William “Will” Oden Labor and Employment Attorney Ward and Smith, Wilmington

Will Oden represents employers across North Carolina in employment law matters, from small businesses to national companies, while also representing individual employees. He routinely handles Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charges, North Carolina Department of Labor complaints and U.S. Department of Labor wage-and-hour audits and investigations.

His practice includes creating, prosecuting and defending covenants against competition and other restrictive covenants. He advises employers on complex issues involving the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act and state employment laws.

Oden is one of three attorneys who led the effort with the North Carolina State Bar in 2023 to establish a specialization program for employment law. He became one of the first six management-side employment lawyers in the state to achieve board-certified specialist status in the field.

He has been certified as a mediator since 2013 and was recently invited to serve on the American Arbitration Association’s Employment Law Arbitration panel.