Campbell Law alumnus Glenn Gerding ’96 reappointed as Appellate Defender

Campbell Law School alumnus Glenn Gerding ’96 will continue to serve as appellate defender following a vote to reappoint him by members of the North Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense Services at the Commission’s quarterly meeting on July 30, 2021, the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC) has announced.

“The Commission looks forward to continuing to work with Gerding to ensure that every attorney representing indigent clients has the qualifications, training, support and resources that they need to be effective advocates, and that those clients are provided with the best possible representation,” said Darrin Jordan, chair of the Commission on Indigent Defense Services, in a release.

Gerding, originally from Wingate, North Carolina, earned his undergraduate degree in 1993 from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in Political Science and his J.D. from Campbell University School of Law in 1996. While at Campbell, Gerding served on the Campbell Law Review and as a Justice on the Honor Court. In 2002, Gerding also earned an L.L.M. in Litigation and Dispute Resolution, with Highest Honors, from The George Washington University Law School.

Prior to his initial appointment as appellate defender in 2015, Gerding served as a Navy JAG Officer from 1996 to 2002, working as a Claims Attorney and Trial Defense Attorney in Norfolk, VA and as an Appellate Defense Attorney in Washington, DC. From there, Gerding served as an Assistant Public Defender in Orange County. Gerding then founded Gerding Bass, PLLC in Chapel Hill, NC, where he focused on criminal defense work, defending clients at the trial and appellate level and in state and military courts. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Campbell University School of Law, teaching Military Law and at UNC School of Law, teaching Appellate Advocacy. Alongside his appointment as appellate defender, Gerding still serves in the Navy Reserves holding the rank of Captain.

The Office of the Appellate Defender (OAD) represents people from across North Carolina in the appellate courts after a criminal conviction, juvenile adjudication, or involuntary commitment. In addition to direct representation of clients on appeal, OAD monitors and mentors appellate roster counsel, consults with and provides briefs and litigation guides to trial and appellate counsel, and trains public defenders and private assigned counsel at continuing legal education courses around the state.