Brooks Pierce Managing Partner Reid L. Phillips has received the highest honor bestowed by the Governor of the State of North Carolina, induction into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. The honor was presented on Saturday, Sept. 10, in Wilmington, North Carolina, as part of the firm’s annual retreat. Brooks Pierce Partner Jim W. Phillips Jr. made the presentation on behalf of Gov. Roy Cooper in recognition of Phillips’s significant statewide impact in his 45-year tenure with the firm.
Phillips, one of the state’s top litigators, has served as the firm’s managing partner since 2015, on the firm’s management committee since 2003 and as the firm’s general counsel for 15 years. While actively practicing law, he provides strategic leadership and guidance to Brooks Pierce, which has more than 100 attorneys in Greensboro, Raleigh and Wilmington.
“We are fortunate to live and work in the wonderful communities of the Tar Heel State, built by our predecessors,” Phillips said. “One of the things I enjoy doing outside of Brooks Pierce is helping our North Carolina communities grow and develop as great places to work, have fun, and enjoy our families. Some of my favorite experiences have been my work on behalf of the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, the War Memorial (Greensboro Coliseum) Commission, LeBauer Park, the Greensboro Aquatics Center and Haw River State Park. Through each of these experiences, I’ve seen our communities do great things.”
Phillips focuses his practice on litigation, primarily for large companies facing complex disputes. He is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers. A lawyer for more than 45 years, he has given much of his time to the advancement of the legal profession. He has served as a member of the North Carolina Board of Law Examiners and vice president of the North Carolina Bar Association. He chaired the NCBA’s Young Lawyers Division and the Strategic Planning and Emerging Trends Committee and served on the association’s Board of Governors and Executive Committee. He also served on the North Carolina State Bar Ethics Committee.
An active member of the community, Phillips served as chair of the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro and as the chairman of the LeBauer Park Steering Committee. In addition, he served as chair of the War Memorial Commission, chief volunteer officer for the Greensboro YMCA, president of the GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art and as a member of the board of directors for the Weatherspoon Art Museum Association.
Phillips has received many other awards and recognitions. 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 many times by The Best Lawyers in America, North Carolina Super Lawyers, Business North Carolina’s “Legal Elite,” Chambers USA and Benchmark Litigation.
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.
Since 1963, North Carolina's governors have reserved their highest honor, The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, for persons who have made significant contributions to the state and their communities through their exemplary service and exceptional accomplishments. Persons named to The Order become North Carolina "Ambassadors" with their names and award dates recorded on a roster maintained by The Order of the Long Leaf Pine Society.