Lina E. James, Deputy City Attorney- City of Charlotte
Lina E. James serves as the Deputy City Attorney for the Charlotte City Attorney’s Office. She works closely with the City Attorney as legal advisor to the Mayor, City Council, Council Committees, City officials, managers, department directors and senior staff on all facets of legal, policy and legislative matters. Lina also oversees the day-to-day operations, management, and development of the professional and administrative support staff. She routinely advises on municipal governance, redistricting, legal ethics, risk analysis and assessments, and enforcement and compliance of the City Code. During her tenure at the City, Lina has represented and defended the City on a broad range of complex litigation including successful defenses at the appellate level. Her practice also focuses on negotiating contracts representing a diverse array of City Council priorities, initiatives, projects, public-private partnerships and developments, and large-scale events. Lina is an alum of the UNC School of Government’s Municipal and County Administration Program. She serves as a panelist at the International Municipal Lawyers Association’s events and conferences. Lina joined the City Attorney’s Office in 2008.
Lina’s professional activities include the Community Building Initiative’s Leadership Development Institute program and leadership positions with the Mecklenburg County Bar’s Executive Committee, Linking Lawyers and Lawyer Referral Service. Her community activities include advisory and voluntary boards of Hope Haven, the YMCA, A Child’s Place, Centralina Development Corporation, Inc. and as parent volunteer with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Of particular pride is Lina’s service as a program fellow with the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and her work as a research intern at UNC School of Government.
Before joining the City Attorney’s Office, Lina was in private practice litigating civil and criminal cases, including numerous bench and jury trials and negotiating corporate business transactions. She began her legal career with the Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office. Lina is a graduate of the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.