This week, Henry “Hank” N. Patterson, Jr. was presented with the 2013 Lifetime
Achievement Award at the annual dinner of the Workplace Injury and Advocacy
Group (WILG), in Palm Beach, Florida. For
his entire career, Hank has zealously advanced the rights of workers. He has held
leadership positions in national legal organizations, including the American
Bar Association, and helped establish the College of Workers Compensation Lawyers.
Hank
graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1963 and from UNC Law School
in 1966, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. Before entering private
practice, he served as law clerk to the Honorable J. Braxton Craven, Jr., of
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and worked as an attorney in
Region 11 of the National Labor Relations Board.
He
has served on legislative study commissions and as Chair of the Workers’ Rights
Section of the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, Co-Chair of the North
Carolina Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Committee, and member of the
Advisory Council to the Chair of the North Carolina Industrial Commission. Hank
is a Board Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law. His practice is
limited to the areas of workers’ compensation, labor and employment, and
disability entitlements.