Ned Mangum: The Sum of All Years

“I find that people are very interesting for the most part. They do interesting things, nice things, bad things, crazy things, and I’m fascinated by it,” said former Wake County District Court Chief Judge Ned Mangum.

During his 26 years as a Wake County district court judge and in the Wake County DA’s office, he has seen just about everything from contracts and family law matters to criminal cases.

Last year, at age 51, he pondered whether to stay on the bench or go into private practice and, if so, in what practice area.

The answer lay in the sum of all the years of his life and career.

I find that people are very interesting for the most part. They do interesting things, nice things, bad things, crazy things, and I’m fascinated by it

Team Decisions

Chief District Court Judge Ned Mangum

“As a child, I was difficult and hard-headed and driven to do what I wanted to do. But I never got into trouble. I wasn’t a bad kid,” recalled Mangum, the third child of a father in the insurance industry and a mother who was a schoolteacher.

He found direction in teamwork as a pitcher for the Broughton High School baseball team. “To this day, some of my closest friends are from my high school baseball team.”

Teamwork has been a theme in his career. “Being on the bench can be terribly isolating,” said Mangum. “I loved being on the bench, but you’re out there on your own to make a decision. The judges, in a lot of ways, support each other, but at the end of the day, it’s you making that decision, and you’re not making a team decision.”

After graduating from UNC School of Law, Mangum started his career in the Wake County District Attorney’s Office where he worked under DA Colon Willoughby for 10 years.

In 2008, Gov. Mike Easley appointed Mangum as a Wake County district judge. He returned to the DA’s Office in 2014 as acting DA when Willoughby retired. “One of the reasons why I wanted to go back to the DA’s Office was because I liked the team idea of working on something together,” said Mangum.

 “To use a sports analogy, as a judge, you’re the umpire or referee. Then I go back [to the DA’s office], and all of a sudden, I’m the head coach again. It was fantastic to be able to do that. I loved every minute of it; having said that, it was incredibly stressful.”

Stressful indeed. Four days after Mangum was sworn in, Frank Janssen, the father of a Wake County assistant DA was kidnapped. During the next five intense days, Mangum worked on the case with a team of local, state and federal law enforcement.

“This case was ongoing, and the outcome was not going to be who goes to prison; it was going to be, is this man going to live?” recalled Mangum. “The happiest time professionally I can remember is when we got the word from the FBI in Atlanta that he was alive and safe. That was awesome.”

Kelvin Melton was arrested and charged with kidnapping and a slew of related charges in what was determined to be a gang-related crime. In 2016, he was sentenced to life plus 84 months consecutive imprisonment.

After Mangum’s nine-month assignment as acting DA ended, he returned to the bench. He considered running for DA, but North Carolina election laws precluded him from running for office while serving as a judge. Mangum opted to stay at the courthouse.

Ned’s Choice

Mangum and his wife, Robin, have three sons, Robert “Bear,” 20, Gus, 17, and Hugh, 13. When I interviewed him in 2018, he was on the phone driving one of them to football practice. “It’s been really good to bond with them [over sports],” said Mangum.

“I don’t have the fanciest cars, I don’t have fancy jewelry or whatever but experiences, like trips and going to ball games and things like that are incredibly valuable. The more stuff that you can do with your family, while you are healthy and they’re willing to do it, the better.”

Last year, with Bear in college and his other sons not far behind, the financial rewards of private practice became compelling.

 “Criminal defense work is probably not in my DNA. I’m just intrigued by family law. I like to see how people work and how I can help them with these difficult problems.”

Raleigh-based Smith Debnam, a venerable 52-year-old legacy law firm, came calling with an offer to join its fast-growing family law practice team. Mangum credited seasoned hands Rose Stout and Lynn McNally with guiding him from one side of the bench to the other.

Mangum, Ashley Campbell and Maria Lynch at WCBA lunch in 2017

“I’ve probably tried 100 jury trials in the DA’s office. The discovery process and the preparation process for a criminal case are very different than the preparation for a family law case. In building your discovery in a criminal case, you can call your lead investigator in the DA’s office. In the private practice setting, it’s not as easy to come by the information and build the cases,” he said.

“I love the mentorship and team spirit at Smith Debnam. They believe in the power of collaboration. I have found experienced attorneys in family law willing to share their knowledge, help each other grow, and celebrate successes along the way. It’s a supportive environment where everyone has each other’s backs.”

The firm is always looking for additional, experienced family law attorneys who want to move laterally and perhaps handle complex family law cases.

Earle Purser and Mangum

Be a Better Parent

Mangum has a Wally Cleaver-like quality about him. He is warm, friendly, engaging, and a good listener. He’s like an older brother who is fun to be with and hang out with and is always there to offer sensible and sound advice. This time, the advice is about family law.

“I don’t want to make promises that I can’t deliver,” said Mangum. “Sometimes people need to hear something that they do not want to hear. I don’t mind leveling with someone and saying, ‘Hey man, this isn’t going to happen, and here’s why it’s not going to work out the way you think.’”

“There is an unknown in going to court. There is risk involved. Parents can lose control by having some other person [a judge] make the decision. No matter how hard the judge works and no matter how much experience they have, someone will decide what’s going to happen with your most prized thing on this earth, your children. That is scary for people,” explained Mangum.

“I’m certainly not the smartest lawyer who’s ever walked through the Wake County courthouse—far from it—but I’ve got a lot of experience seeing how these cases are handled, and I know what people should expect when they go to court. I work hard trying to figure out how people think and trying to predict how a judge will make a particular decision. It helps get the cases resolved.

“There’s nothing more rewarding than helping a family with a difficult problem,” he added. “People care about their children more than anything in this world. And when you can help people be better parents to their children, that is incredibly rewarding.”

No Need to Argue

Mangum strongly encourages his clients to sit across the table in a conference room rather than in a courtroom.

“We see people who have lost their ability to co-parent and communicate and are now facing litigation. Nevertheless, I still think that there are opportunities to get lots of those cases solved without having to go to a trial,” said Mangum, who was recently certified as a family financial settlement mediator by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission.

“Arguing is not always the best way to find common ground among folks that are deeply entrenched. As I get older, I see that a little bit differently and try to think how can you get people through a difficult spot without having to argue to find common ground.”

Mangum with his wife, Robin, on his last day on the bench, February 1, 2024
AAL NCT 2024 #5

Is The Phone Ringing?

Mangum is adjusting to his new career as the only person who has ever been a Wake County district attorney, a chief district court judge, and a practicing attorney.

 “The work-life balance in each of those jobs is different. As a judge, you’re very much tied to that courthouse, and you’re going to be there from 8:00 until 5:00 every single day. Judges don’t get a lot of phone calls and there is comfort knowing your paycheck is coming at the end of the month.”

“In private practice, the hours are longer. I’ve constantly got this anxiety between whether the phone is going to ring, whether somebody is going to hire me, and on the other hand, whether the phone is ringing too much, and how I am going to handle all this.”

Mangum is a former president of the Wake County Bar Association. He has stepped back from leadership roles in the legal industry temporarily while he gets acclimated to private practice but looks forward to getting involved again.

Joe Cheshire, Joe Zeszotarski, Rick Gammon and Mangum, NC Bar 2024

Winston and George

With all the Sturm und Drang of private practice, Mangum finds peace when he gets home and is met by his two English Bulldogs, Winston and George. “Just seeing a dog when you walk in through the door puts a lot of stuff in perspective. Our oldest bulldog just has this way of knowing if you are happy or sad. He’s not the fastest dog in the world, he’s not the smartest dog in the world, but as far as being a companion, there’s nothing better. Dogs bring the family together in many ways.”

Reflection on 25 Years

Reflecting on his 25 years in the courthouse, he offered up this piece of wisdom, “When a person walks in, and they’re upset about their case, they often take it out on that first person they talk to. If you are nice to them, you will be amazed at how much those people will try to help you.”

Mangum said he wanted to convey the message that “The people work hard down there. The judges want to do the right thing for people. They take their job seriously. The clerks work terribly hard. The judicial support staff, the sheriffs, all the people that go into the courtroom, they all work terribly hard and show up every single day.”

At a Glance

Smith Debnam
Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers, LLP
4601 Six Forks Rd #400
Raleigh, NC 27609
919-250-2000
www.smithdebnamlaw.com

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