RALEIGH – Campbell Law School is playing host this week to a dozen Romanian students, who will participate in a pre-moot Willem Vis competition also being hosted by the law school on Feb. 20-21.
Professor Raluca Papadima has served on the University’s Multi-Cultural Council for the past four years. The Council encouraged its members to consider ways to help expand the University’s international footprint, which is also part of Campbell University’s recently released five-year strategic plan.
“I had the idea of organizing a moot court competition at our law school in connection with our law school’s traditional participation in the Willem Vis competition in international arbitration and contracts,” Papadima explained.
“To add an international dimension to the event, I invited the University of Bucharest Vis team to participate and was delighted when they accepted my invitation.”
As a result, 12 law students from the University of Bucharest are visiting Raleigh and the law school from Feb. 16-22 to learn more about the U.S. legal system, what it’s like to be a law student in the U.S. and participate in the first edition of the Campbell Vis competition.
Campbell Law students have been asked to “adopt” each of the Romanian students for their stay including taking them to their classes, enjoying a shared meal and generally exchanging views about legal culture and the greater world.
“Our faculty had an amazingly positive response in allowing the Romanian students to attend their classes,” Papadima said.
Suzy Brito Lagunas ’27 says having the opportunity to help host the Romanian students has been particularly valuable to her personally.
“When people say you get excited about connecting with fellow Vis mooters, it really is true,” she explained. “Connecting with the University of Bucharest students has been incredibly meaningful for us. We began communicating before they arrived, and meeting in person to share classes and meals has made the experience even more special. From our very first dinner, we were already discussing the differences between our legal systems. Seeing their excitement about America and experiences I sometimes take for granted has been a powerful reminder of the value of this exchange.”
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL
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 5,000 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2026, Campbell Law is celebrating 50 years of graduating legal leaders and 17 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina’s Capital City.