In 1978, Duncan joined the staff of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. By the time she left in 1986, she had served in a variety of important posts at the commission: appellate attorney, assistant to the deputy general counsel, assistant to the chairman, acting associate legal counsel, and acting legal counsel. At one point, the then-head of the EEOC, Clarence Thomas, promoted Duncan as his Chief of Staff over another candidate, Anita Hill.[1]
Duncan was appointed a Commissioner of the North Carolina Utilities Commission in 1991 and remained in that post until 1998, when she joined the Raleigh office of Kilpatrick Stockton as a partner. She worked there until her appointment to the federal bench. Duncan became the first African-American president of the North Carolina Bar Association in 2003.[3]
Federal judicial service
Duncan was nominated on April 28, 2003, by President George W. Bush to fill a vacancy on the Fourth Circuit created by Judge Samuel James Ervin III, who died on September 18, 1999. A Republican, Duncan was supported by both Senators Elizabeth Dole and John Edwards, a departure from the trend toward partisan controversy over North Carolina appointments to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.[4]Bill Clinton previously had nominated Professor S. Elizabeth Gibson to the seat late in his presidency, but Gibson never received a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing or vote before his presidency ended. The United States Senate confirmed Duncan by a 93–0 vote on July 17, 2003.[5] She was the third judge nominated to the Fourth Circuit by Bush and confirmed by the Senate. She received her commission on August 15, 2003.[6]
In May 2018, Duncan announced that she would assume senior status upon the confirmation of her successor.[7] In September 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Allison Jones Rushing to replace Duncan on the 4th Circuit Court.[8] Rushing was confirmed by the Senate on March 5, 2019. Duncan assumed senior status on March 21, 2019, and retired on July 31, 2019.[6]
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