Richard Vinroot Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Robinson Bradshaw litigator Richard A. Vinroot received the UNC Law Alumni Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors a graduate whose lifetime career has been highly distinguished and whose achievements and contributions are widely recognized as significant and outstanding in their field. Vinroot was honored at the association’s annual Law Alumni Weekend.

Vinroot has practiced litigation at Robinson Bradshaw for more than 50 years with a current focus on land use and zoning, real estate development and construction, and employment matters. He has appeared and served as lead trial counsel in the successful prosecution, defense and resolution of numerous actions in the federal and state courts, and in arbitrations across these areas.

Service to others is evidenced throughout Vinroot’s career, beginning with service to his country during an Army deployment to Vietnam in 1967-68 for which he received a Bronze Star. Vinroot was mayor of Charlotte for four years after serving eight years on the City Council. He co-founded Sugar Creek Charter School to provide an education for children in need, and he subsequently spent nearly 20 years on the school’s board of directors. Vinroot has also been active with the YMCA of Greater Charlotte, Myers Park Presbyterian Church, the UNC Nutrition Research Institute and Boy Scouts of America.

In 2022, Vinroot received the UNC-Chapel Hill board of trustees’ highest honor, the William Richardson Davie Award for exemplary dedication, commitment and service to the university. Earlier in 2024, he received the North Carolina Chief Justice’s Professionalism Award, presented annually to an individual whose contributions have demonstrated the highest commitment to genuine professionalism and the highest standards of legal ethics.

Vinroot received his law degree and his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a John Motley Morehead Scholar and a varsity basketball player under legendary coach Dean Smith.