The Hon. Paul C. Ridgeway is a judge for the Wake County Superior Court in the 10th Judicial District of the 3rd Division in North Carolina. He was elected to the bench in 2006 and re-elected in 2014 and 2022.
Ridgeway earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from North Carolina State University in 1982. He then completed a J.D. at Campbell University, Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law (1986) and an M.P.A. at North Carolina State University (1990). As a law student, Ridgeway was the editor-in-chief of the Campbell Law Review.
After graduating from law school, Ridgeway entered into private practice. He worked in that capacity for twenty years, handling a wide variety of commercial litigation, commercial transactions, and administrative law matters at Everett, Gaskins, Hancock & Stevens.
His memberships have included the Wake County Bar Association and the North Carolina Bar Association. He has also been involved with the North Carolina State University Board of Visitors, the Commission on the Future of the North Carolina Business Court, and the Rural Internet Access Authority.
He is a recipient of the Judge Robinson O. Everett Award for Legal Excellence (2014) and the North Carolina Advocates for Justice Outstanding Trial Judge Award (2020).
Raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ridgeway graduated from Martin Junior High School and Sanderson High School. His father was a professor of physics and statistics at North Carolina State University, and his mother was a teacher for the Wake County Public Schools. Ridgeway and his wife, Laura, have two sons. Laura works as a consultant in the nonprofit sector and is an accomplished vocalist. When not presiding over legal proceedings, Ridgeway enjoys traveling, cooking, hiking in the mountains, and fishing at the beach. His family attends Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.
