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North Carolina State Bar Honors Three Carruthers & Roth Attorneys as Fifty-Year Lawyers

October 31, 2024

Greensboro, N.C. – Three attorneys with Carruthers & Roth, P.A., will be recognized for a half century of practice during the North Carolina State Bar’s Fifty-Year Lawyers Luncheon on Oct. 31, 2024.

Kenny Greene, Ron Johnson, and Ken Keller are marking five decades of service to the legal profession since being admitted to the North Carolina State Bar in 1974. Together, they have provided trusted counsel to thousands of individual clients, businesses and organizations across the state as well as a significant level of service to their communities. In addition, Richard L. Vanore, a core member of the Carruthers & Roth Healthcare and Litigation practice teams, achieved 50 years of practice in 2023.

Kenny Greene joined Carruthers & Roth after graduating from the University of Virginia Law School and serving on active duty with the JAG Corps of the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. Having received two lifetime achievement awards from the North Carolina Bar Association for his expertise in business law and bankruptcy, Kenny focuses his practice on a wide variety of transactional matters involving capital markets, such as secured real estate, commercial and other asset-based loans, factoring, mergers and acquisitions, and business bankruptcy. He has been instrumental in the Bar’s sponsorship of legislation to modernize state law regarding business contracts and transactions; has authored several chapters in legal textbooks published by the American Bar Association and others; and in 2022, was inducted into the North Carolina Legal Practice Hall of Fame for lifetime achievements. Kenny serves in the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association and is a past president and regent and current fellow of the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers. For 14 consecutive years, he has been named among the Best Lawyers in America.

A member of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Legal Practice Hall of Fame, Ron Johnson focuses his work on estate planning, estate administration, business law and nonprofit corporations. He has been repeatedly recognized in Business North Carolina’s “Legal Elite” for excellence in tax and estate planning, and this year, he was named to the “Icons & Phenoms” list by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly. A dedicated community servant, Ron has founded and served on the boards of local nonprofit organizations, receiving recognitions from the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, Family Services of the Piedmont, Triad Health Project, Guilford Green Foundation, the Human Rights Campaign, Planned Parenthood, AuthoraCare Collective, Women’s Resource Center of Greensboro, and the Greensboro Commission on the Status of Women. Once named a Greensboro Philanthropist of the Year, he has also earned the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. Ron, who is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and its School of Law, helped found Greensboro-based Johnson Peddrick & McDonald before he and his partners joined Carruthers & Roth in 2021. 

A litigator and sought-after lecturer in employment law, Ken Keller focuses his practice on employment and compliance matters – including issues covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) – as well as employment contract disputes and insurance coverage issues. Ken represents both business and individual clients in federal and state courts and agencies, including the EEOC, the Department of Justice, North Carolina’s Retaliatory Discrimination Bureau, and the North Carolina Industrial Commission on OSHA and worker’s comp insurance matters. He has successfully argued multiple cases before the North Carolina Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, and he has been named among the Best Lawyers in America for 13 years running. A graduate of NC State and UNC Chapel Hill School of Law, Ken served a tour of duty with the U.S. Army before joining Carruthers & Roth. During his tenure, he was active in the Rotary Club of Greensboro, having served as both a local and district leader for the organization.

Each year, the North Carolina State Bar holds the 50-Year Lawyers Luncheon at its annual meeting to recognize attorneys who are celebrating this significant milestone.

About Carruthers & Roth, P.A.: Carruthers & Roth, P.A. is a multifaceted law firm in Greensboro, NC serving clients of all sizes – from local entrepreneurs to national companies. Our clients benefit from our experience, personalized service and a collaborative approach in a wide range of practice areas. We are in the solution business. We are driven by our desire to find the right solution for each of our clients – whether they need practical, straightforward solutions, or creative solutions to challenging and complex matters. To learn more about Carruthers & Roth, P.A. call 336.379.8651 or visit crlaw.com.