He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Wake Forest University in 1956 and a Bachelor of Laws from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1958.

He was a law clerk for Justice Emery B. Denny of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1958 to 1959.

He was in private practice of law in Fairmont and Lumberton, North Carolina from 1959 to 1980.

[2] Britt was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on April 14, 1980, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina vacated by Judge John Davis Larkins Jr.

[2] As of 2020, Britt is the last judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina to be appointed by a Democratic president.