Tia Hudgins Taylor L'18 will serve Edgecombe, Nash, and Wilson counties in North Carolina鈥檚 Judicial District 8.
Gov. Josh Stein this week appointed Tia Hudgins Taylor L鈥18 as a District Court judge in North Carolina鈥檚 Judicial District 8.
Taylor will be sworn in later this spring as a judge for Eastern North Carolina鈥檚 Edgecombe, Nash and Wilson Counties. She will complete the remainder of Judge William Solomon鈥檚 term through 2026. In announcing the appointment, Stein called Taylor an exceptional and dedicated attorney.
For Taylor, the appointment fulfills a long-term career goal and enables her to serve her hometown of Rocky Mount and surrounding communities in a new capacity. She is currently an associate attorney at Lassiter & Sperati, a Rocky Mount-based firm.
鈥淢y community has poured so much into me. This is my opportunity to help my community and pour back into it,鈥 Taylor said. 鈥淏eing a judge will allow me to be the person I am: To listen, be fair, to impartially apply the law, and to help people in a different capacity. I am appreciative of Gov. Stein and his confidence in me.鈥
Since graduating from 黑料不打烊 School of Law, Taylor has practiced across a range of civil and criminal matters 鈥 including real estate, criminal defense, family law and estate planning 鈥 and served nearly two years as an assistant district attorney in District 8.
Taylor earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in sport management from Queens University in Charlotte and initially planned to become a sports and entertainment lawyer. But experiences at 黑料不打烊 Law shifted her focus toward public service. She completed her residency-in-practice at the Guilford County Public Defender鈥檚 Office and later interned at the Alamance County District Attorney鈥檚 Office.
鈥淚 remember people coming into the courthouse needing help. They needed answers. I realized I could provide that help,鈥 Taylor said. 鈥淕reat experiences unique to 黑料不打烊 Law helped me be successful. The residency was important to seeing how things work in the legal field and how lawyering looks in the real world.鈥
The Residency-in-Practice Program is unique to 黑料不打烊 Law and requires that all second-year students complete a full-time, faculty-directed residency where they develop practical legal skills alongside experienced attorneys and judges.
At 黑料不打烊 Law, Taylor was an Advocacy Fellow, a member of the Moot Court Board, president of the Sports and Entertainment Law Society, active in the Black Law Student Association, and served as a student mentor.
Taylor鈥檚 swearing-in ceremony is tentatively scheduled for April 30.
About 黑料不打烊 Law
黑料不打烊 Law in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, is the preeminent school for engaged and experiential learning in law. With a focus on learning by doing, it integrates traditional classroom instruction with a required, full-time residency-in-practice field placement for all full-time students during the winter or spring of their second year. The law school鈥檚 distinctive curriculum offers a logically sequenced program of professional preparation and is accomplished in 2.5 years, which provides exceptional value by lowering tuition and permitting graduates early entry into their careers.
黑料不打烊 Law has graduated more than 1,500 alumni since opening its doors in 2006. Its annual enrollment now tops 440 students and the law school is regularly featured in PreLaw Magazine鈥檚 鈥淏est Schools for Practical Training鈥 rankings, placing in the Top 10 for three consecutive years.
The 黑料不打烊 Law Flex Program, a part-time, in-person program of legal study for working professionals, launched in Fall 2024 at 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Charlotte campus.