Charles L. Becton
Visiting Professor of Law
Charles L. Becton received his BA degree from Howard University in 1966, his J.D. degree from Duke University School of Law in 1969, and his L.L.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1986. From 1981-1990, he was a Judge in the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and in 1985 was named North Carolina Appellate Judge of the Year. He is now an attorney with the Raleigh law firm of Fuller, Becton, Slifkin & Bell, P. A. Mr. Becton has been included in The Best Lawyers since 1983, and is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Attorneys and the International Society of Barristers.
Mr. Becton was one of ten attorneys selected to demonstrate trial advocacy skills on an ATLA/ABA/NITA video series, Winning at Trial (April 1986); one of twelve attorneys selected to demonstrate cross-examination skills on an ABA/NITA video project, Mastering the Art of Cross Examination (June 1986); and one of eight attorneys selected to demonstrate trial advocacy skills on an ATLA Video Series "Anatomy of a Personal Injury Lawsuit" (October 1993).
He is also the John Scott Cansler Lecturer at the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill, and a Senior Lecturer in Law at Duke University School of Law. He has taught and lectured at trial advocacy skills institutes across the country, in Canada, and in the Republic of South Africa. Mr. Becton has received three of the four national trial advocacy teaching awards.
In January 1988, Mr. Becton received the William J. Brennan, Jr. Trial Advocacy Award for his work in improving the skills of trial lawyers. In January 1990, he received the North Carolina Association of Educators "Excellence in Equity" Award. In June 1990, Mr. Becton was the first recipient of the Charles L. Becton Trial Advocacy Award given annually by the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers. In July 1990, he was a co-recipient of the Roscoe Pound Foundation's Richard S. Jacobson Award from the Association of Trial Lawyers of America recognizing the nation's best trial advocacy teacher. In May 1995, he received the South Carolina Trial Jury Foundation's Distinguished Service Award. In October 1995, Mr. Becton received the Robert Keeton NITA Trial Advocacy Teaching Award.
