Ward and Smith is proud to announce that Attorney Will Oden has been elected by his peers in the 6th Judicial District (which District includes approximately 800 attorneys in New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick County, North Carolina) to serve as that Judicial District's State Bar Councilor and also a Member of the North Carolina State Bar Council.
The North Carolina State Bar regulates the admission to, and practice of, law in North Carolina, and the North Carolina State Bar Council is its governing body, comprised of 66 elected Councilors like Will, each Councilor representing one of North Carolina's 44 judicial districts. Will's three-year term officially begins on January 20, 2026, after he takes his oath of office in Raleigh. Will's election continues his long record of professional leadership in the legal community.
At Ward and Smith, where he has practiced for more than two decades, Will advises and represents clients as a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Employment Law, while also sitting as an arbitrator on the American Arbitration Association's national Employment Law Panel. The North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission has also certified Will as a mediator since 2013.