Managing Partner Reid Phillips Receives North Carolina State Bar’s Highest Honor
Brooks Pierce is proud to announce that Reid Phillips, the firm’s managing partner, has been selected as a recipient of the North Carolina State Bar’s highest honor. Phillips was presented with the John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award at the most recent meeting of the State Bar Council in Raleigh on Oct. 6. The award honors current and retired members of the North Carolina State Bar who have demonstrated exemplary service to the legal profession.
“It is a very great honor to receive this award,” said Phillips. “I have valued every minute of my service to the state, the city of Greensboro and the legal profession. It is humbling to have that work acknowledged with this award.”
Phillips is a business trial lawyer, primarily for large companies facing complex business disputes. He was named managing partner of Brooks Pierce in 2016. A lawyer for more than 40 years, he has given much of his time to the advancement of the legal profession. Over his career, he has served as a member of the North Carolina Board of Law Examiners and chair of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Strategic Planning and Emerging Trends Committee. He has chaired the NCBA’s Young Lawyers Division and served on the association’s board of governors and executive committee as well as the North Carolina State Bar Ethics Committee. He served as president of the 18th Judicial District Bar and recently completed a term as vice president of the NCBA and as a member of its Board of Governors.
An active member of the Greensboro community, Phillips served as chairman of the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro and as the chairman of the LeBauer Park steering committee. In addition, he has served as chair of the War Memorial Commission (Greensboro Coliseum) and as a member of the board of directors for the Weatherspoon Art Museum Association.
Earlier this year, Phillips was named to Business North Carolina’s “Power List” of most influential state leaders. He has received numerous awards and recognitions as well. In 2019, he was presented with the North Carolina Bar Association’s Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr. Public Service Award. In 2018, he was awarded Leadership Greensboro’s Denise E. Maleska Leadership Service Award and the Greensboro Bar Association’s Distinguished Service Award. In 2017, North Carolina Lawyers Weekly named him one of its “Leaders in the Law.” He has also been recognized repeatedly by The Best Lawyers in America, North Carolina Super Lawyers, Business North Carolina’s “Legal Elite,” Chambers USA and Benchmark Litigation.
“I cannot think of anyone who embodies the spirit of service honored by the John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award more than Reid Phillips,” said retired North Carolina Superior Court Judge Patrice Hinnant, who nominated him for the award. “He has committed himself to advancing the legal profession, guiding young attorneys and working to improve the broader community, all while encouraging and inspiring others to do the same.”
