Trey Allen will bring a strong record of professional and personal achievement to the NC Supreme Court. 

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Trey graduated summa cum laude from UNC Pembroke in 1997, where he was a Chancellor's Scholar and student body president. Trey obtained his law degree from UNC Chapel Hill in 2000. While there, he became a published staff member of the North Carolina Law Review.

 

Following law school, Trey spent more than four years as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. For most of that time, he served as a judge advocate overseas, primarily in Okinawa, Japan. Trey advised commanding generals and subordinate commanders on military justice and operational law matters, prosecuted violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and helped fellow Marines resolve personal legal issues. His military service included a deployment to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, for which he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal.

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After being honorably discharged, Trey returned to NC and began working as a law clerk for Justice (now Chief Justice) Paul Newby. Upon completing his clerkship, Trey became an associate and then a partner at Tharrington Smith, LLP, in Raleigh, representing public school districts around the state and successfully litigating cases involving constitutional and other claims before administrative agencies, federal and state trial courts, and appellate courts, including the NC Supreme Court.

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In 2013 Trey left his law practice for the UNC School of Government, where he became a tenured faculty member. His research and writing focused on the general regulatory and enforcement powers of local governments, local government liability, and board procedures. In 2019 he received the School's Margaret Taylor Writing Award for his book Local Government Immunity to Lawsuits in North Carolina. Trey was named Albert and Gladys Hall Coates Distinguished Term Associate Professor for 2020-2022. The North Carolina Association of Municipal Clerks awarded Trey an honorary membership in recognition of his dedication to its members.

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Following Paul Newby's installation as Chief Justice of North Carolina in January 2021, Trey was appointed General Counsel for the NC Administrative Office of the Courts.  In that role, he provides legal guidance to judicial officials around the state.

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Trey has a history of involvement in the NC Bar Association.  He was Chair of the NCBA's Constitutional Rights & Responsibilities Section for 2015-2016. 

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