Legal Clinic Conference Room Named in Honor of Judge A. Leon Stanback Jr.

Dean Browne C. Lewis and Michelle F. Stanback unveiled a plaque and portrait of Judge Stanback that hangs in the Clinic Conference Room.

The Honorable Judge A. Leon Stanback, Jr. Honored at Naming Ceremony

The NCCU School of Law dedicated its Legal Clinic Conference Room to Judge A. Leon Stanback, Jr. during a ceremony held on November 10, 2021. Judge Stanback served as Superior Court Judge for the 14th Judicial District of the Third Division of the Superior Court in Durham, North Carolina. He was appointed to the court in 1989 and retired in late 2009. “I am humbled and honored by this recognition and overflowing with love and gratitude for my entire family,” said Judge Stanback.

“NCCU School of Law has been at the center of my legal career since I began Law School in 1965. I am thrilled that the Legal Clinic Conference Room will stand as a beacon of inspiration for future law students.”

Congressman G.K. Butterfield attended the naming ceremony and spoke about his friendship with Judge Stanback. The two met on the campus of NCCU when Judge Stanback was entering law school. The ceremony also included tributes from longtime friend Attorney H.M. “Mickey” Michaux, Jr., and former Durham Mayor William V. Bell.

Since 1968, Judge A. Leon Stanback, Jr. has served North Carolina and the Durham community with distinction as a prosecutor, parole commissioner, private practitioner, and Superior Court Judge. An alumnus of NCCU, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1965 and Juris Doctor in 1968 from NCCU School of Law. After admission to the North Carolina Bar in 1968, Judge Stanback was hired as an associate attorney with Frye & Johnson Attorneys. He became an Assistant District Attorney (ADA) for Guilford County one year later. In his role as an ADA, Judge Stanback prosecuted criminal cases and civil cases involving the Uniform Enforcement of Child Support Act in North Carolina. Over the next nine years, Judge Stanback was a partner in two law firms: Lee, High, Taylor, Dansby & Stanback Attorneys, and Dansby & Stanback Attorneys.

In 1980, Judge Stanback led Stanback & Stanback, P.A., managing business affairs and supervising attorneys in the firm. In 1985, Judge Stanback expanded his career to serving on the Governor’s Minority Executive Advisory Council. In this role, Judge Stanback advised the Governor of North Carolina on employment, education, and economic development issues. Judge Stanback later became Commissioner of the North Carolina Parole Commission, where he developed programs that helped rehabilitate inmates and made recommendations concerning pardons and commutations.

Stanback presided over various civil and criminal Superior Courts of North Carolina. In 1989, he was appointed to the North Carolina Superior Court for the 14th Judicial District serving Durham County. After leaving the bench, Judge Stanback served as District Attorney for Durham County until 2014 and started a private practice, Attorney A. Leon Stanback & Associates. He served on the North Carolina Board of Law Examiners. Judge Stanback is a member of numerous legal and professional organizations, including the North Carolina Bar Association and the National Bar Association Judicial Council. He is also a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. In his esteemed career, Judge Stanback has received numerous awards and honors.

BIOGRAPHY: JUDGE A. LEON STANBACK, JR.

Judge Stanback is married to Michelle F. Stanback and they have three daughters: Catherine, Kynita, and Portia, and a granddaughter, Victoria.