Judge Stephens attended the University of South Carolina, Columbia, where she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1973. She attended the University of North Carolina School of Law and received her Juris Doctor degree in 1979.
Judge Stephens began her legal career as a law clerk to Judge (later, Chief Judge) R. A. Hedrick of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, where she gained knowledge and experience in various substantive areas of the law, as well as expertise in appellate practice. She left the Court in 1980 upon her appointment as a deputy commissioner of the North Carolina Industrial Commission and served in that capacity for four years, becoming a specialist in workers' compensation law. She left her position as a deputy commissioner to join our firm in 1984, became a partner in 1988, and was of counsel from January 1, 2006 until she was sworn in as a Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals on February 2, 2006.
Judge Stephens was President of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys in 2001-2002, was on its Board of Directors from 1993 through 2005, and was Chair of its political action committee, the North Carolina Defense Fund, from April 2002 to January 2005. Previously, she served a three-year term on the North Carolina Bar Association's Litigation Council, the executive and governing board for the Bar Association's Litigation Section.
Judge Stephens was also a member of the Defense Research Institute, for
which she served as North Carolina liaison to its Workers' Compensation
Section. In October 2002, DRI presented her with the Fred H. Sievert
Award as the state defense organization leader of the year. She
also served on the Workers' Compensation Subcommittee of the North
Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization from its inception in 2001, and as its
Chair from 2003 to 2005.
Judge Stephens has written and lectured extensively on North Carolina workers' compensation law and practice, including at the April 2003 Annual Meeting and Educational Conference of the North Carolina Association of Self-Insurers. She was listed in the l995-2006 editions of The Best Lawyers in America, Workers' Compensation Section, and was chosen as one of the Top 50 Female Lawyers in North Carolina for inclusion in the 2006 edition North Carolina Super Lawyers. She is also a lifetime member of The National Registry of Who's Who, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Wake County SPCA, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of S.A.F.E. Haven for Cats.
EDUCATION
University of North Carolina School of Law, 1979, J.D.
University of South Carolina, 1973, B.A.
BAR ADMISSIONS
North Carolina, 1979
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina, 1984
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina, 1985
U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit, 1985
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