May 27 - HIGH POINT - New town attorney Meghan Maguire got a head start on the job when she was named High Point's chief legal counsel earlier this month.
She has been an integral part of the city's legal team since early 2019, serving in roles as assistant, deputy, and interim city attorney.
"The way I look at the city attorney's office is we're basically a small law firm within the city of High Point โ it's what the client needs," Maguire said.
She was hired by the City Council after a nationwide competitive search to find a replacement for JoAnne Carlyle, who retired as a city attorney at the end of 2022 after serving in the position for 10 years.
As Maguire describes it, his "number one client" is his boss, the council, and a major part of his job is advising them on procedural issues during meetings and on matters that the law allows for in closed session.
She and her office also provide advice and counsel to city staff across the organization, be it the management team or within any of the 19 city departments.
This can involve a torrent of daily work, he said, as well as long-term projects, such as implementing the city's new branding strategy.
He will also work with the council on the final September report of the One High Point Commission, which is studying the issue of slavery reparations.
โThey will create their report and the city will review the findings,โ Maguire said. "The council will decide where to go from there, and we will help them understand what is (legally) permissible."
After graduating from Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Arts, Maguire earned his JD from Stetson University and an LLM from American University Washington School of Law.
She began her career as an in-house attorney for Allegacy Federal Credit Union in Winston-Salem.
He then worked for the Winston-Salem law firm of Blanco Tackaberry, representing companies in a variety of practice areas, including contracts, regulatory compliance, commercial real estate, environmental law, and intellectual property.
Having worked while in law school for both the city of Tampa, Florida, and the city of Winston-Salem, Maguire said she realized that this type of work was her true calling.
"I think it's really interesting to be the attorney for the city you live in, and I always intended to go back to municipal law," he recalled.
She got her chance when Carlyle hired her and eventually promoted her to assistant city attorney.
Maguire is one of two city staff attorneys, along with Assistant City Attorney Kate Ashburn.
As he looks to grow the office, Maguire said the city will continue to hire private attorneys to handle some types of cases.
"Any size city, no matter how big or small, will always retain outside counsel for specific issues," he said. "A lot of times, it's a big project. It could be because of litigation that will take a lot of time and energy, or maybe because of personnel issues."
Her department is budgeted for two more paralegal positions, which she plans to fill.
