Chris Dillon
Robert Christopher "Chris" Dillon is a North Carolina attorney and chief judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Dillon won election to the appellate court in a statewide race on Nov. 6, 2012, when he defeated incumbent Cressie Thigpen. Dillon won re-election on Nov. 3, 2020 over challenger Gray Styers.
Early life and education
Chris Dillon was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, the youngest of C.A. and Mildred Dillon’s five children. He attended public schools throughout his childhood, graduating from Needham Broughton High School. Dillon earned his B.S. in Business Administration and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2018, Dillon graduated from Duke University with an LL.M. degree.Family
Judge Dillon is married to Ann, a special education teacher with whom he has had five children: Sally, Matt, Anna, Molly, and Sam.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 CapStone Bank, 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 Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law of Campbell University. In 2018, Judge Dillon was awarded his LLM degree from the Duke [University School of Law] in the field of Judicial Studies.
Throughout his career, Judge Dillon has served on a number of civic boards and committees, including DHIC, Inc., 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 the