About
Cheyenne N. Chambers, Attorney
Cheyenne opened The Chambers Law Office in 2026, after working as a Senior Trial Attorney within the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC. With over a decade of complex litigation experience in state and federal court, Cheyenne practices appellate, civil rights, criminal defense, and estate planning law. Cheyenne’s civil rights practice includes constitutional law, education rights, employment discrimination, and police misconduct.
Cheyenne has been mentioned by The Charlotte Observer twice as a potential judicial nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (2022 and 2023). Cheyenne also has been selected by her peers as a Rising Star in civil rights in Super Lawyers (2018 to 2021), and as a Top 40 Under 40 recipient for The National Black Lawyers (2020 and 2021). Moreover, Cheyenne is best known for successfully arguing Tully v. City of Wilmington, 810 S.E.2d 208 (N.C. 2018), before the Supreme Court of North Carolina, a landmark case which created a new cause of action for government employees under Article I, Section 1, of the North Carolina Constitution.
Cheyenne graduated cum laude from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where she served as the Executive Editor of the Ohio State Law Journal, and Parliamentarian of the Black Law Students Association. After law school, Cheyenne clerked for the Honorable Paul J. Watford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and years later, became a Partner at a civil rights law firm in North Carolina. Cheyenne joined the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department under the Biden Administration, where she focused her practice on employment discrimination and assisted the Office of Legal Policy with the vetting of candidates for federal judgeships.
Outside of seeking justice for her clients, Cheyenne enjoys mentoring law students and young attorneys, serving it up on the tennis court, playing the violin, and traveling to new destinations.
The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2014
Case Western Reserve University, Dual Degree, M.A. (American History); B.A. (History & Political Science with Honors), cum laude, 2011
North Carolina
U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
o This appellate jurisdiction covers federal cases that originated in Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
o This appellate jurisdiction covers federal cases that originated in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, California, Arizona, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Honorable Paul J. Watford, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2015 to 2016)
Civil rights (including constitutional law, education rights, employment discrimination, and police misconduct)
Criminal defense (appeals only)
American Bar Association
- Co-Chair of Appellate Practice Committee (2021 to 2024); Co-Chair of Appellate Practice’s Subcommittee on Young Lawyers, Membership, and Diversity (2017 to 2021)
North Carolina Advocates for Justice.
- Legal Affairs Chair of Criminal Defense Section (2019 to 2021)
Actions Speak Louder than Apologies—Why Attorneys Need Diversity and Inclusion Training, The North Carolina State Bar Journal (Summer 2021)
A Tale of Two Courts: Why Naomi Osaka Matters, Historian Speaks: Black History Matters (December 2020)
NCAJ Rising Star: Cheyenne N. Chambers, Interview with the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, Trial Briefs (Fall 2020)
Clerking While Black, found in North Carolina Lawyers Weekly’s Not Immune: Racism in the Justice System and the Legal Profession” (July 2020)
A Peek Behind the Curtain: The Inner-Workings of the Judiciary, and Why Judges Should Address the Lack of Diversity Among Law Clerks, American Bar Association’s Appellate Issues (February 2020)
Of Magistrates, Masterpieces, and Medicine: The Rise of the Right of Conscience against LGBT Rights, with S. Luke Largess, North Carolina Advocates for Justice, Trial Briefs (April 2018)
10 Tips for Developing an Appellate Practice as a Young Lawyer, with Emily McNee and Paul Cox, American Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Journal (May 2017)
The Ark Found Within: The Ninth Amendment and a Fundamental Right to Education, Illinois State University’s Critique: A Worldwide Student Journal of Politics (Fall 2010)
Outstanding Recent Alumni Award, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law (2024)
Special Act/Service, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (2023)
Quality Step Increase, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (2023)
Performance Award, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (2022)
Member-At-Large, North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, appointed by Governor Roy Cooper (January to December 2021)
Super Lawyers, Rising Star in Civil Rights (2018 to 2021)
The National Black Lawyers, Top 40 Under 40 (2020 to 2021)
