Biggs was a student at the Horner Military School in Oxford from 1883 to 1887 before attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"[4] According to former Solicitor General Seth Waxman, "[t]he Justices informally sent word to [President] Roosevelt that Biggs should not be permitted to argue any case the United States hoped to win.

"[5] (Cummings and Assistant Solicitor General Angus D. MacLean argued the Gold Clause Cases, which eventually marked some of the first successes for New Deal economic policies.)

Reed immediately set about dismissing several cert petitions filed by the government (e.g., Belcher v. United States) because the cases were poorly postured to result in opinions upholding the New Deal.

Soon afterward, the government called upon Biggs for his expertise to assist the attorney general in the Northern Pacific Land Grant Case.

He also served as chairman on the North Carolina Board of Elections, trustee of the UNC Methodist Orphanage, and a member of the executive committee and counsel of the American Red Cross, 1933–1935.