John R. Wester Installed as 115th President of North Carolina Bar Association

John R. Wester, a Charlotte, N.C., attorney and longtime Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson partner, will serve as president of the North Carolina Bar Association in 2009-10. Wester was installed as the 115th president of the NCBA on June 27.

Judge J. Dickson Phillips Jr. of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (retired) administered the oath of office during the 111th Annual Meeting of the NCBA in Asheville.

“I am deeply honored that the members of the North Carolina Bar Association have entrusted me with this opportunity for leadership,” Wester said. “I will strive to uphold the great traditions of this association and the profession it serves in the days ahead.”

A native of Rockingham, N.C., Wester graduated from UNC as a Morehead Scholar. He received his law degree with high honors from the Duke University School of Law, where he was an editor of the law review and inducted into the Order of the Coif.

Wester has devoted his entire career to Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, where he concentrates in the trial and appeals of business disputes, securities regulation, corporate governance and employment cases. He has served the NCBA as a member of its Board of Governors and as chair of the Audit and Finance, Appellate Rules and Nominations committees.

Wester is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Bar Foundation.

“Instead of reinventing a wheel that has rolled smooth and straight for many years, our goal will be to reach farther and wider with important programs that are now in place and touch hundreds – I hope thousands – of North Carolinians who need the guidance and counsel that only lawyers can provide,” Wester said.

Wester listed support of the following initiatives as among the priorities of his term:

• North Carolina Lawyers for Entrepreneurs Assistance Project (NC LEAP), serving low-income entrepreneurs 
• Law-Related Education, serving teachers and students of the state 
• Law Office Management program, serving small firms and solo practitioners 
• Judicial Performance Evaluation program, designed to enhance the performance and increase the accountability of North Carolina Superior Court and District Court judges 
• Support of injustice initiatives 
• Expanded funding for Legal Aid of North Carolina and other legal services providers 
• Support of the General Assembly’s Citizens Salary Commission, adequate funding for the courts, fair compensation for judges and the advancement of merit selection and judicial appointment measures.