Monthly Attorney Orientation
For Lawyers who are New to Indigent Defense
Beginning August 1, IDS staff will provide orientation for new attorneys on the first Friday of each month from 1-2 p.m.
Topics will include a guided tour of the IDS website, information on training and CLE opportunities, access to wellness resources and more. You will also be able to connect with other defense attorneys for future collaboration!
2026 IDS Forensic Science Education Series
IDS and the Mecklenburg Public Defender’s Office provide regular continuing education to dozens of NC criminal defense and parent attorneys, investigators, and mitigation specialists who attend the IDS Forensic Science Education Series.
In 2026, we will offer monthly 90-minute webinars on various aspects of forensic evidence. These webinars will take place typically at 12:30 pm on the first Thursday of each month. Click here to view the 2026 Schedule.
The first six sessions of 2026 will focus on understanding and advocating for neurodivergent clients.
- This event has passed.
The Care, Feeding and Discovery of Expert Witnesses
The Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office is hosting a free-to-attend CLE on The Care, Feeding, and Discovery of Expert Witnesses.
When: October 10 from 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Everyone who registers will receive an email on October 9 with instructions to join. You may log on or enter the conference room by 12:15 p.m.
Please register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSediTZPjlPXrIrn_7-3ule4JTayBNJgfVVWLXG9U3sHsiWY1A/viewform?usp=header
Where: Anyplace you have internet or the Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office, 4th floor conference room (720 E 4th St; take elevator to 4th floor and conference room on your left)
What: This presentation will review the existing statutory law concerning expert witnesses in criminal cases and apply the principles of civil discovery to experts. It will discuss the preparation and presentation of expert witnesses, their reports, and their identification.
Who: Jim Cooney practices civil and criminal law in both trial and appellate courts. He has handled some of the most complex, challenging and high profile cases in North Carolina and is recognized as one of the premier civil, “white collar” criminal, and healthcare litigators. He has represented numerous companies and individuals in complex and significant business disputes, governmental investigations, grand jury matters, internal investigations and “bet-your-company” cases for more than 30 years. He has tried more than 60 civil and criminal cases to verdict and argued nearly 50 appeals in the appellate courts of North Carolina and in the federal courts of appeal, including the Second and Fourth Circuits.
Jim is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Permanent Member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference. He is consistently ranked by Chambers USA in Band 1 in North Carolina for Litigation: General Commercial and Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, where he was recently praised by sources as an “excellent lawyer.” He is also included in The Best Lawyers in America in the fields of “Bet-the-Company” Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Criminal Defense White Collar Litigation. In 2004 he received the NC Bar Association’s William Thorp Pro Bono Award and in 2010, the Wade Smith Professionalism Award for Criminal Defense.
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This CLE is approved by the NC State Bar for 1 hour of “Other” CLE credit. If you need CLE credit, you must either sign in when you arrive or complete the post-CLE survey or email [email protected] your name, NC State Bar # and how long you attended by Wednesday October 15.
Please email [email protected] with any questions.
