News Article

Community leadership has been a hallmark of Womble Carlyle for more than 130 years. Womble Carlyle attorneys approach civic engagement with the same commitment and innovation that they approach client service.

For these efforts, Keith Vaughan, Womble Carlyle's Managing Member, and Pete Brunstetter, Member of Womble Carlyle and North Carolina State Senator, have been recognized as two of the "Triad’s Most Influential People: 2008". The annual list is compiled by the Triad Business Journal.

Triad Business Journal Publisher Douglas W. Copeland Jr. said the fourth annual list of business executives, elected officials and community leaders represents "the players this region calls on most frequently to get things done, whether by dynamic leadership, behind-the-scenes lobbying or consensus building."

The Triad Business Journal said of Vaughan: "The managing member of one of the 100 largest law firms in the country, Vaughan brings a keen intellect and skilled analysis wherever he serves. Now in his second term chairing the Piedmont Triad Partnership, he is an advocate for regionalism—a perspective he also brings to roles at the Winston-Salem Alliance, Wake Forest University Board of Visitors, the Chamber, Downtown Rotary and the United Way of Forsyth County."

Vaughan has served as Chairman of the Firm Management Committee and Managing Member of Womble Carlyle since February, 2002. Before that, he served for 10 years as the Firm's Litigation Practice Group Leader. He was recently recognized in a survey of large law firm managing partners as one of 10 "Most Admired Leaders."

The newspaper wrote of Brunstetter, "The former chairman of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners is also a state senator. His profile and history give Forsyth another strong voice in the Senate. He's also active civically in the Twin City, serving on the boards of the Winston-Salem Alliance and N.C. Hospital Association, among others."

Brunstetter's wide-ranging business law practice includes corporate and public finance, mergers and acquisitions, business transactions, health care and health care transactions. He represents District 31 in the North Carolina State Senate.

The "Triad's Most Influential: 2008" special section appeared in the Nov. 30, 2007, edition of the Triad Business Journal. Honorees were recognized at a Nov. 28th reception.