08/21/2017

Columbus Attorney to Receive OBA Bar Medal

This is the highest honor bestowed by the state bar association

On August 24, 2017, Columbus attorney Norton Webster will be honored with the Bar Medal – the Ohio State Bar Association’s highest honor. It is awarded to those who have given unselfishly of their time and talent by taking prominent leadership roles on the bench and in the organized bar, and to those who have worked quietly to earn the deep admiration and respect of the community.

Norton Webster served as President of the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) from 1967 to 1968, and he continues to hold the record for being the youngest to ever serve in that role. A retired partner of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, Webster has engaged in general corporate work as well as assisted trade associations and professional groups with legislative matters and compliance with governmental statutes and regulations.

For his work to increase diversity in the legal profession, Webster has previously been recognized by the Anti-Defamation League and the Columbus Bar Association, as well as by his alma mater—the Ohio State University. He was a founder and continues to be an active member of the Minority Clerkship Committee of the Columbus Bar Association. To date, that program has placed 770 minority law students in summer clerkships.

Over the years, Webster has been called on time and again to serve the Bar, the legal profession, and the public, and he has always answered those calls with enthusiasm and dedication. He served as a member of the Ohio Elections Commission, a past chair and member of the Ohio Supreme Court Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, a former vice chairman of the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, and he was the State Delegate to the American Bar Association for nine years.

Consistent with his strong commitment to giving back, he has been a fellow of the Ohio State Bar Foundation and the American Bar Foundation since 1964 and 1988, respectively. Webster received his LL.B. from The Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law in 1952, and his B.A., also from The Ohio State University, in 1949. He has practiced law for more than 65 years.