RALEIGH, N.C. – U.S. News & World Report has high praise for Campbell Law School’s advocacy program, tapping it as tied for 21st-best in the country. The ranking marks Campbell Law’s first appearance on the U.S. News list for trial advocacy programs.
The announcement comes on the heels of Campbell Law student advocates finishing as national runners up at the 2017 South Texas Mock Trial Challenge, a highly respected competition that the law school has won in two of the past four years.
Not only is Campbell Law the lone North Carolina law school on the list, it’s the only law school located in the mid-South region.
“Advocacy is our hallmark, and I am delighted to have our accomplishments finally recognized,” said Campbell Law Dean J. Rich Leonard.
Campbell Law has a long and proud tradition of training lawyers to be persuasive advocates for their respective clients. Standing behind the commitment to advocacy teaching is the premise that every lawyer will advocate for something in her or his role as an attorney-counselor.
Advocacy training begins in the first year at Campbell Law and continues throughout each of the three successive semesters in which students are enrolled. Advocacy training continues in the second and third years with required offerings in Evidence and Trial Advocacy, and an array of upper-level electives tailored to civil, criminal, and alternative dispute practices.
Every Campbell Law student receives experiential lawyering training. All students are required to learn the doctrinal law governing the admissibility of evidence in the courtroom by taking Evidence in either their third or fourth semester. Campbell Law’s required Trial Advocacy course is divided into large lecture and small performance sections. Students learn legal concepts and practice theories collectively before dividing into small group sections within our class courtrooms for performing individual trial components. The course is constructed to more closely reflect current litigation and the rigors of legal practice. While not all students will practice in a litigation environment, every effort is made to ensure that students develop the skills necessary to become successful practitioners.
Outside of the classroom, Campbell Law’s historically strong competitive advocacy program has particularly blossomed in recent years. Since 2012 Campbell Law student advocates have collected three national championships, five national runners up, seven national semifinalists, four regional championships and 12 national individual best advocate awards.
Aside from competitive success, the G. Eugene Boyce Center of Advocacy was established in Sept. 2015 with an $8+ million dollar gift. The center comprises three competitive courtrooms, conference rooms and a suite of adjoining offices. More than $450,000 in start-of-the-art technology upgrades has been recently added to the center.
“Campbell Law has a long and proud tradition of training lawyer advocates for entering the legal profession,” said Campbell Law Director of the Advocacy Program & Assistant Professor of Law Dan Tilly. “Every lawyer who graduates with a Campbell Law degree can walk into any courtroom and litigate with confidence. That is a hallmark of the Campbell Law degree. I am immensely proud to see our reputation confirmed as one of the finest advocacy training law schools in the nation.”