Legal Aid of North Carolina
selected for 2006 Balanced Life Workplace Award
September 6, 2006 Media Release
(Raleigh,
NC) – One of North Carolina’s largest law firms has been recognized for its
commitment to employment policies that assist lawyers in achieving balance
between their work and personal lives.
The North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys (NCAWA) has named
Legal Aid of North Carolina
(LANC) as the recipient of the
2006
NCAWA Large Firm Balanced Life Workplace Award. Last year’s recipient
was the law firm of Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A. of Charlotte. The
2006 Small Firm Balanced Life Workplace Award winner is Broker & Hamrick, PA of
Asheville.
“We were impressed with the manifest commitment that Legal Aid of North Carolina has shown
toward encouraging a healthy work-life balance,” said Lynne Townsend Albert,
NCAWA President. “The policies that LANC promotes and its commitment to a
balanced life are a beacon for the profession.”
The awards will be presented at the
2006 NCAWA
Annual Conference on Friday, October 13 at the Renaissance Hotel in
Asheville, NC.
“We are certainly pleased to be recognized by our colleagues in this manner,”
declared Celia Pistolis, LANC’s Assistant Director of Advocacy & Compliance.
“As a nonprofit law firm created in 2002, LANC consciously chose to develop
personnel policies and provide benefits that enhance the quality of life for its
employees.”
Pistolis noted that LANC has purposely created an office atmosphere in which
employees can freely request flex-time or other work arrangements, such as
working from home, to address family needs as well as continue to provide client
services. LANC also provides a generous leave policy, so that attorneys
have flexibility to take time off as they deem necessary, including general
leave, paid maternity/paternity leave, and paid sabbatical leave.
Personnel policies are periodically reviewed to ensure that LANC is
appropriately supporting staff’s needs.
“Legal Aid of North Carolina has a very dedicated, committed and hardworking staff,” added
Pistolis, “and we feel that our personnel policies should provide flexibility to
ensure opportunity for a proper balance between work and personal time.”
Roger Cook, a LANC attorney in Durham, agrees.
“Speaking from personal experience, I believe that LANC management places the
welfare of LANC employees and their dependents above all other considerations,”
said Cook. “LANC makes an effort at all levels of management, in my
experience, to accommodate employees who have extraordinary or pressing matters
requiring urgent attention.”
Additionally. the LANC health and dental benefits include options for employees’
spouses, domestic partners and/or children, as do its life insurance policies.
LANC’s policies and benefits are posted on its Intranet (internal) website for
easy access by staff at work, at home or anywhere access to the world wide web
is available.
“I never fully appreciated the impact that LANC policies and benefits have on my
ability to maintain a ‘balanced life’ until my husband was faced with
hospitalization and unspecified recovery time,” remarked Angie Dorsey, a LANC
attorney in Asheville. “I advised our executive director, and he told me
not to worry about leave and to take whatever time I needed to be with my
family. My second thought was thankfulness that we had such wonderful
health insurance coverage through LANC.
“Also, as the mother of two young children, being a LANC lawyer allows me to be
an active participant in their lives, “Dorsey noted. “Working for LANC
enables me to have a life outside of my law practice”.
The
Balanced Life Workplace Awards have been presented annually since 2005 by
the NCAWA to employers that have distinguished themselves by establishing
employment policies and practices that assist lawyers in achieving balance
between their work and personal lives. The Awards acknowledge employers
for the options they have provided to their attorneys and for the contribution
that they are making to attorneys’ quality of life and to the profession as a
whole.
NC Association of Women
Attorneys (NCAWA) is a voluntary, professional organization that is
established to increase the effective participation by women in the
justice system, in public office, and within the legal profession; promote the
rights of women under the law; and promote the welfare of the women attorneys of
North Carolina.
Legal Aid of North Carolina
(LANC) is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services
in civil matters to eligible, low-income people in all 100 counties in North
Carolina through 24, geographically located offices in North Carolina. LANC’s
clients typically have an annual income of 125% or less of the federally
established poverty levels. In 2005, LANC closed more than 19,000 cases
across North Carolina.
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CONTACTS:
Celia Pistolis (Assistant Director, Advocacy & Compliance),
Raleigh, NC;
919-856-2564
Lynne Townsend Albert (President, NC Association of Women Attorneys), Chapel
Hill, NC;
919-969-2991
Dock Kornegay (Director, Public Relations & Development),
Raleigh, NC;
919-856-2564
Disclaimer
The materials contained on this website are for information and educational
purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Please contact your
Legal Aid of North Carolina office or a private attorney if you need to speak to
an attorney regarding your particular situation. See our complete
disclaimer.
Mission Statement
Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that
provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in
order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers
to economic opportunity.