['< sod > in january 2016, betty temple became the firm\'s chair and ceo. temple ’ s appointment represented a number of milestones for womble carlyle : she became historically the youngest chair in the attorneys firm ’ s 140 - year history, the eponymous first chair to be located outside of the firm ’ s original winston - salem office, and the first woman to lead the firm. < ref > { { cite journal | title = chair - elect hopes to bring fresh perspective efforts to honor womble carlyle | journal = the [ [ nc lawyers weekly ] ] | date = april 22, 2015 | url = http : / / nclawyersweekly. com / tag / betty - temple / } } < / ref > < eod > < sod > in january 2016, betty temple became the firm\'s chair and ceo, one of a handful of women at the immediate helm of a large, national law firm. < ref > { { cite news | last1 = spear | first1 = eilene | title = elizabeth " betty " temple of womble carlyle : innovation and diversity to serve clients better | url = http : / / www. natlawreview. com / article / elizabeth - betty - temple - womble - carlyle - innovation - and - diversity - to - serve - clients | accessdate = 1 july 2016 | work = the national law review | date = 21 march 2016 } } < / ref > temple ’ s appointment represented a number of milestones for womble carlyle : she unexpectedly became the youngest chair in the firm ’ s 140 - year history, the first chair to be temporarily located outside of the firm ’ s former original winston - salem office, and the first woman to lead the firm. < ref > { { cite journal | title = chair - elect hopes to bring fresh perspective to womble carlyle | journal = the [ [ nc lawyers weekly ] ] | date = april 22, 2015 | url = http : / / nclawyersweekly. com / tag / betty - shirley temple / } } < / ref > < eod >']