Sageworks Chairman Endorses Smith Anderson Partner Lee Kirby in Inc. Magazine

In an article from Inc. Magazine entitled “3 Attributes to Look For in Your Lawyer,” Sageworks Founder and Chairman Brian Hamilton offers advice to other entrepreneurs on key characteristics he feels are important when seeking an attorney or law firm for your business: 1) Your lawyer should be excellent in working with people; 2) Your law firm should be a true long-term partner with you; and 3) Your lawyer should have sound judgment.

Brian discusses the importance of finding an attorney who is excellent at working with people, and he recognizes Smith Anderson Partner Lee Kirby, as an attorney with the right people skills. “Our corporate lawyer, Lee Kirby with Smith Anderson (Raleigh, N.C.), has all of the requisite legal expertise (domain knowledge, Harvard law degree, etc.), but that's not what has helped me the most,” Brian explains. “Our company can refer him to any outside party with the complete confidence that he can work with people and come to an endpoint without the vestiges that often attach themselves to professionals--ego, posturing, proffering opinions without expertise…”

Brian says that it is important to engage a firm that is a true long-term partner for your business, as this inspires trust and confidence that the attorney has your business’s best interests in mind. Sageworks has been a long-term client of Smith Anderson since Brian founded the company more than 20 years ago. Lastly, he encourages business owners to seek an attorney with sound judgment and admits that, while it is difficult to define a good decision-maker, he knows it when he sees it. “I felt confident in our lawyer's competence in the beginning, and it was validated by the first few complex issues we ran into,” he added.

Practicing at Smith Anderson since 1995, Lee is the co-head of the firm’s Commercial Team and co-leads the Corporate and Syndicated Finance Practice Group. He regularly represents clients in finance and banking, life sciences, manufacturing, distribution, technology and health care. Smith Anderson prides itself on helping companies like Sageworks in moving from their formation through their development into mature and successful enterprises.