RALEIGH – Campbell Law School on Oct. 7 unveiled its newest exhibit, “Judges of Campbell Law,” which honors alumni who have served on a variety of judicial benches.
“I stand here today enormously proud of the huge influence this small and fairly young law school has had on our state and nation through our judges,” Dean J. Rich Leonard said. “Campbell Law School currently has more alumni on the North Carolina bench than any other law school. It’s fine to say it but I began to wonder how we show it.”
More than 50 judges made the trip to Raleigh from across the state and beyond to attend the formal reception held in the law school’s Pope Foyer.
Watch a video of the event at this link.
North Carolina Court of Appeals Chief Judge Donna Stroud ‘88, who spoke at the dedication, pointed out the University of North Carolina School of Law was founded in 1845, Duke University School of Law was founded in 1868, Wake Forest University School of Law was founded in 1894 and North Carolina Central University School of Law was founded in 1939. That is compared with Campbell Law School, which did not open its doors until 1976.
“It is amazing when you think about how much older these other law schools are than Campbell and the amount of progress that we’ve made in such a short time,” Stroud said. “Currently one-third of our judges on the North Carolina Court of Appeals are Campbell Law alumni.”
Currently Campbell Law alumni are among North Carolina’s 62 District Court judges, 17 Superior Court judges, nine Chief District judges, 10 Senior Resident Superior judges and one Superior Court Special judge and counting.
10th Judicial District (Wake County) Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway ‘86, who also spoke at the event, described Campbell Law as a school that leads with purpose.
“The lawyers it trains put that motto in to action,” he said. “I believe this exhibit will inspire generations of law students to dream big and to know their dreams are within their reach.”
Chief District Court Judge Angelica McIntyre ‘13, who is the first Native American Chief District Court Judge in the state, has served as an assistant district attorney and a District Court Judge prior to her current role in Judicial District 16B in Robeson County. She told the group her achievements since graduating are a testament to the work ethic and tenacity that Campbell Law instills in its students.
“With this new role I have new responsibilities, but my driving principles remain the same, Micah 6:8, to lead with purpose,” she said.
Leonard added in his closing remarks, “We’ve really worked hard to make this exhibit inclusive, but we know we’ve left people out. If you have friends or colleagues in your class that ought to be on the wall, please know we want them there. We are going to try to make it a living wall. We hope every time there’s an election or a series of appointments, Campbell Law’s number of alumni judges gets stronger.”
If you are a Campbell Law alumnus/na who is a judge and you would like to be featured on the “Judges of Campbell Law” wall, please reach out to Faculty Administrative Assistant Sharon Sparks at ssparks@campbell.edu.
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW
Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. Among its accolades, the school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts more than 4,200 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2021, Campbell Law is celebrating 45 years of graduating legal leaders and 12 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina’s Capital City.