The Hon. Phyllis M. Gorham is a judge for the New Hanover County Superior Court in the 5th Judicial District of the 2nd Division in North Carolina. She was appointed to the bench by former Governor Mike Easley on May 17, 2007.
Prior to her appointment, Gorham was a judge for the 5th Judicial District Court, a position to which she was named in 2005. Before that, she spent time as an assistant district attorney with the 6th Prosecutorial District Attorney’s Office (1995 to 2005).
Gorham earned a bachelor’s degree in French studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1983. She then completed a J.D. at North Carolina Central University in 1990.
After graduating from law school, Gorham began her legal career as an attorney in private practice in Goldsboro. She supplemented her practice with service as an interim assistant police attorney for the Durham Police Department as well as a staff attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina in Durham.
Her memberships have included the North Carolina Bar Association, the North Carolina Rural Courts Commission, and the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission. She has also been involved with the Board of Directors of the New Hanover County Department of Social Services, the Board of Trustees of Coastal Horizons Center, Inc., and the Executive Board of Dreams of Wilmington, Inc.