Raleigh, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/21/2009 -- Ragsdale Liggett PLLC (www.rl-law.com) has announced that Lisa Piercy, director of the Lobbying and Government Relations Group at the firm, has been named a 2009 Women Extraordinaire recipient by Business Leader magazine. Women Extraordinaire honorees are recognized for being leaders, innovators, problem solvers and inspirations to other women. These women serve the community by making a difference for worthy causes or by providing leadership, direction or support to a service-based professional, civic or charitable organization. Sixteen women business leaders in the Triangle were honored at an awards ceremony on Dec. 7 and will be featured in an upcoming issue of Business Leader magazine.

QUOTES:
“We are pleased that Lisa has been recognized with this honor,” said Frank R. Liggett III, a founding member and managing partner at the firm. “She has shown tremendous leadership as a female in the lobbying and government relations field and at Ragsdale Liggett.”

DETAILS:
- Piercy’s practice is devoted to lobbying on behalf of the firm’s clients and providing consulting services related to government agency matters.

- She has more than 20 years of government relations experience, having owned and operated a Triangle lobbying and consulting firm for 11 of those years.

- As one of very few women in NC who have operated as an independent contract lobbyist, Piercy has advocated on behalf of such clients as Duke Energy Carolinas, the N.C. Dental Society, YMCAs of North Carolina, Special Olympics World Games and the North Carolina Chamber (formerly NCCBI).

- Piercy served as Assistant Secretary for Administration under Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. and as an entrepreneurial development specialist in the Department of Commerce. She also was appointed to a four-year term on the Employment Security Commission by Gov. Hunt.

- An alumna of Meredith College, Piercy is committed to giving back to the school and serves on the Meredith Fund board of directors. She is a former board member of the Capital Area YMCA and Central YMCA, and has served on the board of directors of the Urban Ministries of Raleigh.

- Women Extraordinaire nominees must be C-level executives (or equivalent at non-commercial entities), business owners or partners at Research Triangle area-based businesses.

About RAGSDALE LIGGETT PLLC
The law firm of Ragsdale Liggett PLLC is comprised of lawyers with extensive legal expertise across a broad range of practice areas, as well as experienced non-lawyer professionals. Known for their innovations in the arena of corporate law, real estate and complex litigation, Ragsdale Liggett lawyers are equipped to handle all of the legal needs of businesses including formation, day-to-day business counseling, acquisition, disposition, merger and dissolution of companies ranging in size from small local businesses to national financial institutions and large international insurance conglomerates. The diverse real estate practice group at Ragsdale Liggett handles a wide variety of real estate transactions, from residential purchases and sales to all aspects of commercial real estate development, including entity formation, final project completion, complex public and private bond financing transactions, and the privatization of university student housing. Since its formation in 1972, the firm has developed an extraordinary reputation in the area of civil litigation and has enjoyed significant courtroom successes ranging from state and federal courts to the United States Supreme Court in areas with far-reaching implications, such as insurance/reinsurance coverage disputes, shareholder derivative actions, ERISA disputes, professional negligence defense, accountants liability actions, catastrophic personal injury defense and complex construction disputes. In 2008, the firm formally established a lobbying and government relations group comprised of both lawyer and non-lawyer professionals that represents client interests before the North Carolina General Assembly, the executive branch and various state agencies. For more information, please call (919) 787-5200 or view the firm's Web site at www.rl-law.com.

Kate Catlin
MMI Public Relations
(919) 233-6600
kate@mmipublicrelations.com
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http://www.mmipublicrelations.com