client service is really,
really important to us.
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So we are really trying
to make sure that we are
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maintaining and stewarding as best
we can with what we've been given.
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Right.
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Yeah. Yeah. I'll echo on
that too. I think for us,
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we didn't choose it this way.
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This is the way God had it happen
and the way that it just happened.
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And for us,
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what we've been hearing is
an understanding and trying
to listen to God in is
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that God hasn't called
us to be Janet Ward.
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He's called us to be Gabe and Audrey.
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And that means that he's
given us certain gifts.
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He gives us a different
calling. And so for us,
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it's maintaining the ministry,
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maintaining the idea that
we are a Christian law firm,
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but it may look different.
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And one thing that we have prayed
about and felt passionate about
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is actually having either
one or two members of staff
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who call clients, not for a case update,
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not for a treatment update,
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but just to call and ask them how we
could pray for them. And we want to take
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those prayer requests into our
office and not just say, "Oh,
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00:17:55
you need lunch or you're hungry
and we'll pray for that. " No,
Speaker:
00:17:59
we want to be able to give them something.
Speaker:
00:18:01
We want to be able to put them in with
all these great nonprofits that Janet
Speaker:
00:18:04
Ward built up and utilize that so
that we're kind of a funnel for them.
Speaker:
00:18:08
The idea would be, I explained it
to our ministry team the other day,
Speaker:
00:18:13
when our clients come in,
they've suffered a loss.
Speaker:
00:18:16
And the only thing that we can offer
as attorneys to fill that loss is
Speaker:
00:18:20
money. That's the way
the justice system works,
Speaker:
00:18:24
but there's something else empty there.
Speaker:
00:18:27
And so we're trying to fill that need.
Speaker:
00:18:30
Spiritually.
Speaker:
00:18:31
For them to ensure that they're
not filling it with something else.
Speaker:
00:18:34
It's really sad day whenever you see your
clients get hooked on pain medication,
Speaker:
00:18:39
alcohol,
Speaker:
00:18:40
trying to fill that void that's been
put in their life either from grief or
Speaker:
00:18:44
sadness of loss.
Speaker:
00:18:45
And so we want to promote and help them
fill that with spiritual things instead
Speaker:
00:18:49
of those other things that could
cause them harm down the line,
Speaker:
00:18:53
particularly when the money runs out.
Speaker:
00:18:56
Right, right.
Speaker:
00:18:58
And that's a tall order to
endeavor to give people more than
Speaker:
00:19:03
just the financial compensation that
is. And I know that a lot of ...
Speaker:
00:19:08
It weighs on ...
Speaker:
00:19:10
Gabe and I were in this leadership
seminar half day yesterday where
Speaker:
00:19:15
we talked about making sure that you
have something left over for yourself
Speaker:
00:19:21
or I guess putting your own
mask on first because so
Speaker:
00:19:26
many attorneys do deal with like
you're meeting people at the most
Speaker:
00:19:31
difficult, worst time of their lives.
Speaker:
00:19:33
And so you take all that
on and that's got to be a
Speaker:
00:19:38
lot and especially given that you
want to do even more for them.
Speaker:
00:19:43
So how do you guys keep it going?
Speaker:
00:19:46
What do you do to rest and restore
and build yourselves back up for
Speaker:
00:19:51
this?
Speaker:
00:19:52
You want to go first this time, Gabe?
Speaker:
00:19:54
Yeah, sure. We'll mix it up. So
my wife is really good at tennis.
Speaker:
00:19:58
I don't know if this is restoration for
me or just like a beat down that I like
Speaker:
00:20:03
to partake in. I don't know.
Speaker:
00:20:06
But we play tennis together and I very
much enjoy that because it's just a place
Speaker:
00:20:11
to go and think about hitting a ball.
Speaker:
00:20:15
Just forget about what
you got and do that.
Speaker:
00:20:18
Another thing that we really like doing
is going to the Natural Science Center
Speaker:
00:20:22
in Greensboro with our girls
and their joy just like,
Speaker:
00:20:27
I don't know, it just fills our cups.
Hearing them, I'll speak for me,
Speaker:
00:20:31
but hearing them when I come to the
door, scream, "Daddy," and come down.
Speaker:
00:20:37
So getting to watch them around
the animals and everything,
Speaker:
00:20:39
it really fills us up.
So things like that.
Speaker:
00:20:43
Fun, fun. How about you, Audrey? Beating
your husband in tennis is therapeutic?
Speaker:
00:20:48
Yeah.
Speaker:
00:20:49
Absolutely.
Speaker:
00:20:49
It's restoration.
Speaker:
00:20:50
Yes. Yes. That is a weekly
need that I have. No, and
Speaker:
00:20:56
what we did start doing is we
started playing mixed doubles,
Speaker:
00:20:59
so we're playing together,
and that's been really fun.
Speaker:
00:21:04
Most of what we do together is very
serious and intense as far as the
Speaker:
00:21:09
business goes.
Speaker:
00:21:11
And so we found that we really have to
be intentional about separating that
Speaker:
00:21:15
time because we're also,
Speaker:
00:21:18
we're business partners
and business owners now,
Speaker:
00:21:21
but we're also married and parents.
Speaker:
00:21:25
So I think what Gabe said is true. I mean,
Speaker:
00:21:28
we just like spending time with our
girls and Gabe is really good about
Speaker:
00:21:33
being intentional to make sure that
he and I are spending time together.
Speaker:
00:21:37
If it's on the tennis court or
just going to dinner one night,
Speaker:
00:21:41
we just have to prioritize it and we
have to have some of those boundaries
Speaker:
00:21:47
set up. But to be honest,
Speaker:
00:21:49
we love what we do and we talk about
that often. We're very thankful
Speaker:
00:21:54
that we have the privilege of doing
something every day that makes us happy
Speaker:
00:22:00
and excited.
Speaker:
00:22:02
So I know that a lot of people talk
about the boundaries thing and separating
Speaker:
00:22:06
it,
Speaker:
00:22:06
but Gabe and I just like sitting around
talking about cases and strategizing.
Speaker:
00:22:11
So we're big dorks that way.
Speaker:
00:22:17
Well,
Speaker:
00:22:18
we're fortunate too to have both
of you then and that passion that
Speaker:
00:22:23
you bring to it all the time.
Speaker:
00:22:25
I know you've both been in leadership
positions and with various groups in
Speaker:
00:22:30
NCAJ. What is about NCAJ
that works for y'all?
Speaker:
00:22:35
What do you get out of it?
Because you give a lot to it.
Speaker:
00:22:38
Well, that's something that
fills our cup, for sure.
Speaker:
00:22:42
Being around like-
minded people, I really,
Speaker:
00:22:46
really treasure the relationships
that I have in NCAJ,
Speaker:
00:22:49
particularly with the smaller groups
and sections, the women's caucus,
Speaker:
00:22:54
being a part of the
products liability section.
Speaker:
00:22:56
And you form close bonds because you do
similar work and you help each other out
Speaker:
00:23:01
and you get the opportunity to
learn and work with each other,
Speaker:
00:23:05
but you also just do life together.
Speaker:
00:23:08
And our favorite part about
NCAJ is that it gives us
Speaker:
00:23:13
the opportunity to come together
with our people and just be
Speaker:
00:23:18
able to spend that quality time.
Speaker:
00:23:21
And it also gives us an opportunity to
learn from each other and collaborate on
Speaker:
00:23:25
cases. We're plaintiff's attorneys.
Speaker:
00:23:28
We don't work in big giant law firms where
they have all these people to talk to
Speaker:
00:23:33
and meet with and strategize about cases.
Speaker:
00:23:37
We have to pick up the phone and
call our NCAJ members and be more
Speaker:
00:23:41
intentional about that collaboration.
Speaker:
00:23:45
Right, right.
Speaker:
00:23:48
It's two things for me. When I started
off, I started off with my dad.
Speaker:
00:23:52
He only did criminal law.
Speaker:
00:23:54
So I had a passion for personal injury
law because of the car wreck that I was
Speaker:
00:23:58
in when I was in my first semester of
law school. So I was passionate about it,
Speaker:
00:24:03
but I really didn't know what I was doing.
Speaker:
00:24:05
And I will never forget the
people who now I realize are
Speaker:
00:24:10
a very, very big deal who would just pick
up my phone call and talk to me for 30
Speaker:
00:24:16
minutes, 45 minutes.
Speaker:
00:24:19
And they really helped me through a lot.
Speaker:
00:24:21
And so I just feel like I have a debt
that I'm never going to be able to repay
Speaker:
00:24:25
for all that time and the way that
they taught me and were so kind to me.
Speaker:
00:24:29
The second thing is, not to
be true dramatic about it,
Speaker:
00:24:33
but at times I really feel like we're
in a battle. We're in a war with the
Speaker:
00:24:39
people who don't want to let
us tell our client's story
Speaker:
00:24:42
and we've got to be able to get
together. And if we're all separate,
Speaker:
00:24:46
we're not as strong as we are
together. And so being together,
Speaker:
00:24:49
coming up with plans,
Speaker:
00:24:50
coming up with ways to combat that
so we can tell our client's story,
Speaker:
00:24:53
I think is critical and the NCAJ
provides the avenue to do that.
Speaker:
00:24:59
Yeah. Yeah. It's a different
kind of organization.
Speaker:
00:25:04
The Trial Lawyers Bar is, it's
different than the other ones.
Speaker:
00:25:08
So it's awesome that you guys have
found such a great place here.
Speaker:
00:25:13
We're really glad.
Speaker:
00:25:14
And we are very grateful
for your recent donation to
Speaker:
00:25:19
NCHA,
Speaker:
00:25:20
which we're going to use to fund some
scholarships for the NEXT program,
Speaker:
00:25:25
which you are a graduate of Gabe
and which is a great opportunity
Speaker:
00:25:30
to make the kind of connections
that you're talking about.
Speaker:
00:25:33
It was terrific to be in
that seminar yesterday.
Speaker:
00:25:36
I really got a sense of how you guys
connected and worked together and really
Speaker:
00:25:41
just the sense of camaraderie. It was
really palpable in there, I felt like. I.
Speaker:
00:25:46
Totally agree.
Speaker:
00:25:47
And I think the NCAJ is brilliant for
putting that together because when you're
Speaker:
00:25:51
young, you feel like you have to pretend
to know everything because your boss is
Speaker:
00:25:55
watching, your clients are watching,
you have to pretend to know.
Speaker:
00:25:58
It's nice to get around
to other people like,
Speaker:
00:25:59
"Do you know what you're doing?"
No. And then you both just got it.
Speaker:
00:26:04
You build that base and
It's very, very good.
Speaker:
00:26:09
I've learned so much, Jess and
Shannon and that more than just law,
Speaker:
00:26:14
more than just coming together,
but leadership qualities,
how to manage people.
Speaker:
00:26:18
They don't talk about that in law
school. They don't teach you that,
Speaker:
00:26:21
but I do it most of my day, to be frank.
Most of my day is spent doing that,
Speaker:
00:26:26
managing, communicating. And
so really thankful to the NCAJ,
Speaker:
00:26:29
and I'm really glad the donation can
go to scholarships to make sure that
Speaker:
00:26:32
everybody who has the opportunity to
go and that there's not going to be any
Speaker:
00:26:36
financial constraint because young lawyers
really just need to go and do that.
Speaker:
00:26:41
It's life changing.
Speaker:
00:26:44
Yeah.
Speaker:
00:26:44
So we're excited about that and we're
excited about Janet Ward's the gift
Speaker:
00:26:49
also. She left NCAJ $50,000,
Speaker:
00:26:53
and we're going to use that to
go to helping fund a mentorship
Speaker:
00:26:58
program.
Speaker:
00:26:59
The thing about Janet Ward
that I really learned from all
Speaker:
00:27:04
of the memorials and all the
folks who talked about her,
Speaker:
00:27:08
that she always seemed to have time.
Speaker:
00:27:12
She was very generous
with her money, obviously,
Speaker:
00:27:16
and dedicated to tithing and
giving back of her treasure.
Speaker:
00:27:20
But just all these stories
of people who just said,
Speaker:
00:27:24
"I remember when she would just
... " She didn't know me that well,
Speaker:
00:27:28
but she picked up the phone or she
called me or when I called her,
Speaker:
00:27:32
she always had time for me,
Speaker:
00:27:34
which is a real testament to true sense
of generosity because for someone as
Speaker:
00:27:39
busy as she was, obviously,
Speaker:
00:27:40
to be willing to give your time like that.
So NCAJ thought that the mentorship
Speaker:
00:27:45
program would be, scholarships for
that would be a great use of her gift.
Speaker:
00:27:50
Yeah. It's perfect, Amber.
Speaker:
00:27:52
It's exactly in line
with who she was, right?
Speaker:
00:27:57
It's like what you
said, she gave her time.
Speaker:
00:27:59
And I remember one of the very first
things she told me after she hired me was,
Speaker:
00:28:03
"You have to join NCHA." And
that if there's any other
Speaker:
00:28:08
organization that's more important,
Speaker:
00:28:10
it's NCHA and a lot of
that had to do with the
Speaker:
00:28:14
opportunity for mentorship. And
that's something you're right,
Speaker:
00:28:20
and Gabe said this before,
I'm stealing his thunder,
Speaker:
00:28:22
but he said that when
people think about Janet
Speaker:
00:28:27
Ward, the first thing they think of
is not she was a really good lawyer.
Speaker:
00:28:32
The first thing they think of is
her faith and the way that she
Speaker:
00:28:37
sacrificed for other people. And then
they think she's a really good lawyer.
Speaker:
00:28:41
And so for her to have
that legacy set up and
Speaker:
00:28:46
having guidance for the mentors of
the NEXT program just seems so fitting
Speaker:
00:28:51
and so perfect because like
Gabe said, in law school,
Speaker:
00:28:55
you don't learn how to manage people.
Well,
Speaker:
00:28:57
there's really not a whole
lot of opportunity to learn
how to be a good mentor.
Speaker:
00:29:02
It's not something that you
pause and think about, but again,
Speaker:
00:29:06
the brilliance of NCAJ and
you all, your staff is,
Speaker:
00:29:10
you need to take some time and make sure
that the mentors have some guidance and
Speaker:
00:29:14
what the expectations are
and what a good investment
Speaker:
00:29:19
opportunity and a way to honor Janet
Ward. I'm really excited about it.
Speaker:
00:29:25
Awesome. Awesome. We are too. We are too.
Speaker:
00:29:28
And so as we are recording this today,
Speaker:
00:29:31
we are about a week into
the firm's celebration.
Speaker:
00:29:35
It's a 20 day celebration that started
on Janet Ward's birthday, right?
Speaker:
00:29:39
Which was also the 20th
anniversary of the firm, right?
Speaker:
00:29:43
Yeah.
Speaker:
00:29:44
Correct. I know that you guys
have been hosting on social
Speaker:
00:29:49
about memories of Janet Ward.
Speaker:
00:29:51
What else will you be doing as part of
this 20 day celebration to memorialize
Speaker:
00:29:56
her?
Speaker:
00:29:58
Yeah. So Besides doing that, we're sharing
a lot of internal memories. I mean,
Speaker:
00:30:04
we thought about doing a
blowout, having an event,
Speaker:
00:30:07
that would be something that
Janet Ward would've liked,
Speaker:
00:30:09
but the staff and all of
us have been through a lot.
Speaker:
00:30:13
And so we felt like it was
important to spend it as family.
Speaker:
00:30:17
And so Audrey and I are going to
take everyone out to a nice dinner
Speaker:
00:30:23
somewhere that they may not normally
go and host them and a significant
Speaker:
00:30:27
other and just spend time together.
Not work, not talk. I mean,
Speaker:
00:30:31
people can talk about work if they want,
Speaker:
00:30:33
but just come together and
think about the loss because
Speaker:
00:30:38
it's been, Audrey and I talked about this.
Speaker:
00:30:41
I don't know that she and I have
grieved yet in a way. I mean,
Speaker:
00:30:44
we knew about the diagnosis really early
on, but because everything has been,
Speaker:
00:30:49
"Here, you've got to run this firm now,
Speaker:
00:30:51
and there's cases that we need to work
on now." And none of it's really stopped.
Speaker:
00:30:55
And in fact, our work
has gotten more and more.
Speaker:
00:30:58
We wanted to recognize that with the staff
and let them know, "Look, we feel it.
Speaker:
00:31:02
We want you to understand that we feel it.
Speaker:
00:31:04
And so we want to take this time and
just have a nice dinner for you to just
Speaker:
00:31:07
relax and let's just kind of
slow down for a night." And
Speaker:
00:31:12
so that's one of the things that we're
going to do to celebrate, if you will.
Speaker:
00:31:17
Yeah.
Speaker:
00:31:18
And something that's really special
and just neat about the 20 days
Speaker:
00:31:23
is it started on Janet
Ward's birthday and the last
Speaker:
00:31:28
day is March 6th, a Friday. So that's
when we're going to do the dinner,
Speaker:
00:31:33
but there's something really special and
significant about the 6th that we did
Speaker:
00:31:36
not plan, but that is the day for For All,
Speaker:
00:31:41
which is the talk to a lawyer
for free day that Janet Ward
Speaker:
00:31:46
established and set up when
she was president of NCBA.
Speaker:
00:31:51
It was something that she held
near and dear to her heart.
Speaker:
00:31:54
So it is absolutely fitting that
that is the day that we really
Speaker:
00:31:59
celebrate and commemorate her.
Speaker:
00:32:01
And then we will have a big
party with other people involved
Speaker:
00:32:06
later on this year to celebrate
our 20-year anniversary. But first,
Speaker:
00:32:11
we're going to spend that time reflecting
and really just being together.
Speaker:
00:32:16
Like Gabe said,
Speaker:
00:32:16
we just haven't felt like we've had a
moment. When you asked me how am I feeling
Speaker:
00:32:20
at the very beginning, I was
like, "I don't know. " But yeah,
Speaker:
00:32:25
we're really looking forward
to that dinner and honoring
her and to honoring her
Speaker:
00:32:29
in this way through NCAJ.
It's really special.
Speaker:
00:32:34
Oh, that's awesome. Well,
Speaker:
00:32:35
I hope that you guys have a fabulous
dinner and I hope that you get to
Speaker:
00:32:41
slow down and take some deep
breaths because that's just a lot.
Speaker:
00:32:46
Well,
Speaker:
00:32:47
thank you so much for your generous
gift to NCAJ and for all of
Speaker:
00:32:51
your service to the organization. And
thank you for being on the podcast today.
Speaker:
00:32:56
Thank you so much. Enjoyed it very much.
Speaker:
00:32:58
Yeah. Thanks for having
us. Thanks. Before we go,
Speaker:
00:33:03
I'd like to thank today's episode
sponsor, which is Advocate Capital.
Speaker:
00:33:07
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Speaker:
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Thanks everyone for listening,
Speaker:
00:33:28
and if you're watching on YouTube, don't
forget to subscribe to this channel.
Speaker:
00:33:33
Thank you for joining us on
this episode of Voices of NCAJ.
Speaker:
00:33:37
For more information on the North Carolina
Advocates for Justice and how to join
Speaker:
00:33:41
or support NCAJ,
Speaker:
00:33:43
please visit our website at www.ncaj.com.