Prior to assuming his current role, he was a partner at the law firm of Williams Mullen.

Higdon was previously an Assistant United States Attorney in both the Western and Eastern Districts of North Carolina.

In the Eastern District U.S. Attorney's Office, he served as Chief of the Criminal Division for more than 11 years, supervising and prosecuting criminal cases involving drug trafficking, terrorism, violent crime, white collar crime, and public corruption.

Higdon also served as senior trial counsel in the Public Integrity Section of the United States Department of Justice.

[1] In 2012, he led the federal prosecution in a campaign finance fraud case involving Democrat John Edwards.