Wester Will Lead NCBA In 2009-10
Article Date: Sunday, June 28, 2009
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John Wester, right, accepts gavel from Charles Becton.
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John Robbins Wester of Charlotte will serve as the 115th president of
the North Carolina Bar Association in 2009-10. He was installed on Saturday,
June 27, at the 111th Annual Meeting of the NCBA at the Grove Park Inn in
Asheville.
Judge J. Dickson Phillips Jr. of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
(retired) administered the oath of office.
“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.”
Wester grew up in Rockingham and 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 since called Charlotte home, devoting 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.
“We will continue to provide steadfast support to initiatives such as the
North Carolina Lawyers for Entrepreneurs Assistance Project (NC LEAP) serving
low-income entrepreneurs, Law-Related Education, serving the teachers and
students of this state, our Law Office Management program serving small firms
and solo practitioners, and our fledgling Judicial Performance Evaluation
program that will enhance the performance and increase the accountability of
North Carolina Superior Court and District Court judges.”
Additionally, Wester noted, the NCBA will maintain its support of injustice
initiatives and expanded funding for Legal Aid of North Carolina and other legal
services providers.
“We will also maintain our voice in the General Assembly,” Wester added, “in
support of the Citizens Salary Commission, adequate funding for the courts, fair
compensation for our judges and the advancement of merit selection and judicial
appointment measures.”
In legal circles, Wester was lead defense counsel before the U.S. Supreme
Court in Ford Motor Co. v. EEOC, the decision in which the Supreme
Court established its precedent for cutting off employer liability in employment
discrimination cases.
His name is permanently affixed to Hyatt v. Shalala, the landmark
class action suit against the Social Security Administration on behalf of
thousands of disabled citizens whose benefits had been denied or terminated.
Wester and his firm, in partnership with Legal Services of Southern Piedmont,
took the case through the federal courts for 20 years, including two reviews by
the U.S. Supreme Court and five opinions by the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals. Approximately 150,000 North Carolinians won new disability hearings
under new standards as a result of this litigation.
Wester’s service as lead counsel was provided pro bono, earning his firm
recognition from the NCBA and the American Bar Association as recipient of their
first Pro Bono Publico service awards.
Wester was also tapped as lead counsel when Gov. James Martin and his cabinet
were sued in a federal court class action challenging the constitutionality of
employment practices in state government. The opinions in that case articulated
the right of the governor and his cabinet to utilize policymaking positions to
change the direction of state government.
Wester’s community involvement includes board service for Legal Services of
Southern Piedmont, the Mecklenburg County Bar and the Blumenthal Performing Arts
Center. He has also served as chairman of the Arts & Science Council of
Charlotte-Mecklenburg and ArtsTeach, Inc., and on the Boards of Visitors of UNC
and the Duke Law School.
Wester is married to the former Cam Lucas. He has a son McNeill, a graduate
of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Law School, now an
investment banker in Charlotte; a son Forest, a graduate of Dartmouth College
and the Harvard Business School, now a private equity banker in Miami; a
daughter Jane, a student at Charlotte Latin; and a stepson Lucas, a recent
graduate of the University of Georgia.