John R. Wester, Life Fellow, was recognized as an Icon in North Carolina Lawyers Weekly 2026 Excellence in Law awards. The awards, which recognizes excellence in all areas of the local legal community, were presented on April 23 at the Friday Conference Center in Chapel Hill.
The Icon distinction is awarded to attorneys with 30 or more years of practice. Wester is currently a litigator for Robinson Bradshaw and has practiced as trial and appellate counsel in complex business litigation. He has served as lead counsel in noteworthy cases reaching the U.S. Supreme Court, including Hyatt v. Shalala, an 18-year pro bono case in which Wester and his colleagues won new disability hearings under new standards for a class of 150,000 North Carolinians.
Wester has served as the president of the North Carolina Bar Association and Foundation, received the 2021 Advocate’s Award, from the North Carolina Bar Association’s Litigation Section, and in 2025 received the Ayscue Professionalism Award from the Mecklenburg Bar Foundation.
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