Campbell Law Alumni Association hosts annual CLE on Oct. 22 in-person, virtually

Photo of a Campbell Law alumnus speaking at the 2019 annual Alumni Association CLE.

Campbell Law School’s Alumni Association will host its annual “Campbell Lawyers Speak” CLE on Friday, Oct. 22, 2021. Topics include “The Slow Death of Law Firm Partnership Model: An Exploration of Pre- and Post-Great Recession Law Firm Economics and Drivers Leading to Tomorrow’s Firms,” “The Intersection of the Business of Law with the Practice of Law Post-Covid,” “Enabling ED&I: Your Role, Whatever Your Legal Hat” and “Don’t Crash and Burn: An Aviator’s Guide to Legal Ethics.”

Speakers include the Honorable V. Stuart Couch ’96, federal immigration judge;  Shiau Yen Chin-Dennis, managing partner for K&L Gates in Portland, Oregon; Norma Barnes-Euresti, chief counsel labor and employment, ethics and compliance for Kellogg; Keith Faulkner, former dean Campbell Law and Liberty Law schools, current dean at Appalachian Law School; Ashley H. Story, founding partner at Troutman Pepper; Thomas Walker, partner at Alston & Bird and former U.S. Attorney.

In-person or virtual attendance will be available. Registration is available at this link: https://igfn.us/form/Qkp3kg

“We are looking forward to welcoming our alumni back to Campbell Law in-person for this year’s CLE,” said Megan West Sherron ’10, assistant dean of external relations for the law school. “However, we had such an amazing turnout out for our virtual CLE in 2020 we wanted to once again offer an online option for folks who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend.”

 Campbell Lawyers Speak  

Agenda 

Welcome and Opening Remarks, Campbell Law Dean J. Rich Leonard

9-10 a.m. Shiau Yen Chin-Dennis, K&L Gates, Practicing Law in the 21st Century, Disruptions, Robots, AI and Machine Learning 

10-11 a.m. Keith Faulkner, Appalachian School of Law, The Slow Death of Law Firm Partnership Model: An Exploration of Pre and Post Great Recession Law Firm Economics and Drivers Leading to Tomorrow’s Firm

11-11:15 a.m. Break 

11:15-12:15 p.m. Ashley Story, Troutman Pepper, The Intersection of the Business of Law with the Practice of Law Post-Covid 

12:15-1:15 p.m. Annual Meeting/Lunch  

1:15-2:15 p.m. Thomas Walker, Alston & Bird, Conducting Internal Investigations with the Biden DOJ 

2:15-3:15 p.m. Norma Barnes-Euresti, Kellog Company, Enabling ED&I: Your Role, Whatever Your Legal Hat  

3:15-3:30 p.m. Break 

3:30-4:30 p.m. Honorable Stuart Couch, Appellate Immigration Judge, Don’t Crash and Burn: An Aviator’s Guide to Legal Ethics 

Speaker Bios

 Shiau Yen Chin-Dennis ’05

Shiau Yen Chin-Dennis is the Portland office managing partner and an equity partner at global law firm K&L Gates. She provides business-focused legal solutions, regularly working with domestic and multinational companies on corporate matters and corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, post-acquisition integration, joint ventures, restructuring, strategic relationships, corporate governance, formation and other international transactions. Shiau Yen is also a founding faculty member of the firm’s mini-MBA program, an innovative professional development training program designed to orient associates to key business concepts that are integral to her clients’ business success. She earned her B.S. from Auburn University, M.S. from NC State University, her J.D. from Campbell Law School and her M.B.A. from Campbell University. 

Keith Faulkner ’01

B. Keith Faulkner serves as the President and Dean of the Appalachian School of Law (ASL) in Grundy, Virginia.  His tenure began on July 1, 2021. Prior to joining ASL, he served as the dean of Liberty University School of Law from fall 2015 through June 2021, dean of the Lundy Fetterman School of Business at Campbell University for two years, interim dean at Campbell Law School from 2012-2013, and vice dean, associate dean for academic affairs and administration and associate dean for external relations at Campbell Law from 2005-2012. Faulkner earned an LL.M. in Litigation Management from Baylor University School of Law, the J.D. and M.B.A. from Campbell University, and the B.S. in Business Administration (Finance with honors) from Charleston Southern University. Professionally, Faulkner enjoys developing effective and exceptional teams that deliver superior education and support to students.  Personally, he enjoys spending time in the Virginia mountains and the North Carolina coast with his wife, Patty, and his three children, Hannah, Erin, and Ryan. 

Ashley H. Story ’82

Ashley H. Story is a Partner and the Chief Operating Officer for Troutman Pepper.  The law firm has 1,100 attorneys in 23 offices across the United States.  With more than $900 million in revenue the firm comprises the 49th largest U.S. law firm.  Story, who for a decade served as the Department Chair for Real Estate and Finance at Troutma,n also served as the Raleigh Office Managing Partner from 2003-2011.  He is a graduate of Wake Forest University (B.A. 1978), Campbell University (J.D. cum laude 1982), Emory University (LL.M. with distinction 1985) and The London School of Economics and Political Science (LL.M. 2000).  

Thomas G. Walker 

Thomas G. Walker concentrates his practice in the areas of government investigations, internal corporate investigations, and white collar criminal defense. He has worked as a federal prosecutor and most recently served as the presidentially appointed U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. In that position, he oversaw all federal criminal and civil matters in the eastern portion of the state. He previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney and as special counsel to North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper. In those roles, Walker prosecuted numerous cases in federal court involving bank fraud, money laundering, capital litigation, and other areas of federal law. He also served as a member of former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno’s Campaign Finance Task Force. Walker  has extensive jury trial experience in federal and state courts. While with the U.S. Department of Justice, he received the U.S. Customs Service Award and a Criminal Investigative Division Award from the Internal Revenue Service. He has served as an instructor at the National Advocacy Center and lectured on the art of closing arguments and jury selection. 

Norma Barnes-Euresti ’92

Norma Barnes-Euresti joined the Keebler Company in November 1999 and became an employee of Kellogg Company as part of the 2001 acquisition.  Norma Barnes-Euresti is currently Vice-President, Chief Counsel, Labor-Employment and Ethics & Compliance Kellogg Company. Ms. Barnes-Euresti manages all Kellogg business units in the areas of labor and employment.  She formerly served as an administrative law judge for the Illinois Human Rights Commission. She also served as an attorney for the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago.  She on the Board of Directors for the National Judicial College, and the LGBT Bar Association. Barnes-Euresti earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude from Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina, and a juris doctor degree, cum laude from Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina.  

Stuart Couch ’96

Judge Couch received a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1987 from Duke University, a Juris Doctor in 1996 from Campbell University, and a Master of Laws in litigation and dispute resolution in 2008 from The George Washington University. He is a member of the North Carolina State Bar.  Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Judge Couch as an Immigration Judge in Charlotte, North Carolina in October 2010. Attorney General William Barr appointed him as an Appellate Immigration Judge on the Board of Immigration Appeals in August 2019. From 2009 to October 2010, he was of counsel to the law firm Poyner Spruill in Charlotte, North Carolina following his retirement as a lieutenant colonel from the United States Marine Corps.  From 2006 to 2009, Judge Couch served as a senior appellate judge on the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals in Washington, D.C.  From 2003 to 2006, he was assigned to the Department of Defense, Office of Military Commissions as a senior prosecutor for select detainees held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. For his actions during this assignment Judge Couch was awarded the American Bar Association’s “Norman Maleng Minister of Justice” award in 2007, and the German Bar Association’s “Pro Reo” award in 2009.  From 2001 to 2003, he served as the chief trial counsel and military justice officer for Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, after he mobilized for active duty following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. From 1999 to 2001, Judge Couch was in private practice and served as an assistant district attorney in Beaufort and New Bern, North Carolina.  After obtaining his law degree through the Marine Corps’ Law Education Program in 1996, he served as the chief trial counsel and a Special Assistant United States Attorney at Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina. Before attending law school, Judge Couch served as a KC-130 pilot and legal officer with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252 (VMGR-252) at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point from 1989 to 1993.  Judge Couch and his wife Kim are both natives of Asheboro, North Carolina, and the parents of two sons, Stuart W. Couch and Matthew B. Couch. 

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 4,400 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.