Women in Leadership at Lewis & Roberts
Mallory Lidaka, a partner at Lewis & Roberts, has exclusively practiced in the area of worker’s compensation defense since 2010. In addition to providing excellent legal representation to her clients, she also serves as a leader in her community.
She served as Chair of the Women in the Profession Committee for the North Carolina Bar Association from 2018 through 2020, during which time the Women in the Profession Committee celebrated its 25th Anniversary. The Women in the Profession (“WIP”) Committee of the North Carolina Bar Association was created in 1993 based upon a recommendation from the NCBA’s Commission on the Status of Women that a permanent committee be established to assist women in the profession and to work toward a gender-neutral legal society in North Carolina. The WIP Committee serves as a resource for the NCBA by, among other things, identifying ways to encourage and maintain the active participation and advancement of women in the NCBA and the legal profession. This is achieved, in part, through educational programs, awareness initiatives and networking events that highlight the accomplishment of women in the profession, including paralegals. Ms. Lidaka continues to serve as a Member of the Women in the Profession Committee through the present.
Ms. Lidaka has further served as the 2015 President of the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys as well as the 2012 and 2013 President of Wake Women Attorneys. Both of these organizations were founded by women attorneys dedicated to speaking out on issues affecting women in North Carolina within and outside the legal profession. The purpose of the organization is to increase the participation of women attorneys in the legal profession, protect the rights of women under the law, and to promote and improve the administration of justice.
Currently, Ms. Lidaka is serving her second year on the North Carolina Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section Council as Pro-Bono Co-Chair. In this role, she helps to develop and support pro bono opportunities for members of the Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section. In 2019, Ms. Lidaka helped to spearhead the Section’s participation in the North Carolina Free Legal Answers program which is a remote-access, web-based portal allowing low-income residents to ask legal questions to be answered anonymously by volunteer attorneys. Ms. Lidaka will continue her role as Pro-Bono Co-Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section Council into 2022.
Rita Beard Dorry, arriving at her third-year anniversary at Lewis & Roberts, also exclusively practices in the area of worker’s compensation defense. Rita has served as a leader in the greater-Raleigh area over the course of her lifetime, through her collegiate years at North Carolina State University and during law school at North Carolina Central School of Law.
Ms. Dorry has been a member of the Susie Sharp Inn of Court since 2012. The purpose of the Inn is to promote and enhance professionalism in all disciplines within the Bar by creating a diverse, collegial, and congenial association of skilled attorneys dedicated to sharing their philosophies, knowledge, and experiences and willing to contribute to members’ continuing education through tutorials on timely subjects. The Inn provides a unique opportunity for professional and personal enrichment and was named after Chief Justice Susie Marshall Sharp, who served as the first female Associate and Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.
During law school, Ms. Dorry severed as a volunteer judge for the Capital Area Teen Court program. Capital Area Teen Court is a non-profit organization funded by Wake County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, a division of the NC Department of Public Safety. This program offers real-life experiences for juvenile offends to take place in the judicial system and appear in court before a group of their peers.
Another organization Ms. Dorry is very passionate about is a local non-profit Neighbor-to-Neighbor. Over the course of several years, Ms. Dorry was able to coach a group of boys and girls in their basketball league M.A.D. House. Another service Neighbor-to-Neighbor provides its community is a mentor program in which Ms. Dorry provided her time, where each week, students are paired with a mentor for the school year for additional after school tutoring in language arts or math and enrichment programs.
Currently, Ms. Dorry serves on the NCBA Workers’ Compensation Section Council as well as the NCBA Workers’ Compensation Fall CLE Co-Chair. The fall CLE will take place in early November and Ms. Dorry is in charge of developing the curriculum and coordinating the speakers for continuing educational credit for attorneys starting their practice in the area of worker’s compensation.
Holly Stephens also exclusively practices in the area of workers’ compensation defense. Ms. Stephens has enjoyed volunteering with organizations she feels passionately about since she was a little girl – something that she has carried through with her to her professional career.
During law school, Ms. Stephens was a member of Campbell Law’s Pro Bono Council. In her third year of law school, Ms. Stephens led the Pro Bono project for the Capital Area Teen Court where she also served as a volunteer judge. Ms. Stephens was also a member of the inaugural Community Law Clinic at Campbell Law, which serves the local Raleigh community through the work of law students. While in the Community Law Clinic, Ms. Stephens volunteered with Interact, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending the cycle of domestic and sexual violence in Wake County.
Previously, Ms. Stephens has been a member of the Wake County Bar Social and Public Service Committees and the North Carolina Bar Association Law Student Committee. Currently, Ms. Stephens serves on the Wake County Meals on Wheels Fundraising Committee. While this is a non-legal organization, Ms. Stephens is very passionate about working with Wake County Meals on Wheels to give back to her local community.
Ms. Lidaka, Ms. Dorry and Ms. Stephens’ outstanding service to the legal community have been formative for practicing attorneys across North Carolina. We appreciate their continued leadership in creating learning opportunities for all.