After four years in the Air Force, he attended and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill Law School. Following admission to the North Carolina Bar, Prof. Payne practiced law with an emphasis on civil litigation, and a concentration in landlord-tenant law, Fair Housing, and advocacy before administrative agencies. He has worked in a variety of legal settings, including as an attorney with Legal Services, as a sole practitioner, in a large private law firm, and in state and local government agencies. Prof. Payne has represented clients before every level of court from Small Claims to the United States Supreme Court. At every stage of his career, he has hired, trained and supervised paralegals. Since 2000, Prof. Payne has been a fulltime Associate Professor and an Adjunct Instructor in the Paralegal Program at Guilford Technical Community College, teaching face-to-face and online classes.