McKinney is a graduate of Duke University (B.A. magna cum laude 1972) and of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (M.Ed. in Guidance & Counseling 1976; J.D. with honors 1989). Admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 1989, she clerked for the Honorable Harry C. Martin at the North Carolina Supreme Court before joining the litigation division of Maxwell & Hutson (now Maxwell, Freeman, and Bowman) in Durham, NC, in 1990. Author of "Legal Research: A Practical Guide and Self-Instructional Workbook" (now in its 5th edition, co-authored with Professor Scott Childs) and "Reading Like a Lawyer" (2005), she has directed the Writing and Learning Resources Center, which houses the law school's first-year legal research and writing program and the first-year academic support program, since 1991, and served as the Assistant Dean for Legal Writing & Academic Success from 2007-2011. Her research and speaking interests center on how to maximize student performance and understanding of the law school learning experience.