Elizabeth Gibson, a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, earned her J.D., with high honors, from UNC School of Law in 1976. After law school she clerked for Judge J. Braxton Craven Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (1976-77) and for Justice Byron R. White of the U.S. Supreme Court (1977-78). Following her judicial clerkships she practiced law with the Washington, D.C., law firm of Shea & Gardner (now Goodwin Proctor), where she became a partner prior to her entry into teaching.
Gibson returned to the School of Law in 1983 as an associate professor of law. She became a professor of law in 1988 and a Burton Craige Professor of Law in 1993. Gibson teaches courses in civil procedure, federal jurisdiction and bankruptcy. She was the recipient of the 1988 and 1991 McCall Awards for Teaching Excellence at the School of Law, and is a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference and the American College of Bankruptcy. In 2000 she was nominated by President Clinton to serve as a judge on the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The Senate adjourned without taking any action on her nomination. Since 2008 she has served as the reporter for the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules. She was selected for the position by Chief Justice John Roberts.