Brooks Pierce has named Reid Phillips as the firm’s managing partner, effective January 1. He follows Ed Winslow, who had led the firm since 2000.
Phillips, one of the state’s top litigators, has served on the firm’s management committee since 2003 and as the firm’s general counsel since 2000. He will continue to actively practice law while providing strategic leadership and guidance to Brooks Pierce, which has more than 90 attorneys in Greensboro, Raleigh and Wilmington.
“It has been a privilege to spend my entire professional career at Brooks Pierce, and I am excited to have the opportunity to lead this firm as it seeks to grow both in the number of attorneys and in the depth of its knowledge and the breadth of its practice areas,” Phillips said. “Ed has been my partner, mentor and friend for many years and has helped the firm navigate a time of tremendous change in the legal profession. I am humbled that my partners have asked me to lead Brooks Pierce as we embrace the next set of opportunities.”
Before joining Brooks Pierce in 1977, Phillips received his bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned his law degree with honors from the University of Texas School of Law. His recent community leadership includes his current chairmanship of the board of directors for the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro and chairmanship of the LeBauer Park Steering Committee. In 2015, he served as chairman of the War Memorial Commission, which oversees the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.
Winslow will continue to be actively involved in the firm, helping to advance key priorities including business development, professional development and expansion in Raleigh, Wilmington and other cities. He will remain a member of the North American board of Geneva Group International, one of the world’s leading alliances of independent professional services firms, and will continue service with local and regional professional and civic organizations, including as chairman of Guilford College’s board of trustees.
“Brooks Pierce is such a talent-rich environment. But even so, it’s our great good fortune to have a lawyer and leader like Reid Phillips ready to lead our firm,” Winslow said. “My personal good fortune is that, after 15 years in the job, I’m going to be able to focus in a concentrated way on my favorite parts of it: business development, professional development and smart expansion. How are you going to beat that?”
