Story and photo by Frank Strong for CaryCitizen.

Cary, NC – U. S. Sen. Richard Burr visited the Cary office of LexisNexis as part of a three-day tour which included stops at Ft. Bragg, the NC Ports Authority in Wilmington and other area businesses and government agencies. This visit was a chance to conduct a pulse check with constituents from the local business community, tour the office facility and conduct a question and answer session with employees.

LexisNexis in Cary

Cary is home to a division of LexisNexis which makes software that helps lawyers run their businesses.  It signed an agreement with North Carolina in February 2012 to expand its presence to create a “software center of excellence” in the Triangle and promised to add 350 new jobs to the local economy over five years.

The company is on track to meet those objectives having added a net of 56% new jobs since signing the deal. The company currently has 18 open positions listed on its careers site including roles in law, human resources, finance and technology.

LexisNexis business of law software division CEO Michael Lipps, alongside Town of Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht, facilitated the visit which lasted about 90 minutes.

Q&A with Employees

“I take questions from five-year-olds,” said Burr with a disarming smile to an audience of about 200 employees gathered to greet him. “You can ask me anything.”

Employees, all constituents from the local region including Cary, took him up on that offer: the Q&A which was scheduled for 30 minutes stretch to 45.  During the session, the Senator fielded questions ranging from the deficit and economy – to political term limits and the local school system.

Throughout the visit, Burr seem to have one overarching message aimed at both the leadership and employees of the company:  businesses need to start caring about what their government is doing all of the time as opposed to just caring when polices impact their business.