Immediate Past-President

 

John R. Wester IMMEDIATE PAST-PRESIDENT 2010-11 Immediate Past-President North Carolina Bar Association jwester@rbh.com

Practice
Robinson, Bradshaw and Hinson, P.A., Charlotte

Education
Duke University, J.D., with high honors, 1972
Order of the Coif; Note and Comment Editor, Duke Law Journal

University of North Carolina, A.B., 1968
John Motley Morehead Scholar; Attorney General, Men's Honor Council

Professional Activities

• President, North Carolina Bar Association, 2009-2010
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation
• North Carolina Chairman, American College of Trial Lawyers, 2004-06
• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers, 1994-
• Chairman, Appellate Process Committee, Chief Justice’s Commission on the North Carolina Business Court, 2002-04
• Chairman, Appellate Rules Committee, North Carolina Bar Association, 2003-05
• Board of Governors, North Carolina Bar Association, 1985-88; Chairman, Nominations Committee

Civic and Community Activities

• Chairman, Arts & Science Council of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, 1988-89
• Chairman, ArtsTeach, Inc., 2000-02
• Board of Directors, Legal Services of Southern Piedmont, 1999-2005
• Board of Visitors, Duke University School of Law, 2002-
• Board of Visitors, University of North Carolina, 2004-08
• Board of Directors, Mecklenburg County Bar, 2006-09

Publications and Awards

• The Best Lawyers in America 2010 lists Mr. Wester in these fields: bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, appellate law, and labor and employment law.



• Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, 2009 edition named Mr. Wester as one of the top litigators in North Carolina.



• North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine recognized Mr. Wester as a "Top 10 North Carolina Super Lawyer" in 2008-09.



• Benchmark: Litigation, a guide to America's business litigation firms and attorneys, selected Mr. Wester as one of North Carolina’s leading litigation attorneys in 2008.

Bar Admissions
North Carolina

Practice Areas

• Corporate, Partnership and Shareholder Rights Litigation
• Securities Litigation
• Class Action Litigation
• Litigation

Firm Profile:
John R. Wester has spent his full legal career at Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, concentrating in complex civil litigation.

In Elmore v. Cone Mills Corporation, salaried employees of Cone Mills advanced federal securities and ERISA claims in a class action to force Cone Mills to contribute a large pension surplus to an ESOP. he was lead counsel in defending the action, resulting in favorable Fourth Circuit rulings, followed by the federal trial court's ruling of no liability for the company.

In Smith vs. North Carolina Motor Speedway, he served as lead trial and appellate counsel defending against a minority shareholder's suit to block a proposed merger. The North Carolina Business Court denied injunctive relief, dismissing the complaint. The merger closed on schedule, a result affirmed by the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the North Carolina Supreme Court. In a lengthy trial for appraisal of the merged company's stock value, the jury returned a highly favorable verdict for the defense.

Wester was lead defense counsel before the United States 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. In Stott v. Martin, a class action suit against the Governor and cabinet secretaries, Wester served as lead defense counsel in a challenge to the constitutionality of employment practices in state government. In Stott, the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that discharges of all policymaking state employees were presumptively lawful.

Wester has led the team of his firm's lawyers who have prosecuted a statewide class action lawsuit (Hyatt v. Barnhart) contesting the termination and denial of social security benefits to disabled North Carolinians. For 18 years, the Hyatt litigation proceeded through all levels of the federal judiciary, including five decisions by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and two certiorari petitions to the Supreme Court. As a result of rulings for the Hyatt class members, over 150,000 North Carolinians have become eligible for full rehearings of their disability claims.

In 1994, Wester was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers. From 2004 through 2006 he served as chairman of the North Carolina chapter of the College.

 

Last Update: Wednesday, June 23, 2010