Business Court Judges
The North Carolina Business Court, an administrative division of the General Court of Justice hearing cases involving complex and significant issues of corporate and commercial law, currently consists of six special superior court judges, including a chief Business Court judge who oversees administrative matters in addition to a regular caseload. The Business Court judges are designated from special superior court judges who serve eight-year terms. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina designates a special superior court judge as Business Court judge.
The Court’s docket includes those cases designated as complex business cases under G.S. 7A-45.4 and certain exceptional cases the Chief Justice assigns to the Business Court under Rules 2.1 and 2.2 of the General Rules of Practice and Procedure for the Superior and District Courts. Once a case is designated or assigned to the Business Court, all proceedings in the action are heard by the Business Court judge to whom the case has been assigned.
The current Business Court judges (with chambers locations) are Chief Business Court Judge Michael L. Robinson (Wake Forest University School of Law), Judge Adam M. Conrad (Mecklenburg County Courthouse), Judge Julianna Theall Earp (Elon University School of Law), Judge Mark A. Davis (Wake County Courthouse), Judge A. Todd Brown (Mecklenburg County Courthouse), and Judge Matthew T. Houston (Wake County Courthouse).
Former Judges of the North Carolina Business Court
The Honorable Ben F. Tennille (1996-2011, Chief Judge 2006-11)
The Honorable Albert Diaz (2005-10)
The Honorable John R. Jolly (2005-14, Chief Judge 2011-14)
The Honorable Calvin E. Murphy (2010-14)
The Honorable Gregory P. McGuire (2014-21)
The Honorable James L. Gale (2011-2021, Chief Judge 2014-18)
The Honorable Louis A. Bledsoe, III (2014-2024, Chief Judge 2018-2024)