About Thomas Courtland
Thomas Courtland Manning trained first as a historian and then as a lawyer. He earned a B.A. in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1970 and a J.D. from the University of South Carolina in Columbia in 1974. Those credentials were the start of a legal career that would span federal and state courts across two states.
Early in his career he served as a senior law clerk in 1977 to Chief U.S. District Judge John D. Larkins Jr. That clerkship was followed by a role in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina; in 1978 he worked there as an Assistant United States Lawyer. Those posts put him inside the federal courthouse and gave him direct exposure to the procedures and pressures of trial-level work.
He later moved into private practice and has maintained a presence in both North Carolina and South Carolina courts. He is admitted in North Carolina and South Carolina and is admitted to practice before several federal courts, including the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina and for the District of South Carolina, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court. His practice has spanned matters that arise in both state and federal systems.
Manning holds board certifications from the North Carolina Board of Legal Specialization in State Criminal Law and in Federal Criminal Law. Those certifications mark a long involvement in criminal litigation. Over the years he has taken on roles that extend beyond individual cases. He served as member and chairman of the North Carolina State Bar Criminal Law Examiners from 1992 until 2007. He was a commissioner on the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission from 1994 to 2000. He has also served on the Tenth Judicial District Indigent Appointments Committee, including as chairman, and on the Public Defender Selection Committee for the same district.
Professional organizations have been a consistent part of his work. He has been a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers since 1982 and is a permanent delegate to the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference. Locally he has been involved in the Wake County Academy of Criminal Trial Lawyers and has served as its president. He has presented continuing legal education programs for N.C. Advocates for Justice and remains active in bar association activities.
He practices through Manning Law Firm PLLC. He handles criminal matters in state and federal courts and continues to participate in courtroom work, committee service and legal education programs.
