Judge Richard Dietz graduated first in his class from Wake Forest University School of Law and served as research editor of the Wake Forest Law Review. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business from Shippensburg University, graduating summa cum laude and serving as president of the University Honors Program and Founding Father of the Pennsylvania Omicron Chapter. The chapter has an award established in his name and awarded annually. Dietz attended both Wake Forest Law School and Shippensburg University on full academic scholarships.
Before joining the Court, Judge Dietz was a partner on the Appellate & Supreme Court team at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, a 650-lawyer international law firm with its roots in North Carolina.
In his legal practice, Judge Dietz argued in the U.S. Supreme Court in Abramski v. United States, 134 S.Ct. 2259 (2014), and handled dozens of appeals in other state and federal courts around the country. He argued cases in a wide range of legal areas, including constitutional law, complex business law, criminal law, family law, and tort law. He has also represented a broad array of clients, from Fortune 500 companies to low-income families and indigent criminal defendants.
Judge Dietz is a North Carolina board certified specialist in Appellate Practice. He served as vice chair of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Section and currently serves on the Appellate Practice Section Council. He has served for six years on the Bar Association’s Appellate Rules Committee, a group of lawyers and judges who review the state’s appellate rules and draft proposed changes.
Judge Dietz is a member of the North Carolina Courts Commission, a group of judges, lawyers, legislators, and private citizens who study and recommend changes to the court system.
