RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA — Campbell Law School’s Blanchard Community Law Clinic (BCLC) hopes to serve approximately 60 residents of Wake County at a free expunction event on Saturday, Feb. 25.
In an effort to provide them with a second chance, Campbell Law students and their supervising attorneys will be in downtown Raleigh to work with clients in an effort to expunge charges from their criminal records. Pre-registration for an appointment is required to participate. The deadline to apply is Monday, Jan. 30, said Clinical Professor Emily Mistr, who is organizing the event.
Campbell Law is partnering with StepUp Ministry to host the expunction clinic where they will provide clients with a full evaluation of their criminal record and the completion of expunction petitions for all eligible offenses. All clients must be registered for the clinic in advance so walk-ins are not eligible.
Founded in 2016, the BCLC helps citizens move forward with their lives following incarceration and involvement with the criminal justice system among other types of legal matters including driver’s license restoration and landlord/tenant issues. In addition to StepUp Ministry, the clinic partners with other Triangle-area community nonprofits including Alliance Medical Ministry, the Raleigh Rescue Mission and Justice Served to provide free legal services to low-income individuals.
As one of the school’s six pro-bono legal clinics, the work the BCLC is doing is made possible in part by the Bob and Pat Barker Second Chance Initiative. Pro bono criminal record expunction efforts have been a mainstay of the clinic, which has helped some 1,600 individuals since it opened its doors, Mistr added.
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 4,700 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2021, Campbell Law celebrated 45 years of graduating legal leaders and a dozen years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina’s Capital City.