Contact:  Pat Boswell
Phone:  373-2600 or 373-4599

City Attorney Retires After 30 Years

GREENSBORO, NC (November 21, 2007) – City Attorney Linda Miles will retire from the City effective November 30, 2007, after more than 30 years of service. Miles was hired as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Greensboro in 1977 and rose through the ranks to become head of the department in 1998. 

“It has been my true honor to be a member of one of the best municipal administration teams in the state—or nation, for that matter,” Miles said. She added, “It has also been a pleasure to work with a Council which always did what was best for the community.” 

At the City Manager’s request, Miles will work under contract from January through June, after taking time off in December. This will allow her to complete work on many ongoing City legal matters as well as help staff with the transition to a new City Attorney.

City Manager Mitchell Johnson said, “While I am happy that a good friend is going to be able to enjoy retirement from her responsibilities as the City Attorney while still in good health, I am going to miss her professional support and deep knowledge of municipal law. She has done an extraordinary job as City Attorney in the most difficult of circumstances.”

Miles graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in Psychology and then received her Juris Doctorate from the UNC-CH School of Law, passing the bar after the second year of law school. She worked as a partner in a Salisbury, North Carolina, law firm for four years until joining the City’s legal staff. Over the years, she has developed expertise in a wide range of municipal law, particularly environmental law and personnel law.

She is a member of the North Carolina and Guilford County Bar Associations, chaired the Governmental and Public Officials Section of the North Carolina Bar and served on the North Carolina League of Municipalities Environmental Legislative Committee and the Environmental Council of the North Carolina Bar. She has published papers on environmental law and zoning, among other topics. Additionally, Miles’ knowledge of government law has won her the highest legal rating from her peers in North Carolina.

As City Attorney, Miles acts as senior corporate counsel, or legal advisor, to the City Manager, the City Council, and department heads. She supervises a staff of eight attorneys, four paralegals, and two secretaries.

Her “ethics, commitment to the welfare of the organization, and long work hours have been of enormous value to many City councils and several City Managers over the years,” Johnson said. 

The City Attorney is responsible for all litigation for and against the City government and serves as the legislative liaison for the City. In those capacities, Miles has been responsible for the successful litigation of the $20 million MCI construction lawsuit, several class action environmental lawsuits, the permitting of the Randleman Dam, and counseling approximately twenty citizens’ boards and commissions, among many other accomplishments.
 
Miles is “looking forward to new adventures and the time to enjoy the great gift of family and friends.”

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The City of Greensboro works in partnership with the community to build an increased quality of life for all residents by fostering an environment where inclusion, diversity, and trust are valued. As the seventh largest employer in Greensboro, the City has a dedicated professional staff of 2700 employees who maintain four core values of honesty, integrity, stewardship, and respect. The City of Greensboro is governed by a council-manager form of government where a mayor and eight council members act as the legislative body. For more information on the City of Greensboro, please visit us online at www.greensboro-nc.gov.