Huntersville Attorney · Mediator · Author
Prepared for the case. Focused on what comes next.
Huntersville attorney C. Christopher “Chris” Adkins represents families, professionals and businesses in family-law disputes, civil litigation and employment matters. His judgment is shaped by service as a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer, leadership as a U.S. Army Combat Engineer officer, and the practical demands of founding and growing a Huntersville law firm.
A Disciplined, Practical Approach
Clear advice for consequential decisions.
Since founding Adkins Law in 2014, Chris has focused on helping clients understand the law, the leverage, the risks and the path forward. He brings an investigator’s attention to facts, an officer’s experience with high-pressure decisions, and a business owner’s respect for time, cost and durable results.
Chris regularly helps clients with divorce and separation, child custody, child support, alimony, property division, employment disputes, and complex civil matters. Whenever a sound agreement can protect the client and reduce unnecessary conflict, he works toward it. When litigation is necessary, he prepares to present a focused, fact-driven case.
CHRIS
What should you understand before making your next move?
The best strategy usually begins by separating what is urgent from what is merely loud. Chris helps clients identify the decisions that matter, preserve the evidence they may need, and choose a course that makes sense both legally and practically. Start a conversation →
Experience That Changes How He Sees a Case
Law enforcement. Military leadership. Business judgment.
2007–2013 · CMPD
Law Enforcement
Chris served 6.5 years with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, primarily in patrol, and also handled direct-response, narcotics-search-warrant and confidential-informant matters. His record includes more than 1,200 arrests and several hundred DWI investigations. He earned North Carolina Intermediate and Advanced Law Enforcement Certificates.
2009–2018 · Captain (O-3)
Military Leadership
Chris served as a Combat Engineer officer in the North Carolina Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve. During a 2012–2013 deployment to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, he led soldiers and managed multimillion-dollar construction, logistics and force-protection missions following the Iraq drawdown.
2014–Present · Founder
Business Perspective
Chris founded Adkins Law in Huntersville in 2014. As a law-firm owner and MBA graduate, he understands how disputes, legal costs, personnel decisions and uncertainty affect a business. That perspective informs his employment-law and civil-litigation work and his emphasis on direct, usable advice.
The experience artwork above uses conceptual watercolor illustrations.
Career & Education Timeline
A chronology of service, study and advocacy.
Chris’s professional development has crossed criminal justice, law, public service, military leadership, business and dispute resolution. The result is a broad frame for evaluating both the legal problem and its real-world consequences.
How Chris Helps
Connected counsel across the matters that shape life and work.
WorkEmployment LawDiscrimination, retaliation, compensation, leave, accommodation and public-employee issues.
DisputesCivil LitigationPrepared representation in contract, business, property and other consequential civil matters.
ResolutionMediationStructured problem solving for family, civil, employment and estate-related disputes.
DriversDWI & TrafficPractical resources shaped by extensive roadside, arrest and DWI-investigation experience.
KnowledgeLegal GuidesPlain-English North Carolina legal information from Adkins Law and the Lake Norman Brief.
Resolution Credentials
Mediation and problem solving
Chris is certified by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission as a Superior Court mediator, Family Financial mediator, and Estates/Guardianships/Special Proceedings mediator. He is also board certified in South Carolina as a Circuit Court and Family Court mediator and has completed parenting-coordinator and interdisciplinary collaborative-family-law training.
Court Admissions
Prepared across forums
- State of North Carolina
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Education
Six disciplines. One broader way to see the problem.
Chris’s formal education spans criminal justice, law, global security, business and sports management. Each program adds a different lens to client counseling, negotiation and litigation.
Appalachian State University
B.S., Criminal Justice. A foundation in policing, courts and the institutions that shape public safety.
Oklahoma City University School of Law
Juris Doctor. Training in legal analysis, professional responsibility and courtroom advocacy.
Boston University
M.S., Criminal Justice. Graduate study completed while Chris was serving with CMPD.
University of St Andrews
CertHE, Terrorism Studies. Coursework adding an international and strategic security perspective.
Louisiana State University
Master of Business Administration. Advanced study in strategy, operations, finance and organizational decision-making.
New York University
Certificate, Fundamentals of Global Sports Management. Study of organizations, markets and leadership in a global industry.
From Chris’s Desk
Practical reading before a consequential decision.
Child CustodyChild Custody in Huntersville: A Planning GuideRead at the Lake Norman Brief →
Public EmployeesGarrity Rights for North Carolina OfficersRead at the Lake Norman Brief →
Criminal ProcedureMiranda Rights in North CarolinaRead at the Lake Norman Brief →
Employment LawHow EEOC Complaints Work in North CarolinaRead at the Lake Norman Brief →
Property DivisionShould You Keep the House in a North Carolina Divorce?Read at the Lake Norman Brief →
Author & Legal Educator
Making difficult law easier to understand.
Chris writes practical North Carolina legal guides for people who need clarity before making a consequential decision. He is the author of The Book on Divorce in North Carolina and co-author, with attorney Chris Purkey, of Charged with DWI in North Carolina. He also wrote I Live in Two Homes Now, a child-focused book about divorce and separation.
The Book on Divorce in North Carolina
A plain-English guide to separation, custody, support, property division and the decisions that shape a North Carolina divorce.
Charged with DWI in North Carolina
Co-authored by Christopher Adkins and Chris Purkey, this guide explains the criminal, license and practical issues that can follow a DWI charge.
Explore all books by Adkins Law attorneys and Chris’s continuing legal and local writing at the Lake Norman Brief.
Huntersville · Lake Norman · North Carolina
Ask Chris what the next step should be.
Whether the issue involves family, work, a civil dispute, DWI consequences or mediation, the first goal is clarity.
About the Huntersville photographs and photo credits
These are photographs of actual Huntersville places. Birkdale Village and Vermillion images were photographed in 2009; the library image is archival and was published in 2008. They illustrate our community, and do not depict clients or a particular legal matter. Images may be cropped to fit the layout.
- Birkdale Village town center in Huntersville. Photographed September 15, 2009. Photo: Brett VA / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Archival community view; no connection to any case or endorsement is implied.
- Homes facing a park in Birkdale Village, Huntersville. Photographed September 15, 2009. Photo: Brett VA / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Archival community view; no connection to any case or endorsement is implied.
- Birkdale Village walking path in Huntersville. Photographed September 15, 2009. Photo: Brett VA / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Archival community view; no connection to any case or endorsement is implied.
- North County Regional Library in Huntersville, archival view. Archival photograph published on Wikimedia Commons in 2008; capture date unspecified. Photo: PLCMC / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Archival community view; no connection to any case or endorsement is implied.
- Vermillion town square streetscape in Huntersville. Photographed September 15, 2009. Photo: Brett VA / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Archival community view; no connection to any case or endorsement is implied.
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