Joshua Finney | Board Certified Family Law Specialist

Joshua L. Finney, Charlotte family law attorney Joshua L. Finney

North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Family Law | Certified Family Financial Mediator | Senior Litigation Counsel, Charlotte

Joshua L. Finney is Senior Litigation Counsel in the Charlotte office of McIlveen Family Law Firm, a North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Family Law, and a Certified Family Financial Mediator. He represents clients in Mecklenburg County and the surrounding counties in child custody, child support, divorce, equitable distribution and spousal support cases.

A Charlotte native, Josh is known for a strong courtroom presence and for knowing when a case should not go to court at all. He has been licensed in North Carolina since 2017 and has practiced family law exclusively since then.

What kinds of cases does Joshua Finney handle?

Josh handles the full range of North Carolina family law matters: contested and uncontested child custody, child support, postseparation support and alimony, equitable distribution, and absolute divorce. Much of his docket is litigation: temporary hearings, contested custody trials and equitable distribution trials in Mecklenburg County Family Court.

What does it mean that Joshua Finney is a Board Certified Specialist in Family Law?

The North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization certifies attorneys as specialists in family law only after a minimum period of practice with a substantial family law caseload, peer review by judges and other attorneys, continuing legal education in the field, and a written examination. Fewer than five percent of North Carolina attorneys hold a specialist certification in any field. Josh is certified as a specialist in family law by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization.

Does Joshua Finney work as a mediator?

Yes. Josh is a Certified Family Financial Mediator, certified by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission to conduct the mediated settlement conferences required in equitable distribution, alimony and child support cases. He pursued the certification because he recognized that not every dispute should end in a courtroom. As a litigator, that training means he understands how a mediator will evaluate a client's position and where the pressure points in a settlement conference will be. As a neutral, he is available to mediate cases for other families and their attorneys. Read more about how divorce mediation works in North Carolina.

What is Joshua Finney's approach to a family law case?

Josh starts by understanding what the client actually needs the case to accomplish, then builds a strategy around the facts, the evidence and the judge. He prepares every case as though it will be tried, because the cases that settle well are the ones the other side believes will be tried. When a negotiated resolution serves the client better, he says so.

Clients describe him as direct, prepared and calm under pressure. He believes a client should never be surprised in a courtroom, and he spends the time before a hearing making sure that is true.

Where did Joshua Finney go to school?

Josh earned his Bachelor of Arts in 2013 from Elizabeth City State University, a historically Black university in North Carolina, graduating summa cum laude and in the top ten percent of his class. He returned home to Charlotte for law school and earned his Juris Doctor from Charlotte School of Law, focusing on family law from the start. He was licensed to practice in North Carolina in 2017.

What professional recognition has Joshua Finney received?

Josh has been selected to the North Carolina Super Lawyers Rising Stars list in Family Law for 2025 through 2027 and recognized in Business North Carolina's Legal Elite for Family Law each year from 2023 through 2026. He is a graduate of the 26th Judicial District Bar's Bar Leadership Institute (2022).

Where does Joshua Finney practice?

Josh is based in the firm's Charlotte office on South McDowell Street, a few minutes from the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, and appears regularly in Mecklenburg, Gaston, Union, Cabarrus and Iredell counties. He is a member of the North Carolina State Bar and the Mecklenburg County Bar.

Outside the Practice of Law

Josh values time with his family, enjoys video games and live sporting events, and is a proud supporter of the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Carolina Panthers.

Specialist certifications are awarded by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization.