Ward and Smith’s Co-Managing Directors Named NC Lawyers Weekly’s 2026 Managing Partners to Watch

Brad Evans and Devon Williams, Ward and Smith’s Co-Managing Directors, have been named to North Carolina Lawyers Weekly‘s 2026 Managing Partners to Watch.

Under Brad and Devon’s joint leadership, Ward and Smith recently opened its first office outside North Carolina, in Columbia, South Carolina, marking a significant step in the firm’s growth.

That kind of growth is exactly what this recognition celebrates. It also highlights managing partners who excel in growing revenue, retaining talent, fostering community engagement, and achieving significant milestones.

NC Lawyers Weekly honored Brad and Devon among 22 legal professionals featured in this year’s issue, showcasing the leadership and achievements shaping the profession. Here are their profiles.

Brad Evans

Brad Evans, co-managing director at Ward and Smith in Greenville, has practiced law for 24 years. As a litigation attorney, he likes to solve problems for clients during difficult times and help shoulder their burdens.

Evans said that above all else, his firm focuses on teamwork and the elimination of internal competition so that everyone is rowing in the same direction. He served a term on the Board of Governors of the North Carolina Bar Association and as section chair for the Antitrust and Complex Business Disputes Section.

Ward and Smith recently opened its first office outside North Carolina in Columbia, SC.

Devon Williams

Devon Williams came to employment law by chance — an early-career opportunity to join Ward and Smith’s employment group — and quickly discovered it was a perfect fit. Employment law, she says, sits at an unusual intersection: the law of human behavior layered on top of a complex, often counterintuitive set of statutes, regulations and case law.

In 14 years of practice, Williams has built a reputation for litigation, including a restrictive covenant dispute in federal district court where she obtained a groundbreaking clarification of North Carolina law that previously did not exist – a significant win for the client and a contribution to the state’s legal landscape.

As co-managing director of Ward and Smith, a board-certified specialist in employment law by the NC State Bar, Williams has helped lead the firm’s recent expansion into South Carolina, where it now has 12 licensed attorneys. She has embraced that growth role earlier in her career than is traditional and is focused on mentoring the next generation of attorneys as the firm continues to expand.

You can read the full Managing Partners to Watch list here (behind the paywall).