Elon Law graduate appointed as district court judge

Tia Hudgins Taylor always knew she wanted to return home. 

The eastern North Carolina native earned her Bachelor of Science in sport management from Queens University of Charlotte and earned her law degree from Elon University School of Law in Greensboro. When she graduated in December 2018, she moved back to Rocky Mount, North Carolina, where she began her career.

“Once I graduated from law school, I knew I wanted to come back home,” Taylor said. “That’s where my heart is and I’m just grateful to be able to be here and to serve in my community.”

Taylor worked as an assistant attorney in criminal law for the North Carolina 8th District Court, which includes Edgecombe, Nash and Wilson counties. She also spent time in private practice covering real estate, estate planning, civil matters, family law and juvenile law. Taylor is currently an associate attorney at Lassiter & Sperati, PLLC.

Last fall, Judge William Solomon of the North Carolina 8th District Court retired, leaving a vacancy in the position to complete his term through 2026. According to Taylor, interested candidates in the district submitted their names and were voted on by the local bar association. The bar then produced a list of five finalists that was sent to the North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein for a decision.

On March 31, Stein announced Taylor’s appointment to the position, describing her as an “exceptional” and “dedicated” attorney.

“I’m appreciative of his confidence in me in filling this vacancy we have in our judicial district,” Taylor said. “It was really exciting and very meaningful to me that he chose me.”

She cited her experiences working with different types of law as a strength, especially the civil and juvenile cases she hears in her current job and will continue to hear as district court judge.

“I’ve had that exposure, and I know that’s going to carry over to the bench to help me at a district court,” Taylor said. “Just being able to see a lot of different types of areas of law has been really beneficial.”

Taylor also credited her experience in the Elon University School of Law for its role in her career progress. According to Elon Law School Dean Zak Kramer, while the school is only 20 years old, Taylor is the tenth alumnus to become a judge.

“Success for us is judged by our students’ outputs and what kinds of lives they want to build,” Kramer said. “Some will aspire to be judges and we want to do everything we can to make that happen. Other folks want to be public interest lawyers, some folks want to work for big corporations. We try to meet our students where their desires and dreams are.”

The Elon Law curriculum requires second-year students to complete a full-time residency with a judge or attorney supervisor on improving professional and legal skills.

“Most law schools promise to their students they will teach them how to think like a lawyer,” Kramer said. “The premise of Elon Law is that that is not enough – we have to actually teach them to be lawyers.”

This effort was influential for Taylor and she said it allowed her to gain professional experience while still in law school.

“That allowed me to get out of the classroom to really see how the legal world looked in real life,” Taylor said. “I think that was very beneficial, that helped shape my career, that helped me learn exactly what I wanted to do. And so just being able to have that component was really helpful.”

During her 10-week residency, Taylor worked in the Guilford County public defender’s office in Greensboro, conducting legal research and providing support to assistant public defenders.

“I was extremely nervous, but just being able to get that experience was really good,” Taylor said. “Then to actually see it in real life when I became an attorney, like ‘Oh, I’ve done this before.’”

Over her career, Taylor said the most important lessons she has learned are to not be afraid to ask for help and never stop learning. She plans to continue implementing these in the district court.

“There are other judges that I get to lean on and listen to their different stories and how they do things,” Taylor said. “Just always learning – I think that’s important in all aspects of life – but definitely in this position.”