A conference room in North Carolina Central University’s (NCCU) School of Law was dedicated on Nov. 10, 2021, to recognize a significant university supporter.
The law clinic conference room in the School of Law will henceforth be known as The Honorable A. Leon Stanback, Jr. Law Clinic Conference Room in honor of Stanback, a double Eagle who has provided continual support to the university for many years.
“I am humbled and honored by this recognition and overflowing with love and gratitude for my entire family,” said Stanback. “North Carolina Central University has been at the center of my legal career since I began law school in 1965. I am thrilled that the Law Clinic Conference Room will stand as a beacon of inspiration for future law students.”
Stanback earned his Bachelor of Science in chemistry in 1965 and juris doctorate in 1968 from NCCU. He later received a certificate in philosophy of law and judging from Harvard Law School.
He began his career as an associate attorney with Frye & Johnson Attorneys, before serving as assistant district attorney for Guilford County.
In 1980, he led Stanback & Stanback, P.A., where he managed business affairs and supervised attorneys before a nine-year stint as partner at two North Carolina law firms.
Stanback also worked over 20 years as superior court judge for the 14th Judicial District of the Third Division of the Durham County Superior Court, from 1989 until his retirement in 2009. Upon retirement, he also served as Durham County district attorney for more than two years before establishing A. Leon Stanback, Jr. & Associates, a private legal practice.
He is a member of numerous legal, professional and service organizations including the North Carolina Bar Association, the National Bar Association Judicial Council and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. He also served on the North Carolina Board of Law Examiners, the North Carolina Governor’s Minority Executive Advisory Council and as commissioner of the North Carolina Parole Commission.
Stanback, his wife Michelle F. Stanback, and other members of his family and members of the legal community, attended the naming ceremony.
The ceremony included tributes from longtime friends, including the Honorable H.M. “Mickey” Michaux; Congressman G.K. Butterfield; and NCCU trustee and former Durham mayor William V. Bell.
Following the event, School of Law Dean Browne C. Lewis along with Standback’s wife unveiled a plaque and portrait of Stanback that hangs in the conference room.
