Legal Advisor to the Sheriff’s Office 

James D. Secor III, has served as a Deputy County Attorney and the Sheriff’s Office Attorney since 2015.

He has been licensed to practice law in North Carolina for 30 years since August 1990. He gained 21 years of civil trial/litigation experience while in private practice (1994 – 2015), and focused the last 10 years of his private practice (2005 – 2015) representing and defending Law Enforcement and Detention Officers in civil lawsuits across the State. While in private practice, he was regularly hired by the Fraternal Order of Police, the Police Benevolent Association, and the Greensboro Police Officers Association to represent local Officers and Deputies in officer-involved shootings and other on-duty incidents (2005 – 2015).

He spent four years performing criminal trial work in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where he saw all 3 sides of the bench as a Magistrate, Prosecutor and Defense Counsel (1990 – 1994).Secor served as a Command Judge Advocate while deployed with Amphibious Squadron 8 on the U.S.S. IWO JIMA (LPH-2) during Operation Provide Promise—Yugoslavian coast (1992). He earned his Juris Doctorate at the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill, where he authored two published works on the UNC Law Review. He also earned Phi Beta Kappa Membership as an undergraduate at Hampden-Sydney College. Secor was honorably discharged after 4 years of active duty as a Commissioned Officer in the United States Naval Reserve (1990 – 1994). While on active duty, he earned two Navy Commendation Medals (non-combat related), a Navy Achievement Award and the Sea Service Medal.

Assistant Legal Advisor to the Sheriff’s Office

Kathleen E. Carroll is a Deputy County Attorney and has served as the Assistant Sheriff’s Attorney since 2021. She is also the legal advisor to other Guilford County departments, including Juvenile Detention, Security, the Family Justice Center, Animal Services, and Veteran’s Services.

Kathleen has been licensed to practice law in North Carolina since 2017. She graduated in the top 5% of her class (Magna Cum Laude) and earned her Juris Doctorate from Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Florida.

Kathleen was honorably discharged after 4 years of active duty as a Commissioned Officer in the United States Army (2018 – 2022). She gained vast experience in legal assistance, administrative law, military justice, and prosecuting criminal charges as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney. Kathleen earned one Meritorious Service Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Service Medal while on active duty.

Kathleen currently serves as a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps in the 134th Legal Operations Detachment based out of Fort Liberty, NC.