Charles Christopher Adkins, known professionally as Christopher Adkins or Chris Adkins, is the founder of Adkins Law, PLLC in Huntersville, North Carolina. His work centers on family law, civil litigation, employment matters, and dispute resolution for people throughout the Lake Norman region. His background brings together legal education, policing, military leadership, business ownership, and writing for readers who need to understand a difficult situation before deciding what to do next.
For readers who have encountered the name Charles Adkins in a professional directory, this profile concerns the same attorney: Charles Christopher “Chris” Adkins of Adkins Law. The most useful starting points are his official attorney profile, the firm’s practice-area guide, and its contact page.
A Charlotte beginning and a Lake Norman practice
Chris grew up in Charlotte and attended Myers Park High School before beginning his undergraduate studies at Appalachian State University in 1999. His career has remained closely connected to the Charlotte region, even as his education and service took him elsewhere in the United States and overseas. That local connection eventually led to the establishment of Adkins Law in Huntersville in 2014.
Huntersville sits within a region whose communities are connected by work, schools, families, businesses, and the lake itself. A person’s circumstances can cross several of those boundaries at once. A family may live in Cornelius, work in Charlotte, own property near Mooresville, and have children attending school elsewhere in Mecklenburg County. A useful professional relationship begins with understanding those connections, while recognizing that jurisdiction and the applicable law depend on the particular matter.
The history of Huntersville and the changing landscape of Lake Norman provide context for the communities the firm serves. They also help explain why this blog carries both legal information and history. Its readers live in places shaped by older roads, river crossings, farms, towns, and decisions that continue to affect the landscape.
Education across law, criminal justice, and business
Chris’s education spans criminal justice, law, international security, business administration, and sports management. His résumé records four university degrees and two additional university credentials.
Appalachian State University: criminal justice
At Appalachian State University in Boone, Chris studied criminal justice from 1999 to 2003 and earned a Bachelor of Science. That undergraduate education preceded both law school and his service with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. It provided the academic starting point for a career that would move between the study of institutions and the practical responsibilities of working within them.
Oklahoma City University: legal education
Chris attended Oklahoma City University School of Law from 2003 to 2006 and earned his Juris Doctor. The chronology matters: his legal education came before his years as a CMPD officer. His career cannot accurately be described as a simple sequence of policing followed by law school. Instead, legal study and later public-service experience became different parts of the professional perspective he brought to private practice.
Boston University: graduate criminal-justice study
His résumé records a master’s degree in criminal justice from Boston University, with study from 2008 to 2009. This overlapped his police service. The combination placed graduate education alongside the practical demands of patrol work, investigations, documentation, and the criminal-justice system as it operates outside a classroom.
University of St Andrews: terrorism studies
In 2010, Chris completed a CertHE in Terrorism Studies through the University of St Andrews in Scotland. His résumé identifies this as a certificate of higher education. It adds an international-security dimension to his educational record without being presented here as a separate degree or as evidence of a particular intelligence assignment.
Louisiana State University: business administration
Chris’s résumé records a Master of Business Administration from Louisiana State University, completed during 2020–2022. By that point, he had already founded and operated Adkins Law for several years. The business degree forms part of a background that includes the practical responsibilities of running a professional-services firm: managing people, maintaining operations, planning expenditures, and making decisions under uncertainty.
New York University: sports management
In 2022, he also earned a Certificate in Fundamentals of Global Sports Management from New York University. It is another example of an educational interest extending beyond the boundaries of a single practice area. The credential is identified precisely here, without treating it as an additional degree or implying that a university endorses his legal services.
What the career timeline actually shows
The dates in Chris’s résumé overlap because education, military service, policing, and professional development did not occur in neatly isolated compartments. A chronological account makes the progression clearer:
- 1999–2003: Undergraduate criminal-justice study at Appalachian State University.
- 2003–2006: Juris Doctor studies at Oklahoma City University School of Law.
- 2007–2013: Service with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
- 2008–2009: Graduate criminal-justice study at Boston University.
- 2009–2018: Service as a Combat Engineer officer in the North Carolina Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve, reaching Captain.
- 2010: CertHE in Terrorism Studies through the University of St Andrews.
- 2012–2013: Deployment to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
- 2014: Founding of Adkins Law in Huntersville.
- 2020–2022: MBA studies at Louisiana State University.
- 2021: Publication of the divorce guide and the children’s book discussed below.
- 2022: Certificate in Fundamentals of Global Sports Management through New York University.
Six and a half years with CMPD
Chris served with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department from 2007 to 2013. His résumé describes approximately six and a half years of experience, primarily as a patrol officer, with additional work on a direct-response team handling confidential-informant development and narcotics search warrants. It records more than 1,200 arrests over the course of his police career.
Those numbers describe the scope of his work; they are not a measure of the merits of any particular legal case. A lawyer evaluating a new matter must still assess its own facts, documents, witnesses, and governing law. The practical value of prior investigative experience lies in understanding how information is gathered, recorded, interpreted, and challenged.
The training listed in his résumé includes the CMPD Police Academy, DWI-related training, standardized field sobriety testing, instrument training, and confidential-informant development and management. It also records the North Carolina Intermediate Law Enforcement Certificate in 2009 and the Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate in 2013.
For readers interested in the legal issues that arise around investigations, the firm’s DWI and traffic resources and legal guides provide starting points. Prior police experience does not determine whether a stop, investigation, or prosecution is sound; careful examination of the actual record remains essential.
Military service as a Combat Engineer officer
From June 2009 through October 2018, Chris served in the North Carolina Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve as a Combat Engineer officer, reaching the rank of Captain, O-3. His résumé lists basic training at Fort Knox, officer-candidate training at Fort Bragg and the Alabama Military Academy, engineer-officer training at Fort Leonard Wood, and transportation-related training at Fort Lee.
He deployed to Kuwait during 2012–2013 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The résumé describes project-management responsibilities following the drawdown from Iraq, including construction missions at Camp Buehring, Camp Arifjan, Camp Patriot, Ali Al Salem Air Base, and in Kuwait City.
Military organizations also operate through plans, assigned responsibilities, resources, and follow-through. Those are useful points of connection with the practical demands of managing legal work. They do not replace legal analysis, but they form part of the experience Chris brings to preparation, organization, and consequential decisions.
Building Adkins Law in Huntersville
Chris founded Adkins Law, PLLC in 2014. His résumé describes both the work of practicing law and the responsibilities of operating the firm. The current professional site identifies family law, civil litigation, employment matters, mediation, and other services available through the practice.
A firm owner’s responsibilities extend beyond a courtroom appearance. They include organizing work, maintaining communication, assigning tasks, reviewing records, and helping clients understand what a matter requires. Chris’s business education and experience belong within that part of the biography as well as within the discussion of his legal work.
Readers can learn about the firm’s current attorneys and services through the Adkins Law team and practice overview. The official site is the appropriate place to check the current team, service details, and ways to contact the office.
Family law and the decisions that continue after a case
Family-law problems affect more than the immediate dispute. A separation may involve parenting arrangements, housing, finances, a closely held business, or the terms of an existing agreement. Chris’s professional materials emphasize helping people understand their options and the consequences of the decisions before them.
The firm’s family-law resource center organizes topics such as divorce, child custody, child support, alimony, property division, and agreements. A topic page can help a reader identify questions. It cannot determine the best course in an individual case without the necessary facts and legal analysis.
The practical philosophy described in Chris’s professional profile places preparation and usable advice alongside advocacy. It recognizes that a negotiated resolution can be valuable when it protects the client’s interests, while also recognizing that some disputes require litigation. This profile does not promise a result or suggest that one method is appropriate for every family.
Mediation, parenting coordination, and different professional roles
Chris’s résumé and current professional materials identify certifications through the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission in Superior Court mediation, Family Financial mediation, and Estates and Guardianships matters. They also identify South Carolina Circuit Court and Family Court mediator certifications, parenting-coordinator training, and interdisciplinary collaborative-family-law training.
These roles should be described carefully. Representation of a client, service as a neutral mediator, and work under a parenting-coordinator appointment involve different responsibilities. The fact that one professional has experience in several settings does not make those roles interchangeable in a particular dispute.
At Mediation Solutions, readers can explore Chris’s mediation background and the services described there. Anyone considering mediation should establish the intended role, participants, scope, and terms of the engagement before assuming that a particular professional is acting as their individual attorney.
A practical philosophy: understand the record, then choose the next step
Chris’s professional profile emphasizes preparation, clarity, and attention to what comes after the immediate dispute. Together, those themes describe an approach that connects careful analysis with practical decisions.
Preparation begins with understanding the record. Dates, messages, contracts, financial documents, court papers, and witness accounts may tell different parts of the story. A useful assessment identifies what those materials support, where they conflict, and what remains unknown.
Clarity means explaining the decision in terms the client can use. That includes identifying the issue, the available paths, the information still needed, and the practical implications of moving forward. A person should be able to understand the discussion without first learning an entire professional vocabulary.
Attention to what comes next asks whether the proposed course makes sense in the client’s life after the immediate event. Legal decisions can affect ongoing parenting relationships, a business, housing, employment, and future costs. A workable plan has to account for those connections while staying grounded in the particular legal matter.
Books for adults—and a book for children
Writing is another part of Chris’s professional work. His publications address different audiences, and each should be read with its intended purpose in mind.
The Book on Divorce in North Carolina
His résumé lists The Book on Divorce in North Carolina: A Guide to Divorce in North Carolina, published in June 2021. The book is written for readers seeking a starting point for understanding divorce-related issues in North Carolina. View the book listing.
A general guide can help a reader develop questions and become familiar with the subject. Its publication date also matters: legal rules and procedures can change, and a book should be used alongside current advice about an individual situation.
I Live in Two Homes Now
The résumé also lists I Live in Two Homes Now: A Helping Book for Kids Going Through Divorce or Separation, published in November 2021. Its child-focused purpose distinguishes it from a legal manual. It addresses the experience of family change in a form intended for children and the adults supporting them. Readers can find Chris’s publication information through the Adkins Law books page and his author page.
Charged with DWI in North Carolina?
Chris’s current firm profile and the bookseller listing also identify Charged with DWI in North Carolina?: A Practical Guide to the Stop, the Science, the DMV, and the Defense, co-authored with Christerfer “Chris” Purkey. The listing confirms both authors. View the DWI guide.
The title’s range reflects the connected questions that can follow a DWI charge. The book is an educational resource; a reader’s own case still depends on current law, the evidence, and the relevant procedural setting.
History, travel, and The Lake Norman Brief
Chris’s interests extend to history, travel, investigation, and understanding how separate pieces of evidence fit together. His résumé describes travel to more than forty-five countries, a voyage around the world in 2001, and a Pacific Rim voyage in 2004. These are personal background details supplied in his résumé, rather than a claim of professional historical or archaeological credentials.
That interest in inquiry helps explain the history collection on this blog. The History Under Investigation series examines ciphers, vanished ships, lost expeditions, and disasters through surviving records and competing explanations. Its subjects include the Beale Ciphers, Kryptos, and Flagler’s Overseas Railroad and the 1935 hurricane.
The relationship between those stories and a legal-information publication is an interest in careful reading. A persuasive story and a demonstrated fact are different things. A date can change an interpretation; a contemporary document may complicate a familiar account; an illustration can help explain a setting without proving what happened there.
The Carolina & Atlantic collection offers a dedicated route into coastal history, vanished ships, and Atlantic voyages. The collection identifies its sources and examines the limits of the evidence. Its purpose is to give readers enough context to assess a historical question for themselves.
Finding the right starting point
Chris also practices through Adkins & Purkey, serving Locust, Stanly County, and the Uwharrie region alongside attorney Christerfer “Chris” Purkey. The firm’s attorney biographies provide a direct starting point for readers in that part of North Carolina.
Readers who want to understand Chris’s professional background can begin with the official attorney profile. Those looking for help with a legal matter can review the practice areas and contact Adkins Law to discuss whether the firm can assist.
For reading, the complete LKN Law article library provides a topic-based route through the blog. The Adkins Law legal guides and books page offer additional resources. Mediation information is available through Mediation Solutions.
Chris’s background combines several kinds of work, but the connection among them is practical: studying an institution, working within it, examining its records, leading people, explaining a problem, and deciding what needs to happen next. The value of that background is best assessed through the needs of the particular client and the quality of the work done on the particular matter.
Profile sources and editorial note
Professional background reviewed September 7, 2026, against the supplied résumé, current Adkins Law and Mediation Solutions biographies, and the linked publication listings. University links identify the institutions associated with the education described above.
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