Legal Experience

Judge – North Carolina Court of Appeals (August 2010 – Present)

Special Superior Court Judge (2008 – 2010)

Partner – Thigpen, Blue, Stephens & Fellers (1976 – 2008)

Adjunct Professor – North Carolina Central University School of Law
(1991– 1992)

Solo Practitioner (1974 – 1976)

Staff Attorney – Durham County Legal Aid Society
(July 1973 – December 1973)

Boards and Organizations

Master, Susie M. Sharp Inn of Court

North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers

North Carolina State Bar

North Carolina Bar Association

Past Affiliations

Member, American Bar Association

Member, The Board of Law Examiners of the State of North Carolina
(2002 – 2003)

Member, North Carolina Advocates for Justice

President, North Carolina State Bar (1999 – 2000)

• President-Elect (1998 – 1999)
• Vice-President (1997 – 1998)
• Councilor, (Chairman – Ethics Committee) (1989 – 1997)
• Member, Executive, Legal Aid to Indigents, Budget, Finance & Audit, Appointments, Review of Rules of Professional Conduct, Strategic Planning, Grievance, Grievance Procedure Review, Lawyers Trust Accounts, Paralegal, Executive Director Search

First Union National Bank Advisory Board

Eastern District Magistrate Judge Selection Committee (2003)

Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism (2001 – 2003)

American Bar Association’s Africa Council (2003 – 2004)

Co-Chair, Citizen Advisory Committee for Wake County School System
Budget (2001– 2003)

Member, Board of Trustees – University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill (1992 – 2001)

Board of Trustees, NC Central University (2003 – 2008)

Chairman (2005 – 2008)

House of Delegates, American Bar Association (2003 – 2006)

Advisory Board, Treatment Alternative for Street Crimes of NC

Member, Governor’s Advisory Board of Legal Services of NC

Member, Wake County Board of Elections

Member, Garner Road YMCA Board of Directors

Member, Wake County Education Foundation Board of Directors

Member, United Way of Wake County Board of Directors

Member, Centennial Authority

Chair, Rex Healthcare Foundation Board of Directors

Faculty, National institute for Trial Advocacy, Chapel Hill, NC

Chair, Downtown Raleigh Development Corporation