The Office of the County Attorney provides legal advice to the Board of County Commissioners and all County department officials.
Under the direction of the County Manager, the County Attorney examines written commitments made by the County, supervises the county legal department and approves contracts or other legal documents.
The County Attorney drafts and interprets County ordinances, keeps abreast of new legislation, trends and developments in the law and represents the County’s interests in cases of litigation against County officials and employees, or where necessary engage outside counsel. The department answers questions relating to statutes, rules, regulations or court interpretations.
Using the County’s core values the Office provides a broad range of legal services directed at promoting the public service objectives of the County while attempting to minimize risk of loss.
By law the County Attorney’s Office does not provide legal advice or representation to citizens on private matters and is prohibited from giving general advice to the public at large. The office does not handle traffic offenses or other enforcement of the criminal statutes, which is the responsibility of the District Attorney’s Office for the 26th Judicial District.
If you are in need of legal representation for a private matter you may call the North Carolina Lawyer Referral Service at 1-800-662-7660, the Mecklenburg County Bar at (704) 375-8624 or the Mecklenburg County Lawyer’s Referral Service at (704) 375-0120 to obtain a referral.