About Amily K
Amily K McCool holds degrees in psychology, social work and law. She earned a B.S. in psychology from North Carolina State University, followed by an M.S. in social work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and later a J.D. from the same institution. Her academic background blends clinical training and legal study, giving her a perspective that crosses disciplines.
Her early legal career began in the North Carolina appellate and trial systems. She served as a judicial clerk at the North Carolina Court of Appeals and then worked in the Wake County District Attorney’s Office. Those roles placed her inside the courtroom and behind the scenes of case preparation. They also informed her later work on behalf of crime survivors and in community legal services.
McCool moved from prosecution into civil legal aid and policy work. She was a domestic violence staff lawyer at Legal Aid of North Carolina in Durham. Later she became Legal & Policy Director for the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence. In those positions she handled individual cases and helped shape organizational responses to domestic violence, combining casework with policy analysis and organizational leadership.
Alongside practice, she has taught and trained others. She served as an associate adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and worked as a law enforcement trainer at Wake Technical Community College. Those roles involved classroom instruction and practical training for public safety and legal students.
In private practice she joined Scharff Law Office and, in 2019, became owner and manager. Her work at the firm has followed the threads of her earlier career: criminal matters, domestic violence cases, and related civil issues. She is active in local and state bar groups, including the North Carolina Bar Association, the Wake County Bar Association and the Wake County Academy of Trial Lawyers.
Colleagues and former clients describe a lawyer who draws on courtroom experience, legal aid practice and policy work to handle complex personal and criminal matters. She maintains a practice in North Carolina and manages the day-to-day operations of her firm. Her current practice focuses on domestic violence and criminal matters.
