Merl Code Joins Ogletree Deakins

GREENVILLE – October 17, 2005 – Prominent Greenville attorney and entrepreneur Merl F. Code is joining Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins) as Of Counsel.  Code will concentrate his practice in the areas of positive employee relations and diversity.

In addition to his legal practice with Ogletree Deakins, Code will continue to serve on a number of Board of Directors including Blue Cross/Blue Shield of South Carolina, BB&T, The Urban League, The Phyllis Wheatley Center, The United Way, The South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, the Hollingsworth Fund, and The Board of Advisors of Furman University.  Code will also continue as a principal in several business ventures.

Lewis Smoak, Managing Shareholder of Ogletree Deakins’ Greenville office, commented, “We are extremely pleased to welcome a distinguished professional like Merl Code to our team.  Merl has a proven record of commitment to our community, the legal profession, education, and ethics and integrity in business.  Merl will add depth and experience to our practice.”

Code says he finds the environment and philosophy at Ogletree Deakins consistent with his own.  “I have known the lawyers at this firm for years.  We have served together on community activities such as the Greenville and State Chambers of Commerce, The Upstate Urban League and United Way.  I have served as a mediator in their cases and I understand this practice.  This is a real opportunity for me to work with corporate clients to advance the causes of positive employee relations and diversity.”

Code is a 1979 graduate of the University of South Carolina Law School.  He has been recognized as an Earl Warren Legal Scholar, Presidential Scholar, a National Merit Scholar and Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities.  Between college and law school, Code played professional football for seven years in Canada and the U.S.

About Ogletree Deakins

Ogletree Deakins is the nation’s third largest labor and employment law firm, representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters.  The firm has nearly 300 lawyers located in 24 offices from Miami to Los Angeles.  In addition to handling labor and employment law matters, the firm has thriving practices focused on business immigration, employee benefits, and workplace safety and health law.  Ogletree Deakins represents a diverse range of clients, including more than half of the Fortune 50 corporations in the U.S.

For more information, please contact Karen Gonzales, Communications Manager, at 210-277-3606.