Anthony "Tony" Baker Email & Phone Number

Winston-Salem, Nc, Us

Greensboro, North Carolina, United States

Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina Area

• Managing Attorney for Central Services Department for a practice area that includes 16 states.• Reported directly to the firm's Chief Operations Officer and provided daily goal updates to the firm's Equity and Managing Partners.• Responsible for 3 Central Services divisions comprised of 3 managers and 60 legal assistants with an annual operating budget of $2.7M.• Initiated and achieved the following goals:o Transformed a "not my fault" culture into a cooperative, "one team", problem solving culture, that became focused on meeting the firm's goals to be "number one for our clients" and to reach the first billable milestone ahead of time frames specified by clients and state or federal law;o Created a standardized Central Services process for all 16 states that improved cash flow by reaching the first billable milestone in two-thirds of the prior pace, improved process quality by eliminating the need to retain state specific processes, and reduced the daily file inventory maintained by Central Services from nearly 1500 files to less than 400 files;o Implemented a schedule to review the Central Services file inventory, ensuring that all files were timely processed with minimal lost days for any file;o Restructured onboarding training program, reducing time required for new hires to reach full competency from 90 days to 30 days; ando Increased performance efficiency allowing 4 divisions to be consolidated into 3 divisions and reduced total head count from over 80 staff to 60 staff for a savings of approximately $500,000 per year.• Operational achievements by Central Services were:o Maintained a "one team", problem solving, goal-oriented culture;o Maintained client required staff training schedules, avoiding client reprimands or referral reductions; ando Expeditiously onboarded and processed, on average, 1500 foreclosure files per month across the firm's 16 state practice area.

• At the direction of the firm's Chief Operations Officer and Chief Information Officer, acted as a liaison between the IT, operations, and legal staff on document standardization and automated document production projects.• Position required the communication and creative problem solving skills necessary to convey the projects' legal and operational requirements to the firm's IT department for implementation.

Winston-Salem, Nc

• Responsible for the City’s compliance with the state and federal laws as they applied to operational liabilities and with the regulations promulgated by NC OSHA and NC DENR.• Represented the City before the North Carolina and United States trial courts and in mediation conferences regarding general, auto, and workers’ compensation liability claims.• Represented the City before the North Carolina Department of Labor and the North Carolina Division of Employment Security.• Annually managed over 600 general, auto, workers’ compensation and civil rights claims.• Managed the safety related training for approximately 2,500 employees and the inspection of approximately 300 City-owned facilities and hundreds of public works jobsites.• Conducted training on contracting and purchasing policies, workplace violence, bullying, harassment, and workplace and auto safety for groups as large as 350 employees.• Drafted and implemented policies intended to reduce workplace and auto accidents.• Greatly reduced the number of City employees who receive workers’ compensation benefits.• Negotiated and drafted engineering, architectural, construction and service contract provisions to reduce the City’s liability.• Provided training on local government liability at the North Carolina Institute of Government for new city and county attorneys and to local government officials.• Edited “Civil Liability of the Local Government and Its Officials and Employees,” for the publication, County and Municipal Government in North Carolina on behalf of the North Carolina Institute of Government.• Appeared before the North Carolina Local Public Safety Attorney Association to speak on how to avoid excessive use of force claims.• Provided quarterly reports on claims history, causation, and costs to the City’s Manager and Council.• Managed a staff of 8 that included an administrative assistant, 2 licensed claims adjusters, a workers’ compensation case manager, and 4 employee safety inspectors.

Winston-Salem, Nc

* Provided legal counsel to the departments of Public Works, Parks and Recreation, and the Entertainment Complex which included the coliseum, convention center and county fair.* Acquired utility easements and rights of ways via eminent domain litigation.* Negotiated and drafted engineering, architectural, construction and service contracts.* Managed the litigation regarding general and auto liability claims brought against the City.* Advised all departments on potential operational and contractual liability.* Represented all City departments regarding OSHA and environmental regulatory violations.* Completed the North Carolina School of Government Municipal Administration Course.

Iredell County, Nc

* Shareholder in the Professional Corporation (Partner) from 1998 – 2000.* General practitioner with focus on family law, residential and commercial real estate transactions, general business law, criminal law and workers’ compensation.* Opened and managed the firm’s branch office in a new geographical market. * Represented the Iredell County Department of Social Services (DSS). Responsible for enforcing the child support and child well-being dockets. On a weekly basis, represented the DSS in an average of 25 juvenile abuse, dependency and neglect cases and 75 child support arrearage cases.* Presented oral arguments before the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the following cases: Becker v. Nance et al., 126 N.C. App. 435, 491 S.E. 2d 256 (1997). Hospital Corp. v. Iredell County, 120 N.C. App. 445, 462 S.E. 2d 675 (1995).* Presented written arguments to the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court in the following cases: Budd v. Davie County, 338 NC 667, 452 S.E. 2d 174 (1994). Sherriff v. Sherriff, 341 NC 652, 462 S.E. 2d 517 (1995). N.C. Dept. of Corrections v. Patterson, 324 NC 658, 467 S.E. 2d 720 (1996). Lamberth v. McDaniels, 131 N.C. App. 319, 506 S.E. 2d 295 (1998). State v. Feimster, 130 N.C. App. 613, 506 S.E. 2d 492 (1998).* Civic Activities: Mooresville, South Iredell County Chamber of Commerce - Education Committee Young Lawyers of Iredell County - Third Grade Educational Program Board of Directors for SCAN – Stop Child Abuse Now Board of Directors for Appropriate Punishment Options Assistant Men’s Tennis Coach at Mooresville Senior High School

Jd

Ba

Activities and Societies: Sigma Phi Epsilon