About Phyllis
Phyllis Lile-King began her legal path at the University of Virginia School of Law, where she earned her J.D. Early classroom debates and casebooks were followed by a federal clerkship, an experience that gave her a close look at appellate decision-making and judicial reasoning.
After her clerkship for a United States Court of Appeals, she moved to Washington, D.C., where she worked as an associate at Patton Boggs, LLP. That period placed her in a national law firm environment and exposed her to complex regulatory and litigation matters. She later returned to North Carolina and held associate positions at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP and Donaldson & Black, PA, gaining experience across civil litigation and trial practice.
Her career progressed into firm leadership. She served as a partner at Pinto Coates Kyre & Brown, PLLC before becoming a partner at The Lile-King Firm. Those roles have involved case management, client counseling, and courtroom work. Colleagues describe her as steady under pressure and attentive to the procedural details that matter in litigation.
Licenses and admissions include the 4th Circuit, North Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. She maintains active bar memberships in Virginia, the District of Columbia, and North Carolina. On the local bar scene she has taken on leadership positions, including chairing the North Carolina Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Section and its Lawyer Effectiveness & Quality of Life Committee. Those posts point to an engagement with both practice issues and the profession’s internal culture.
Lile-King’s professional affiliations extend to trial-oriented organizations such as the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers and North Carolina Advocates for Justice; she serves as vice chair of the Products Liability Section of the NC Academy of Trial Lawyers. Her volunteer work is broad. She has done pro bono work for Legal Aid of North Carolina and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. She reads to students at Summerfield Elementary and serves on boards including the Housing Coalition of Greensboro, Greensboro Montessori School, and Holy Trinity Day School. She also holds a role on the Coordinating Council of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina.
Her career arc shows a mix of appellate, litigation, and organizational work. She splits time between courtroom advocacy and practice management. She currently practices at The Lile-King Firm, where her work centers on labor and employment matters, civil litigation, and related legal services.
