John R. Wester Appointed to Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism

John R. Wester was recently appointed to the North Carolina Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism (CJCP). The Commission is charged with enhancing professionalism among North Carolina judges, lawyers and law students.

“With the commitment of outstanding individuals such as John Wester, we can and will have a very positive impact on the legal profession in North Carolina,” said Chief Justice Mark Martin.

Martin chairs the Commission that consists of federal and state trial judges, an appellate judge, North Carolina law school faculty members, practicing lawyers and citizens active in public affairs. Beginning Jan. 1, Wester will serve a three-year term on the Commission.

“I am honored to serve both my home state and my profession in this role,” said Wester.

Wester served as president of the North Carolina Bar Association in 2009-10. He also co-chaired the Committee for Judicial Independence from 2010-14, and he chaired the Appellate Rules Committee from 2003-05 and the Appellate Process Committee of the Chief Justice’s Commission on the North Carolina Business Court from 2002-04.

A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Wester has extensive experience in the United States Court of Appeals, the North Carolina Supreme Court, the North Carolina Business Court and the North Carolina Court of Appeals. He tries cases and argues appeals in business disputes, corporate governance, securities regulation, ERISA and constitutional issues. Wester was lead counsel in the landmark case Hyatt v. Shalala, a class action his firm brought on behalf of North Carolina’s disabled citizens whose benefits had been denied or terminated by the Social Security Administration. The litigation, which reached the U.S. Supreme Court, resulted in approximately 150,000 North Carolinians winning new disability hearings and the Social Security Administration’s revision of a national regulation on disability.

Wester was a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He graduated with high honors from Duke University Law School, where he was Note and Comment Editor of the Duke Law Journal.