Cynthia
D. Dixon

For nearly a decade, Cynthia D. Dixon sat on the other side of the attorney-client relationship.

As Vice President of Litigation for one of North Carolina’s largest credit unions, she was not simply managing legal matters. She was deciding when to hire outside counsel, weighing legal risks against business realities, and protecting the interests of an organization whose reputation mattered just as much as its legal position. That experience taught her something she still carries into every case today: before you can solve a legal issue, you have to understand the story behind it.

At Smith Debnam, Cynthia focuses her practice on foreclosure matters within the firm’s Creditors’ Rights practice. She represents mortgage lenders, loan servicers, and financial institutions throughout the foreclosure process, helping clients navigate North Carolina’s legal requirements while protecting the interests that brought them there in the first place.

Few attorneys arrive in private practice with Cynthia’s perspective. She began her career at the credit union as a Financial Services Representative and, through years of hard work and leadership, became Vice President of Litigation. Along the way, she helped build the organization’s first in-house litigation department from the ground up, recruited and mentored attorneys and legal assistants, and managed hundreds of active cases across North Carolina. She also gained something that cannot be taught in law school: an appreciation for what institutional clients need from the lawyers they hire. They want someone who is prepared before the first phone call, communicates plainly, and never loses sight of the bigger picture.

Cynthia’s experience spans a broad range of creditors’ rights litigation, including summary ejectments, debt collection actions, tax foreclosures, post-judgment recovery, mechanic’s liens, condemnations, Fair Credit Reporting Act arbitrations, and matters involving successors in interests, trusts, and probate issues affecting real property. She also worked closely with outside counsel handling judicial and non-judicial foreclosures, giving her firsthand insight into the legal and practical challenges lenders face throughout the foreclosure process.

Foreclosure files are often measured in inches, not pages. Loan documents, payment histories, correspondence, title issues, probate records, court filings, and regulatory requirements all become part of the record. Cynthia knows those documents tell only part of the story. Behind every file is a lender balancing legal obligations, business priorities, customer relationships, and risks. Her role is to bring those pieces together, helping clients move through the legal process with confidence and clear direction.

One of Cynthia’s proudest accomplishments was becoming the credit union’s first African American Vice President of Litigation. Equally meaningful to her is knowing that the department she helped build and the attorneys she mentored continue to serve the organization today. Leadership, in her view, is measured not only by what you accomplish, but by what you leave behind.

Away from the office, Cynthia enjoys spending time with her family, cheering from the sidelines at her children’s sporting events, drawing, and cloud gazing. Looking for shapes in passing clouds may seem like an unusual hobby, but it reflects something that has always come naturally to her: seeing patterns others overlook. Whether she is watching clouds drift across the sky or reviewing a foreclosure file, Cynthia believes every case has a story. The better she understands that story, the better equipped she is to help her clients write the next chapter.