Michael J.
Denning

Michael Denning is an accomplished jurist and former District Court Judge for Judicial District 10 in Wake County, North Carolina. In his capacity as Of Counsel in Smith Debnam’s Mediation and Arbitration Practice Group, he focuses his mediation practice in the areas of Business Litigation, Corporate and Business Law, and Family Law. Michael is a certified family financial mediator through the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission. In his domestic law arbitration and mediation practice, he mediates disputes involving all aspects of family law, including divorce, child custody, equitable distribution, child support, and alimony.

The seventh child (fourth of seven boys) in a family of twelve, Michael is a Marine Corps veteran with over 10 years of service. While in active duty, Michael served as a Marine Security Guard at U.S. Embassies in China, Japan, and Indonesia, and briefly in Mongolia.

After leaving the Marine Corps, Michael attended and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with undergraduate degrees in English and Medieval History. He earned his J.D. from Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University. In 2010, Michael was elected to the District Court Bench.

Michael and his wife Jill have been married for 20 years and have two boys.

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