Robert Christopher "Chris" Dillon (born 1965) is a

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

attorney and judge of the

North Carolina Court of Appeals The North Carolina Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.C. Ct. App.) is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was created ...

. Dillon won election to the appellate court in a statewide race on Nov. 6, 2012, when he defeated incumbent

Cressie Thigpen Cressie H. Thigpen, Jr. is a North Carolina lawyer and jurist who served on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Early life and education Thigpen was born August 12, 1946. He received his bachelor's degree in business administration from North ...

. Dillon won re-election on Nov. 3, 2020 over challenger Gray Styers.

Early life and education

Chris Dillon was born and raised in Raleigh, the youngest of C.A. and Mildred Dillon’s five children. He attended public schools throughout his childhood, graduating from Needham Broughton High School. Judge Dillon is a “double Tar Heel,” having earned his B.S. in Business Administration and his law degree from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. In 2018, Judge Dillon graduated from

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

with an LL.M. degree.

Career

Following law school, Judge Dillon practiced law at Young Moore Henderson in Raleigh, focusing on administrative, business, and real estate law. Judge Dillon has been licensed by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission as a broker for over twenty years and has worked as a commercial real estate broker where he created and managed a number of investment real estate entities. In 2006, Judge Dillon helped start a community bank where he served as a Senior Vice President. In 2011, he returned to private practice, representing a number of small business owners, professionals, and a state occupational licensing board. In 2012, Judge Dillon was elected to an eight-year term on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Judge Dillon has been an adjunct professor, teaching real estate focused courses at both UNC School of Law and Campbell School of Law. In 2018, Judge Dillon was awarded his LLM degree from the

Duke University School of Law Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit th ...

in the field of Judicial Studies. Throughout his career, Judge Dillon has served on a number of civic boards and committees, including DHIC, Inc. (formerly Downtown Housing Improvement Corporation), the North Carolina Bar Association, and the Friends of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. He has taught youth Sunday School at Edenton Street United Methodist Church since 1990. In 2020, Judge Dillon was re-elected to another eight-year term on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Following his re-election, he was appointed to serve as Chair of th
North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission

Family

Judge Dillon is married to Ann (née Finley), a special education teacher and also the youngest of five children. Together, they are the parents of five children: Sally, Matt, Anna, Molly, and Sam.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillon, Chris 1965 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) North Carolina Court of Appeals judges North Carolina Republicans University of North Carolina School of Law alumni UNC Kenan–Flagler Business School alumni 21st-century American judges