Smith Anderson Receives Medal of Achievement in Technology

Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan, L.L.P., was presented with a Medal of Achievement as part of the Computerworld Honors on Sunday, April 3, 2005, at San Francisco City Hall. Smith Anderson was recognized for its case study on business continuity. Lorie Beam, the firm’s Director of IT, and Gail Finch, Network Administrator, were there to accept the award for Smith Anderson.

Mike Wade, of EMC Corp., and member of The Chairmen’s Committee nominated Smith Anderson for inclusion in the 2005 business continuity category. The case study now becomes part of a collection of case studies from 54 countries.

The 2005 Collection, which will be archived in libraries, museums, and academic and research institutions around the world, will serve as primary source material for scholars and as a resource for individuals who hope to use information technology to create solutions to address their own challenges.

Smith Anderson worked closely with EMC for two years to implement a solution that would offer the firm the same benefits of a large scale SANS yet be financially viable for a firm of approximately 100 lawyers. New laws, such as HIPAA compliance laws, coupled with both firm and client expectations of business continuity, resulted in Smith Anderson’s desire to find a solution that would mirror the benefits of a large scale SANS. Their efforts resulted in the implementation of EMC’s Clariion NAS.

From more than 300 nominations submitted this year by the 100 industry chairmen and CEO’s who serve on the program’s Chairmen’s Committee, 160 were honored as laureates at Sunday night’s ceremonies in San Francisco.

Bob Carrigan, CEO and publisher of Computerworld, the Voice of IT Management, and chairman of the Chairman’s Committee of the Computerworld Honors Program said, “The innovators represented in this Collection have been recognized by the leading IT industry chairmen as true revolutionaries in their fields.”

Founded in 1988, the Computerworld Honors Program searches for and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated vision and leadership as they strive to use information technology in innovative ways across 10 categories: Business and Related Services; Education and Academia; Environment, Energy and Agriculture; Finance, Insurance and Real Estate; Government and Non-Profit Organizations; Manufacturing; Media, Arts and Entertainment; Medicine; Science; and Transportation. Each year, the Computerworld Honors Chairmen’s Committee nominates organizations who are using information technology to improve society for inclusion in the Computerworld Honors Online Archive and the Collections of the Global Archives. The Global Archives represents the 100-plus institutions from more than 30 countries that include the Computerworld Honors Collection in their archives and libraries.

About Computerworld
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